Saturday, January 03, 2009
Here's an easy way to make your yard more hospitable to local wildlife: leave the stems and seedheads of certain perennial plants standing over the winter. Often during a vigorous "fall clean-up", gardeners cut all of the old stems off at the ground. Leave those seedheads where they are, however, and songbirds will have a natural buffet to snack from throughout the winter. You'll be able to enjoy the antics of colorful goldfinches and other birds as they forage...
Posted by
jmaybry@memphiszoo.org at
3:24:08 PM
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Happy New Year! January 1st is traditionally a time for making new resolutions: things you'd like to accomplish over the next year. For 2009, consider this: resolve to turn your yard into a "backyard habitat", a welcoming, safe haven for our local wildlife. As development continues, and more of our wild areas become housing developments and commercial districts, our local wild creatures are losing the plants that they depend on for shelter and for food....
Posted by
jmaybry@memphiszoo.org at
11:07:02 AM
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Trees aren't the only plants that can develop some great fall color. There are some brightly colored shrubs that are perfect for bringing beautiful fall foliage down to ground level. One of the best is a deciduous shrub aptly named "burning bush", or Euonymus alatus 'Compactus'. This easy-to-grow shrub has deep green leaves during the summer, then in the fall the foliage takes on a brilliant scarlet hue before dropping for the winter. Mature plants also...
Posted by
jmaybry@memphiszoo.org at
2:02:30 PM
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
There are flowers in bloom bloom at the zoo, even now during the fall! One of the stars right now is Mexican bush sage, Salvia leucantha , in full bloom at Once Upon a Farm. As soon as you cross under the train trestle to enter the Farm, look to your right, and you'll see the tall purple bloom spikes of this lovely sage poking up in the perennial garden.
Mexican bush sage is one of the best choices for adding late season color to...
Posted by
jmaybry@memphiszoo.org at
11:32:53 AM
Saturday, November 15, 2008
One of the most colorful trees at the zoo this time of year is the Chinese pistache, Pistacia chinensis . You can see this beautiful tree in several locations throughout the zoo, including the main courtyard at the zoo's entrance (there are trees located in a bed in front of the lion lot, and several more on the other side of the courtyard next to the Education building and just outside the Nocturnal entrance). Look for them also between the Cat House Cafe...
Posted by
jmaybry@memphiszoo.org at
11:39:43 AM
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Now that the weather has turned chilly, fall foliage color has officially arrived in Memphis, and the zoo is looking beautiful! Great fall color is never a certainty in this part of the country, but this year the weather conditions have been perfect to turn our trees vibrant shades of fall colors. In the zoo's courtyard, you can see Chinese pistaches sporting leaves in shades of yellow, orange, or fiery red. Native flowering dogwoods throughout the...
Posted by
jmaybry@memphiszoo.org at
11:38:20 AM
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
There's a very
unusual plant blooming right now in The African Veldt! Salvia puberula
is a rarely seen, rarely offered Salvia species native to a small area
in Mexico. The species name "puberula" means "soft or downy", and
refers to the fuzzy hairs that cover the stems, leaves, and even the
magenta-pink blooms of this plant. Known most often just by its scientific name,
this...
Posted by
jmaybry@memphiszoo.org at
11:17:05 AM
Thursday, October 16, 2008
We’re digging up our tropical plants, such as this giant elephant ear ( Xanthosoma sagittifolium ), to move them into the greenhouse for the winter.
The tropical beds and seasonal pots may look a little different the next time you visit the zoo! We’re almost finished pulling all of our tropical plants into the...
Posted by
zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at
12:38:55 PM
Thursday, October 16, 2008
An ostrich on the African Veldt relaxes behind the blooms of pineapple sage.
Fall is one of the prettiest times of the year to enjoy the plants in the African Veldt area. One of the stars right now is pineapple sage, Salvia elegans. This red-flowered plant may be found in front of the bontebok antelope, and in front of the ostriches....
Posted by
zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at
12:36:40 PM
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Pots of mums, pansies, and ornamental grasses are adding fall colors to the zoo’s plaza right now.
Fall is the beloved Chrysanthemum flower’s time to shine. These plants bloom in fall in a wide range of colors, from sunny yellow, to deep orange, to rusty red. We’ve used a grouping of pots planted with mums,...
Posted by
zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at
12:33:59 PM
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Purple beautyberry is a favorite food source for songbirds in the fall.
All around the zoo right now, you’ll spot the eye-catching berries of beautyberry bushes ( Callicarpa americana ). This deciduous, native North American shrub bears clusters of tiny pink flowers in spring, then becomes a real show-stopper in fall when...
Posted by
zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at
12:30:56 PM
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Here's our older plant logs.
“ Yes, They’re Real!” Orchids in the Herpetarium
Posted July 26, 2008 | Jill Maybry, Horticulturist
I’ve heard visitors comment that the orchids currently residing inside the Herpetarium are...
Posted by
zooinfo@memphiszoo.org at
12:21:09 PM