Beautiful R both the maples and the ferocious squirrel hunter... lol. Going to save those if you don't mind and send to my daughter, she is a big cat lover. She will adore them.
Those Coons are absolutely adorable! They will definitely help with the squirrels, but there's no substitute for protection. People underestimate how useful cats are in the garden; and of course some people really hate cats in the garden. Of course they do claw trees (but usually vertically, so don't do permanent damage) and use the mulch as a toilet. But our current cat Miko is a good mouser who rarely brings them in. He's great with voles and has caught a half dozen moles. Unfortunately he's a mean cat who isn't a very good pet; he adopted us when he was a few months old, living under a bed for months before we noticed him. We think he was abused and abandoned near here, since he knew about litter boxes and kibbles. He's bitten us all pretty badly though, and got Adele only a few days ago. (Yes he's been fixed. Getting him to and from the vet was quite the experience!)
Blimey Miko seems like he’s a force to be reckoned with !! The only downside for me is that I currently get a lot of Tits and small birds from the park next door visit and you can see them meticulously picking bugs and aphids off my trees..they will not visit so much with a couple of tigers prowling.
@emery ive never noticed cats paying any attention to my trees..they seem happy to sharpen claws on my fence posts!!! But deposits in mulch is quite unwelcome!!
Unfortunately Miko is one of those connundrums in life. He arrived and got fed, so we sort of have to keep feeding him in spite of his behavior. His personality makes it impossible to give him away. he loves to fight and in fact killed our previous cat Lucy, who was a sweetheart (and very old, too). He has driven off several ferals that used to come around, though he still mixes it up with them on a regular basis. Luckily as I say he earns his keep, and we don't dig in the mulch without gloves on! All the cats scramble up the trees, even the protected ones, they jump up 4 ft with no problem. Also since Miko is big and doesn't care, he sometimes jumps down onto pots and breaks the maples. He got 2 this winter, a nice seedling and an A. forrestii I had bought from the UK before Brexit, even broke one of the pots.
ohh my..that’s an awful thing to happen, poor Lucy. Sounds like he could feature on one of those pets from hell programs!
Good morning and it is a good one, with Spring well and truly here, for a few days at least. Here are some that are trying their best to break out of that Winter sleep. Beni hime, Crimson Queen, Fairy lights and Arakawa that I thought was looking very pretty in the very early morning light.
Hey maple lovers,here’s my contribution to early spring colors. AS Bronze Age,AP Ariadne, and AP Rainbow
They are looking Soooo good Castor, I remember watching Mr Maple in 2019 and getting quite uptight that Bronze Age is yet another from the US I will probably never have, so will really enjoy looking at yours. At least I have the other two, lol.
I'm trying to avoid buying a new phone, so I've commandeered the wife's business camera. It turns out to be rather complicated to get good macro shots, as the focus gets quite wonky, but when it works, it looks pretty good. I'm still reading the enormous manual and trying to find out where all the buttons are! Here are a few I took today. A little and weak A. velutinum that comes out with a similar pink to 'Brilliantissimum' 'Murasaki kiyohime' A. pensylvanicum 'Crippsii' 'Black Lace' 'Kuro hime' Berberis thunbergii 'Diabolicum', a selection from J.P. Hennebelle that should be better known. Peach blossom macro work A. rubescens 'Wakisaka nishiki' A. pictum A. serrulatum Just saw cold weather and maybe even snow on the way for next week. Yay.
Think I might be talking to my maples today saying " please don't open please don't open", But I have to consider the neighbours, who already think I'm a little eccentric over my trees, lol. My new Griseum though is being very sensible. All buds still nicely closed. Unless I've been bought another dead one !!!!
I don't think so. I had the same fest year, but it's just that it's the latest of all mine to bud out.
I do worry, especially after losing mine last year, but lightning doesn't strike twice, right !! Lol.
A bit cooler today and the wind is definatly picking up, so before the Easter weekend of frosts, here are a few from just now. Orido nishiki, (pronounced nishki), Hana Matoi, Red Feathers, Red Dragon, Ryusen and Aconitifolium. Tomorrow the ghosts !!!
Hello everyone. Ive finally gotten around to share some of my spring colors :) Acer japonicum 'Yama Kage' with flowers Acer palmatum 'Goshiki Kotohime' for to left out Acer palmatum 'Japanese Princess' Acer palmatum 'Mikawa yatsubusa' with flowers Amur maple with flowers Acer palmatum 'Kasagiyama' with flowers
Some very rare in the UK maples there D, so it's a real pleasure to view your lovely specimens. I was talking the other day to I @Shin-Deshojo about his Goshiki kotohime and how I would like that in my collection as it does have a similar look to Japanese Princess. What are your thoughts about the two in a comparison point of view?
I think they have similar growth habits. But with different leaf shape, small and color. Definitely a nice one to have in the garden though D.
Thanks for the update D, it sounds very nice indeed. Look forward to seeing yours and Shin-Deshojo photos over the coming months. An exciting time for the maples forum.
Nice light this morning. Purple Ghost / Como / Okushimo / Beni hagoromo / Bi-hoo / Flavescens / Phoenix (losing its pink colours rapidly this year) :
Acer truncatum / flowers on Acer tataricum var. ginnala : Tsuma gaki / Hana matoi : ... and "sour cherry" and Malus 'Evereste' :
I put 'Momo.' and 'Desho.' side by side to see the contrast, but it's too sunny now, too much contrast, I'll try to get a better picture later or tomorrow morning : 'Trompenburg' and (very hairy) 'Starfish' : A lot to repot ! Seeds that germinated last spring, from 'Ryusen' and 'Sango kaku'. One of the S-K has a variegated leaf, I don't think it will stay, but that's one that I will take extra care when I repot it :
I can't have the "true colours" on a single photo, whatever I try : 'Phoenix', 'Deshojo', 'Jerre Schwartz' and 'Momoiro koya-san' : 'Desho.' with 'Momo.' in the background : 'Jerre Schwartz', ' Koto no-ito' and shirasawanum 'Aureum' :
