Kleckner Oasis – Page 126 – ~Oasis Among the Cornfields~

Swimming Great Blue Heron

I have never seen a Great Blue Heron swim until this month.

This appears to be a younger heron and can’t fly good for some reason, so hangs out at my pond all the time.

I am growing some bamboo in the backyard that has the common name of Green Groove Bamboo.

It is also called Phyllostachys aureosulcata ‘Spectabilis’.

This was the first year that my Shinseiki Asian Pear had fruit.

The pear has fruit that ripens on the tree and tastes great.

I have been growing some species in the Pterocarya genus. The common name is Wingnut.

The Hupeh Wingnut(Pterocarya Hupehensis) is a fast growing tree, but lacks some hardiness in plant hardiness zone 5.

The Japanese Wingnut(Pterocarya rhoifolia) has been hardier for me. This selection came from Oikos Tree Crops and is a Korean seed source.

Four-O-Clock flowers are naturally beautiful.

The variegated Four-O-Clock flowers are even more stunning.

I have been growing a Pomegranate in a pot for the past few years.

Lately it has been flowering with a lot of blooms.

The Chinese Catalpa has smaller flowers than the Northern Catalpa.

This Catalpa(Catalpa ovata) tree does flower sooner in life than the Northern Catalpa though.

Purple Coneflower(Echinacea purpurea) can have a lot of flowers at one time.

The main negative is that these plants are short-lived perennials.

The Japanese White Birch(Betula platyphylla) has very attractive bark.

As with other Birch trees, it is fast growing.