Foliage Follow-up: Speckles, Spots, and Drops

Yesterday...I was hard pressed to find any blooms 

in my garden. 

But today, on this damp and dreary winter day, I was happy to at least find some interesting foliage.

I looked for characteristics in the leaves that made them just a little more special and worthy of a post.  

Here's what caught my attention today.

Need an evergreen shrub for an area that gets zero sun?

'Gold Dust' Aucuba will fit the bill.

The speckled foliage will brighten up a dark spot in your garden.

This is a fairly large shrub, about
4 feet wide and 4 to 6 feet tall.

Leopard Plant (ligularia or farfugium) is spot on when you need a hosta replacement that won't be lunch for the slugs and snails.  

Ligularia forms a mounded clump about 2 feet wide and 1 foot tall.

 I just loved the way the water droplets looked on the nandinas and columbine today.

This is 'Harbor Dwarf' Nandina.   

Only grows about 1 to 1 1/2 feet tall.

'Harbor Dwarf' spreads slowly. 

As with all nandinas, if you need to prune it, cut the tallest canes to the ground in late winter.

 The 'Texas Gold' Columbine is starting to revive after going semi-dormant in our summer heat.   Beautiful yellow spring blooms are on the way!

This is 'Nana' Nandina. 

It looks similar to 'Fire Power' as well.

Both are shorter varieties, staying about 2 to 2 1/2 feet tall, with great maroon winter color.

To see more interesting foliage from gardeners around the world, visit Pam at Digging for this month's Foliage Follow-up

Until next time,

I hope your foliage catches your attention...

Toni :-)

What's Bloomin' - January 2011

It's Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

So I'm off to find a bloom

I wonder if I'll find some posies

Or only winter's gloom

As I walked throughout my garden

There was not a bloom in sight

What's left for a garden blogger

when faced with, oh, such plight?

Just then I saw a bud

Guess that will have to do

And then I saw some berries

Why, yes, I'll take those too!

So I came inside to look

For a bloom that I might mention

And saw my African violet

Just vying for my attention

This violet belonged to my grandmother

who has long since passed away

So today I'll honor her violet

which brightens my winter day

To carry on what she started

so many years ago

I've rooted this little cutting

Oh, I hope that it will grow!

To see what's blooming in other parts of the world, visit May Dreams Gardens

Until next time,

Enjoy what's bloomin'...outside or in

Toni :-)

An Eye on the Sky

When there's not much color going on in our gardens this time of year, sometimes we just have to look up.

The first picture I took from my front yard, 

and the next two were from my backyard.   

Can a picture ever do a sunset justice?

I cannot look at a beautiful sky without thinking of Psalm 19:1

The heavens declare the glory of God; 

the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

To see more amazing attempts at capturing the beauty above, 

visit Skywatch Friday

Keep your chin up, folks!  

Spring is on its way, and who knows... 

you might just see a beautiful sky when you look up :-)

Happy Skywatching!

Toni :-)

A Super Arbor Day

What makes an Arbor Day super?  

When it's a Super Bowl, Super Grow Arbor Day!

In honor of Super Bowl XLV The City of Grapevine is one of 12 host cities in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex participating in the Super Grow XLV program.  More than 6500 trees will be planted throughout the host cities to offset the environmental impact of the Super Bowl being held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on February 6, 2011.

For those non-football fans among you (and for those of us who haven't studied Roman numerals since elementary school), XLV is 45 to us common folk.  So to commemorate Super Bowl 45, the City of Grapevine planted 45 trees on their January 8 Arbor Day (with the help of many volunteers).  Grapevine has received the "Tree City USA" award for the past 25 years for its participation in Arbor Day.

Here are my tips for successfully planting trees...

When planting trees, never add anything to the planting hole except the soil that came out of the hole.  Plant the trees high.  Take the tree out of the container, scrape the top couple inches of soil off the top of the root ball until you can see the flare of the trunk.  (I just use a broom to brush the soil away).  That is the top of the root ball.  Break up any roots encircling the root ball.  

 

Plant the tree in the planting hole with the top of the root ball (the flare of the trunk) a couple inches ABOVE your soil grade.  Backfill around the root ball with the soil that was dug out of the planting hole.  Water well to settle the soil.   Add compost to the TOP of the root ball area if needed, feathering it out to your surrounding soil grade.  Then mulch around the tree taking care to not cover the trunk flare. 
 

NOTE:   If you are planting a Shumard Red Oak or Chinese Pistache, you will need to wrap the trunk with tree wrap for two years to prevent sunscald and borer attack. 

