Pat’s Wildways: Backyard Bliss

It seems like many of my weekly stories are about adventures in far-off places, but really enjoying my own backyard is its own adventure. Now it is clearly spring, nearing summer, and my yard has come alive. And, like every year, I always find new things here to enjoy along with the old regulars.

This year I noticed a grass-like sprig that shot up from one of my flowerpots. I was curious about it and didn’t weed it out, just waiting to see what it turned into. And lo and behold it began to flower. But what kind of plant is this? I Googled it and discovered it was an orchid called ladies' tresses. I was surprised but wasn’t sure I could trust AI with this identification so I contacted Amelia Island’s wild plant specialist, Betsy Harris, and sure enough, I had a volunteer orchid in my pot. A first for me!

My butterfly garden is thriving in the pots I refresh every year with new butterfly and caterpillar-attracting plants. I’ve long since given up on planting things in the nutrient-depleted construction soil that my house was built on. If I had been aware 30 years ago, I would have had a few loads of topsoil added to the site, but it’s way too late for that. And despite digging in amendments year after year nothing grows well. I gave up and now I plant in large pots with good soil. It makes all the difference! And now to my joy, monarch caterpillars are growing on my milkweeds, swallowtails are locating my parsley plants and five different butterfly species are sampling nectar from my variety of flowering potted bushes.

And then there are my zinnias. Even in my elevated beds, with good soil, water and care, I have no luck growing tomatoes and most everything else. But wow can I grow zinnias! These are among the easiest flowers to grow from seeds, but I’m not proud. They are colorful and abundant and appreciated in my own home and in homes of friends I share them with. We can all get tomatoes and vegetables at our local markets and stores, and can buy bouquets of greenhouse-grown cut flowers, but no one besides me, it seems like, has zinnias to share. I’ve found my niche!

I’m a zoologist by training, and despite my love of flowers, it is the animals in my yard that most attract me. The rabbits have not managed to eat my above-ground plants, the armadillos are digging holes in the lawn, and squirrels are surrounding my bird feeders, but they are welcome in my yard. Sometimes when I go outside, larger animals (smaller than deer, maybe coyotes?) rush out of our woods, unseen, but noisy in the early morning. And if I get outside early enough, I can still find nocturnal southern toads hopping around, having emerged from their homes in the ground during the night.

This year, my yard is hopping with anoles, both the more recently introduced Cuban (brown) anoles and the longer-time native green anoles (sometimes called chameleons here because they can change from green to brown). These anoles are territorial, and I am getting to know individuals from their locations and their slightly different sizes and markings.

One Cuban anole really stands out for me, and I seek it every day around its lair of flowerpots and garden furniture. Stumpy amazes me. Each day its lost tail gets more and more lizard-like as it regenerates from a mere stump, to a cylinder of cartilage. And the shape changes too, from rigidly straight, to curved up, and then fleshes out with muscle and skin. At some point the tail will be completely restored, a little different from its original size and shape, but serviceable once again.

Nature is indeed a blessing for those of us who respect and enjoy it. I’m in my senior years now but that hasn’t stopped me from continuing to learn and find new excitement every year when my yard flourishes again. And now we have a weekly yard man who does the lawn mowing, trimming and weed whacking.

Life is good.

Pat Foster-Turley, Ph.D., is a zoologist on Amelia Island. She welcomes your nature questions and observations. patandbucko@yahoo.com