Our house in SJC is in horse country and although we don't have any, there are a couple horses the neighbors own a few yards from our back fence. You can't see them and with the exception of an occasional whinny and a whiff when the breeze is waifing a certain way, you wouldn't know they are there. That being said, there do seem to be more flies at this house than our other house. Not a lot, just a few, but more never-the-less. How to cope? Why sarracenia of course. Pitcher plants are some of the most unusual, beautiful plants that you can grow, but they are also entertaining! One summer my husband and I spent hours every weekend just sitting on the deck watching a group of them lure and capture their prey (okay, it was a slow summer). They are actually Northern California natives and quite easy to grow given the proper cultural requirements. If you are interested in growing carnivorous plants I recommend you read The Savage Garden by Peter D'Amato and skip the little cellophane wrapped versions you find in most nurseries and look online for some interesting, sizable and healthy specimens!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Fancy Flycatchers
Our house in SJC is in horse country and although we don't have any, there are a couple horses the neighbors own a few yards from our back fence. You can't see them and with the exception of an occasional whinny and a whiff when the breeze is waifing a certain way, you wouldn't know they are there. That being said, there do seem to be more flies at this house than our other house. Not a lot, just a few, but more never-the-less. How to cope? Why sarracenia of course. Pitcher plants are some of the most unusual, beautiful plants that you can grow, but they are also entertaining! One summer my husband and I spent hours every weekend just sitting on the deck watching a group of them lure and capture their prey (okay, it was a slow summer). They are actually Northern California natives and quite easy to grow given the proper cultural requirements. If you are interested in growing carnivorous plants I recommend you read The Savage Garden by Peter D'Amato and skip the little cellophane wrapped versions you find in most nurseries and look online for some interesting, sizable and healthy specimens!
Sydney will be very excited to know that you have these in the garden. She desperately wants to get a Venus Fly Trap so she can watch it catch flies! Laurie
ReplyDeleteI saw Pitcher plants feature on a wildlife show and they are just fascinating as well as beautiful. What a wonderful addition to your garden with horses nearby :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat photo. Even better that they are native to California. This year I planted a jack in the Pulpit in my Kansas woodland garden. I'm just hoping it will do well. I doubt it's as entertaining as these though!
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