11/19/09

Tassel Flower (Emilia coccinea)

I ordered seed for this intriguing plant about 4 years ago. That is the last time I've had to order them because every year they re-seed themselves. This habit not only happens in the spring, but all through the summer and fall as well. There are great great grandparents in the same flowerbeds as their offspring. Of course anything red makes me happy, so I'm always pleased for them to pop up anywhere throughout the garden.

11/17/09

Pink Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris)

I love love love my Pink Muhly Grass. Once fall arrives it mystifies my garden with its pink seed clouds. It is in seed right at the same time that my Beautyberry has its berries. This year the Tassel Flowers (Emilia coccinea) are also in bloom. They contrast with the grass in a most jarring way. I always like gate crashers in the garden!

Fried Green Tomatoes

Okay it's official, I'm a southerner! I picked a couple of my green 'maters and made me some 'shoot fire good' fried green tomaters! Perty dang good too!

BTW - the garnish is Mexican Mint Marigold (Tagetes lucida).

11/11/09

Kelly's Path

Earlier in the spring I had this wild idea to paint all my borders bright colors. I didn't quite get around to it. Nell Jean left a blog message back on April 27th that suggested that the bright edging might compete with the plants in the garden. I decided she was absolutly right. I think I knew something wasn't quite working, but the color idea wasn't the right way to go. It dawned on me, when I had removed some of the old cedar edging, that the answer was no border at all. I plan on keeping the paths but in a much less formal way. Since there will be no borders the plants will be free to spill over into the path. It gives the garden a more natural feel. This path is an example. I've dedicated this path to my friend Kelly who passed away earlier this year.

11/10/09

Tomato vines

My tomatoes survived the summer. They have grown up and over one of my arbors. I'm hoping they ripen before we get a freeze. If they don't, I'll harvest them and let some of them ripen indoors. The ones that don't will be used for fried green tomatoes. Life is good!

11/10/09

K Key/Mexican Lime harvest

This is the first year my little Mexican Lime Tree (Citrus aurantifolia)

produced fruit. I had a total of fifteen limes to harvest. Three of them have already been used for making Limeade. Delish!

10/22/09

'Augusta Duelberg' Salvia

'Augusta Duelberg' Salvia is the white version of 'Henry Duelberg' Salvia. It has an elegance of its own. In the rain, it droops and to me looks somewhat romantic. It grows in my moon bed with silver and white plants. If you want to read an account of the discovery of these two salvias go to: http://www.plantanswers.com/salvia_arcadia.htm .

10/17/09

American Beautyberry

What can I say? Aren't the berries to live for!

10/16.09

Various Sedums and Mexican Feather Grass

Texas Aster, Lindheimer's Muhly Grass and Horseherb

One end of my Inferno Strip

My sidewalk/street bed is filled with mostly Texas natives. I also have other well adapted plants in the same bed. Farther down the bed I have Jewels of Opar that have happily seeded themselves (9.19.09). I decided since this other area of the strip gets full hot blaring sun all day, and this is the least likely place for me to water, it needed some real toughies.

10/16/09

Bling Bling in the Garden!

Rain rain rain rain and more rain! I'm not complaining! It is nice though to finally see some sunshine again! The rain brought a different kind of beauty to the garden. Even though most of the roses were dropping all their petals and the ground looked like mud, there was an unusual beauty to the plants. For instance, the Elephant Ears (Colocasia) by my front door.

As I approached my house, I was mystified at what I saw before me. It looked as if a bling bling fairy had sprinkled her fairy jewels upon the giant leaves of my Colocasia. I discovered from a closer inspection that these jewels were little droplets of water. I had been dreary from the cloudy skies but my heart lit up with fire at the beauty before me. scrrrreeech --- Am I writing a children's book? See what bling bling in the garden does to me!

10/08/09

Unamed Pig in a bed of Horseherb (Calyptocarpus vialis)

I saw this little piggy made out of scrap metal and I fell in love. It was a birthday present from my dad and step-mother. It seems happy sitting in a bed of Horseherb, a Texas native groundcover. Someday her/his name will hit me!

10/06/09

Alyssum 'Royal Carpet,' Gomphrena haageana 'Strawberry Fields,' Cosmos, Sedum 'Autumn Fire,' Skull Cap 'Texas Pink'

Except for the Sedum and Skull Cap, all the flowers in this front yard bed are from seedlings from the previous years. I've allowed them to pop up where they may. The informality feels perfect. I also get exciting color combinations that I only had a small part in. In the second photo above, I got to know the Alyssum up close and personal. Sometimes we don't take the time to really see a flower, especially if it is low and acts like a groundcover. It really is a statuesque flower up close!

