Garden Wildlife 19: Lilac

Our very own “tree.” The untidy centre-piece of our garden. Popular with the birds due to its dense foliage and the bird feeder(s) we hang there.

It’s our lilac (Syringa vulgaris). It may not be much, but it’s ours!

We gave it a pretty severe haircut in late winter so it’s not really flowered much, although the few flowers it has produced are gorgeous as always. Lots of the other gardens nearby have similar trees.

According to Wikipedia, the common lilac is a member of the Olive family. It is native to the Balkan peninsula. However it is widely cultivated now and used as an ornamental in Europe and North America. It can grow as a large shrub or multi-stemmed small tree, producing secondary shoots from the base or roots which in time can produce a clonal thicket. Sounds very much like our own specimen!

Read more about the Common Lilac at Wikipedia, RHS and the BBC.

Garden Wildlife 3: Chinese Juniper

Since we moved in to the house three years ago, this tiny, unimposing evergreen shrub has been present at the end of our garden.

It never seems to grow or change in any way.

I’ve no idea what species it is, so I posted the above images on iSpot. I didn’t get a clear ID there either, but the most likely suggestion is that it’s a Chinese juniper cultivar (Juniperus chinensis). Later in the year when the cones are showing I’ll see if I can get a firmer ID.

According to Wikipedia, Chinese junipers are popular ornamental plants in parks and gardens, with more than 100 named cultivars. It originates from northeast Asia and it’s commonly used in bonsai.

You can read more about Chinese juniper at Wikipedia, Virginia Tech and the RHS.

The birdfeeder is back!

Today I put our bird feeder back up. It’s hanging in its usual place on our lilac shrub.

What prompted me was finding two small bags of seed in a box in our storage cupboard.

Already, it’s attracted robins, coal tits, blue tits, woodpigeons, chaffinches and plenty of house sparrows. It’s great to see so many birds in our garden again!

I had stopped putting feed out earlier this year to try and save a bit of money, but now I’m seriously tempted to order a new sack of bird seed.