I've been a lazy blogger lately, in part because I didn't garden much in the summer months, and in part because every time I think of taking photos, it's dark outside.
This month, I decided to stop whining and get back to work on the front yard. I'm beating the second third into submission, removing all the grass, and replacing it with native and naturalized plants.
This morning, I found a reference to a post on GardenRant about the whole anti-lawn movement. Obviously, I'm anti-lawn, but not for any of the reasons mentioned in the article. While I know that lawns eat way too much water, and require fertilizers and pest control measures that eventually wash into the storm drains and cause all sorts of problems, the reason I'm killing off my lawn is simple: I hate it.
I hate taking care of a lawn. It's sort of the same thing as cleaning house or doing laundry---no matter how well you do it, it always has to be done again a week later. (For the record, I only clean house when the dirt threatens to evolve into a higher life form, and thanks to the drop-off service around the corner, I haven't done a load of laundry since 1996. Good Housekeeping will not be hanging any awards on my door.)
More than that, I hate what caring for a lawn does to me, both physically and financially. I generally end an hour of mowing with red, watery eyes and a snotty nose, because my allergies get aggrevated. I resent having to purchase weed and feed every year, because I don't really care whether the lawn is green and healthy, or infested with dandelions---in fact, I actually favor the dandelions. I refuse to waste water on grass, because it's just too expensive, and dammit, it makes the stuff grow faster, so I have to mow more often. It's an expensive, sneezy, viscious circle.
So, I'm tearing the lawn out, little by little. My choice to plant with natives is purely a financial one: once I've spent the dollars to put them in, they don't require much. An occasional feeding, and water when it's really hot. I just bought a barrel to start storing rain water, so those few weeks in July and August won't cost me anything. The fact that I also find those plants beautiful, and that I enjoy working in the garden with the bees, butterflies and birds they attract is a big bonus---but I don't feel superior in any way to my neighbor, who mows, waters, feeds, and cares for his beautiful lawn with equal enjoyment.
It's his business. I can only tend to my own garden.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Ichiban
So far this fall, I've only managed a few ichiban eggplants, and a couple of zucchini---but I have high hopes. The weather is finally out of the 90s, and the lows are getting down into the 50s. We're getting plenty of rain this week.
This morning, I waded through the mushy grass in the backyard, and while I was clipping these eggplants, I also saw the first few green beans, and a whole bunch of tiny green tomatoes. The cukes are struggling along. This is the second try at cucumbers, and I'm disappointed in the lack of progress. I think I need to do more reading to figure out what it is they need that they're not getting.
Sometime next week, I'm hoping to fill the third veggie bed with good dirt, and get the lettuce and cool season vegetables going. After that, it's back to the front yard, where I have another twelve feet of digging to do to make the second raised bed happen.
More photos as soon as the rain breaks.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Fall Harvest & Caterpillars
Earlier in the week, I posted this pic of my little ichiban eggplants, flowering like crazy. Well, one of the plants has started to set fruit with a vengance. I harvested two this morning, and can see two more that will be ready tomorrow or Monday, and another two that are just starting to emerge. These little eggplants are only supposed to get about 9" long, so they only take a few days to go from flower to full sized fruit.
In other news, the monarch caterpillars have now completely stripped the butterfly week, leaving nothing but bare canes. They've moved on---I caught the last one walking off the edge of the front porch yesterday, headed I don't know where.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Small Sacrifice
That butterfly weed that's been sitting in the holding pen next to the front door all summer is still doing its assigned job. Here are two of the half dozen monarch caterpillars that have taken up residence in the last couple of days, stripping the plant bare of all its leaves, and growing fatter by the minute. I've moved the plant to a more protected area, so they won't get brushed off as I walk in and out the front door. I also rescued all the little guys who got left behind on the other plants in the holding pen, and put them back onto this one. The butterfly weed looks nekkid, but it's supposed to get eaten. I've heard stories of these plants being eaten all the way to the ground, but they supposedly bounce back again after the caterpillars change. We'll see what happens...
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Bloom Day
It's the 15th, and time for another Bloom Day post. This week, we've had nothing but rain, and lots of it. About eight inches, which is just crazy for this part of Texas. The garden has had a good, long, deep watering, courtesy of Mother Nature, who doesn't often help out with the water bill. On the minus side, it rained so hard that a lot of the blooms have been knocked off the plants---but that's OK, because in a few weeks, the whole garden will explode in appreciation.
