My Garden is Growing

Spring is well under way here in North Texas, and my garden is growing.

The wildflowers and ornamental grasses are growing, 

and more perennials are emerging every day.

Buds are turning into leaves.

Ferns are unfurling.

The lawn has gotten its annual topdressing of compost,
so it is growing and greening.

 My veggie garden is growing like gangbusters, and I've already had my first harvest of carrots and asparagus :-)

But my garden is growing in another way.   The front perennial bed is expanding.  That patch of grass between the sidewalk and the street, commonly known among gardeners as the "hellstrip," is on its way to becoming a heavenly patch of perennials.

I have been wanting to rip out this section of lawn for a couple years now, but with other projects going on and having my garden on tour last spring, I put my plans on hold.

In January of this year we had a drain repaired in another part of the front yard, so the underground utilities were marked across the whole front yard, including the hellstrip area. I thought, as long as the utilities are marked so that we can see where we need to be careful, now sure seems like a great time to start the hellstrip project.

Unfortunately, some of those utilities are just inches below the surface, so the grass removal could not be as thorough as I would have liked.  I am going to have to resort to spraying with Roundup to kill any remaining grass because I am not going to battle Bermuda for the rest of my life.   I consider myself an organic gardener, but I do have my limitations.  If there were ever a reason to cross over the line for a bit, it is for the eradication of Bermuda.  Believe me, if I could dig without either cutting phone service to the neighborhood, electrocuting myself, or causing a gas explosion, I would be digging to my heart's content, but that is just not an option.  So, my fellow organic gardening friends, please forgive me, but I will be nuking the Bermuda as soon as it starts to rear its invasive little head.

I got online to look for inspiration and ideas for designing my hellstrip plantings, and I came across a blog called the Art of Gardening.  Jim's post called Living Hellstrips shows a collection of beautiful hellstrip planting designs.

When I came upon this picture, I knew I had found what I was looking for.   Adding the cobblestones will hopefully allow me to raise the planting areas enough to be out of the zone of the utility lines.    My plan is to use low-growing perennials (no taller than 1 foot tall) so that the perennials in the beds on the other side of the sidewalk can still be seen from the street. 

So at this point the initial grass removal has been done.

Complete eradication of the Bermuda roots now lurking below the surface will just take some time, so I am trying to be patient.  I need to wait until the temperatures are warm enough and the Bermuda is actively growing in order for the glyphosate applications to be effective.

Here's the list of plant options I'm considering:

Lamb's Ear - Stachys byzantina 'Helen von Stein'
Pink Skullcap - Scuttellaria suffrutescens
Sedum (various)
Katie's Ruellia - Dwarf Mexican Petunia
'Azure Skies' Heliotrope
Thyme
Creeping Phlox - Phlox subulata
'Bath's Pink' Dianthus
Scabiosa
'May Night' Salvia - Salvia nemorosa
Four-Nerve Daisy - Tetraneuris scaposa
Catmint 'Walker's Low' - Nepeta
'Hameln' Fountaingrass or Mexican Feathergrass

Stay tuned for further updates on my latest garden project; I can't wait to get it growing!

Toni :-)

P.S. Check out Rhone Street Gardens to see the beautiful transformation of the parking strip in front of Scott's Portland home.

Spring-Time in a Bottle

I thought I'd bottle up a little bouquet of spring for this Garden Bloggers Bloom Day to show you what's blooming in my garden this cold February day.

Pictured are 'Ice Follies,' 'Fortune', and 'Grand Primo' Daffodils, as well as Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata) and the tiny white blooms of my earliest blooming spiraea called 'Mellow Yellow.'   The foliage of the spiraea emerges lime green after these sweet little blooms fade away.

I sure wish you could smell the 'Grand Primo' daffodils 

They are so fragrant!!

Narcissus tazetta 'Grand Primo'

My spring-time in a bottle has inspired me to rewrite an old Jim Croce song....

If I could save springtime in a bottle
The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save every bloom
Till Eternity passes away
Just to share them with you

If I could make spring last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every bloom like a treasure and then,
Again, I would share them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
To post the pictures of the blooms
Once I take them
I've looked around enough to know
That daffodils are the ones I want to grow
in springtime 

Happy Garden Bloggers Bloom Day!   

Visit Carol @ May Dreams Gardens to see what's blooming around the world.

Toni :-)

You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

Having a little more free time here on a cold winter day at the first of the new year, I have been visiting my garden blogging friends online in the comfort of my nice warm home.   David at Tropical Texana has inspired me to try my hand at making a photo collage.   Like David, I too have been admiring the collages of so many other bloggers; but since I am a bit of a techno-dinosaur, I had no idea how these collages were made.   

After doing a little research online, I came upon piZap.com, a free online photo editing program.    It was really easy.   No program to download.  I just clicked on the photo collage section of the program, chose the layout of the collage (and there are many choices), uploaded the photos from my computer photo files, saved the finished collage to my photo file, and then uploaded the collage to my blog.

