West Chester Blossoms, Jun 1, 2014

Flowers Around Water Fountain. Some of the piping visible is temporary waiting for the new filter to be hooked up.

 Flowers Around Water Fountain

 Flowers Around Water Fountain

Flowers Around Water Fountain

Flowers Around Water Fountain

I am sure I am preaching to the chior when I comment about finally coming out of a very rough winter. Yes, rough on us as people and rough on plants and bushes. I have lost about 10 azaleas and several Rodie, 5 evergreens and numerous other blooming bushes that the butterflies liked. But, other things survived and are now starting to flourish. I guess it is a function of being a little older but it just takes much longer to get things ready for summer. Cleaning the fountain was a chore that was made easier by son-in-law helping. In fact doing most of the work. This year I installed a outside filter for the fountain and it seems to be working great. The flowers are planted in around the fountain as you can see above. Also, planted three new water lilies to replace the ones that did not make it through the winter which was a surprise because two of them were hardy lilies which normally survive.

 First Water Lily Blossom Of The Year

Close Up Of Above Lilly

Right beside the Water Fountain is my lawn chair where I rest between periods of work and I must admit that if I sit there very long and listen to the water fall something happens to my eyes- they just close and open up some time later. I need to find an answer to this. Could this be serious? . Above me, hanging on a limb is one of my bird houses especially for wrens and the male is pictured below. The Wren is a feisty yet friendly little bird that sings constantly and seems to be very sociable. By this I mean he seems to follow me around the yard as I work in different places. I will hear him, look up and he will be in a tree above or near me. When I move to a different section of the yard the same thing happen  and this has occurred year after year.  I very seldom see the female except when she is making her nest. This is the most interesting aspect of watching Wrens over the years. I have always had at least one pair of Wrens every year. The couple flies all around looking for potential places to build their nest. The male is always ready to get started building the nest whether she has selected the final site or not. If she visits the same bird house or spot several time he will start carrying sticks and start building the nest only to find she has moved on to another location. Once she has settled on a location he start building again. I have never seen her start building the nest first. He will work for several days putting sticks into the house and it is amazing to watch him carry a four inch long stick and put it through a half inch hole and into the bird house. After a few days the fun really starts. She runs him off and she proceeds to takes out every stick that he put in the nest. She drops them just below the bird house. She will pick out certain of these sticks and start putting them back into the bird house. The larger ones she always leaves on the ground. After she has built what I will call the frame of the nest she then starts gathering dead grass and softer  material to lay over the sticks then she lays her eggs and starts the sitting process waiting for them to hatch. All day and a lot of time at night he is near the nest in trees and bushes and sings constantly. How wonderful they are to watch.

Male Wren Sitting Near His House Where The Female Is Sitting Inside On Her Nest.

Wren Bird House

Large Sticks Female Wren Took Out Of The House And Dropped Them Below The House After The Male Had Collected And Put Them Into The House. You Can See Them On The Ground And The Landscape Stones.

Random Blossoms In My Yard

Random Blossoms In My Yard

Random Blossoms In My Yard

 Random Blossoms In My Yard

Random Blossoms In My Yard

 Random Blossoms In My Yard

Random Blossoms In My Yard

 Random Blossoms In My Yard

 Random Blossoms In My Yard

Random Blossoms In My Yard

Random Blossoms In My Yard

Random Blossoms In My Yard

Random Blossoms In My Yard

 Random Blossoms In My Yard

Random Blossoms In My Yard

Random Blossoms In My Yard. This Is A Rarity For Me As My Hen & Chicks Have Bloomed This Year.

Random Blossoms In My Yard. This Is A Rarity For Me As My Hen & Chicks Have Bloomed This Year.

Random Blossoms In My Yard . Hens & Chicks

Random Blossoms In My Yard . Hens & Chicks

 Random Blossoms In My Yard

Random Blossoms In My Yard

 Random Blossoms In My Yard

Random Blossoms In My Yard. Fancy Leaf Japanese Red Maple.

Random Blossoms In My Yard. Hibiscus, Boston Fern, Large Japanese Maple

Random Blossoms In My Yard Giant Hostis

Giant Elephant Ears Roughly 8 Or 9 Feet Tall.

 Holes Made In Split Rail Fence By Wood Bees. They Bore Straight In Then Bore Left And Right And Make Their Homes In There. In Appearance They Look Just Like A Bumble Bee.

 Holes Made In Split Rail Fence By Wood Bees. They Bore Straight In Then Bore Left And Right And Make Their Homes In There. In Appearance They Look Just Like A Bumble Bee.

My Banana Farm

 Front Flower Beds  

Front Flower Beds 

I still have two major projects that I have to finish. The plant room pictured below which has served as the winter home for all our tropical plants for years is scheduled to be turned into a master bedroom for me so the tropicals have spent their last winter inside. I will still try to dig them and store the bulbs in the basement and try to replant them the next spring. The timers for the in ground sprinkler system are in this room. They have to be moved to the garage so this entails running the cables through the basement and on into the garage. Second I need to run a cable from the basement to the plant room so I will have TV/Internet access there. Other than that nothing much else to do.

So this concludes the West Chester flower show. I hope you enjoyed it. I enjoy it in person daily. So remember as I always say God Loves You and so do I.

Grandpa Bill