North Texas Climate

As of September 6, 2023, it is almost a certainty that North Texas will slide into the #4 spot of record hot/dry summers, if we remain in triple digits for a couple more days.   

credit: Pete Delkus wfaa.com/weather

I wanted to share this presentation regarding our NTX weather and climate that was given to our Tarrant County Master Gardener group in August of 2021 by Ted Ryan with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth, TX.     I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

Click 👉  HERE to watch.

 (Permission was granted by Mr. Ryan to share this video)

(I apologize, but I had to turn off comments on this page.)

Blooms & Beyond: Year-Round Color for Your Garden

Wondering how to have year-round color in your garden?   I recently gave a presentation to the Grapevine Garden Club on this topic and the video was posted to YouTube.   Click HERE to check it out!

The plants mentioned in this talk are geared toward the Dallas/Fort Worth area in hardiness Zone 7/8, but if you live in other parts of the country, maybe it will inspire you to think through the seasons and how you can add color to your garden with plants that are hardy in your area.    Click HERE to see the plant list.

Below I've listed the garden centers and resources I mentioned in the presentation.

Here's to hoping you have something colorful in your garden all year long!

Toni :-)

Grapevine Garden Club
grapevinegardenclub.com

Stegall's Nursery & Plant Farm
stegallsnursery.com

Metro Maples
metromaples.com

Neil Sperry
neilsperry.com

aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu

TCMGA
tarrantmg.org

Fort Worth Botanic Gardens
fwbg.org

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 :-)

The Bare Bones

Bare bones:   

"the basic elements or the essential structure of something"

I just did some winter clean-up of my garden to tidy things up a bit after recent freezes.   I cut most of the perennials to the ground, but left some for winter interest.   Basically my rule of thumb is, if it looks bad, I cut it to the ground.   If it still looks good (such as the ornamental grasses) or maybe has some benefit for wildlife (such as seed heads for the birds), I leave them until mid-February.

I leave some fallen leaves in the shrub/flower beds, but rake or blow any excess leaves onto the lawn and they are mulched with the mower and added to the compost pile.   

In my pond, anything that has turned to mush and has fallen down into the water is cut back and cleaned out of the pond.   The parrots feather that has grown out into the middle of the pond is raked back toward the sides to keep the water flow through the middle wide open.

And what is left behind after all of my trimming, raking, and mulching?  

Why, it's the basic elements and the essential structure of my garden. 

The bare bones.  

For the most part, the only blooms in I have in my garden right now are the pansies and violas in containers.  But I'm okay with that.  I think the garden (and the gardener) deserves a rest now and then :-)   I love this time of year to re-evaluate the bones of my garden to see where it needs tweaking.  Thankfully it just needs a little toe bone added here and there and it isn't in need of hip replacement or spine surgery :-)

Here is my garden all cleaned up...
                                            ...and down to the bare bones 

The backyard:

 

 

The front yard:

Here are a few specifics on my clean-up list:

Perennials cut to the ground:

Mealy Cup Sage/'Henry Duelberg' Salvia (Salvia farinacea)

Mexican Bush Sage (tender perennial -- mulch well)

Summer Phlox

Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)

Loosestrife

Katie's Ruellia

Zexmenia

Mexican Mint Marigold

Turk's Cap

Salvia madrensis (Forsythia Sage)

Chrysanthemum

Lantana

Purple Heart

Canna

Wood Fern and Japanese Painted Fern

Hostas

Tropical Giant Spider Lily

Just gave these a "haircut":

Salvia greggii

Skullcap

Pond Plants:

Umbrella grass, Lizzard Tail - cut down to water level

Pickerel Rush, Water Lily - pulled out mushy stems, but left roots down in water

Iris - cut or pulled browned leaves

Left these alone (for winter interest)

(will prune in February, if necessary):

Ornamental grasses

Daylilies (I will pull dried foliage in the spring)

Roses

Oxalis

Columbine

Leopard Plant (Ligularia/Farfugium)

May Night Salvia

Russian Sage

Dianthus

Calylophus

4-nerve Daisy

'Powis Castle' Artemisia

American Beautyberry

Liriope

Hydrangeas

Pulled up annuals:

Periwinkles

Melampodium (saved seeds)

Holy Basil (saved seeds)

African Blue Basil

Salvia coccinea (scattered seeds back in garden)

Cosmos

Penta

Angelonia

Dragonwing Begonias

Caladiums

Blue Daze

Sweet Potato Vine

You can also check out my Fall "Diggin' in the Dirt" Newsletter for tips on how to care for specific perennials after a freeze.

