A Meal Fit for a King

Several hungry Monarchs stopped by my garden today for a bite to eat...er drink, I guess I should say.

They had a several course meal starting with an appetizer of Lantana Camara

Then they moved on to sample the Salvia farinacea

They took a nibble of orange Cosmos,  

but didn't stay long enough for me to get a picture.

Then they washed it all down with a big ol' gulp of their favorite, Mexican Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica)

The Monarchs are making their annual migration down to Mexico; and Grapevine, Texas, and thankfully my garden were on their flight path today :-) 

  Click here to learn more about the annual journey of the "King of Butterflies."

Heads up, South Texas, the winged wonders are on their way down.  What's on the menu in your garden?

Toni :-)

Diggin' in the Dirt Newsletter - Fall 2011

A cool front has finally blown into North Texas, and we are all breathing a collective sigh of relief!    With no rain in the forecast, we are still not out of the woods, but a break from the triple digits is at least a start.

I write a seasonal newsletter with gardening tips and information for North Central Texas.

If you live in Zone 7/8, you might find it helpful.   

 

Click here to read the newsletter.

Get those shovels ready, gardeners.  Fall is on the horizon, and we'll be diggin' in the dirt soon! 

Cool...very cool!

Toni :-)

Short But Sweet

I woke this morning to the sound of thunder

How far off I sat and wondered

Started humming a song from 1962...

(Thank you, Bob Seger)

Then out in the yard there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear...

Rain!!!!!!   

Hallelujah!!!

 (insert angels singing)

 Do you see the heart in the clouds?

The rain was very short, but very sweet.

And with a few clouds finally in the sky, I was able to get some beautiful early morning sky shots to link up with...

SkyWatch Friday

Also linking to Random Hearts for Guest Heart Thursday

Grateful in Grapevine...

Toni :-)

The Heat Goes On

Back when Sonny & Cher were HOT, they sang "The Beat Goes On."

I thought I'd rewrite their song and put a little summer 2011 Texas gardener spin on it...

The heat goes on, the heat goes on

Forecast keeps on calling for no rain

La de da de de, la de da de da

Gardening was once the rage, uh huh

Summer heat has turned the page, uh huh

Hot and dry's the current thing, uh huh

Xeriscaping is our newborn king, uh huh

And the heat goes on, the heat goes on

Forecast keeps on calling for no rain

la de da de de, la de da de da

A cloud or two would be a start, uh huh

The lack of rain just breaks my heart, uh huh

I'd love to march off to the garden stores

But temperatures have record-breaking scores

And the heat goes on, the heat goes on

Forecast keeps on calling for no rain

La de da de de, la de da de da

Gardeners sit in chairs and reminisce

Back to days that weren't as hot as this

Temps keep rising faster all the time

I still cry, "Hey Mercury, do you have to climb!?"

And the heat goes on, the heat goes on

Forecast keeps on calling for no rain

La de da de de, la de da de da
And the heat goes on
Yes, the heat goes on
And the heat goes on
And the heat goes on, on, on...
The heat goes on
And the heat goes on

By Toni @ Signature Gardens

Sonny & Cher sang, "Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain."  I think the heat has done something to mine!    And the heat goes on...stay cool, y'all!

La de da de de, la de da de da...

Toni :-)

Skywatch Friday - A Cool Summer Evening

Here are a few shots of a beautiful evening sky at my parents' farm in central Wisconsin when we were visiting last week.

 

During our visit the temperatures ranged from the 70s during the day and down into the 50s at night.    Sweet relief from the record-breaking temps we're having in Texas this summer.

I hope you've found a little relief from the heat, too. 

Visit SkyWatch Friday

Toni :-)

Broken Records

If you listen to the weather forecast in Texas these days, it sounds like a broken record...

"Hot with a chance of hotter"

Change the station and the same ol' song is playing...

Hot Fun in the Summertime

Hurricane Don, a glimmer of hope for rain, turned out to be...

Hurricane Dud!

Triple digits and deficits are the talk of the town  -- and I'm not talking about the economy.

Speaking of broken records, the Dallas/Fort Worth area has just broken a record.   2011 has now moved into the #2 spot for the streak of 100-degree days we've had.   30 days (and counting) with 100 degrees or more.  That's a month of hundreds, folks!    And to top that off, we have had no rain for even longer than that!

