Join us for a walk... in the garden

Join us for a walk..., originally uploaded by Our Enchanted Garden.

In Our Enchanted Garden!

Spring in the garden is progressing nicely and touches of colour are beginning to show. Soon this view will be full as the plants grow in and perform their flowering magic. The colours will change every few weeks as a new variety comes on and an earlier one finishes.

It's a dance, a living tapestry, a collection of life, a symphony of creation at it's best!

Nature is the boss in this patch of garden. Other than the tidying up that I do as flower varieties continually come and go over the spring and summer weeks there's not much else required from us. It's a nice spot to enjoy the sunrises and the sunsets on our street, have a coffee or chat with the neighbours and passers by!

This is Our Enchanted Garden - the meadow we built and dedicated to nature as an experiment of humans and the natural world living co-creatively!

Hope you enjoyed the little stroll, do come back - the garden changes every few days and there's always something happening!

Shots like this are why I LUV the natural world!

Shots like this are why I LUV the natural world!, originally uploaded by Our Enchanted Garden.

Impressive view of a Hyacinth in full bloom with all its' luscious colour!

After a few good days of rain and a bit of a cool spell that might last another day, the hyacith are now open in all their splendor. The fragrance is amazing too, so sweet!

This is what a gardener waits for in the spring - the beauty of bulb plants really add a whole new dimension to a garden, prolonging its' blooming period for months! And for a gardener this little hint of colour is true delight long before the tiny plants in the greenhouse will be able to come outside and thrive.

Another lovely shot that day was taken of an American Robin,(Birds of North America, Guide to Field Identificaton, Golden Press, NY).

He surprized me by turning and looking right at me after I'd asked if he'd give me one good pose! (I have the previous shot 100-3691 of the bird facing backwards just before he turned!)
Now that was a stroke of luck, that he heard me and understood and was willing to cooperate. Not only that but he looked right in my eye (lens) as if to strike a pose for me. And then he was gone! This way I get to tell a little tale of a robin in the garden and help you see them with the help of a camera and the internet. You might start noticing them in your neighbourhood too, if you haven't before, all these midwest US storms can really move them around.
They eat worms, grubs and other bugs and are a boon to a garden. If they're around, try to provide some fresh water to them daily. Don't leave the water out overnight - water a plant with it and re-fill in the morning. Use rain-water when you can to fill your birdbath!

Hope you enjoyed this little walk in the garden.

Happy Earth Day

http://static.flickr.com/38/97992817_d68755a11a_o.jpg Visit A Forum For Nature; read about our Earth Day there or tell us about your Earth Day! Visit Our Enchanted Garden website, where Easter celebrations are still underway as some people celebrate Easter this weekend. Visit the Garden blog too, for more photos and Earth Day topics! Pop Quizz on Tuesday!

Bee with a Parasol

Bee with a Parasol, originally uploaded by Our Enchanted Garden.

Now that those tiny blue scillia plants are in full bloom the bees come by to visit frequently! I love the colour of these flowers, one of my favourite early spring blooms.
I was chasing this little worker bee up and down the flower bed and got several shots. This one is somewhat fun and whimsical in my eye. The bee approaching this flower must grab on and then flip his body upside down to be able to gather the small amount of nectar from the center of the bloom. Such acrobats these little characters.
I used a setting for action shots with the hope I'd capture the wings' movement and perhaps a bit of shine or good blur on the wings. Several shots pick it up - I was thrilled to see it.
It all started when my dog Keisha was pouncing on a large black and yellow bumble bee the day I got this shot of a worker honey bee. I had hoped to shoot the bumble bee but once free of Keisha's clutches, and while I was running to grab the camera, the big stunned bee had already recovered and flown away! Others are sure to be by as the spring progresses so better luck next time!
Hope you enjoyed this little view of our enchanted garden!
Our Enchanted Garden; the website
A Forum For Nature; the discussion Forum

Come by to visit, become a member of the Forum For Nature, help kick-start the fun; post your questions, share some stories, read some stories, find tips, links, invite your friends, neighbors, family. Spring has sprung - it's time for outdoor fun!

You've Been Missing All The Fun At Our Enchanted Garden!