10/01/09

Helianthus maximiliana 'Santa Fe'

It's October, time for my Maximilian Sunflowers to be in full bloom. The scent of honey is everywhere. Since my garden is not that large I kind of have to keep these staked. If I don't, they flop everywhere. They actually look nice that way and when they were smaller that's how I left them. Their size has more than doubled since those days. All through the summer they stand tall and proud, but when the flowers start to weight the stalks down they start to put on their floppy show. I got a couple of these from a nursery in Santa Fe, New Mexico called High Country Gardens http://www.highcountrygardens.com/ The flowers have since then multiplied and I'm more than happy about it!

09/29/09

BOG SAGE (Salvia uliginosa)

"Bluer than Blue," that's how I describe Bog Sage. I first saw this Salvia at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. The blue was so striking I couldn't take my eyes off it! I've had it a few years. If I'd let it, it would take over my garden. When it starts to travel, I easily pull it up. This is not however one of those nice smelling salvias, and I'm reminded of that when I'm yanking away. The rest of the time, the scent is undetectable.

09/24/09

I've decided to make one of my beds a mixed bed of ornamental grasses. I've also included annuals and perennials to give it pizzazz. I'm a big fan of Setcreaseas (Wandering Jew) and have four different varieties. I like how they combine with grasses. The most common, which is a deep purple, is at the forefront. In the morning, they are dotted with little lavender pink flowers. Coleus is also part of the mix acting as a 'gatecrasher.' In the top photo, just barely visible, are the bright red blooms of Salvia coccinea sprinkled here and there. A chartreuse potato vine sprawls through like a snake and makes the salvia pop.

09/21/09

SALVIA GREGGII

I have a bed devoted to different varieties of Salvia greggii. In Texas we call it Autumn Sage. I usually cut it way back in the last part of June in preparation for blooms in the fall. We are having a delightfully early fall this year (knock on wood) so they are blooming their heads off. I promised myself that I would keep track of all the varieties, but I'm starting to lose track. I also have some that have seeded that are each different than their parents. It is an easy bed to maintain because they don't need gallons of water. I have noticed however that they seem to respond well to it during really dry spells. Salvia greggii is tops on my list!

09/19/09

Jewels of Opar (Talinum paniculatum)

You have to see these enlarged, to get the full effect! Click the photo to enlarge.

We have been blessed with rain, for several days. I took this between spells. I love how the little droplets look frozen. A little winter preview in the summer! The pink buds are usually open, showing the daintiest of flowers. I have let them re-seed abundantly on the 'inferno strip,' the bed between the city street and the sidewalk, in my front yard.

9/16/09

I'm still here! September pictures coming soon!

8/31/09

Oxblood Lily with Crepe Myrtle 'New Orleans'

Today is the first day for my School House / Oxblood Lilies to bloom! Perfect timing because I just found my camera's memory card. I love this color combination. Purple always makes red look tasty and red always makes purple look spiffy!

8/31/09

Yippeee ---- I found my memory card! I couldn't take pictures because I had lost it. I found it in the washing machine last night! I put it in the camera and it looked like it was okay. I guess I'll find out for sure when I venture out to take some pics. Keep your fingers crossed.

08/20/09

Plumeria

My brother and his family took a vacation in Hawaii a few years back. They sent me a small dormant trunk about the size of an average phallus. The trunk has grown to about 5' feet tall. These elegant flowers come out of the stiff trunk's tips each year. The scent is beyond divine!

Sorry for the innuendoes !

They say 'horticulture is sex.' Guess I proved their point! ;)

08/11/09

Inland Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)

This is another native plant to Texas. It can be invasive! I've controlled it by cutting the seed heads off before they dry and by pulling up little seedlings in the spring. It covers a pretty large portion of a bed in the shade. It's not just beautiful but easy to grow (a little too easy) and drought tolerant. I love how the seeds dangle and dance in the wind.

08/07/09

Crepe Myrtle 'Sacramento'

Crepe Myrtle 'Sacramento'

Crepe Myrtle 'Cordon Bleu'

Crepe Myrtle 'Cordon Bleu'

I have always thought that miniature Crepe Myrtles have been way underutilized as bedding plants. They give my beds color during the hottest of hottest summer days. They are also in bloom when the roses aren't. 'Sacramento' has a weeping habit and is low to the ground. 'Cordon Bleu' stands upright and gets about four and half feet tall. It is the bluest Crepe Myrtle bred to date. One additional benefit is that they are somewhat drought tolerant. I'm tempted, with good reason, to add more miniature crepes to my garden.

08/05/09

Boquet #6

Cosmos sulphureus and Tassel Flower (Emilia javanica)

08/04/09

Phyla nodiflora (Frog Fruit)

I planted this Texas native as a ground cover for my walk way. I've let it slip away from me this year and it has outgrown its space. I usually keep it trimmed back around the cement circles leading up to my front door. The growth has never had the chance to bloom because it always gets a hair cut before it has the chance to. I'm really enjoying the cute white flowers, so I may wait a bit to finally trim it back.