Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Coffee Plant


When I came across this tiny plant I picked it up immediately and brought it home. It's not like I ever expect to harvest coffee beans from it, but somehow I get a kick out of just knowing there's a coffee plant out on the patio.

Theses photos have been taken on my patio during the past week. I'm focusing on adding plants that attract butterflies and hummingbirds and add a few plants each summer. They all seem to like the Pentas:


The butterflies are partial to the lantana:


I have three pots of these: 2 are plants I bought in bloom this Spring, and 1 pot is a plant that over-wintered in my garage and hasn't bloomed yet.

I have a wild sunflower that is tall and lanky and which takes up to much space for my little patio. It has sentimental value, but I'm trying to find a sunflower that I like as much that's more suitable for my space. This year I bought three of this sunflower from the Lichterman Nature Center plant sale, and the first one has bloomed:


We had some strong rain storms this past week which knocked the sunflower blooms down, and I can see that I'll need shorter sunflowers to work in this flower bed. I'll keep that in mind for next year.

The daylilies came from Mother's yard, like the wild sunflower did, and these common field lilies do well in this sunny area:


I bought this Rue last year, and this is its first blooming:


The coneflower has started blooming just in the last several days:


This "May Night" Salvia is new this year:


The strawberry begonia started from a tiny little slip of a plant and is now spreading through the rocks that are up against the house:


This year we have a pair of Carolina Wrens nesting in a flower pot that came from my great Aunt Frankie's house:


This is Aunt Frankie and her house back in the late 1960s:


One of these days I'm going to edit these photos to sharpen them up. Then I'll frame some of them in a collage. But not today. I enjoy having things that belonged to previous generations. It makes me feel connected and reminds me of where I came from.

Yesterday the baby fledged,


and we had so much fun watching it and its parents fluttering around.

This is the view from my computer:


from right outside the sliding glass door I sit in front of. When I use my computer, I sit on the floor where I can see out onto the patio. The patio faces north, and these chairs are shaded in the afternoon. There's a hummingbird feeder that goes on that middle hook, but it was inside being cleaned when I took that photo. I do dearly love the patio. It's just the right size for me -plenty of space for pots, a couple of small beds for flowers, but not so much space that I can't keep up with it. Just right!

Please join the weekly T Tuesday gathering hosted at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog.

18 comments:

  1. Your patio looks very inviting. I like smaller controlled spaces like that. Everything seems to be blooming nicely and the birds nesting there are a special thing.

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  2. Looks like a great. Place to relax and enjoy life. Great plants and I love the coffee one. Have a good week and happy T Day, hugs Valerie

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  3. What beautiful flowers...I love that you've identified each one. and your Aunt must really have had a green thumb to have such gorgeous bushes beside her home! I love old photos but it can be a challenge to know what to do with them all...a collage sounds lovely. happy T day!

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  4. Wow, I know you said you were working on getting the patio so it would attract butterflies and hummingbirds, but this is incredibly beautiful. I would LOVE to have a small fenced in area like that, but my home isn't set up that way, and my patio is nothing to write home about. You have created a fantastic area and have done an excellent job staging it, too.

    Thanks for sharing your patio garden and your gorgeous coffee plant with us for T this Tuesday.

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  5. Lovely flowers and plants. I'm terrible with knowing the names of my plants. I should really save the little ID markers that come with them but I never think of it until it's too late. I noticed a chiminea in the background as well. We love ours but it's starting to crack.
    Happy T day!

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    1. The chiminea is doing well so far. I waxed it when we first put it out, and I re-wax it every year. I'm hoping that'll increase its lifespan.

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  6. i really enjoyed your tour-de-plants - such a beautiful variety!
    happy t-day!

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  7. Divers i just love seeing all the flowers on your patio. You have quite the green thumb!! Happy happy T day! Hugs! deb

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    1. I don't actually have a green thumb. I'm just careful to only buy plants that like where I'm going to put them. If they die I might try again, but I don't keep trying after they keep dying ;)

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  8. Oh gosh - I wished I had the same green thumb as you - fabulous! Thank you for sharing!

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    1. The secret to having a "green thumb" is to just not buy any plant again that's already died on you once or twice ;) For example, I can't grow succulents, so I don't even try any more.

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  9. Wrens are such precious birds and how sweet that they chose your aunts watering can for their nest ♥
    A patio garden looks very nice to me.
    I used to garden for therapy until health issues got in the way.
    Now we need to have professionals come in to help downsize the garden beds as it is just too much.
    Your flowers all look lovely.
    I enjoy nature so very much too.
    Happy T Day oxo
    p.s. thank you for your nice comment over at my Magpie's Nest

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  10. what a lovely patio and selection of colorful blooms! I do love our back patio too-just the right size for potted plants also. What a sweet scene to have the fledgling in the nest-in the watering can yet! These birds sure can find some clever places to nest. Happy T day!

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  11. I'd buy a little coffee plant just to try to grow it. Last year I bought 2 banana plants to try them, and I even managed to keep them alive inside through the winter. The lady at the garden center didn't think it would work for me, so I'm glad it did. Your flowers and gardens look gorgeous. I bet you are enjoying the color. I know I am. Happy T day! Hugs-Erika

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  12. I'd buy a little coffee plant just to try to grow it. Last year I bought 2 banana plants to try them, and I even managed to keep them alive inside through the winter. The lady at the garden center didn't think it would work for me, so I'm glad it did. Your flowers and gardens look gorgeous. I bet you are enjoying the color. I know I am. Happy T day! Hugs-Erika

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  13. How beautiful! You really do have a colorful array of plants. Looks like such a peaceful spot. :)

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  14. What a lovely spot, from every angle!
    I love having plants and flowers from generations past, I have a lot of what I took from my Mom's gardens when she passed.
    I think having a coffee plant is a very clever idea, I've never seen one.
    Belated T-day wishes

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  15. Oh My! I want to sit beside you and watch all this activity - the bird, the butterflies your ever changing plant scenery! Apologies for arriving late for T! Chrisx

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