Wow, a new year and a new trick.  How great is that?!!

I hope someone inspires you to learn something new today...

Toni :-)

2012 Review of a Favorite View

Les from A Tidewater Gardener has encouraged us to post some of our favorite photos from 2012.   Offering a little bit different take on the subject, I decided to post a photo from each month of one of my favorites views in my garden last year.

In January I installed my new fountain to the front beds after having a large crape myrtle removed.  This picture shows more of the fountain than the beds, but you can see that my garden is mainly dormant this time of year.

Apparently in February I was too busy building my new potting bench to take a picture of my garden, so this is a picture from mid March.  The garden is starting to wake up with wildflowers and perennials.  The turf grass is starting to green up and the daffodils are beginning to bloom, signaling that spring is here!

This photo was taken in late March.  The grass is nice and green now after spreading compost over the lawn.  The wildflowers are really growing, and I see the poppies are just beginning to bloom.  The Columbines near the fountain are lush with foliage but no blooms yet.  The 'King Humbert' Cannas are starting to pop out of the ground.   'May Night' Salvia and 'Bath's Pink' Dianthus are early blooming perennials.

In April the poppies and larkspur are in full bloom.  The Columbines are now in bloom, as well.   In the right center of the picture I see the Byzantine Gladiolus are blooming.  Ox-Eye Daisies, Calylophus, and Salvia farinacea are also in bloom.

By late May the Cannas are full grown, the Bee Balm is in full bloom, and the Summer Phlox are just beginning to bloom.  I can see the 'Walker's Low' Catmint blooming in the upper left of the photo, also.

Now in mid June the Summer Phlox are in full bloom.  Also blooming this time of year are the peach daylilies (near the bird bath)  that were a gift from a friend many years ago.  The Cannas, Coneflowers, Catmint, and Salvias are in bloom now, too.

In mid July, as the Summer Phlox is fading, the Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm' is blooming strong.  All of the Salvias are in bloom, and the Cannas are standing tall.  The fountain is becoming engulfed by flowers in the front and by the foliage of Caladiums and Wood Ferns in the shady spot behind the fountain

In late August, the Rudbeckias have gone to seed, but the Salvias are still going strong.  After being chewed to smitherines by grasshoppers, I cut the Cannas to the ground and they are starting to regrow.  The 'Hameln' and 'Karley Rose' fountain grasses are starting to plume.  Yellow and orange color from reseeding annuals of Melampodium and Cosmos add summer color.

By mid September, the Cannas have recovered from their cutting, adding bold foliage to the garden again.  The garden is still full of color through Salvias and reseeding annuals, but it is somewhat faded after the summer's heat.   You can see that the sidewalk is wet from welcomed rains after a long hot summer.

Color returns in October as the temperatures start to cool.  The 'Regal Mist' Muhly grass near the bird bath is taking on its trademark pink cloud of plumes. The Lindheimer's Muhly is also starting to plume.  The Cannas are putting on blooms again.  The pink Salvia greggii, one of my favorite perennials, is in full bloom now.   Mexican Milkweed was in full bloom to welcome the Monarchs, but unfortunately I did not see many this year.   The fountain is barely visible as the ferns continue to grow.   October was really one of the prettiest months in my garden this year; however, it was also one of my busiest months, so unfortunately I did not post any pictures of my garden this month.

In late November, the garden starts to move toward dormancy.  The 'Fire Dragon' Shantung Maple tree in the upper left has taken on fall color as the garden begins to fade some.   That crazy Canna is still going strong, as are the Salvias, the workhorses of my perennial garden.

And finally, at the end of December, after several hard freezes and snowfall over Christmas (sorry, no photos since I was out of town during the snowfall), the garden has taken on its winter bones and texture, and the turf grass returns to dormancy.  After cutting back some of the spent perennials, the fountain is visible again.

I hope you have enjoyed this year-long look at one of my favorite views of my garden.     As 2012 is fading out of view and we look ahead to the new year, I wish you all a very happy 2013!

Happy Gardening in the New Year...

Toni :-)

Lost & Found

Since we have had a couple hard freezes recently, there is not a whole lot of color to be found in my garden this month.  So I thought I'd share some pictures from our recent trip to Lost Maples State Natural Area in the Texas hill country.

 Lost Maples State Natural Area is located in Vanderpool, Texas, and contains the state's largest stand of Bigtooth Maples east of the Guadalupe Mountains.

We found the maples.
We found fall color.

Bigtooth Maples (Acer grandidentatum)

I think we missed peak color by about a week, but it was still very pretty.  Now granted, those of you in the northern US are probably scoffing at what we call fall color, but in Texas we take what we can get.

The beautiful blue skies just made the fall colors all the more spectacular.

Sycamores are sometimes mistaken for maples.   Their leaf is a similar shape but much larger than the Bigtooth Maples in the area.

