holiday shopping for the gardener

I found this poem in a recent email sent to me by the Antique Rose Emporium, one of my fave online nurseries, and found it very relatable. Let me share with you:

A Christmas Poem for Gardeners

~ Author Unknown

T'was the weekend before Christmas, and all through the yard,

Not a gift was being given, not even a card.

The tools were all hung, in the garage with care,

With hopes that St. Nicholas soon would repair.

The shovel with blade all rusty and cracked,

The pitchfork still shiny, but handle it lacked.

When out on my lawn, (it's brown and abused)

I could see poor old Santa, looking confused.

No list had been left for Santa to see,

No gardening gifts were under the tree.

But wait there's still time, it's not Christmas yet,

And gardening gifts are the quickest to get.

You can forget the silk tie, the fluffy new sweater,

Give something to make the garden grow better.

If she wants a gift shiny, then don't be a fool,

It's not a dumb diamond, but a sparkling new tool.

If fragrance is listed you can forget French perfume,

It's a pile of manure that'll make gardeners swoon.

Give night crawlers, not nightgowns, a hose that sprays water.

(Anything for the kitchen is not worth the bother.)

Give a great gift that can dig in the dirt,

It's better than any designer-brand shirt.

Now look quick at Santa, this guy's not so dumb,

Under his glove, he hides a green thumb.

His knees are so dirty, his back how it aches,

His boots stomp on slugs, (he gives them no breaks).

The guy works only winter, you can surely see why,

For the rest of the year it's as easy as pie.

He has elves plant through spring, pull weeds in the summer,

In fall they all harvest, but winter's a bummer

And so Christmas gives Santa a part-time employment,

'Till spring when the blooms are his real enjoyment.

So ask the big guy for garden gifts this year,

Seeds, plants and tools, Santa holds them all dear.

You see, malls may be crowded, vendors hawking their wares,

But visit a nursery, stress-free shopping is there.

Now Santa's flown off, to the nursery he goes,

And his voice fills the night with loud Hoe! Hoe! Hoe!

Happy Zucchini

A few pics of our big o' zucchini vine. The fruit is edible from bloom throughout any size, but the smaller ones are better. My only compliant about this rambunctious vine is its fruit is not a firm as those in the stores. Not so good for grating.

harvest time

Just in time to celebrate the autumnal equinox, we are happily harvesting our zucchini squash. A couple of days ago, we picked our first at about 8" long and weighed in at 12 lbs., 6 oz. But I guess you shouldn't let them get too big - the smaller the more tender. So yesterday we picked another, smaller this time. Now I hope to find time to make some yummy zucchini bread.

Bucketfulls o' rain

Tropical storm Hermine dumped lots and lots of rain on Texas and the south this past week. Thankfully we didn't see anything too severe, like San Antonio and Georgetown did, but we got a whole lotta rain. Almost 12" in 24 hours. Such events are unusual but not uncommon. So DH and I are seriously talking about adding French drains and an ejection (sump) pump to the back garden. While I'm happy to report I didn't have standing water long after all that crazy rain, I would prefer the excess to leave the yard, instead of creating mud puddles perfect for dogs to wade in - and I'm always concerned about the health/drainage of my plants in this heavy clay.

Sounds like a lot of work. But I know I will have to address the drain lines from the downspouts and the sprinkler heads before I tackle renovating the kitchen garden. As usual, so much of the work in the landscape is stuff you never see. But I guess that's the point. Watching the next storm wash away carefully-constructed stone pathways and plants wouldn't be too fun.

What's blooming, August

I hope dragonflies (and damselflies) are good luck. It's been hot - of course, it is August in Texas. We got a good rain last week, but I'm hoping for more in the future. Keeping up with the watering gets old. But I am pleased to report the horticultural oil I sprayed on my trees had a greatly reduced my pests (scale, aphids & spider mites). I may have to do another application on two of my crepe myrtles, but the pest load was likely reduced by 90 percent.

Damsel fly resting on crepe myrtle 'Nachez.'

The dwarf wax myrtles have really taken off. A happy surprise.

Bloom on crepe myrtle 'Nachez.' These trees were slow to set flower, but it's still their first summer.

Pink 'Knock Out' rose. Still doesn't look like much, yet.

Butterfly bush 'White Profusion.' Starting to get big and fill up the empty fence line. Good.

'Caldwell Pink' rose. This is a compact and very tough little rose. I actually got this plant as a freebie when ordering climbers for my last garden. It had been living a very stressed life in a pot until last fall, until I finally got it in the ground. If a plant could have danced for joy, this would be the one. It's been blooming and healthy, despite the pest plagues around it.



The 'Teddy Bear' magnolias are still looking pretty decent, even when not in flower. The glossy effect of the horticultural oil made the leaves look very nice. Another benefit of spraying I never considered.



The grasses, 'Adagio' maiden grass, are starting to put out their plumes.



I'm loving this recent acquisition, humming bird mint 'Cana.' And I actually saw a little humming bird at it one afternoon last week! The leaves have a very lovely scent. A great, tough plant.

One of the many blue dragonflies. The frequent the back garden regularly, buzzing up and down the pathway. The boulder is a nice warm landing pad.

death of a good shovel, RIP

This spading fork worked hard. Very hard. It allowed me to bust and turn clay into lovely amended raised beds and dig out plants no matter how much it rained. It worked so much better than a spade in my black clay. I could not have built my new garden without this tool. But it could not last. It lost its head to too much labor.

Rest in peace, good shovel.

beginning the dog days

It has been hot for a while. That's fine. It's summer in Texas, wouldn't expect different. I keep reminding myself this is the first summer for ALL of the plants I planted. Of course every gardener fights an ongoing battle for perfection/plant health. Hot & dry means higher water bills and now spider mites (I'm pretty sure) and leaf miners (possibly).

What I've been doing now:

1. Watering, new soaker hoses and a slow-dripping hose

2. Fertilizing (not recommended during the dead of summer but better late the never)

3. Adding Super-Thrive in w/my liquid fertilizer, hoping this helps perk up the very sad redbud and lessens the stress on the newly planted

What I've learned:

1. Grass REALLY does like fertilizer. If I keep this up, I might have a lawn my husband will be proud of - but he doesn't realize this just means more mowing.

2. I need to maintain my yard tools & lawn equipment better. The combo of inaccurate drop spreader and way more hurricane rain than anticipated completely negated the first lawn fertilization application. Application rates make a HUGE difference, very visible after a quick test.

3. I've got a lot of plants. Imagining each one as a baby demands a lot of attention. I shouldn't get any more. But a birthday coupon from the nursery is burning a hole in my pocket. It's too hot to plant. I should buy compost instead. The lawn, thus the hubby, will be happier.

FYI: still no design commitment for the "kitchen garden" area. But my current yield of three tiny orange cherry tomatoes (pot-raised and ignored, cannot believe they are still alive) were quite yummy. Two larger red tomatoes succumbed to grasshoppers and heat.

Seriously, I only wanted a veggie garden to relive the childhood memories of sun-warmed, home-grown tomatoes. Turns out Texas isn't the easiest place to raise 'em. A challenge. Great.