That's right - you missed it! Well only if you don't have any of the other important links to keep you connected to what's happening in Our Enchanted Garden. And there's been a lot happening! A new photo slide show was presented just in time for easter, a little bunny was busy around the garden and mother nature added her finishing touch to the mix! And then there's the work we've been doing to spruce up the website and get it in shape for a new phase in it's creation. With A Forum For Nature now nicely part of that site; providing an opportunity to make your visit to the website more inter-active, inspiring and useful. Our Enchanted Garden is not a site for the sale of things or services, though someday it may become that; should the need arise and if people request it. Rather, the website is a place to visit, to connect on the Forum, to learn about nature, to share what you know about the great outdoors or what you sense about our natural world. To view some photographs, share some photographs, find links to stories and other interesting diversions to inspire your day! It's what I am inspired to share, as best I can, with the whole wide world and through that, to see where inspiration leads me! And that's where the other work came into play. Working with a simple photograph in Flickr (a photo storage service with some useful functionality!) I was able to demonstrate how photographs can be used to answer specific questions or point out specific features of a garden bed. By using Flickr's tools and a simple link. By clicking the link on this photograph you will be transferred to a Flickr photo page of this photograph and with your mouse hover over the photo to see various notes added to the photograph. This feature will be helpful to us in many ways! Used as an example of the potential available to us, to anyone who would choose to participate in the Forum. Do stop by to see what we've been up to! Let us know you saw this invitation here at Blogger!

Male Goldfinch in early spring

Male Goldfinch in early spring, originally uploaded by Our Enchanted Garden.

Yup, I know, I promised more plants and instead I give you more birds.

But wait! There's something special happening here - look close - this little fellow is starting to get his yellow summertime feathers in. Soon he'll be wooing the hearts of the females in the neighbourhood!

Spring has so many things of wonder to share with us. We humans should count ourselves lucky to be able to view, appreciate and ponder such natural aspects of our "Enchanted Garden".

Here's a good view of his backside showing the mottled feathers;


And never fear, the day has only begun - more plants will follow a bit later - that is if the birds don't tease me with their antics while I'm working in the garden.

In either case, more pictures and stories to tell are bound to happen here! See you soon!

And don't forget to check out A Forum For Nature for more shots, more stories, gardening questions, information about camping, hiking and general outdoor fun. Ready for you to add your own stories and references!
Join in and start up the spring fun!

Hawk on the Hunt

Hawk on the Hunt, originally uploaded by Our Enchanted Garden.

The hunting job may be a little harder these days with the snows gone. Mice and other small rodents can hide a little easier now! This persistent Hawk ignored my prescence, concentrating on the hunt for a fresh meal.
This was a lucky shot on a rainy day. Our feathered friend was a little scruffy looking from hunting in a steady light spring rain.
Here's a shot of the area where the hawk was hunting;

It'll be more colourful in a few days once the warmer spring air settles in!
I'll be back later with more small plants to add to our collection of plants to identify early in the season.

More available at our other blog and photo sites;
Garden website
Garden Blog
A Forum For Nature
Photo Gallery at Flickr
Happy Hunting and Happy Spring Weekend!
Cheryl ;-)

Very tiny daisy plants!

Very tiny daisy plants!, originally uploaded by Our Enchanted Garden.

Here's a good view of sprouts of tiny daisies. These may not even flower this year, we'll keep an eye on them to see how they do. I planted these at the base of our mailbox post, they grow short enough to not interfere with anyone using the mailbox.
In the photo's caption I wrote, "The little red stones in this shot are no bigger than 1/4" or 6.5 mm. Wild daisies grow well in gravely soil."
The shot was taken during our january thaw. Currently there is little activity as the outside temperatures have been colder than they were in January. Once this cold snap moves further east I'm certain the plants will take off very quickly.
Here's another shot of a bigger daisy plantlet that also gives a size reference, the seed packet - the daisy is diagonally to the right of the package;


And to follow that, here are some lucky daisies I found in the lawn. These started from seeds dropped from plants in the nearby beds. The reason they're lucky; because now that I've found them I can gently move them to another more suitable location if I want to save them for flowering specimens, I can pot them up to sell in a spring garage sale or I can just toss them, getting them out of the lawn area. I like the look of daisies scattered around my yard - BUT, not in the lawn!

There are so many options available to gardeners! I have many plants, in addition to daisies that reproduce in this manner!
More information and photographs will follow as our garden's spring story begins in earnest!

Hope you enjoy the shots. Do leave a comment if you have questions or would like to see a photograph of a particular plant or flower highlighted in this blog.

Or!!! Visit A Forum For Nature to pose your questions and help kick-start this new discussion forum!
Hope to see you there soon! When you sign up - let us know you saw this here at Blogspot! Thanks!

A Tulip To Celebrate The Equinox

Tulip with photoshopped background, originally uploaded by Our Enchanted Garden.

It's that time of balance between day and night for Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Special to all of us in signifying special times of the year.
Time to celebrate the coming of spring and the coming of warmer days, and growing flowers in the North; to celebrate the bounty of the harvest in the South!

Happy Equinox, and may you sense the balance our natural world knows!

(note,Original photo title;Tulip with photoshopped background)