The Nature of Things

Among the best gifts that my late April garden has to offer are, of course, the flowers. After the browns and grays of the winter landscape, the colors of the spring blossoms are a tonic for the spirit, and April is the time when many of the plants, with their fresh new growth, are at their very best before they are weighed down by the heat and humidity and drought of summer, not to mention by serving as a buffet for insects. April offers us that first flush of bloom when hope is still in the air and the perfect garden of our dreams is still possible. April is the month when the water lilies in the goldfish pond start to bloom.  And, of course, amaryllises are among the first bloomers in the garden. Some, like this one, are still blooming here at the end of the month.  St. Joseph's lilies still bloom. And the 'Red Lion' amaryllis still roars.  This little tricycle planter was a gift from my son-in-law a few years ago, and I enjoy planting it up in the spring. This year it...

Those longed-for April showers never developed. Indeed, it has been an exceptionally dry April in my garden, with only about one inch of rainfall overall. Here at the end of April, I find myself already providing supplemental water right around my one-half acre garden. In spite of all that, April really is perhaps my favorite month of the year in the garden. It's the month when many of the plants are starting their season of bloom and when plants that died back to their roots during winter are beginning to make their appearance once again. It's the month when most of the necessary pruning has been completed and things are beginning to look neat and when the gardener is still able to stay ahead of the weeds. That final one won't last for long, but, while it does, I do enjoy it. Most of all April is a month for surprises in the garden. At this time of the year, many of my surprises are wearing feathers. As the spring migrants pass this way headed north, we never know from day...

Today we say goodbye to one of the most exciting months of the year for birders along the Gulf Coast. It has been a month filled with a constant stream of migrating birds. Even birders who haven't been able to get out of their own backyards have been in the "catbird seat" of bird viewing this month. Of course, here at the end of the month, we are getting a little more excitement than we bargained for with the oil spill that threatens the wildlife that we love. But that's a topic for another day. Today I want to talk about poetry. Did you know that April is National Poetry Month ? April, also, marks my fourth anniversary as a blogger. I started the Backyard Birder blog for the Houston Chronicle on April 3, 2006. So, today, before I let April go, I want to honor National Poetry Month with a poem and also to mark my blogging anniversary with a poem about one of my favorite backyard birds. Enjoy. Mockingbirds by Mary Oliver This morning two mockingbirds in the gr...