For a fun look at garden bones, visit Casa Mariposa 

and find out how bony your garden is :-)

Toni :-)

Eleven-Eleven-Eleven

A curious date on the calendar

Month, day, and year the same

Surely a date to remember

and one to warrant fame

A similar phenomenon occurred

One year ago it's been

October of last year

the date was Ten-Ten-Ten 

It's been 100 years

since this date has come to be

I wonder if anyone born back then

is still alive to see

The Great Blue Norther blew 

one century ago

With temps of record high that day

as well as record low

They say cesarean births will rise

and wedding bells will ring

I wonder what other milestones

this unique day will bring

The end of World War I

is recognized this day
We honor all our veterans
for the price they had to pay

So is there special significance

to this 11th of November?

Will 2011 be a year

that history will remember?

I hope wherever you garden

it's a little slice of heaven

Enjoy this momentous day

of Eleven-Eleven-Eleven

Happy 11-11-11...

Toni :-)

Dem Bones

When Jack Frost stops by for a visit and renders your perennials brown crispy remnants of their former glory or when Old Man Winter drops buckets of the white stuff all over your garden, what is left?

Dem bones.  Garden bones, that is.

Garden bones get to shine when the blooms have faded.   Garden bones consist of those things in our gardens that give structure and strength, height and depth, bringing interest whether our gardens are a riot of color or devoid of blooms.

Just as our bodies would be a lifeless pile of skin, 

so our gardens would look dead without bones!

So just what are these bones that I speak of?   

They are the permanent structures in our gardens that add interest no matter the season, such as trees, evergreen shrubs, walkways and paths, ponds, fountains, statuary, arbors, trellises, gazebos, and benches.

A flagstone pathway leads through an arbor

Evergreen shrubs line a flagstone path leading to a pond

Trees add height and structure

Evergreen trees or large shrubs have good form as well as function.  Not only do evergreens anchor a garden design and give it structure, they can serve as a screen from the neighbors, as a windbreak from harsh northern winds, or just as a backdrop for deciduous shrubs and/or perennials.

Hollies, laurels, nandinas, and other shrubs with berries also provide food for winter birds.

Possumhaw Holly loaded with berries

Just as "the leg bone connected to the knee bone and the knee bone connected to the thigh bone," so garden bones connect different areas of our gardens, tying them all together.  Garden paths, whether made of stone, gravel, mulch or grass, allow the visitor to meander throughout the garden.

Well-placed seating invites visitors to sit a spell.

Even the layout of garden beds, whether in long sweeping curves or formal straight lines, constitutes this skeleton of the garden.  Good bones give your garden visual appeal even before a single plant has gone in the ground...

...as well as after the plants have gone dormant.

Flagstone paths define the garden beds

The sweeping lines of garden beds stand out when the blooms have taken a back seat.  Ornamental grasses provide winter interest.

Shrubs form an evergreen skirt around the house

 When there is no competition from foliage,
the beauty of tree bark comes to the forefront, as well. 
What once went unnoticed in our gardens now captures our attention.

Rough bark of Chinese Pistache

Red twigs of 'Sango Kaku' Japanese Maple

Cinnamon bark of 'Natchez' Crape Myrtle

Large boulders seem to pop out of the landscape once again when the surrounding plants have gone dormant.

Trellises and other garden ornaments add interest to our gardens whether they are dusted with snow or accompanied by foliage or blooms.

Could your garden use a little backbone? 

During this time when our gardens are dormant, look around at those blank spaces that are left behind, and see where you can incorporate some garden bones.  

It just might breathe a little life into your garden... 

even in the dead of winter.

Until next time...

Toni :-)