A poem was read at the beginning of the Arbor Day festivities.   This poem was written by an elementary student several years ago.  Her poem captures how valuable trees are in our environment.   I wonder whether this student is on her way to getting a degree in forestry now :-)

A WORLD WITHOUT TREES

I once had a dream

about a world without trees.

There were no green things

as far as I could see.

It was time to start my day;

My mom told me to get up.

I ate my pancakes sadly

because there was no maple syrup.

I sat on plastic furniture

because there was no wood.

I played on my plastic piano,

but it wasn't very good.

It really hurt my lungs to breathe.

There were no trees to clean the air.

I looked out of my window.

There was erosion everywhere!

I went out in my yard one day

just to pass the time.

There were no leaves to jump in,

nor big, tall trees to climb.

There were no sounds

of singing birds

or little chipmunks

to be heard.

No soft, sweet fragrance

filled the air

from blossoming trees

which would should've been there.

I found no shady place

to read my book;

No weeping willows

by a shady brook.

I came in thirsty and hungry

But Mom said with a sigh,

"I'm sorry, there's no lemonade,

and I can't make apple pie."

There was no wood for the fireplace,

No nuts for little squirrels,

No paper for me to write on,

No treehouses for little girls.

I woke up from my horrible dream

to the sound of humming bees.

How very thankful I was when I saw

this beautiful world filled with trees.

By Tiffany Rene' Scherich, Silverlake Elementary, February 1996, 4th grade

For another great blog heralding the value and benefit of trees, check out Garden Walk Garden Talk.

Have you ever heard that trees reduce stress and actually aid recovery after surgery?  Since I have surgery on my gimpy arm scheduled for February 15, 

I'll have to put this theory to the test!

Until next time...

Give thanks for the trees!!

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 :-)

A Slice of Summer in the Middle of Winter

There's a Guy Clark song that says: 
"There's only two things that money can't buy...

That's true love and home grown tomatoes."

 

Remember all of those green tomatoes I picked before the freeze in December?  

I just put them in a large box and set the box in my laundry room.  Well, fast forward to January, and the tomatoes are now starting to ripen! 

So far this is what I've gotten...

I had forgotten that I planted the 'Lemon Boy' tomatoes, so I was surprised to see the yellow ones.  They are pretty tasty, too, I might add.  

The larger red ones are 'Celebrity,' and the cherry tomatoes are 'Sweet 100.' 

Eatin' home grown 'maters in January.  Can't beat that!

Even though it is officially winter, for those of us in North Texas, now is the time to start thinking about our spring veggie gardens.  Take this time to get the soil prepared by adding a few inches of compost to your garden beds and working it into the soil.

 

If you want to start your tomatoes by seed, now is the time to get them going indoors.  If you choose to plant tomatoes by transplants, plan to get them in the ground mid to late March so that they can get established and set fruit before that blastin' Texas sun beats down on us again.  (Actually, right now that doesn't sound all that bad to me!)

For a complete Spring Vegetable Planting Guide for Texas, 
click here

Medium size and small fruited varieties tend to do best in our area.

Some recommended varieties are:

Celebrity
Superfantastic
Porter
BHN444
 Heatwave
Surfire 
Roma
Sweet 100
Juliette
Yellow Pear 

For some great heavy-duty tomato cages, 
check out the Texas Tomato Cage website.

Here's hoping for a sweet yield of tasty 
home grown tomatoes! 

Until next time...

Toni :-)

Words of Wisdom for the New Year

Happy New Year!

As we think about the passing of 2010 and the new year upon us, I wanted to share some thought-provoking words of wisdom from this little book that I received as a gift.

*  *  *

Begin early.  But it's never too late to start.

If it doesn't work, try something else.

Life is fragile.  Protect it.

Life is enduring.  Trust it.

Life is daily.  Water it.  Weed it.

Life is indescribably beautiful. Enjoy it and say thank you.

Growth takes time.  Be patient.   
And while you're waiting, pull a weed.

There's something for everybody -- 

different blooms for different rooms.

Pruning hurts. Pruning helps you grow.

Sometimes the tiniest flowers smell the sweetest.

To everything there is a season. 

But know what season you're in.

Dream big.  

But try not to let ambition turn your joy into drudgery.

Grow what you love.  The love will keep it growing.

You reap what you sow.  But there will be surprises.

*  *  *

I wonder what I will learn from my garden -- and all my gardening friends -- this year :-)

All the best in 2011

Toni :-) 

P.S. Check out the Garden Bloggers' Muse Day at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago