Showing posts with label Magnolia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Magnolia. Show all posts

Monday, January 9, 2017

Oh Deer, My Poor Magnolia UPDATED Jan 2017

BY SKEETER
 
The first Magnolia tree here in my Georgia Gardens has been doing great this past year. Well, until now. Look what I woke up to this morning! 
Limbs stripped from the center down on my beloved Little Gem! 
My first thought was those darn squirrels. Upon closer examination, we do not think this damage is from a squirrel. The bark is too rubbed off the small trunk.
Odd scratches from the side of the trunk.
And this deep print in the dirt below, have us thinking on another course.
We have heard that male deer will rub their antlers on trees during rutting season. And the fact that we spotted this 10 point Buck (male deer) in our woods soon after examining our tree, leads us to believe we have solved the mystery.  OH DEER, MY POOR MAGNOLIA, In the Garden...

Note: I tried for a better pic of the Buck but he would not come out of the woods for a photo op. He was after a nearby Doe. Bet we have more babies next spring...

UPDATE: January 2017
In response to a new comment, I decided to add a little update to my original posting about the deer and Magnolia tree...
As you can see, the Magnolia tree is still with me today. Not only did the deer strip the lower limbs and scrap the bark of the tree, squirrels have been an issue as well. The deer used the tree as a marker for their sent by rubbing their antlers on it twice! And then squirrels started to climb the tree and eat the blooms while in their budding stage.

 Since we enjoy the critters within our gardens, we try to live in harmony. So instead of Annie grabbing her gun and shooting the creatures on the earth, she instead tries to balance things a bit. I have found a way to keep the squirrels at bay with a stove pipe around the trunk. This worked well for the Crabapple tree and now it flourishes. I also squirt a bit of "Liquid Fence" in the area to ward off the deer.
As you can see, the limbs from the deer destruction back in Oct. 2012 never grew back. Hopefully in time the Magnolia Tree or Topiary as I now call it, will thrive. But for now, she just chugs along ever so slowly. It is never a dull moment in my Georgia Gardens with the wildlife.

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Hands of Time

BY SKEETER
 Geocaching takes us to the most interesting places in our area. Places that we often pass while in the car but never take the time to stop and explore. We have the neatest places of interest here in Georgia but heck, you have them in your area as well. You just have never taken the time to stop and smell the roses, I bet. 
 
Under the steps of this one room school house, is a small container giving us coordinates to a treasure hidden in the near by woods. The above structure was a one room black school house. Circa 1920. It was relocated here from Walnut Grove Baptist Church near Phinizy. I showed you a bit of Phinizy Swamp on Tuesday. A few feet up the road is the first Baptist Church in Georgia. Click HERE to see more places of interest in the small community of Appling, GA.
 Near the school house we spotted this beautiful tree full of red berries.
 Really FULL of berries! I have noticed many trees full of berry's and wonder why the birds have not had a meal or two. Maybe they need to ripen a bit more.
 Our walk in the nearby woods took us by this old cemetery. Surrounded by a beautiful old iron fence and some nice stones of a family plot. See all the green in the trees?
 Wild Magnolia trees I assume.
And a lot of them in the area. Could this be something other then wild Magnolia? Anyone know? I see lots of them in Georgia. 
Daffodils were reaching for the sky! This pic was snapped on Jan. 20 so they were early. I have not been back to this spot since but assume they have bloomed by now. The marker says Ms Malone died in 1934. I wonder when the daffys were planted?
 This marker really showed its age. About 50 feet away from this fenced cemetery is another burial plot that is unmarked. A few of the graves have markers and a few have just a simple large rock used as a marker. There are many unmarked graves as the rectangle shaped sunken ground told of that story. We wonder if they were maybe Slaves of the family in the Fenced Plot.  
This marker brought a smile to my face until I read the back. A child with less then 2 years of life. Sigh. I found a sight on the internet telling of this cemetery. Click HERE to see more...
 
We have driven past this spot every time we go to the lake and never knew this cemetery was just behind the little clump of woods just off the road. I am shocked that someone has not pilfered this area over time being in the woods. But somehow the HANDS OF TIME have watched over this little spot, In the Garden...
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Evolution of a Magnolia

BY SKEETER
May 9 Day 1

The little Gem Magnolia tree we purchased last year is doing well in my Georgia Gardens. Planted during a drought which continues to plague our soil. We received some rain the past few days but we are so far behind that I fear it will take a Tropical Storm to get us back to normal pool at the lake.
May 10 Day 2

May 11 Day 3

May 12 Day 4

May 12 front view

May 13 Day 5

May 13 front view

May 14 Day 6
 That is EVOLUTION OF A MAGNOLIA, In the Garden....Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden