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| Blue-Tailed Skink |
Yesterday evening was beastly hot and humid, more so than usual, so I went out to water the plants on the porch and the potted plants that summer on my front walk. As I was walking back to turn off the hose, I noticed a small lizard on my front steps. I figured it was probably one of the many eastern fence lizards that live in my garden, but as I carefully stepped around it, the lizard turned to display the most beautiful bright blue tail. I realized that this must be a skink, a type of lizard that is common in Virginia.
Looking it up at the Virginia Herpetological Society website today, I learned that this is a common five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus) and that all juveniles have blue tails. The website states:
"The function of the blue tail in this species has been studied by Cooper and Vitt (1985) and Vitt and Cooper (1986c). The blue tail of juveniles is an antipredator adaptation that serves to attract the predator away from the vulnerable part of the lizard, its body. Juveniles escape potential predators by disappearing into the leaf litter, lashing their tails back and forth above the leaves. The blue tail, contrasting with the brown background, attracts predators (birds and small, lizard-eating snakes) to the less vulnerable appendage. Once broken off, the tail twitches for a period of time, distracting the potential predator further. This increases the probability that a juvenile will survive to maturity. At onset of sexual maturity the tail color changes from blue to a cryptic gray-brown. This change occurs at a time when energy requirements for tail regeneration are also important to the growth and reproductive output of the adult (Vitt and Cooper, 1986c). Tail loss at this time decreases a female's ability to produce and brood eggs and a male's ability to win aggressive bouts with other males (and presumably to reproduce with the females in his area)."
The skink was probably attracted to the moisture from watering, and came to check things out.
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| Hanging basket on porch. |
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| Second hanging basket on porch. |
This year I bought some side-planter containers for my front porch, and decided to "theme" them by planting mostly edible plants: one tomato plant in the center surrounded by trailing nasturtiums in assorted colors in the top portion, with herbs, coleus and petunias in the side holes. Thus far the nasturtiums are stubbornly refusing to trail, leaving the coconut fiber containers somewhat exposed. Not what I'd hoped, but who knows, they may yet be covered by the end of the summer?
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| Flower of eggplant 'Tung Ping Long' |
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| Eggplant |
I'm growing more vegetables this summer, and as a botanical artist, I can't help noticing how lovely the flowers of some are, like this Asian eggplant. I tried growing these from seed a few years back with no success, so this spring I bought a couple of plants and a few fruits are starting to form, despite the plants being riddled with flea beetles.
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| Pumpkin 'Galeux d'Eysines' male flowers |
I'm growing a pumpkin vine for the first time ever, in order to be able to add the leaves and flowers to my painting of the 'Galeaux d'Eysines' pumpkin that I started last fall. It's fascinating to learn that pumpkins bear both male and female flowers on the same vine. The male flowers are much larger and showier, and emerge about two weeks before the female flowers, but of course it's the female flower that will produce fruit. My vine is only now developing a few female buds. I hope some flowers will open before the deadline to submit my painting comes!
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| Coneflowers in the back bed. |
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| Monarda 'Jacob Kline' with coneflowers. |
My coneflowers continue to multiply and spread, making the back bed more colorful each summer. The red bee-balm (Monarda 'Jacob Kline') has finally grown enough to make a good display. I planted another one in a sunnier bed but this one seems to be doing better with a little more shade.
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| Crocosmia 'Lucifer' |
The Crocosmia 'Lucifer' is like a red beacon--I divided the bulbs and replanted them in a couple of other places like Herb's bed.
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| Blue Centaurea with red Crocosmia in Herb's bed. |
Some of the flower seeds I planted this past spring didn't sprout (too dry I guess), and others seem to be taking forever to get going--I wonder if I'll get any flowers from them. But, a few rare seeds have recently sprouted: the two seeds of Florida Coontie I brought back from my trip there have finally emerged--it only took four months!
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| Coontie (Zamia integrifolia) sprout |
And one of the Flamboyant (Delonix regia) seeds my friend Raquel sent just surfaced some months after planting--it's so wonderful to see!
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| Flamboyant seed emerging. |
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| Flamboyant sprout on second day |
