FlameLeaf Sumac in the fall!

 

Not Maximillian Sunflowers

 What I had thought were Maximillian Sunflowers, turn out to be Cowpen Daisies (Verbesina encelioides). Not a very exciting name, but I do love their mid October blooms!

Plateau Goldeneye  

Viguiera dentata

Toad Lily

This was a plant I picked up on clearance this spring.  I honestly didn't even know what it was, but I really loved its variegated leaves.  How awesome it is, when a plant you pick up for its foliage, also turns out to have a beautiful flower!

Glorious Fall

Fall is certainly a wonderful time for a Texas gardener.  And this Fall seems even better than  most. 

The heat left earlier than normal; we had a September full of rain, and while October proposes to be dry and clear with the cooler temps, watering is a manageable feat.  

And *everything* is in bloom!

When we first moved here, Dave threw a bunch of wildflower seeds on the ground. I honestly don't remember much coming up that first year, but now, every fall, for about two weeks, the whole area outside the fence explodes in yellow. I believe these are Maximilian Sunflowers.  For most fo the year, they are a sort of ugly weed, but ahhhh come October...

And the roses which have valiantly fought the heat all summer, are now showing their glory in the cooler temps!  Three weeks ago, this rose looks 95% dead, with only a few leaves left. 

Last fall, I planted this small little Lantana.  I honestly don't even remember where I got it from. It may have been the one that popped up in my asparagus bed that I transplanted.  It might have been one that I bought on clearance at Lowe's.  Where ever I got it from,  I know it was only a couple of inches tall.  

I planted it in an attempt to cover up a dead grass patch.  I added some Mexican feather grass and an Esperanza and then this spring added some Russian sage I had gotten on clearance.  Well, this Lantana has gotten *gigantic*.  It has swallowed the Esperanza and Feathergrass (I will need to transplant them further away next spring).  And it adds this great pop of color to what was a brown patch of dead grass.  Not to mention a wonderful home for lizards and feast for pollinators.

One of my favorite flowers this time of year is the Lion's Tail, they burst forth with firework-like orange bursts in the mid-fall. I have been working on this area for awhile.  I started with one bush, realized I wanted more for an impact, and have since purchased a number of others... that have all died.  Now, the one on the left is in its second (maybe third) year, and seems pretty established.  Last year, however, I had a white mist flower in front of it, and you couldn't even see the Lion Tail blooms.  So this spring, I moved the mist flower to a different bed, which gives these a lot more visibility.  Now I want to add some low flowers in front, to hide the stalky bottoms of this gorgeous bush... and I still want to add one more Lion's Tail next spring.  But for now, I am just happy to see the orange blooms!

View from my porch

Okay, so it is true, the morning glory has taken over, and i seriously need to get it under control, and ideally move it away from the garden.  But for now, i really love how it is climbing the light post.  The back porch has a very verdant feel, with the huge fire bush, even larger Esperanza and wall of leaning morning glory. A great place to enjoy the cool mornings!

And then there is, of course, my plumbago.  This is my all-time favorite plant. The one I have only been able to grow in this one spot. The dozen or so other plumbagos planted elsewhere have either perished in the hot summers, or frozen over the winter. But every fall, this guy shows his stuff.  My heart...

New Garden Bed

I planted a new garden bed where the old sandbox used to be.  I had some extra plants, and this area was another eye sore in the back yard. It isn't much to look at now, but I put the photo in, so I can compare how it grows over time.

It has some New Zealand flax, a Dwarf Pomegranate that I grew from a cutting, a Coralberry that I bought from Natural Gardener... a plant I have been wanting for awhile, some ruellia that had seeded in my asparagus garden, a Mexican bush sage cutting, a Rock Rose that I found on clearance and some lantana cuttings.  Not much to look at now, but all things start small :) I have the tomato cage on the Coralberry, because this sandy area was a favorite place for Domino to dig, and since the Coralberry is the one full price plant in the bed, I didn't want it to be dug up.

Obedient plant

Obedient Plant is this year's new love for me. I am not sure exactly when I bought this plant, but I know that it was prior to 2012.  So I have had it for a good long while.  And I must admit, I have never loved it. Or even really liked it, if I am to be honest.

