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.

Fence is done!

My long-awaited fence is finally done. While I'm very happy with the construction, I'm more than happy I was able to micro-manage the details and overall construction. If you are spending a good chunk of money and want a very specific design, it pays to be present on-site. Of course, as in any project, a few tweaks had to be made for various reasons. But the overall all look is very close to my original sketch.

before, existing fence w/east exposure

scalloped picket fence to replace existing fence

matching the sketch perfectly, so relieved

new fence elevation, 20' in front of previous fence line

we ended up with more few more details than the sketch, looks even better than I hoped!

Japanese Maple

Long ago I promised to post a shot of my new Japanese maple, the last tree added to the garden. Unfortunately, it's getting a little burnt with the summer sun. But it's not too bad yet.

before, double-dug bed

after, centered as best as possible

note the pretty "coral bark" and limey green leaves, very spring, huh?

Word a Day

My new gardening word today, wending. Learned it in this recent and insightful post from Saxon Holt via Gardening Gone Wild.

Wend: to go in a specific direction slowly or through an indirect route, to wind. From Old English wendan, of Germanic origin.

My gardening dilemma of the last few weeks (since my fence project has now been completed), how much shall the flow of my garden wend from the new entry (new gate) to the existing path? I am unsure if the chi (energy) at the new entry can be slowed, especially with two gates & matching arbors directing it toward the path. Probably shouldn't fight it.