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).

Week 2 of Flowers

April is a wonderful time in Texas!  Every week, my garden has something new to celebrate.

My front bed, that was full of blues and purple last week from my bluebonnets and verbena, has now added a pop of yellow from the Jerusalem sage and Calyolophus.

Jerusalem Sage is now one of my go-to plants.  It is as tough as nails, gorgeous in the spring, and adds a nice bit of fuzzy grey-green the rest of the year.  Plus it is a very fast grower.  The one above is the first one I planted four years ago.  The one in the front bed is two or three years old, and I have just planted two more in my new beds.  

In the back bed, a brand new climbing Blaze rose is in bloom.  Dave found this guy sitting forlornly in the clearance section of Lowes, and picked it up for. A great example of why I always prefer a potted plant to a bouquet of flowers.  A year later and his gift is still bringing me smiles :)

Whirling Guara used to not be a favorite of mine, until I learned that it looks way better planted en masse, than as a single flower.  So now I have two different lines of them in my front bed.  Another tough-as-nails plant!

And below is another look at my little roadrunner statue.  last week he was surrounded by blue and purple.  Today there is a pop of yellow to light his back!  You can hardly even seem him, in the middle of this photo.

Spring 2020 Flowers

My front garden bed has really filled in, and is full of color this spring!  In another week, the jerusalem sage and calylophus will be in bloom, adding lots of yellow to the mix!

Two years ago, I dug up a bunch of irises from my my mother-in-laws garden. Her backyard is almost in complete shade, so they did not bloom for her.  last year, I didn't get any blooms.  This year, they are full of blooms!

A new plant for me, Leopard's Plant (Ligularia), it is a full shade plant, that requires a lot of water its first year.  We will see if I can keep it alive!

 Foxglove Penstemon in my backyard side garden. Dave threw a bunch of wildflower seeds down when we first moved here.  These are the only flowers that grew.  I have since transplanted many of them to be in my garden

The little roadrunner my mom gave me a few years ago is almost invisible among the blue bonnets and verbena!

i love these little flowers, they get almost no attention and are pretty much bulletproof!  Always bringing a sweet dancing yellow to my garden!

Installing a new shade garden

AFTER

BEFORE

This year, I am putting in two new gardens.  One (the solar garden) is in the hottest, driest part of the yard.  With little to no shade in our yard, this environment I am very familiar with.  However, there is also a small sliver of the back yard that is pretty shaded.  Some parts are completely shade, some gets some morning light, and some parts get afternoon light.  I am less familiar (or successful) with this area.  But, in my quest to convert our water-hungry lawn into native plants, I thought I'd try to convert a portion of the side fence.

Three columbines and a (now) blooming mock orange.

One of the things I have never really liked about the back yard is that it is, in essence, one big square, with shrubs and flowers around the edges.  When the kids were younger, I couldn't even do an Easter Egg hunt or play hide and seek, because there was nowhere to hide!

So, with this garden, I decided to enclose a large area, and put a small path through it, that would lead to chairs.  Kyle and I love to bird watch, and we have found that this area works well to see the birds, but not disturb them.  So I dug up lots of grass and weeds, added lots of compost and put down ten flagstones to make a path through it all.  I have been slowly collecting plants to put in this area, and this week, I finally got them in the ground.  Some are new to me, some are old favorites.

A new, large leopard plant, alongside my oak leaf hydrangea

Leopard Plant: Farfugium japonicum  (previiously know as Ligularia)
I saw this plant at a local elementary last year, and fell in love with it,  I am not sure why, but it reminds me of an Alice in Wonderland plant.  It is a full shade plant that requires a bit of water to get established.  I have seen how it droops when it gets direct sun in the mid day.  

Abelia 'Edward Goucher':  This is the first shrub in the garden, and I wanted a largish evergreen bush to shade the chairs from the road.  I know absolutely nothing about Abelia.  Well, I am not sure if I do.  I have some plants that came with the original landscaping... they may be abelias. (Edited to add:  Yep, same plant as in the landscaper built garden in front of the garage.  I feel alittle silly, as I now realize this is the what the oldest shrubs that came with the lot are!)  This is the the plant info sticker says:  Size:  5' x 5'  Growth Medium  Exposure:  Sun to Part shade.  Semi evergreen shrub with glossy green leaves and  little pale pink flowers in spring.  Very adaptable, but more sun means denser foliage and more blooms.  Also performs better in amended garden soil.