The first year, I am sure, I had only one of them. And this is a plant that really needs a mass planting.  One Obedient Plant looks ridiculous - standing tall and alone with one little bloom on top. But, after the first year, I had many more. This plant seems to take over where ever I plant it, sometimes killing the nearby plants. Its roots are insidious,  lurking an inch below the ground, and spiraling out everywhere.

It looks stalky and ugly until late summer when it blooms.  But usually by that time, I am so exasperated by it that I have quit watering it, so it doesn't even really bloom.

Okay, and this is a bit absurd, but its full name is "Fall Obedient Plant"... and so when it starts blooming in August, I have always felt a little nervous:  but wait, you shouldn't be blooming now.  Silly, I know.

I remember telling my mom that I bought this new plant and her one comment was, "That plant is not very obedient."  And I quickly learned what she meant.

I have moved it from my front porch bed, to my backyard shade bed (where it never did well - apparently its one requirement is sun), and then I put some in my front bed.  And I have always regretted planting it in its new location.

Well, this year, when I planted my solar garden, I filled it with the plants I knew I couldn't kill, the ones that lived despite my mistakes. To be honest, I was sort of filling up holes with plants I already had.

So, I dug up a bunch of these and planted them in this bed.  Since I was just starting this bed, the plants in it have received a lot of care and water... and this plant has just flourished.  We are now in mid-July, and I have fallen in love with its tall purple spires.  I have a number of yellow summer heat-loving plants, but not a whole lot of other colors, and I find this plant as a color contrast to what I already have.

Now, truly, in a year, I may be writing that I regret putting this plant in the solar bed, as it has taken over the whole bed... But for now, I will enjoy its beauty :)

July Flowers

The start of hell season in Texas, I thought I'd capture some of the flowers that are glowing this morning, before the 100 degree temps really hit.

The South back side of my front garden always shines this time of year.  Both the Brazilian and regular Rock Roses are in full bloom, as is the purple skullcap.

And nothing says summer quite as well as a Pride of Barbados in bloom!

Gregg's Mist flower has its misty little flower in bloom as well.

My coneflowers are always late to bloom, for some reason.  But that just means they look fantastic up against the blooming Esperanza :)

And this little verbena that I transplanted from the nearby grass also adds some color.

And the Englemann daisies that were also late to bloom, are still adding their pop of yellow.

My new Mutablis rose is still small, and somewhat overshadowed by the wild Evening Primrose that I decided to keep in the bed.  But I know this beautiful rose will soon grow much larger, leaving the primroses to glow it its feet :)

Of all the gardens I have built, this new solar garden has grown up and given me joy earlier than any other bed.  I am not sure why, but this garden is filled with flowers in just the first few months.  i love looking over the yard, to an area that was always a brown eyesore, and instead seeing all of these glowing colors!

Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars!

While wandering through the garden this morning, this bright red, spiky caterpillar on my Dutchman's pipevine caught my eye. Very excitedly, I looked him up to confirm that, YES, it was a pipevine swallowtail caterpillar.

The Dutchman's Pipevine is a host for the swallowtail butterflies.

When I went out in the afternoon to get a photo of the caterpillar, we discovered there were a total of SIX caterpillars on the pipevine.  Super cool....

Except these guys are decimating the pipevine, with many of its leaves already half eaten, and these guys are still small.  Now the dilemma.  I am very excited to be hosting these butterflies, but I don't want my pipevine to die.

I guess I will wait and see how nature takes its course.  I can always purchase a new plant in the fall, I guess.

"In the mid-Atlantic, the only species that Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars can eat are Dutchman’s Pipevine and Virginia Snakeroot.  In the southwestern part of its range, there are other native Pipevine species that this butterfly uses as its caterpillar food plants."






"Some butterflies have evolved a survival strategy that enables their caterpillars to feed on a wide variety of plants, but others, like the Pipevine Swallowtail, have chosen to specialize on a small number of plants that give them a particular advantage.  To protect itself from being eaten, Dutchman’s Pipevine has evolved with chemicals that are at minimum distasteful to those who would eat it, and if a sufficient amount is ingested, they are toxic.  Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars are among the few creatures who are able to process these chemicals without harm to themselves, then store them in their bodies in such a way that they are toxic to their potential predators.  This chemical protection even survives metamorphosis and extends to the adult butterfly.  It is so effective that other butterflies mimic the appearance of the Pipevine Swallowtail, since this is often enough to warn off predators."  link

Things to love in Late Spring

In late Spring, the Peter's Purple Bee Balm explodes into color and it is a sight to behold. In the front garden, the Calylophus are still blooming, and provide a striking contrast.

