Looking good in the garden now is Callicarpa americana ‘Welch’s Pink’, discovered by former PDN’er Matt Welch in East Texas. This is pink fruited form of our native American beautyberry, Callicarpa americana. The fruit are an important fall food source for many species of birds.
From the flora side of the garden, the lovely sacred lily, Rohdea japonica is flowering today. Our bet is that many folks have never slowed down long enough to actually see a rohdea flower, but if you look close, you’ll see the pollen is ready for hybridizing.
Representing the garden fauna, we are loaded to gills will Kildeer this year. One nest of five has already hatched and squawking incessantly, but two more mothers including this one have a secure space in our parking lot. Of course, our fox family has also been keeping a close eye out for the blessed event.
Most birds in the garden have the good sense to nest in relatively safe areas like trees, but not killdeers. I almost ran over this nesting killdeer with the golf cart yesterday. Fortunately, they have rather loud voices. We’re not sure if this is mama or daddy, but the babies can’t be far off.