Friday, May 11, 2007

Weeping Eastern Redbud


Weeping Eastern Redbud
Cercis Canadensis 'Lavender Twist'
(SER-sis) (ka-na-DEN-sis)
Caesalpiniaceae
Synonyms: Weeping Canadian Redbud, Judas Tree, Covey

The jury is still out on this tree for me. I have seen it popping up all over the place so it seems to be getting more popular. It sure is pretty when it’s blooming but I have to remember to see what it looks like during the summer. It has a strongly weeping shape and slightly darker colors then a regular Redbud. The Estate has a small collection of Redbuds including the one that always makes me laugh, a White Redbud (Cercis canadensis f. alba). Most of them are doing fairly well and seem to have off and on years. This year they are doing well.



I had another frog posing for me yesterday. I was installing a pump in a water garden and this fellow just wouldn’t move. He sat patiently whilst I shot a couple of pictures of him and then I had to nudge him off the rock he was on into the pond. Overall it was a good day for wildlife in the garden. I saw a Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon) noisily flirting around one of the ponds in the morning. Good luck trying to get a picture of him, he seemed to get a little agaitated when we came around. Later in the day I caught a baby Northern Brown Snake (Storeria dekayi) and after keeping it in a jar for a while I let him go. Later I was tipping an Umbrella Pine and out flew a Cardinal from its nest. I couldn’t see if there was anything in it but will keep an eye on it. Finally in the late afternoon three hawks started to fight and were swooping all over the garden attacking each other. I think that there is a pair that has a nest nearby and they were defending their turf. It was quite a sight. All this kind of goes along with my theory that these gardens are a sanctuary for a lot of different species. Lucky it is on a fairly large parcel but I have watched the development along the edges grow and grow over the years. Maybe all the plants are attracting them but you never know what is going to happen next. I remember last year I was tip pruning a Blue Spruce with my pole pruner when a Hawk flew out of it. Scared the heck out of me.



This last picture is Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) bark. It is tree you don’t really see too often in Connecticut. I don’t think it likes the hot and humid summers or the polluted air. This is from a large specimen (about 75 feet tall) and I had to limb up the branches to about 30 feet because of dieback. It is not a true fir tree (not in the genus Abies) and it’s scientific name means False Hemlock.

5 comments:

Diane Dehler said...

That is some frog photo. Couldn't be nicer if he had formally posed for you. I think he upstages the flower.

David (Snappy) said...

I love the Frog!!Great picture.I like visiting your blog for your amazing photography.I have a new Fuji camera now (Finepix 6500).I use your photos as a guide to the quality I want to achieve.I like the writing too, it adds lots to your blog.Complimenting the tree's, flowers, shrubs, and of course the cool Froggy!

Digital Flower Pictures said...

Princess thanks for commenting.
snappy, good luck with that new camera, that is a nifty one. You have the perfect name for a photographer :lol:

Ki said...

V. nice frog picture. Great focus on the eye. We have two ponds in the yard. The smaller one, 80 gallons, a legacy pond which the former owners left, have had one frog per year and only one frog. The larger pond of about 1000 gallons which you would think is more attractive has nada. There are no bodies of water or streams anywhere close by so where do the frogs come from? And they are of different species. The first year we had a leopard frog, last year some kind of green frog and this year a bull frog of huge size even if the water is still pretty cold. It's even more of a mystery because we cleaned out the pond completely earlier this spring and didn't find any tadpoles or any sign of a frog.

You have very interesting wild life where you live.

eindeloze sfeer said...
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