ESPatch

Disturbing forest Ents,

unconventional attire, the smell of kettle corn and turkey legs, the sound of distant doodle-sacs, it could mean only one thing.

We had arrived after driving our trusty steed down the dusty “old potato” road at the Sherwood Forest Celtic Festival

http://www.sherwoodforestfaire.com/

In the middle of Texas!

Guinevere wasted no time finding the hair braiding tent,

while Arthur (and Excalibur) held session at the round table.

But the stars of the day were so little you could barely see them,

ladies and gentlemen I give you the…

 …Pignut Flea Circus!

Imaginations ran wild watching these highly trained Irish fleas performing acrobatics, trapeze and walking the high wire.

Oh and should you need a break for a while…

I intend to integrate a couple of these into my hardscaping.

Back in the Patch:

The harvest moon rose over more unsettled weather this week,

and another couple of inches of well needed rain.

This was the view from my computer table before the rain.

Note the Mex. bush sage in the foreground.

There is no hiding their legginess now!  This had me laughing all the way to my truck.

Toadstools emerged overnight,

and nearly all of the blooms on this yucca were beaten off the stalk,

lodging in tight at the base of the crown…oh that’s just great.

Well I am not going in there.

Salvia is currently in fine form, and this Barbados cherry,

Malpighia emarginata

 

 is filling up the entire back garden with its cherry/honey fragrance.

The rain has greened up the muhly in my Hell-strip,

and pushed datura into a flowering frenzy.

This next insect looked like it needed some of the nectar.

This is a Rustic Sphinx, and it is one very large moth in the Sphinginae family.

Manduca rustica

 

They are very fond of desert willow, moonflowers and petunia. I found this one crawling around on my front doormat, looking decidedly unwell.

The next character was very shy and required some coaxing which in turn made it difficult to get a steady shot.


What I need is a camera with a retractable fake finger adaptation, though that would surely get me into trouble.

Myrmeleontidae – Antlions

 

Although they resemble dragonflies or damselflies they are not related.

 

Finally some grossness:

Captain it appears that this sand cherry is under attack?

 

Stay Tuned for:

“Notre Dame it’s got Cold”

 

All material © 2012 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.

“Agavephobia”

“Ahhh, Differential grasshopper.”

Oh come on, what was I going to do?

Melanoplus differentialis

 

Did you know that one of their favorite gourmet meals is Giant ragweed?

Ragweed is a plant synonymous with late summer hay fever, and one I struggle to clear my throat of every year. The plant is generally considered the greatest allergen of all pollens in North America.

Today, there is no area in the US that is free of ragweed pollen.

So chomp away my spiny-legged pest, but you better move immediately away from my Mex. Leucantha, if you know what is good for you.

The design on this insect is quite something, the armored plating, the militia graphics on its thighs, the hooks, spines and alien eyes.

“Get them off me…I have agavephobia you know!”

Calm down Gandalf!

I will thin them out soon enough, and I had no idea.

Def.   Agavephobia is a condition where the sufferer becomes anxious in environments that heavily feature members of the agave family. Triggers for this anxiety may include serrated edges, unnecessary worry and concern for loved ones, and more rarely in subjects, a fear of sharp soil. Agavephobia is often, but not always, compounded by a fear of sharp points, weevils and drought tolerant, water wise planting schemes.

Changes are certainly in the Patch air.

Pyracantha berries are a reminder that pumpkins are just around the corner.

The rain and the sun has put this satsuma tree back on track for a great fall harvest.

“Aye, she has a nice bunch of satsumas all right, but i’m tellin ye, anymere, n’ she’ll fall apart. Just-one-mere-satsu…”

No more Scotty!

Asparagus Fern,

Asparagus pyramidalis


Asparagus pyramidalis is a hybrid between A. plumosa and tree fern, it adopts a more vertical, layered habit than other cultivars but it is equally as invasive.  Asparagus fern is somewhat deceiving as a name because it is not a fern at all, it merely looks like one, it is in fact a relative of edible asparagus. Pyramidalis is more dense and does not wrap round other plants or trees like plumosa.

Both my pyramidalis (above),

and my plumosa (above) ferns are currently displaying tiny off-white flowers.

Moving along…

Soft Mexican bush sage contrasts well with soft leaf yucca.

This stand in the front of the Patch is completely out of control and leggier that I would like it (pruning negligence on my part), though it does have more of a natural rambling look when left to its own devices like this…

…okay it is just leggy.

On sending up a flower spike yuccas

flower very quickly.

A great drought tolerant plant for our area and well worth getting a jab now and then, oh and if you are as obsessive as me,

you may not want to get down low and look into the heart of the plant.

This is almost as annoying as…

I said almost.

You can see where I started in on this stock tank sticker in the top left corner, and the massive progress that I made attempting to remove it.

Stupid stock tank stickers.

Duranta erecta ‘Sapphire Showers’ is very much living up to its name.

Stunted Cone flowers and browning feather grasses signal in the fall.

Inspirational Images of the Week:

Path at Powis Castle in Wales leads to dark trail winding through a stunning yew hedge.

Some beautiful Hipstamatic and filter work by:

http://tinktastichana.tumblr.com/

I will leave you with some serious landscape LED lighting. Forest of Light is a serene forest of 20,000 illuminated stems scattered along a forest walk.

Art Installation: Bruce Munro

Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania

http://www.longwoodgardens.org/lwgHome.html

And here is a link to a free App that allows you to explore the Gardens and installations after hours:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/light-installations-by-bruce/id532235352?mt=8

Stay Tuned for:

“Thats Just Not Blight!”

 

All material © 2012 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.

Happy Birthday PP.

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