Thursday 26 August 2010

Gardening Thursday


Tiny: Here it is, Gardening Thursday and as we are members of the Society of Feline Gardeners (see Cory Cat Blog for more info) we are SUPPOSED to be working in the garden...

Lautrec: Hmmmmmm...

Tiny: Look at Lolo-boy... you see what he's doing? DAYDREAMING!!

Lautrec: Hey!! Whoa!! That is just not true...I am not daydreaming...I'm checking my eyelids for holes...really!! Yeah, that and I'm listening to Rusty talk about all the slugs and snails he has seen in our garden after we got all that rain. You should listen to Rusty sometimes...he's a smart guy!

Tiny: Yeah, sure....as if Rusty could talk
.
Lautrec: Well Smarty-Tiny, Rusty just told me that the plant surrounding him - which he says is called 'Campsis radicans'* - has flowered for the first time!!

Look at those flowers...they look like orange trumpets - TOOOT TOOO DOOO!!!

*The following was copied from Wikipedia:
The Trumpet vine or Trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans), also known as "Cow itch vine" and (in horticulture) as "hummingbird vine", is a large and vigorous woody vine of the family Bignoniaceae, notable for its showy trumpet-shaped flowers. It is native to woodlands of thesoutheastern United States, but is a popular garden perennial plant across much of the country as some cultivars are hardy to as low as -30°F/-34°C.
The leaves are opposite, ovate, pinnate, 3–10 cm long, and emerald green when new, maturing into a dark green. The flowers come in terminal cymes of 4–12, orange to red in color with a yellowish throat, and generally appear after several months of warm weather. The plant as a whole may grow to 10 meters in height.

The flowers are very attractive to hummingbirds, and many types of birds like to nest in the dense foliage. The flowers are followed by large seed pods. As these mature, they dry and split. Hundreds of thin, brown, paper-like seeds are released. These are easily grown when stratified.

The vigor of the trumpet vine should not be underestimated. In warm weather, it puts out huge numbers of tendrils that grab onto every available surface, and eventually expand into heavy woody stems several centimeters in diameter. It grows well on arbors, fences, telephone poles, and trees, although it may dismember them in the process. Ruthless pruning is recommended. Outside of its native range this species has the potential to be highly invasive, even as far north as New England. The trumpet vine thrives in many places in southern Canada as well.

Alternate scientific names have included Bignonia radicans and Tecoma radicans.

14 comments:

Brian's Home Blog said...

Not only is your garden beautiful, you look great in green!

Kea said...

Oh, is that what the orange flower is! We have them here (not in our garden, we mean "here" as in this area) but she didn't know what they were. So thank you for the info!

And how lovely your garden is! Ours looks a bit sad right now, blooms done, plants gone to seed. Which is why we haven't done a gardening post in a while!

So we very much enjoyed yours...even if Lautrec was caught daydreaming. Uh, talking to Rusty. Yeah, sure, we believe you, Lautrec! ;-)

Jacqueline said...

We really enjoyed the tour of your lovely garden; everything is so green and lush in your yard...We especially like Rusty, he's very cool!...Have a fun day, sweet friends...kisses...Calle, Halle, Sukki

The Island Cats said...

That trumpet flower is really cool!!

Cat said...

Your garden looks lovely, I especially like your trumpet vine! I have a cat very much like Rusty, can you put a candle inside him?

Malyss said...

The good thing with gardener cats is that they always see things that we don't see, and then teach us things we would not care about without them...:)

Daisy said...

Well, it is always important to spend some time inspectin' your eyelids for holes. Just for safety's sake.

Milo and Alfie Marshall said...

The trumpet flower is beautiful!

And meditating in the garden is very impawtant and shudn't be scoffed at! We know that when yoo appear to be doing nuffin, yoo are really meditating.

My Mind's Eye said...

Hi Lautrec and Tiny...you two are the only kitties we know who hold a Master Gardner title!! Mom thinks Lautrec wasn't daydreaming. He was picturing next years garden in his mind's eye.
Madi and Mom

Mishkat said...

Dreaming about the garden helps it grow! So obviously, you two are working.

Your campsis is beautiful! We have those here too, but they are (as Wikepedia says) best suited for a large garden because they grow so quickly. So our mom has been a bit afraid to actually plant one! We admire them in other places though.

P.S. Rusty is VERY cool!

Teri and her Stylish Adventure Cats said...

You have a very 'zen' garden and maybe that was meditating Lautrec was doing! Hey, I think we have Rusty's littermate in our garden...he is black (with rust spots, mewmmie snorts).

Angel Junior, Orion and Sammy said...

Well, it looks like you are both working in the garden....snoopervising. We bet rusty has some interesting stories to tell!

Pip said...

Thanks fur sharing your garden wif us! IS very beautiful!
Rusty looks like him has a very nice spot to lives too.

Cory said...

The trumpet vine is pawsome! We don't have that growing in our garden.

Jonesie only seems like she works in the garden all the time...she does snooze and daydream too! We think gardens are best when you are just hanging out.