The Allium Plant Has Buds & Will Bloom Soon
My allium plant on the patio has put out buds and will bloom any day now. I love the rounded flower that reminds me of dandelions from my childhood.
The allium plant below came from a small pot I bought at the nursery last year. Alliums are drought-tolerant, so you don’t have to worry about them much once they take hold and begin to grow.
Growing Alliums
These hardy plants are basically glorified onions, and they attract bees and butterflies. They’re also a great source of nectar.
Habits Of The Allium Plant:
When the little stalks begin to bend over, almost looking like a serpent in the garden, then the bud will form.
Allium bulbs offer an early summer flower display of flowers. They are deer and rodent resistant. And they thrive in the garden for years with minimal effort.
Their round shape and long-lasting blooms make them a garden standout.
I still have yet to get to the petunias. But I know when I cut them way back last year they just up and died. Maybe I should leave them like they are with this heat.
The yellow ones you see above I cut back earlier in the season and they came back in abundance. But I don’t know about doing it in mid-July.
Wild Morning Glories Try To Take Over:
Over in the blue raised bed, I noticed that sneaky little wild morning glories were growing up the zinnia stalks. When I was watering yesterday this came to my attention.
See the thin morning glory vine attach to the flower above? Once I got to looking more closely, those morning glories had wound their way around many of my flowers. Surreptitiously overtaking my flower stems in the blue bed.
I don’t want them choking off my zinnias, so I began to pull and unwind the tiny vine from around the zinnias. I know I missed some, so I’ll have to go out and look again today.
A male cardinal came in for a drink of water. I change out the water in the bird bath every day when I water the patio flowers.
Facts About Cardinals:
I often hear them calling out for their mate, the less colorful female cardinal. Some cardinals stay together all year long in their nesting territory.
In some cases, the birds leave the territory and join a winter flock. But the same pair will likely go back to the same nesting area come spring. If one of the cardinals dies the survivor will quickly look for a new mate.
Male and female cardinal communicate through song. Here is a video of what it sounds like.
I live in the southern hemisphere and have always loved your Cardinals. I would love to see one, one day. We have some incredible wildlife here in Australia, however I do love a striking animal. I saw my favourite butterfly up in northern Australia in April (we don’t have them in the south as it is too cold) – the Ulysses. I’m not sure if you have them but gosh, they’re so beautiful.
Ah, the cardinals…we sure miss them from when we lived in NC…they are busiest of parents…often having 4 sets of babies a year…and we saw the male helping all the time too…not a lazy bird!! Thanks for the video…very nice.
Thank you for the cardinal video. We have a pair that has lived here (S.D.) winter and summer. We do enjoy them and make sure we have the sunflower seeds for them.
As readers of your blog…is there anything we can do to help bring the income up?
No worries. I just wanted you to know why there were suddenly all the affiliate links.
thank you for this post. it was wonderful. especially the added video of the cardinal and how they sing. all your posts are interesting. just wanted you to know they’re appreciated!
I hope each day you feel stronger and better in this adventure we call Life! xo