GREEN SPRING GARDENS - 3-2-22 - PART 1

It was another sunny day on Monday, the sun was shining, the skies were blue, and it was a mild day temperature wise at 62 degrees Fahrenheit.  Time to get out and go for a walk around our favorite garden. Happily, the blossoms were starting to show on some trees.

On their flag you can see Witch Hazel. It is planted in various parts of the garden.  It would be nice to see this in our own garden.  

Above is the plant color I am used to finding. I didn't realize that there was a bag worm hanging from one of its branches until I was browsing through photos on my laptop.  If looked at quickly, they look like a clump of dead leaves to me, this without my glasses on mind you.  I was also focused on taking photos of the Witch Hazel. There can be 300 eggs or more inside these things.  If you click on both links, of the bag worm above and the tent moth, they are very destructive. 

As for the Witch Hazel, when I saw these in my photo below, I was intrigued by the different color.  It's very striking.

When I did a search on this particular shade, there were other names mentioned If you go to this link it will show you.

I read: "The genus Hamamelis is made up of five to six different species most of which are large woody shrubs 10 to 20 feet tall.  Hamamelis is made up of two non-native species, Chinese witch-hazel (H.mollis), Japanese witch-hazel (H. japonica), and four species native to North America, Eastern witch-hazel (H.virginiana), Mexican witch-hazel (H. mexicana - considered a subspecies of H. virginiana, though some geneticists consider it is a distinct species, Vernal witch-hazel (H. vernalis), and Big-leaf witch-hazel (H. ovalis).  One hybrid, xintermedia is also very popular."

Always on the look-out for birds, I spotted a flurry of movement in one of the bushes near the main gazebo.  Expecting to see a squirrel, I saw an American Robin on the ground, darting into a bush and hiding under the leaves.  I have been practicing with the zoom feature on my phone, more importantly my reaction time without startling my subject too much.  It's not the sharpest but as I like to say, it's a memory.  I read here that American Robins are fairly large songbirds with a large, round body, long legs, and fairly long tail. They also belong to the thrush family and are the largest of the North American thrushes.

But first, this day I felt like walking a little further and we went down the hill to the pond area.  We always pass by the ruins of a small building.  I don't know what this is, whether it was a resident or a place for storage.  There is no sign that I could see but it's an interesting structure that always piques my interest. Added note: 3-10-22 - I came across a very interesting article mentioning this structure.  You can read about it here if curious.

It was relatively quiet as we walked to another gazebo we like to sit inside sometimes, not today.

I have shared this before on our other trips to the garden.

The nesting box is ready and waiting.

I was looking for water birds.  All we found today were Canada Geese and Mallards.  They are always a welcome sight and I will share more photos soon.

Thanks for dropping by and have a

great weekend.