Gardening
Spring Flowers Abound
This spring in Central Texas is the most colorful that we have had in years. Not only are there greater numbers and a larger variety of wildflowers this year, they are also much larger and more deep in color than I have ever seen. Every day brings new discoveries and more brilliant displays. We have [...]
El Nino Showers Continue
Thanks to the el nino effect, this has been one of the wettest fall and winter seasons that I can remember since I moved to Central Texas over twenty years ago. The results of all this rain on the gardens and wildflowers is remarkable. The late winter, early spring blooming plants, such as the Carolina [...]
Late February Central Texas Snowfall
We got more snowfall yesterday than I have ever seen in Texas. It was absolutely lovely, and gave me a chance to see my gardens in a whole new way. Here are just a few of the shots that I took while dodging silver dollar sized snowflakes.
Fall Showers and Flowers
It has been ages since I have put up a post. There are several reasons for this, but the main one is that it has been so hot and dry for the past three months that I have spent most of my free time watering and mulching the gardens in an effort just to keep [...]
Sizzling Summer in Austin
Every summer for the past ten or so I have said to myself, surely this summer won’t be as hot and dry as last summer, but unfortunately that just hasn’t turned out to be the case. According to Jim Spencer at KXAN, the summer of 2009 has already been the hottest summer on record so far, with more than 30 days over 100 degrees F. Add to that the fact that we have also had almost no rain for the past six weeks (see the drought map below), we remain in the worst drought that we have seen here for years. All in all, this makes for some terribly challenging growing and gardening conditions.
Transitions
This native Texas clematis has benefitted from the nice spring rains that we have been having. It has more blooms on it this year than it has had in the past ten years.
Grotto Pond is Complete
I didn’t have much luck with the first desert willow tree that I planted several years ago. It is still alive, but barely. So when we built the retaining wall this spring, which created deep, well drained planting beds, I bought a new desert willow to plant in this bed. I have always wanted to have a mature desert willow tree. They have such beautiful blooms, interesting foliage and graceful growth habits. The blooms on this specimen almost look like orchids.
Early Blooms in the Courtyard
We planted the first plants in the courtyard raised beds late last winter, so this is the first real spring for them. I am watching with great interest to see when each plant begins to bloom as I have tried to group plants according to sun requirements, complimentary color and form characteristics, water needs, and I also want continuous blooming from early spring to late fall. So far I am happy with how the courtyard gardens are progressing. The most prolific bloomer in the courtyard at the moment is the pink Laura Bush petunia, which has been blooming since late February, and is starting to choke out the Texas Sotol cactus. I’m going to have to cut it back soon so as not to lose the cactus.
New Yellow Knock Out Rose – The Sunny
Ron went to Whole Foods early this morning to pick up fresh fruits and veggies for us, and he returned with two nice looking yellow Knock Out roses. This rose, The Sunny (Rosa Radsunny) has been on my wish list ever since I saw an advertisement for it in Fine Gardening magazine last winter. I [...]
Trellis Bed Tree and Vine Planting Completed
We finished installing the trees and vines in the beds at the base of the new trellis yesterday, and now I am praying that we don’t have a hard freeze tonight or tomorrow night. That would be unfortunate. We don’t usually get hard freezes here after March 15, so it would be kind of unusual, but the weather has become reliably unpredictable the past few years. I’m thinking about wrapping the vines and small trees in row cover just in case.
First Trellis Plants Purchased
I sent Ron to the Natural Gardener and Barton Springs Nursery today to search for the trees and vines that I selected to plant in the upper trellis beds. Much to my delight, he was able to find everything I wanted. We didn’t have time to plant them this evening, but we placed them in [...]
The Colors of Spring
Aside from having to deal with allergies, spring is a wonderful time of year. The garden is really coming to life now, and every day brings new blooms, birds, and insects. I find it is easy to get so busy with gardening ‘chores’ that I miss the changes taking place all around me. But today, the activity was so intense, and the colors so bright that I had to stop and take some pictures.
Trellis Project is Complete
Trellis construction is now complete and it looks really good. We found some copper covered post caps which tie in with the copper roofs of the bird houses that are mounted on the taller posts on either side of the stairs that lead to the lower garden. In keeping with the copper accents, I found some string lights with copper shades which I may purchase to string under the trellis, but I haven’t made up my mind on that purchase yet.
Retaining Wall Project Continues
I hope your holidays have been as restful and pleasant as ours have been. To be honest, I am not exactly looking forward to returning to work next week, but the weather is predicted to become cold and rainy on Monday and Tuesday so perhaps it won’t be as difficult a transition as it might be. Today it is lovely here. Not too windy, and quite warm.
Finally, Fall
Fall gardening is in full swing here, despite the warm afternoon temperatures. We have had a couple of mornings in the 40s this past week, which feels pretty brisk first thing in the morning, but by 9 am it is already getting warm.
I was out harvesting jalapenos and tomatoes for salsa-making this afternoon when I [...]
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