Out like a lamb

The view out my living room window, at the end of March. Loving my new Renaissance spirea, even the green scent of the white blooms.

Bi-color iris, monarda, vibrunum, magnolia, and hollies are in the foreground. The Possum Haw holly is on the left.

Catching My Breath

If you xeriscape, the flooding rains come. If you install a drain, then starts the drought.

Busy, busy, busy. I feel I cannot waste any of these beautiful and unseasonably warm spring days. Just as I couldn't waste any clear, dry winter afternoons. Tonight DH took the boy, who was delightfully muddy after his evening playing with the hose and his wheelbarrow, and I got so much planting done.

I'm happy to say there are more new plants in the ground than in pots: Verbena bonariensis is among the grasses. Monarda 'Peter's Purple' is a background for the bicolor iris. Added some bearded iris beside those African iris. In front of those and the hollies (Little Rascal) are yellow lantana and passed-along daylillies. Bubble gum pink petunias are the front border for a pot of salvia, hollyhock, diamond frost and a mini petunia. More pink petunias will hopefully hide the legs of an Abraham Darby rose. Oh, some New Zealand flax tucked next to the Possum Haw holly.

What else? Moved the white catmint. Pulled out and potted up a Muhly grass 'Pink Flamingo' to plant a forsythia in its place. Finally planted the rest of the white Turk's Cap behind the grasses, we'll see if they survived the winter or the dog. Potted up two big containers for the patio, which has no room.

My back is reminding me how much I amended the bed alongside the shared fence. Ouch. Yesterday I replanted the easternmost Magnolia for the third time. I think I finally got it right. If those howling gales don't return, it might stand up straight for a while.

Catching up to my winter activities, the kitchen garden is 90 percent complete! The gravel path has been installed, a stone border contains it. Roses, hollies, dwarf crepe myrtles, scabiosa, pinks, and lavender have all been planted. The four raised beds are set up and planted with lots of veggies. The broccoli has already been victimized by bunnies and caterpillars. Two of the planted beds are now surrounded by prison fencing. Ha! Now I need to mix up the Bt for those dang caterpillars. Argh.

Veggies planned, starts & seeds:

tomatoes (fingers crossed)
corn
broccoli
peppers
strawberries
sage
parsley
cilantro
basil
chives
Mexican oregano


To do list:

start up fountains
create stepping stone entry to kitchen garden
mulch
install metal edging in new beds
finish pruning grasses in front
plant more grasses in front
finish planting herbs
fertilize front beds
build trellis in kitchen garden
create trellis for brick wall
plant & train crossvine up patio posts
take some Advil and go to bed

Here's a sneak peak of the kitchen garden: Liberty holly on the left, high density planting of strawberries, tomatoes, basil and marigolds in first raised bed, dwarf crepe myrtles, ballerina rose on the trellis, back raised bed with broccoli and corn seeds.

Good night!

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.