Photography
Exciting Discoveries
My next door neighbor, who is very knowledgeable about native Texas plants, spotted a very rare plant on his property recently and invited me over to see it. The plant is a Spiked Crested Coralroot Orchid (Hexalectris spicata). I have never heard of this plant, nor seen it anywhere else. It is very unusual and [...]
Birds, Bees and Butterflies
The buddleia alternifolia in the courtyard is attracting all manner of bees and butterflies. The plant is absolutely alive with activity. I got a nice photograph of a monarch feeding on it late in the afternoon.
Native Texas Passiflora Tenuiloba
As I was pruning the native plants that surround our deck; agarita, evergreen sumac, Texas persimmon, grape vine, Mexican silk tassel, and escarpment cherry, I glimpsed a small flower out of the corner of my eye.
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.
Blackberry Lily
I inherited this plant from a friend who moved from the area a couple of years ago, and I had not identified it until now. I haven’t grown many lilies or irises in my life, so I wasn’t really sure if this plant was an iris or a lily. I took some close ups of the blooms friday and googled ‘orange lily’ and looked through the images until I found the one that matched my plant. It turns out that this plant is actually an iris that has been classified as a lily. The botanical name is Belamcanda chinensis, and the common name most often used is blackberry lily because of the black seed clusters that it produces in the fall. According to the Univ of Wisconsin horticultural site, this plant can be easily started from seed, so I think I will try to cultivate more of them this winter in the greenhouse.
Black Swallowtail Butterfly
Once again I have been graced by the visit of another beautiful swallowtail butterfly. As I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago, we haven’t had many butterflies this year, but the few that we have had have been large swallowtails.
Zen Shade Garden Expansion
It is during these really hot summer days that working in a shade garden is especially appealing. So with the help of my other half, Ron, doing most of the heavy lifting, I doubled the area of the Zen shade garden, built a higher retaining wall, and backed the bed with a bamboo curtain to hide the propane tank.
Spring Showers and March Madness
An early morning walk with the dogs and Ron this morning provided a perfect opportunity for taking some photos of the gardens. I selected some of the best shots and put them into the slideshow below. There are many more on my Flickr page, and the full sized jpegs are there as well if you [...]
New Spring Blooms
This is the first time I have tried direct seeding poppies. I planted them in the fall, and they are finally rewarding me for keeping them alive through the winter. California Poppy The ice plant over-wintered well and I expect it will produce many blooms this year. I am planning to take some cuttings off [...]
More Fun With Photos
I took a walk around the property looking for signs of spring yesterday, and I found them everywhere I looked. Here are some samples. If you click on them you will link to larger versions of the photos on my Flickr page. I found several nice clumps of bluebonnets near the green house. Ron has [...]
iPhoto First Test
I continue to be impressed with the Mac’s functionality and ease of use. I was anxious to see how iPhoto’s functionality compared to Photoshop on my PC. iPhoto did not disappoint. I took the photo below with my digital camera, and when I plugged the camera into the Mac using a USB connection, iPhoto immediately [...]
Front Yard Holiday Lights
I am thrilled by my first attempt at taking night time photos of our outdoor holiday lights. The new front yard landscaping looks good even in the dark. Peace.
Enjoying the Holidays
I hope your holiday season has been as enjoyable as ours has been thus far. We have been resting and relaxing, as well as spending time with out of town guests. The weather has been mild, but windy, with some very cold mornings. Suffice it to say, that we haven’t had much time for gardening [...]
Another Day In the Life
Sunrise this morning was spectacular. The air was crisp and cool when I went out on the terrace to take these shots this morning. What a great start to the day. Dripping Springs Sunrise Dripping Springs Sunrise The Big Beef and Celebrity tomatoes that I planted in the greenhouse last month are doing wonderfully. The [...]
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