certified habitat for wildlife Archives - View from the Front Porch

20 10, 2025

Confederate Roses

By judythemorgan|2025-10-19T14:53:35-05:00October 20th, 2025|Make Me Think Monday|2 Comments

By Fall, blooms on most trees and shrubs are gone. Tree leaves and plants are changing color and losing their foliage, and dying. We have three trees in our yard that are loaded with blooms.

Our Confederate roses have outdone themselves.

They are a popular shrub or small tree in southern gardens. They’re not a rose at all, but a hibiscus from southern China that loves the friendly climate of the South. The blooms only appear in the fall and change color throughout the day from white to pink, then darker pink or even red.

The folklore behind the changing color says a slain soldier fell beside a blooming Confederate rose tree, and his blood spilled into the ground. The flowers, which had been white in the morning, absorbed the soldier’s blood throughout the day.

This article in Dave’s Garden describes our trees perfectly.

“That sort of story makes for interesting reading, but the flowers do, indeed, live up to the specific epithet, ‘mutabilis,’ which means ‘variable or changeable.’ All are large and showy and look somewhat like a large, delicate rose. Some are single, and many are double.

“On some specimens, the flowers that open early in the morning are snowy white, but by evening, they have turned to deep rose. On the second day, they wither and fall from the shrub. On other shrubs, the opening blossom may be pink, turning to white or even a darker pink as it ages. Either way, many buds are waiting for their day in the sun.

“At any time, as many as three different colors may show at one time as the flowers fade or darken to their various hues. On some single-flowered specimens, flowers are red and remain so for the duration of their bloom. Some are pink and gradually turn a darker shade of pink as they age.”

They are a lovely addition to any yard, and the bees love them.

So far, the deer have left them alone — which can’t be said of all our plants.

It’s sad, but we don’t mind. It’s all part of our commitment to being a Certified Wildlife Habitat that provides water, food, and nesting. We do love watching the does and fawns.

27 03, 2023

The Garden

By judythemorgan|2023-03-27T09:11:30-05:00March 27th, 2023|A Writer's Life, Writer's Life|0 Comments

Gardens are gifts to ourselves and wildlife. The once sadly neglected gardens at our home are once again a place of refuge for humans as well as animals and birds. It’s taken time, back-breaking labor, and lots of patience.

The previous owners hadn’t been able to keep things up, but since our house was a designated Certified Habitat for Wildlife, the beginnings were there. Over the last six years, we’ve trimmed, removed dead trees, cleared brush gone wild, planted, and watered until we had a garden and could sit on the porch and enjoy the view.

There were times of throwing our hands in the air and shouting what’s the point? We wrestled with hoses and tripped over shovels. Our backs hurt. Our shoulders ached.

But we persevered.

What began as pitiful patches of sickly grass, haggard shrubs, sad old crepe myrtles, a neglected dogwood, and a sad tulip magnolia, returned to life. The birds and butterflies came back. Our backyard became a busy wildlife place again.

Then Mother Nature stuck with four days of below-freezing temperatures and crippled our efforts. Our garden sanctuary was once again dead and desolate.

Ugly brown foliage was all we saw from the porch swing. The creek fountain sprung a leak. The birdbaths were abandoned. Gone was the respite of sitting on the porch.

Spring-like weather finally arrived but the yard wasn’t the same. Missing the birds and the blooms, we started over.

We found the pond leaks and sealed them. The fountain flows again. Water trickles over the creek bed into the pond. A helper cleared the frostbitten plants and weeds, removed dead shrubs, and dug holes for new shrubbery, then spread mulch. College boy neighbors, on spring break and needing cash, cleared the roof and raked debris into thirteen bags.

Weeks later zinnia and marigold seeds are sprouting. Four o’clocks and Cardinal plants are popping up in the dirt behind the patio and fountain. The Angel Trumpet has new growth and the freshly planted Arbor Day seedlings have tiny leaves. Our sanctuary’s begun to emerge again.

Soon we can sit on the porch swing and watch butterflies and hummingbirds feasting on blooms. Birds will bathe in the tricking pond again.

I can’t wait. Come on warm weather.