So it seems more of the gals have started kicking into gear while I'm on vacation...the neighbors on babysitting duty are taking photos for me. lol. At least one of the Ameraucanas is now laying...I have a feeling it's Pecker, since she looked like she was trying to do "the squat" the day before we left on our trip. I'm not sure if Phyllis has starting laying yet or not, it may just still be Einstein, who started laying last Friday.

Fresh Yard Eggs
PC: Leslie F. Halleck

The two smaller ones are probably from Einstein, and the larger one on the left is from one of the Ameraucanas...Lonnie said it's the prettiest sage color, but that's really not showing up in the photo.

They seem a little confused about where they're supposed to lay their eggs....lol...I think they're doing it everywhere except the roosting boxes.

If you look real close...you'll see one little egg in some straw on the ground below the coop...lol

Look at those beautiful orange yolks! All those good greens they eat. Plus, I add flax oil to their cook spaghetti...what's good for them is good for me! Commercial grocery store eggs??? NO THANKS!

Yes, You Can Plant Beans in Late Summer for Fall Harvest

If you seeded some beans in August, you should have some nice little plants going by now. This is one bed of mixed bush beans I planted the last week of August. There were originally more seedlings but they've been thinned. Annual bush beans, black-eyed peas and other quick maturing beans can be planted in August or the first week of September in our area for a fall harvest. Look for maturity dates (on the seed packets) of around 70 or less days for fall planting. The varieties that mature in 50-65 days are best. Legumes are Nitrogen fixers and can help improve the nutrient content of your soil. It's a good idea to rotate legumes around your garden each year to improve your soil.

While I don't happen to have anything else planted in this bed, bush beans don't take up much space and you can easily inter-crop them with other plants in the garden. During the heat of summer they take only a few days to germinate and will grow quickly. If you've never grown beans in your garden spot before, try using a garden inoculant in the soil the first time around. This will help your beans establish better by encouraging the beneficial relationship with soil bacteria that help form those Nitrogen-fixing nodules on the roots.

If you planted beans in that spot before, you don't need to do this. Remember, don't over-fertilize your beans you you won't get very much fruit. Because beans fix a lot of their own Nitrogen, you don't need to add much. I should start seeing the first beans on these plants in just a couple of weeks.

It's always a nice surprise when the rain lilies start blooming. I have a few different species in my garden but this one is the most vigorous (Zephyranthes candida). I have a lovely hybrid called 'Autumn Sunset' with the prettiest peach blooms given to me by my friend Jimmy. I just noticed a couple of buds on it yesterday. Rain lilies are really tough and versatile and you can plant them amidst herbaceous perennials, other bulbs and even turf. While they'll bloom sporadically through summer, the biggest flush of blooms on this species usually comes in spring and again in fall. The bulbs are tiny so they're easily inter-planted into groundcovers like liriope and mondo grass. Some have a light pleasant fragrance. They multiply by bulb and seed.

This is my view out of our back windows every evening around dusk...the chickens go upstairs and each angle for a spot in the windows....lol. Their roosting boxes are right under the windows and they've taken to sleeping on top of them so they can look out the windows. What's funny is that we had the windows put in for us...to peek in on them. Didn't expect that they would be so interested in using them! You can see Phyllis in the window with her bright white mop (sorry the photo's a little blurry). Somehow she's managed to lay claim to that particular window spot every evening. Too funny....

Lycoris are a striking easy to grow bulb

For those of you less familiar with the colorful common name for Lycoris radiata, otherwise known as surprise lilies or spider lilies, they are often referred to as such because the bloom stalks emerge before the foliage. They are a fall blooming bulb (blooming right now as a matter of fact) but are usually not available in garden centers during spring. You should find them in the garden center now. You'll find the classic red, Lycoris radiata as well as the less common yellow strain of the species. You'll also find the pink species, Lycoris squamigera. Plant them in the fall and you'll have blooms the following fall. Occasionally, bulbs you plant right now might shoot up a bloom this October, but no guarantees. Beeeeautiful.

I'm not an Aggie, but I do love me some Aggie Cotton, Gossypium hirsutum. This great heirloom annual tends to come and go. Folks forget about it for a while and you won't really see it in the nurseries for a few years, then it shows back up again in small quantities. Just like all that bad 80's fashion we're seeing right now! Well, except that's really, really bad...Aggie cotton happens to be very, very pretty.

The flowers and foliage are reminiscent of a burgundy leafed hardy hibiscus with lovely pink and cream flowers. The flowers are followed by small cotton bolls that add interest and texture to the garden. The burgundy foliage gives you some really nice foliage contrast mixed with salvias, ornamental grasses, and other annuals like angelonia and lantana. It's blooming in my garden now and through the fall will reach about three to four feet tall.

Fragrant Blooms for Partial Sun/Shade

Yay! The first blooms on my the butterfly ginger Hedychium coronarium, have finally appeared. This is a tropical perennial native to India and a cousin of the culinary ginger, Zingiber officinale. Plants reach about five feet tall here and can be planted in part shade (morning sun/afternoon shade, or dappled sun throughout the day) and plants like lots of moisture. They are also nice in containers. Plants will die down to the ground in our area, zone 8, but come back up the following year. The fragrance is to die for. Plant some near your patio or where you can enjoy the fragrance.

Lovely.

The hummingbirds showed up very late this year. I was fretting they would not show up at all. But, we've had two female Ruby-throated move into our garden in the last couple of weeks. So exciting. Over the last week, they've become more accustomed to our presence and are now zipping around just a few feet from us. (click photos to enlarge)

I have a bounty of blooms in the garden for them to feed on such as the bog sage, Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue', above. They also like the Rose of Sharon, Rattlebox, and the multitudes of other salvias in the garden.

They've also finally discovered the feeder that hangs right by the front door above the salvia. You can see a few red droplets in the neck on the one to the left. As they are territorial, I've found them perched close to the feeder more often, guarding it. I can't tell if these two are working together or if they are fighting for the feeder. They zip around in the air together in a sort of dance, but it's possible they are fighting over the turf.

We got some good video of them feeding at the feeder. As soon as I have a good format in which to post it, I'll get that up. Bees, butterflies, dragonflies, and hummingbirds...the front yard is abuzz!! So fun.