A new abelia, youpon holly, near an existing Beauty Berry

Sweet Mock Orange - Philadelphus Coronarius
Size:  10' x 8'  Growth:  Medium
Exposure:  AM Sun / Part Shade
Lovely deciduous shrub with fragrant white blooms in late spring.  Adaptable to any well-drained soil but best if given rich, organically amended, moist soil.  Blooms on previous year's growth so pruning advised after blooming.  Native to southeastern Europe.


Texas Gold Columbine - Aquilegia chrysantha "Texas Gold"
24 - 30" x 15"  Growth:  Fast
Exposure:  Sun to part shade
Tough and showy perennial with soft, grey-green foliage and taller stems of big three inch golden yellow blooms in the late spring.  Deadhead for more blooms.

A new large Japanese Aralia with some transplanted
Heartleaft Skullcap

I really, really want to grow some columbine.  I have killed at least three years worth of this plant. But as I learn more and become more experienced, I keep hoping I will be able to get this guy to grow.  It calls itself a 'tough and showy perennial'.  The only thing about this plant that is tough (for me), is the ability for it to live!  But, I am trying three more.  I got large ones this time, hoping that they have a better root system to make it through.

Tropical Sage 'Red' Native - Savlia Coccinea 'Red'
Size:  2-3' x 2-3'  Growth:  Fast
Exposure:  Sun to Bright shade
Shrubby perennial with scented foliage and bright red tubular flowers spring to fall.  Deer and drought resistant once established.  Prune back periodically to keep more dense and tidy.  Often reseeds for a few volunteers but not aggressive.  Attracts hummingbirds

A new Tropical sage and Jerusalem sage with an
existing fig tree behind it

I believe this is the same plant I was gifted with by a neighbor that is in the front year.  I picked it because it is a red bloomer in shade, and the place I put it in sometimes is shaded, but I believe in the summer it will get more sun, so I thought this plant would do well in all seasons, given the mixture of light.  I bought two plants.

Texas Betony - Stachys coccinea
I bought three small pots of this plant on a whim.  I bought one small plant from the clearance rack at Lowe's last year, and it got through the incredible drought of last year.  And is already springing back this year. Seems like a winner to me, so I thought I'd

An existing crepe myrtle with some new Betony plants

give it another shot...  This will be more shaded than the front, so we will see how it does.

Installng a New Solar Garden - Part 1

When we first bought our house, we somewhat naively and ignorantly had the builders remove all of the "brush"in the front yard.  Much of it was cedars, and we wanted the cedars gone... but along with it went a lot of natural fauna.  I was not much of a gardener back then and didn't recognize or appreciate native plants.  In our back, undeveloped portion of the yard (the part we didn't tear up), I have found lots of fragrant mist flower, yaupon holly, twist leaf yucca, agaritas and even a red bud.   

I am guessing those same plants were also thriving in our front year.  And we had the builders tear them all out.  Sigh.  I can only guess how many of these plants that I am now purchasing, were once living here freely.  So now I am slowly, very slowly, trying to replace the St Augustine back with native plants.  

So this year's endeavor is to replace the hottest, driest portion of the front yard. I am calling it my "solar garden", since it gets sun from morning until evening. I am filling the garden with those plants that I *know* are incredibly tough and drought tolerant.  Fortunately, many of these plants I have pulled from other parts of the yard, and some from the back.  That's how I know they are tough ;o)

So far, I have transplanted, from other parts of the yard:

Whale Tongue Agave. I had received a whale tongue agave pup around two years, and I have long thought about placing him in that front dry portion.  So he was the first to arrive.  One of the hard parts of garden planning, is that the plants start off so small, and some take awhile to grow.  I originally planned this guy as the center of the garden, but he is so small right now, it felt sort of silly.  So I put him on the side, figuring in a few years, when he gets bigger, I can build around him.

Agarita.  I then tried transplanting an agarita (see previous blog post).  I am not optimistic about its success, but if it doesn't make, I will buy one to replace it with.  I just love this native bush.

Obedient plant.  Yes, I sometimes cringe because every place I transplant this plant, I regret it.  It quickly takes up so much space.  But I think given the right location, it could look really great.  and it is seriously tough (I can't seem to kill it in my back garden bed - and I've tried).  So, I planted a bunch of them, and they have a lot of space to fill in.  Much of the time, I haven't given this plant enough space, and it crowds out other plants around it.  

