What Unexpected Garden Guest Surprised You This Week? 🌿

[TEG Project Manager]

Gardens have a magical way of attracting surprises—whether it’s a curious animal stopping by, a mysterious plant sprouting up, or an insect you’ve never seen before. These unexpected guests remind us that our gardens are part of a much larger ecosystem, full of life and wonder.

This week, we want to hear about the surprises in your garden! Did you discover a volunteer plant growing in an unexpected spot? Or perhaps you had a wildlife visitor that made you smile (or startled you a bit)?

Share your stories, photos, and insights about this week’s surprising garden guests below. Let’s celebrate the unexpected joys of gardening together!

 

[Moon888]

Hi everyone, I can only share about wildlife at this stage : )
Possums dance on our tin roof from time to time, and we have a clear story window, which I am sure they watch us watching tv at night : )
Roos and rats are eating my seedlings, unfortunately ... working on that : )
Thats about all I can share at this stage, cheers Linda

 

[flowerbug]

i have a weed that popped up in a garden that was not there last year, i don't know where these thousands of seeds came from, but i've had to weed the garden many times this season already and i have to do it yet again tomorrow before these current round of growing weeds drop even more seeds.

it is a speedwell and they are aptly named...

i am amazed at how fast it has been able to get to the size it is at now since it seems like i just weeded it, but that was now six weeks ago at least so... well, not that bad.

no pictures, no praises, just words on the page...

 

[Dahlia]

Gardens have a magical way of attracting surprises—whether it’s a curious animal stopping by, a mysterious plant sprouting up, or an insect you’ve never seen before. These unexpected guests remind us that our gardens are part of a much larger ecosystem, full of life and wonder.

This week, we want to hear about the surprises in your garden! Did you discover a volunteer plant growing in an unexpected spot? Or perhaps you had a wildlife visitor that made you smile (or startled you a bit)?

Share your stories, photos, and insights about this week’s surprising garden guests below. Let’s celebrate the unexpected joys of gardening together!

View attachment 70656

Ours was a bomb cyclone! Lots of trees blew down, but the garden was fine!

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

A normal appearance every fall are the tree frogs . The pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla) is the smallest frog in Oregon. It has several common names Northern Pacific tree frog, Northwest chorus frog and Pacific chorus frog. They have sticky pads to crawl up most any surface.
Adult tree frogs measure two inches in length and vary in color from a bronze brown to a light lime green. They have two distinctive features: a dark stripe across each eye and rounded toe pads. Males also have a dark throat patch. This frog stays moist because glands in its skin secrete a waxy coating. The chorus or call of the male treefrog is a loud, two-part kreck-ek, or a rabbit. It is often repeated many times in an effort to attract females for breeding. This calling stimulates other males to join in, and large concentrations of these frogs can be heard from far away.
Male tree frogs call mainly in the evening and at night, although they also call sporadically during the day at the height of the breeding season.

 

[SPedigrees]

Hi everyone, I can only share about wildlife at this stage : )
Possums dance on our tin roof from time to time, and we have a clear story window, which I am sure they watch us watching tv at night : )
Roos and rats are eating my seedlings, unfortunately ... working on that : )
Thats about all I can share at this stage, cheers Linda

Roos must be your version of our deer, or do you also have deer "down under?"

It must be your springtime now, headed into summer, as we are headed for winter. Time and seasonal differences between the southern and northern hemispheres and opposite sides of the globe never fail to amuse and intrigue me. I buy pet meds from a place in Australia, and my email receipt always displays the date as tomorrow. It's like time travel!

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

Woolly bear caterpillars (Pyrrharctia isabella) are fuzzy like a bear, black on the ends and reddish-brown in the middle. Since colonial times, people have used it as a predictor of winter weather to come: It is said that if the middle reddish-brown section is long, the winter will be mild; if the middle is short, the winter will be harsh.

Looks like we are expecting a harsh winter according to this caterpillar, or maybe more equal parts brown and red?