We spent much of yesterday getting ready for hail that never came. How do you get ready for hail? In the nursery we moved all the plants that we could under poly or into the shade houses. In the garden it’s not so easy. There’s no way to cover everything! After many years, I’ve noticed that some plants survive hail better than others, and some recover more quickly. Peonies are not in the category of recover-quickly, so I stuck a stake into the ground by the one that is getting ready to bloom and brought a sheet of Remay over by it, and with clothespins and another weird contraption I dreamed up, figured out a way to protect the 3′ x 3′ peony that is covered with a hundred flower buds. I don’t know if it would’ve worked, because the storm went east of us. I’m very grateful for that, but couldn’t we have had some rain?
After the hail preparation I was looking out at the garden and saw a Lesser Goldfinch clinging to a catmint plant, eating the seeds. I love that little songbird and take offense at the name “Lesser.” I think it’s every bit as pretty as its larger cousin, the American Goldfinch. Both birds are native to the U.S., but the Lesser Goldfinch makes its home in the West. It nests here, too, so you can see it year round. I worry about hail and all the little birds. I hope they can shelter from it. Here are pictures of the Lesser Goldfinch snagging seeds.
Hummingbird at the columbine, with a goldfinch in the bottom left corner.
This picture is from last summer. The L.G. is clinging to a penstemon gone to seed.
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