White Knock Out rose.  This guy has been hanging in my side garden for many years.  I planted it when the trees were small, but the Burr oak and Chinaberry behind it (trash tree, I know, but it grew on its own and does provide appreciated shade) both have grown to shade the entire area the rose grew in.  Since then, the rose has never done well.  Last year, I thought it had finally died, but this spring, I found a tiny little stem growing at the bottom. Knowing that roses love lots of sun, and they tend to be pretty drought tolerant, I moved this guy into my solar garden.

Fragrant Mist Flower. Behind it I planted a fragrant mist flower that I had purchased a few years back, and but into my front garden.  I didn't realize how big these bushes got (okay, I never really believe the size written on the pot).  I planted it right in front of my Lion's tail, and it grew so large, that I couldn't see the Lion's tail.  So I dug it up and put it in the center of this garden, again giving it lots of space to grow.  For most of the year, this shrub is a straggly non-descript bush, but then in the fall, it bursts into these white flowers that the monarchs *love*.  I frequently will finds dozens of the butterflies around the bush.  

Flame Acanthus.  Another tough as nails plant.  I planted this also in my front garden, and again did not realize how big it got.  It really needs to be a back bush, and I had planted it smack front and center. This plant has quickly spread, and I have moved many of its seedlings to more central places in the front garden. I dug the original up and moved it to the wild flower bed, but then I ignored it, and I think it has since died.  But this is one of the seedlings that I have dug up and put in the back porch garden. I didn't love it there, so I moved it to this bed.  Again, I am giving it lots of room to spread and grow.

Pink Muhly Grass.  I found three of these last fall in the clearance section for $1 at Lowe's.  I quickly grabbed them, knowing them for a score.  One of these I am going to plant beside the flame acanthus, bringing a light feathery touch to the agarita and acanthus. I am going to use the other two to fill in... not sure where just yet.

Lantana.  I found this little guy growing in my vegetable garden, reseeded from the back porch garden, I am guessing.  He was right where I wanted to plant my potatoes, so I dug him up and replanted him here.

Peter's Purple Bee Balm.  I love this plant, and so do the bees and butterflies.  Two or three years ago, I put one small pot in my front garden.  Immediately, I realized I really should have purchased more of them, since this is a plant that needs lots of friends to look good. I went back to purchase some more, and they were all gone. I figured I would catch them again next year.  But the next year, the plant had already spread so much, that I didn't need to purchase any more!  Love when that happens :)  Since then, this plant has really spread - maybe a little further than necessary.  So I dug a shovel full up to put here.  Again, in this garden, I am giving this plant lots of room to spread.

I then added a small path through the garden.  It was actually Kyle's suggestion to do so, and I love when anyone actually takes the time to look at my garden. So when he did, and mentioned his idea of the path, I thought, sure, why not?  :)  I actually really love the path now.

And I wanted to put a large pot in the garden as well.  I have seen these used in other gardens, and I love how a large pot can add height and dimension to a garden, especially during the winter.  When I went to Lowe's and Natural Gardener, I was astounded by the price of large pots.  The cheapest go for between $100 and $150!?!?  I decided to try Craig's List. In an attempt to be more green, this last year, I have started to explore the "Reuse" portion of the three conservation Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recyle)  And low and behold, someone was selling 4 huge, awesome, beautiful pots in Leander for only $80.  Score!  

Salvia Greggi.  I dug up two Salvia Greggi from my back porch garden bed and planted them around the pot.  I have (fingers crossed) yet to ever kill this plant. And I have them all around the garden. They are very drought tolerant and bloom consistently throughout the year. And every once in a while, it seeds a new plant for me to put elsewhere :) Perfect for this new garden.

Twist leaf Yuccas.  I dug these two up from the back portion of the lot.  I did not get a lot of their roots, but I have had pretty good luck growing these guys from transplants before, so here is hoping these work out as well.

Blue Weeping Yucca.  Another clearance plant.  $5 for a large plant.  I have never grown one before, but this one looked gorgeous.


I still have a large portion of the garden to dig out.  I am hoping to fill it with pride of barbados, maybe an Esperanza and Duranta.