Tuesday, May 11, 2010

This Week In My Garden: Roses, Red Hot Pokers and Woodpeckers!


I'm joining everyone over at A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday


There's quite a bit of RED in my garden this week, so I'm participating
in Rednesday over at  It's A Very Cherry World!


It's difficult to get good wide angle shots of the rose garden, way too much going on
with all the texture and color for this photographer.  Here are a few OK shots to
give you an idea of the rose garden from a wider view.








This is 'Gizmo'


'Braithwaite'


'Tequila La Sevillana'



no name from Lowe's


'Hot Cocoa'


'Tequila La Sevillana'


'Nicole'


I think this is 'Granada'


'Rainbow Sorbet'


'Iceberg'



'Spice Twice'


Red Hot Poker just starting and others further along. Giant Timber Bamboo
in the background on the right.



Down by the koi pond is this wonderful deciduous shrub,
California Allspice - Calycanthus occidentalis 



Melianthus major - Honey Bush

The flower stalks stand up at about 10-12' tall at the back wall of the main garden.
They have a sweet nectar that attracts lots of birds.  We have about six red headed
woodpeckers that live just outside the back wall in the oak trees and they have
been feasting on the nectar for a couple of weeks.  I was unsuccessful on several
attempts to catch them in the act, but on Mothers' Day my granddaughter was
able to capture a couple of them in the act. One is off camera, one in the center
back and the one in the foreground.


And another shot she captured! Thanks Kelsey!

34 comments:

  1. How beautiful! I can smell the beautiful rose scents just looking at your pictures! Thanks for sharing!

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  2. I have never seen a woodpecker before-he is amazing. Beautful pictures!

    Best wishes,
    Natasha.

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  3. Wow! Your garden is amazing, Candy. The roses are incredible. I'd be camping out in this beautiful garden all spring. Thanks for sharing the names. I'm going to make some notes. ~ Sarah

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  4. WOW! I'm just blown away. Are those tall bushes Skyrocket Junipers? Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Oh how beautiful your garden is!!

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  6. Breathtaking garden...makes me wanna take a stroll.

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  7. This is such a beautiful garden and you are a good photographer!

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  8. Oh how truly lovely everything is! Those roses are just wonderful, so lush and colorful. Your garden must make you very happy every day. Those are beautiful Calif. hills rolling in the background, still nice and green. Do you have a tall fence or some other way to keep the deer out? I would love to plant roses but hate to see them eaten by all the critters around here!
    How do you keep them out of your beautiful garden?
    I'd love it if you'd stop by for a visit sometime.
    XO
    Heidi - Heart and Home

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  9. One word: Breathtaking! Your garden is beautiful! I especially love the Iceberg and Spice Twice roses. Granddaughter did great job capturing the woodpecker.

    ~ Tracy

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  10. Your garden is so pretty! What a great photo of the woodpecker! Blessings, Vicky

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  11. Candy~You have an amazing rose collection. We also have the same kind of woodpeckers...they enjoy eating the cat food!!
    Fondly,
    Ann
    @
    The Tattered Tassel

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  12. My gosh! Your gardens are incredible! It looks like heaven on earth! And your roses are stunning! I just can't believe what you egt to see when you walk outside! Thank you for sharing this wonderful place with us!

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  13. Your rose garden and pictures are beautiful. What is that pink rose growing on the fence. It's so pretty.

    D

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  14. woooow, how gorgeous! What a beautiful garden, and great shots of the birds, thanks for sharing <3

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  15. Once again, your photos take my breath away. Your garden is magnificent! You must work in it 24/7 to get it to look like that! And it looks like my neck of the woods in northern California too with the rolling hills.

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  16. It's cold, grey and wet here right now, so I'm just enjoying my walk around in the warmth of the sun, the sweet fragrance here with the beautiful flowers and the lovely music playing in the back ground. Thanks for a beautiful morning stroll.

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  17. My Goodness!

    What a fantastic garden you have!!

    Absolutely stunning!!
    Debbie

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  18. What a beautiful garden. How relaxing it must be to walk among all that beauty!

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  19. Oh my goodness what a beautiful garden! I love Roses, and yours are gorgeous!

    Jocelyn
    http://justalittlesouthernhospitality.blogspot.com/

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  20. I'm breathless- your garden is so beautiful! Great photography too.

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  21. Oh my goodness Candy, your garden is stunning! And what a beautiful backdrop those rolling hills are. I love that you have so many different varieties of roses. The red hot pokers look fantastic too. I tried growing them once, but I just don't get enough sun I think. I can't even imagine what a pleasure it must be to stroll through that garden!
    Happy REDnesday!
    Carol

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  22. What a fabulously beautiful garden! I love the backdrop of the green hills too. Everything is just delightful!!

    Love,
    Susan and Bentley
    xxoo

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  23. Red Hot Pokers are my very favorite. What a gorgeous garden. Happy Outdoor Wed.
    Ann

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  24. Oh my gosh, breathtaking, so very gorgeous! Thank you so much for sharing your lovely garden with us.

    Happy Rednesday,
    Sally

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  25. I am amazed by your roses...they are just stunning. Iceberg is my favorite..wow! I would love to live next to you! I bet you put together some incredible bouquets to enjoy them inside. Truly, I am insanely jealous....
    My mother taught me an appreciation for roses, but I cannot seem to grow them very well. I have always wanted a house with one side covered in climbing rosebushes...

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  26. Gorgeous garden! What a wonderful setting.

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  27. Absolutely amazing. Beauty everywhere, and no neighbors in sight from these photos -- priceless!!

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  28. Your photos take my breath away! What a beautiful garden! The Nicole rose just glows - fabulous!

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  29. Love your gorgeous pictures. I recognize the scenery and said to myself, this must be a California blogger. Checked your profile to find out I was right! I also live in Northern California. Your picture of the Nicole rose is my favorite. That is soooo pretty. I also enjoy taking pictures of flowers particularly roses.

    Hope you have a great day!

    ~Linnea

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  30. I'm so happy that you all stopped by for this week's garden shots! Thanks for your lovely comments too. :-)

    Rosie asked, " Are those tall bushes Skyrocket Junipers?" Nope, those are Italian Cypress put in 3 years ago along with the roses. My "real" garden blog is about 2 years behind in updates, but if you go to the sidebar and click on Happenstance Garden you can see some earlier
    images of the garden from 2006 forward.

    Heidi asked, "Do you have a tall fence or some other way to keep the deer out?" We have a 6 1/2' solid stucco wall around the perimeter of the enclosed 1 acre garden. You can also read more about the wall on the garden blog.

    D asked, "What is that pink rose growing on the fence?" That a climber (actually about 6 of them called 'Pinky'

    vignette design - It is Solano County, so not too far from you. If I remember correctly there is map info on the garden blog too. Not quite 24/7, but it does take work to maintain a garden.

    Deb - Be careful what you wish for! Along with the roses come lots of weeds and moving in mulch and my hands and arms are always full of thorn wounds!

    Again, thanks for all the ooohs and aahs! Please stop by again for some more garden shots.

    Candy

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  31. OH! WHat a display! Is that really your garden? How amazing!!! I love roses, they are difficult to grow here due to humidity and rot and bugs and deer... I have one in a big pot doing lovely this year (it has taken it 7 years!)
    and the red headed wood peckers! What a lovely shot!
    Happy Outdoor Wednesday!
    CailinMarie
    http://cailinyates.blogspot.com

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  32. Thanks CailinMarie, I do appreciate you stopping by to smell the roses!

    Candy

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Thank you for your lovely comments.

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