Monday, May 14, 2007

Lizard Rock & Crazy Angel Trumpet Tree

Growing up in New Jersey I didn’t encounter lizards. When I first moved to California and saw one of these little Fence Lizards I nearly broke my neck trying to get away from it. Since then I have come to accept their presence and I'm ashamed to admit they still frighten me on occasion especially when I find one in the house. They love sunning on this rock in my garden... they'll lounge on it until they almost turn black in color.

Here's an interesting fact: Researchers have found out that the protein in these lizard's blood kills Lyme Disease bacteria. (For more info click on the Link)

This is my crazy Angel Trumpet tree. The flowers are beautiful but it grows like a weed & blooms more times then I can count in a season. This year it has more blooms than ever which I think is a good thing but I'll soon have to get my clippers to keep it under control! By the way the flowers are very fragrant also.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like lizards.

Do the flowers attract the local birds?

Anonymous said...

Hey, I'm originally from the New York City area and had never seen a lizard before either. When I first encountered one here in California I was on a hike. As I was young and stupid, I decided to pick the lizard up with my bare hands. It bit me and held on - I couldn't shake it off. My friend I was hiking with laughed when I said I hoped the bite wasn't poisonous (obviously not since I am here to tell about it). So now I appreciate these lizards at a distance!

Also, a friend of mine from Australia told me that these trumpet plants are very poisonous. Apparently they grow in Australia too.

william wray said...

Just think how many lives lizards have saved. Makes you wonder about other small animals we are hell bent to see go extinct for the sake of development. Watch them find out an extinct frog can cure cancer.

LadyHawk said...

The Angel Trumpets are so lovely and one of my fav flowers. We have loads and loads of lizards in our part of the world .. all diff sizes and colours, etc.

K_tigress said...

Yeah lizards are cool.
I use to catch those in Florida on vacation. One time I was trying to catch one and I accidentally squished one when I fell on it. :(

Those flowers are beautiful.
Our Blue wisteria didn't bloom as much this year. I'm guess it had to do with the rough start to spring.
They got a really lovely smell.
Our French mini lilacs are just starting to bloom and the aroma is already intoxicating.

Gazard7 said...

Lizards are quite common in Malaysia here. I have seen some big one in 2 feet.

The flower is lovely, I only saw purple color one.

moggie said...

that is one beautiful lizard, sharon! you are so lucky he chose your rock to bask on. keep tabs on him, you'll soon find that it's very easy to get attached to little creatures like him who pops by your home, garden etc. your 'crazy angel trumpet' tree is gorgeous. i just got back from one of the highlands in malaysia where this plant grows everywhere. love it! lovely shots....keep posting! : )

Anonymous said...

When we moved to Florida a few months ago I FREAKED OUT AT the lizards crawling everywhere. Now it's no big deal. However now I have to get used to the snakes (poisonous) milling about!

MrManuel said...

I love lizards! The are fun to watch!

Anonymous said...

My husband brought home a blue bellied lizard from work once. It had gotten stuck on a glue trap meant for mice. He very carefully cleaned it off the trap and released it in our back yard. It ran a little ways then turned to look at him. I think it was saying "thanks big guy". True story.

Anonymous said...

I love the flowers but it sounds like it's taking over your garden ;-)

And Se7en just wrote a funny post about lizards as well. See my blogroll...

Sharon said...

lietk12 - I like them too but not when they come too close! The humming birds love the Angel Trumpet flowers!

Sonja - One of my co-workers, who is a native Californian, told me she used to let the lizards bite onto her ear lobes & would let them dangle like earrings. When I bought it from the farmer's market they told me it was poisonous.

Hi Honey - That's a good point until you showed me that article in the newspaper I had no idea Fence Lizards had a purpose other than eating crickets.

Ladyhawk - They are beautiful! I'm sure we must have differnt kinds here too but I'm glad they don't live in my backyard.

k_tigress - Poor lizard! I love lilacs... I tried to grow them here but it was too hot.

gazard - I don't know what I would do if a 2 foot lizard crossed my path. I have seen the purple Trumpets too but they are not as common as the white & yellow here.

Moggie - Thanks & I do find them entertaining at times. They love to chase each other and bop up and down. Malaysia... so that's where you get some of your lovely photos.

mrsmogul - Poisonous snakes you can keep I'll stick with the Fence Lizards, although we supposedly have Rattle Snakes here but I only saw one once years ago.

mrmanuel - I agree they are fun to watch.

Glorious - I'm sure he was thanking your husband. I believe animals even lizards have the capacity to be appreciative.

lisabindacity - If I didn't maintain it I think it might take over the yard. I'll be sure to check out Se7en's lizard post.

catalyst0527 said...

Why people think lizard is ugly and flower is beautiful?
How do you define the ugliness and beauty?

the many Bs said...

I don't blame you for being a little surprised when you see a lizard in the house. Outside, they're kind of cute, but inside, not so cute. And how do you take it outside? Do you just pick it up, or does it run away and hide?

That's a really cool flower bush tree thingie.

Anonymous said...

I love lizards, they can be fun to play with. The ones here are very docile and would never try to bite you.

If you handle them for a little while they will actually get used to you and not try to run away.

MartinM377 said...

The first time I saw a possum it scared me to death! It looked like this great big brown hairbrush! I just do not like creepy crawlers! It took me forever just to get used to the squirrels!

And I won't even BEGIN to talk about the bees!

Sharon said...

Catalyst0527 - The lizards are beautiful too! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Triple B - Obviously I won't touch it so I get my honey to get it out. He's the lizard removal person!

se7en - I know they don't attack & that they're not poisonous... and I also know I won't be handling them any time soon.

martin377 - Opossum were very common in NJ but they are scary looking... like big rats.

Crazy Bitch said...

Sorry I'm late. Been busy with my new job.

Lizards are really cute! But they freak me out when they run because the are so freakin' fast!

I need to get one or two of those plants! I need something that thrives!

curryegg said...

Haha... Honestly, I really scare of lizard. A lizard had ever dropped off on my head and all I knew was,..... I SCREAM!!!! haha....

Cynthia said...

Hi Sharon,

I also have an Angel's Trumpet but I've only had one bloom this year. Any ideas/advice on what I could be doing wrong. The plant is in a container in part shaded area. I live in Zone 9 and if left in full sun, the plant leaves begin to droop.

Thank you in advance,

Cynthia

ShaiHaloud said...

My angel trumpet likes morning sun but when i leave it in full sun all day the leaves droop and it doesn't bloom well. When i moved it to where it got only morning sun it bloomed repeatedly and looked much healthier