The record to beat was 29 consecutive days, which was set in 1998.   That just happens to be the year that we built our house and started establishing our yard.

Here are a few pictures of what we started with...

nothin' but dirt!

I'm getting a little concerned that if we don't get some rain pretty soon and we don't get a break from these temps, nothin' but dirt is about all I'm going to have left!  

In order to break the #1 record, we would need more than 42 consecutive days of 100 degrees.   I did not move here until 1986, but anyone who has lived in the Dallas/Fort Worth area for any length of time has heard of the infamous Summer of 1980 where we had a grand total of 69 days of 100 degrees or more, 42 of those in a row.

You know...maybe striving to be #1 in everything is not all it's cracked up to be!

On a side note, I know I am dating myself when I talk about "records."  If there are any 20-somethings reading this blog, they probably have no idea what I am talking about when I refer to "vinyl."    To say something sounds like a "broken record" is to say the same thing over and over again...as in when you have a scratch in a phonograph record causing the needle [or stylus] to stay in the same groove and play it over and over.

I went to lunch at the Dream Cafe over in Dallas today, and instead of taking your name or giving you a beeper to notify you when your table is ready, they give you an old vinyl album cover.   Then they call the name of the artist when a table is available.

Today I was Willie Nelson

I don't know about Willie, but if I had my "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain," they would be... tears of joy!

Take heart, Texas.   Even though Lynn Anderson could not promise us a rose garden, I think I can safely say...Along with the sunshine, there's GOT to be a little rain sometime...right?   I sure hope so!

Stay cool, Y'all!

Toni :-)

UPDATE:   We finished out the summer finally breaking the 1980 record with a total of 70 days above 100 degrees.

The Alphabet's July Journey Continues (Q & R)

The alphabet journey continues... 

"Q"

is for Queen

I've got a couple queens in my garden.  One is 'Queen Emma' Crinum Lily given to me by a friend.  It is cold tender in my Zone 7/8 garden, so I will either need to protect it this winter or just enjoy her this season and say good-bye.

Another queen is my favorite Caladium, 'White Queen'

"R"

is for Rain...oh, how I wish!

(this space intentionally left blank)

There is no picture for Rain because we have had no rain!

*  *  *

How about this instead....

"R"

is for Rocks!

Now we're talking.  I love rocks.

  I have moss rock boulders surrounding my pond.

And more edging the flagstone steps in the backyard.

There's river rock forming a dry creek bed in my backyard.

And I also use river rock to edge my flower bed along the sidewalk in the front yard where there is a tendency for washout in heavy rains
(heavy what?? -- I can't remember what that is anymore)

In the picture above are some rocks I brought back from Wisconsin that I got on my folks' farm.  My husband wasn't too keen on the idea of having rocks rolling around in the bed of his pickup truck for 1100 miles as we drove back to Texas, but he obliged me... just this once.

 Here is another Wisconsin rock.  I found this rock "pickin' rocks" out of the field on the farm when I was a kid.  I've been carting this rock around the country for almost 30 years!!
I've always thought it looked like petrified wood.

I keep it in the house in an arrangement on my dining room table with a bunch of other rocks I've collected over the years.

 I've got lots of flagstone paths.



Below is one I built just last month leading to my compost pile.

I even have concrete "rocks" too!

Here's a cute rock frog
that I got as a
Christmas gift last year.

And my neighbor gave me this whimsical rock ant

This same neighbor has given me several granite boulders he gets off his deer lease property.

(Did I mention I have the best neighbors?!)

And here are some "cool" rock formations my grandson and I made in the river near the cabin we stayed at on our family vacation in northern Georgia last week. 

Playing in the river was a nice way to stay cool, too :-)
It was a welcome break from the sweltering temps we are having in Texas!

 

And last, but not least, here's a rock container I have where I grow sedum.



Speaking of which....











 Stay tuned for the next alphabet installment...

And stay cool!   

We are on Day #27 of  consecutive 100 degree temps
in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  

Toni :-)

To view previous alphabet posts, click on the letters below

A-D

E-H

I-L

M, N, O
P