Cropping Magic

It's amazing how much better one can make a garden look by employing the simple method of EX-TREME CROPPING. This is a view, south-to-north, of our butterfly garden. At the right of the frame is the patio.

It is delightful to sit on the patio and watch the birds flit in and out of the firebushes as they take turns going to the feeders or the bird baths. It's like an avian aquarium of sorts.

Most often, we see catbirds, cardinals, goldfinches, blue jays, wrens, and mourning doves. Sometimes, however, we are graced with painted buntings, indigo buntings, grosbeaks, or yellow rumped warblers. The more rarely seen birds usually don't come to the feeders (with the exception of the buntings), but we know they are around.

Overhead: swallow-tailed kites, vultures (both types), red-shouldered hawks.

At night: Eastern screech owls, great horned owls, barred owls, chuck-wills-widows.

All in all, not a bad place to be.

Re: plants - in the foreground, flamingo flowers. They're pretty, but also pretty useless. Towards the back, in red - geraniums. Pretty but also pretty useless, though I admit I like their weird smell. The little globular-shaped tree is a jasmine. It has benefitted greatly from a severe pruning, and now blooms like crazy. The flowers smell awesome. The tall, spindly shrubs are the firebushes, which now stand taller than the house. When the goldfinches leave, we'll cut them down to the ground - and they'll bounce right back.

Firebushes are my favorites around here for many reasons. The hummingbirds love them, they're tough as nails (once established), the insects love them, they're pretty, and best of all they're EASY. No-maintenance plants are definitely where it's at.