Of baby birds and their mothers

Every year, I fill up a big bowl with various low growing succulents, like this Sedum spurium "Fuldaglut," and every fall I transplant them to a spare corner of the garden to over-winter. Come spring, these succulents don't look like much, but after returning them to their bowl and providing a few months of motherly care, they make quite an acceptable centerpiece for our table outdoors.



Hen and chicks, Sempervivum sp., is very happy in this company. Every year, it shoots out bunches of little offsets, like those to the right of the picture below.



Mature plants send up a column topped with tiny spectacular flowers. This current display of little stars marks the grand finale. As the blooms fade, so will the mother hen.



Today, I discovered that we have another family of baby birds in the back yard. This nest of robin chicks, spotted while cleaning gutters, is tucked up in the rose arbor outside the kitchen door. I'm hoping that the mother bird plans to be around for awhile.