I love their fire cracker like flower

Of all my plants, this is the one that stops the most people on the street. And it filled this whole space in three years from one small plant!

Also in late Spring, the Day Lilies put up their tall stalks, and slowly unfurl their beauty!

The day lily in the back garden has some native milkweed blooming behind it. I had actually forgotten the milkweed was there until it put forth its bloom :)

The Engelmann Daisies that I transplanted this spring have been gorgeous in their new bed, bright and sunshiney.

Last year, a small fern like plant popped up in the back side garden. I truly don't know why I didn't pull it for a weed. I guess because I really liked its feathery foliage.  It did nothing the whole year.  This year, it popped up again, and again, I decided to keep it. Only this year, it grew very tall, and now has put out the beautiful red flowers. 

Turns out is is a biennial Standing Cypress (aka Texas Plume). It is kind of in an awkward place, so tall at the front of the bed, but I love it anyway. When it starts going to seed, i am going to see if I can direct the seeds toward the back of the bed.

This year, my twist-leaf yucca has put up its stalks and blooms. The bamboo muhly shows its feathery green.

A close up of the top of the bloom, where not all have opened up yet.

A new favorite of mine is the Creeping Germander. I bought some last year, and love it as a textured, low lying ground cover.  But then, once a year, it burst forth with a ton of small purple blooms, which makes it even more awesome.

I like this plant so much, that I bought 5 more to put in the back side garden bed. It is in partial shade, so it may not bloom in that location, but I really got it for its foliage texture.

I am so pleased with the new solar garden.  For just being a few months old, it looks really great.  The lantana, snake herb and Bee Balm are all blooming in the left side, and the Englemann daisies look great on the right side.  

Here is a close up up the lantana, with Bee Balm in the back.  I wasn't able to get the snake herb in there as well, but it is gorgeous all together.

One other beauty in late Spring in the Gregg's Mistflower. I believe this is mostly a fall bloomer, but I have gotten a bunch of blooms this spring. This is supposed to be a huge pollinator attracter, thought I have honestly not seen much on it this month.

I bought one new plant this month (I bought a lot of new plants, but this one was unfamiliar to me) A Flax Lily Diaella.  I love its variegated foliage.  I have know idea how it will do, but it was a clearance plant for a dollar, so I figure I don't have much to lose :)

Mid April Flowers

I coerced Dave into taking a few photos of my front garden bed!

Guara in the foreground, Jerusalem sage mid way and Knock Out rose in the back.  I could spend all day enjoying the colors!

I am not sure what type of rose this is, as I was given it.  But it blooms once per year in the spring, and it looks and smells gorgeous!

 I now know why they call these Butterfly Blue Pincushion.  A this time of year, I have seen multiple butterflies feasting on its nectar.  THis appears to be a Gray Hairstreak butterfly.

And here is a backward glance at the south portion of my front garden.

Mr Blue Jay

Last summer, the boys made and bought me some bird feeders to add to the back yard.  We have been enjoying lots of cardinals, goldfinches, titmice, chickadees and morning doves.  But until this month, we had not yet seen Kyle's favorite bird, the blue jay.

This month, one finally discovered the peanuts in our feeder!  He/She now comes multiple times a day, steals a nut from the feeder, and then flies to the Bur Oak to enjoy it.

Here he/she is getting ready to grab a nut!

Black Foot Daisies and Cream de Mint Pittosporum

I have been looking at a hole in my front garden bed, and knew I wanted to fill it in with something... I just didn't know what.

Then I saw a video from Robin Mayfield on Facebook, where she glowed about her Creme De Menthe Pittosporum.  I loved their look, and knew they'd be perfect in my empty hole.  

The next day, I happened to dee Cream de Min Pittosporum at Lowe's, of all places.  Which is good, because with the pandemic, no other nurseries are open.

I picked up two shrubs (I may go back and get one more).  

Now fingers crossed I can keep them alive.  I did try root washing them, but their roots were very fin, so I hope I did not do more harm then good.

I also picked up two Blackfoot Daisies.  I love the cheery white of Blackfoot daisies.  Mine all seem to die after three to four years, but I decided I wanted them any way.  I really love the look of this part of the garden, which was always a bit of an eye ore (to me).