The hiking was not for sissies!  Some of the rocky grades were very steep.   
Did I mention we were in the HILL country?



When we stopped from time to time to catch our lost breath, we found these cute little lizards scurrying around.



The view we found when we reached the top at 2200 feet made it all worthwhile. Some of the views had me wondering if we had gotten lost and wandered out of Texas.

We found creeks and ferns ...

... and ponds

And, of course, my favorite ... rocks.

On one diversion off the main hiking trail we found ...

... The Monkey Rock!

Look familiar?

We found some of the tree limbs were covered with ball moss
(Tillandsia recurvata)

Ball moss is a small epiphyte that clings to the limbs of live oaks and other trees in southwest Texas.  It is a member of the bromeliad family and a relative of Spanish moss.  Since ball moss does not take nutrients and water from the trees, it is not a parasite.

Speaking of balls, here is my husband's idea of fall color in the hill country.
Greens and white.

 He has been known to lose a few of these little white balls in the sea of green from time to time.

Back home I found a little bit of maple color, as well, but with our very dry and very warm autumn, the maples lost their colorful display all too quickly.
.

Like I say, in Texas we take what we can get.  

Wherever you live, I hope you find some time this holiday season to get lost in nature's beauty.

Toni :-)

Twelve-Twelve-Twelve

Another date must be recognized

It's not something we can shelve

Month, day, and year the same once more

For today is Twelve-Twelve-Twelve

Last year had Eleven-Eleven-Eleven

and before that Ten-Ten-Ten

Repeats of other special dates

Centuries of years back when  

Since we don't have a 13th month

Next year this phenomenon is done

That is until 89 years from now

On January 1, 2101

To celebrate, we could plant dozens of bulbs
or maybe pull dozens of weeds
Or look through dozens of catalogs
and order up dozens of seeds

Or maybe it's time for a little N-P-K

time to spread some 12-12-12
But whatever we do to commemorate this day
In the dirt of our gardens let's delve

Happy Gardening this 12th day of December 2012  

Toni :-)

What's Bloomin' - September 2012

We've had a few gloriously wet, dreary days here in north central Texas.  Glorious and dreary may seem to be a contradiction in terms, but after a hot, dry Texas summer, a few days of wet and dreary is pretty glorious :-)

Here's a look at what's blooming in my garden this month.

Against the bold backdrop of 'King Humbert' Canna, my favorite perennial Salvia greggii is starting to put on its autumn show.  'Karley Rose' Fountain Grass adds wispy texture.

The bright red color of a volunteer Salvia coccinea pops against the sea of blue 'Henry Duelberg' Salvia.   I love free plants, especially when they grow in just the right spot :-)  These red tubular blooms are hummer magnets, too (sorry I'm not quick enough to get a picture).

And more Salvia greggii, violet this time.   

The 'Regal Mist' Muhly Grass (lower left) is just starting to plume.

More free plants, 

the annual Melampodium reseeds here and there in my garden

 and is always welcome.

Here the Melampodium popped up near 'Helen von Stein' Lamb's Ear.   In the upper left side is a tiny remnant of 'Autumn Fire' Sedum trying to bloom.   Try as I might, 'Autumn Joy/Fire' Sedum just does not grow well in my garden.

The lone rose in my garden ('Knock-Out') does seem to be happy in this spot. 

It anchors the corner by the driveway.

Below the 'Knock-Out' Rose, I grow 'Azure Skies' Heliotrope and Zexmenia.  These two plants don't photograph very well, but they are two of the toughest plants I have in my garden, blooming nonstop even in the hottest of summers.

Rudbeckia 'Triloba' brightens up a partially shady spot under my 'Fire Dragon' Shantung Maple tree.   Another bulletproof plant, Purple Heart, sprawls below.

Here are some wider shots of the front perennial beds.

Moving to the backyard...

Garlic Chives are blooming along the flagstone walk to the backyard.    I am planning to transplant some of these to areas where I am currently growing daylilies.   Since the foliage looks similar, I am hoping it will blend in with the daylily fans and will add some fall blooms to areas where the daylilies only bloom spring and summer.   I'll let you know how it works out next fall.

One of the mainstays of my shady backyard is native, fall-blooming Turk's Cap.   I have Spanish Bluebell bulbs planted below for spring color.   In other areas, I inter-plant with 'Texas Gold' Columbine for spring blooms.

'African Blue' Basil.  If you plant it, they will come.    Bees, that is.

Hummingbirds love the tubular blooms of the 'Black & Blue' Salvia (Salvia guaranitica)

Annual Pentas are ready for the butterflies

Even the unassuming Variegated Liriope is getting in on the fall show

Fresh raindrops still on its petals, the Rain Lily lives up to its name :-)

And as we leave the backyard, you can see that the Hyacinth Bean Vine has completely covered the new arbors we had built this spring.

I hope you have enjoyed this tour of September blooms in my garden.   

Want to see more blooms?  Visit May Dreams Gardens

Toni :-)