Lost Valley Gardens

Watering and Weeding

By Carol ⋅ June 13, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

It’s been five or six weeks since we have had a measurable rainfall. Add to that temperatures in the upper 90s and winds at 15-20 mph every day, and that equates to spending a whole lot of time watering just to keep everything alive. Even though almost everything I grow is either native to our area, or well adapted to the dry conditions and high temperatures, they still require a bit of water to keep going, especially when they are first getting established which many of my plants and trees are.

Garden Roses

By Carol ⋅ June 11, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

I spied a butterfly on a parsley plant this morning, but by the time I grabbed my camera and got out to the herb and vegetable gardens to take some pictures of it he was no where to be found. So I took the opportunity to take a few pix of the Caldwell Pink rose near the arbor in the front courtyard area. This rose is growing like gang busters and is blooming profusely.

Can’t Get Enough Roses

By Carol ⋅ May 28, 2008 ⋅ 4 comments

Pictures and brief discussion about the progress of the front courtyard landscaping project.

Front Yard Project Continues

By Carol ⋅ May 27, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

Well, it has been a while since I posted an update on our front courtyard project so I thought I would share a few photos showing the progress that has been made over the past couple of months. It has been very hot here for the past few weeks and some of the plants are […]

As Good as it Gets

By Carol ⋅ April 13, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

The weather here in Central Texas has been ‘as good as it gets’ for the past few weeks. The temperatures have been a little below normal, and the humidity has been low. Even the wind has been more gentle lately. All of this means that the gardens are growing rapidly. I am struggling to keep […]

Flowers and Fellowship

By Carol ⋅ April 6, 2008 ⋅ 9 comments

The long awaited Garden Bloggers Spring Fling took place this weekend, and it was well worth the wait. It was a picture perfect spring day in Central Texas. There was only a slight chill in the air when we met the group at 9:00 am at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and almost no […]

Just Another Day

By Carol ⋅ April 2, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

There is so much to do in the gardens at this time of the year it is easy to get engrossed in the work and to forget to step back and observe the miracle of spring happening everywhere. The whole valley behind our house is literally turning green before our eyes. New wildflowers are sprouting […]

Almost Feels Like Spring

By Carol ⋅ March 11, 2008 ⋅ 5 comments

Although the mornings are still quite cool here in the hill country, there are definitely signs of spring showing. Our new redbud tree started blooming several days ago. The golden leadball tree that we planted over the winter is also just starting to bud out. Narcissus and gladiolus bulbs are sprouting. The larkspurs that I […]

Later Winter Seed Starting

By Carol ⋅ January 15, 2008 ⋅ 8 comments

I chose the seed varieties below for the late winter garden. I love the new Seeds of Change seed packaging. It is much easier to use, waterproof, re-sealable, and environmentally friendly. The descriptions below were copied from the Seeds of Change web site (with a few comments added by me), and links are provided to […]

New Views and Greenhouse Tomatoes

By Carol ⋅ January 13, 2008 ⋅ 5 comments

I planted about twenty broccoli plants in the fall this year. Some have done really well, and others have struggled. The one pictured below is the biggest one we had all year. They are the most tasty broccoli I have grown to date, equally good raw in salads and lightly steamed with a little butter, […]

Last Day of the Year

By Carol ⋅ December 31, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

We have been eating tomatoes from our greenhouse for the past month or so, but up until now they have been tasty but on the small side. However, we are now starting to get more and more large, juicy tomatoes. What a treat in the Winter. Below is an example of the larger tomatoes that […]

Front Yard Project: Part 5 – Planting Has Begun!

By Carol ⋅ December 3, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

Planting has started!! I wanted to get some of the main architectural plants installed first so I could begin to visualize other aspects of the planting bed designs. I have a high level plan that we are working from, along with a plant list, but there are many detailed elements that are yet to be […]

Front Yard Project: Part 4

By Carol ⋅ November 30, 2007 ⋅ 3 comments

We are well into filling the new raised beds with dirt. I don’t know how many tons of dirt we will end up using for these three beds, but it is a lot of dirt. The second truck full of dirt was delivered yesterday, and another large truckload will be delivered today. With the help […]

Front Yard Project: Part 3

By Carol ⋅ November 23, 2007 ⋅ 3 comments

The cold weather has finally arrived, just in time for Thanksgiving. We went from a record high 89 degrees to 50 degrees in about two hours on Wednesday afternoon. The rain is forecast to commence late this afternoon, and then to continue all weekend, and the temperatures are going to stay in the 40s. Brrrr. […]

Another Day In the Life

By Carol ⋅ November 15, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

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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