the moveable garden

I often look at the space between plants and the sky -- gardens should have some presence at different heights, whether it is a tall flower, a shrub or a tree. It's easy to forget about this vertical space when planting a garden.

Checking out the space above the plants also gives me the opportunity to see other users of my garden. The earliest in the spring are the big black bumble bees, great admirer of blossoms. This year I've also noticed honey bees, too. Then the white moths come, and usually in pairs, flitting and dancing around the tops of flower stems.

On Thursday, I saw the largest green hummingbird I've ever seen, hovering over the sprinkler in the middle of the garden. I don't tire of watching them show off their ability to suspend in air while beating wings so fast that we can only see the blur. This one hung over the sprinkler, catching drops of water as it shot up, then the bird flitted between flowers before returning to the sprinkler.

For the past couple of years, the yellow finches have been working in my garden, particularly drawn to purple coneflower and brazilian verbena. They also flock to the tall (up to 9 feet)sunflowers in the backyard vegetable garden.

This morning, while Franklin and I strolled through the garden, I saw a giant brown rabbit, one that has been hanging around for some time.

At first I put my finger to my lip, telling the rabbit to be quiet. He continued sitting there, not moving and Franklin missed him. But as we turned back, Franklin saw him and the rabbit ran to the big cedar hedge.

I've noticed that some of my flowers were getting sat upon, and I assumed that this was from a neighborhood dog. I now think it is my fat rabbit.