Anyway, here's what's blooming in the garden today:
My three little four nerve daisies are valiantly blooming away, come rain or shine. I just bought another gallon-sized plant to put in behind them, so there will be a nice little cluster of yellow daisies right by the front door. Sweet!
The roses seem to be holding their own. The yellow rose at left is the one with all the fragrance, and despite its checkered past, it seems to be steadily blooming, and farily disease free, which is a small miracle. The yellow Knockout roses, below, are still sort of under-sized, but one is blooming abundantly, while the other is not blooming at all. I think Miss Not Blooming At All will be moving to the yellow bed with her sister soon. I'm thinking she's just not getting enough sun.
In the shade bed, the iris is blooming here and there. In the Dallas planting guide, it says to divide iris now, which makes me nervous. I think I'll wait a little longer.
While I'm dividing, the Mexican petunias below are prime candidates. My three small plants all look like this one now---huge, with obvious multiples, and covered with blooms. I need to do some reading, and find out when prime time for dividing these might be, because I really want to spread them out to cover more of the bed, almost as edging.
Moving back out into the blazing sun, the gaura is so tall that the rain made it bend forward. It's covered with white blooms, which look so pretty when they're whirling in a breeze. I love this plant, but I'm not convinced I should have planted it in such an open area. I wish the white cherry sage in front of them would grow faster, and provide a little support.
Across the walkway, the coral cherry sage is blooming. I lost the center portion of two of the three bushes this summer, so they're both sort of fan shaped right now, but this plant is so forgiving, I have a feeling that when I cut them back, they'll fluff right out into shape again.
The lantana is going through this interesting cycle where it blooms like crazy, then all the flowers fall off, and black seed pods appear, which I knock off---and then, it bursts into bloom again. I have visions of thousands of little lantana sprouts...
Moving to the backyard, I have some of the tallest, craziest marigolds blooming in the veggie beds. They're HUGE! I've had to pull some out, because while I wanted them to shade the tender bush bean plants, they're now blocking out all the sun.
Fall tomatoes are blooming, but so far, no fruit has set. I have high hopes for this latest group of flowers, since the weather has been cooler, and we're now dipping into the 60s at night. I've harvested three fat, squishy green tomato hornworms this week. Am I the only one who says "you little bastard" whenever I find one of these chowing down on my tomato vines?
The fall zucchini are blossoming, but mostly male flowers so far. Only one squash has set, and I whisper encouraging words every time I weed---which is daily, because the nut grass seems determined to take over this part of the yard. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some decent zucchini this fall, because the spring crop was sparse.
My sweet little ichiban eggplants are blooming, and I've already harvested one decent fruit. These grow long and slender, like cucumbers.
That's it for this month. Here's hoping for a brilliant fall!
This post is for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, gardeners from around the world snap pics of what's blooming in their gardens. If you blog about your garden, join in!
Anyway, here's what's blooming in the garden today:
My three little four nerve daisies are valiantly blooming away, come rain or shine. I just bought another gallon-sized plant to put in behind them, so there will be a nice little cluster of yellow daisies right by the front door. Sweet!
The roses seem to be holding their own. The yellow rose at left is the one with all the fragrance, and despite its checkered past, it seems to be steadily blooming, and farily disease free, which is a small miracle. The yellow Knockout roses, below, are still sort of under-sized, but one is blooming abundantly, while the other is not blooming at all. I think Miss Not Blooming At All will be moving to the yellow bed with her sister soon. I'm thinking she's just not getting enough sun.
In the shade bed, the iris is blooming here and there. In the Dallas planting guide, it says to divide iris now, which makes me nervous. I think I'll wait a little longer.While I'm dividing, the Mexican petunias below are prime candidates. My three small plants all look like this one now---huge, with obvious multiples, and covered with blooms. I need to do some reading, and find out when prime time for dividing these might be, because I really want to spread them out to cover more of the bed, almost as edging.
Moving back out into the blazing sun, the gaura is so tall that the rain made it bend forward. It's covered with white blooms, which look so pretty when they're whirling in a breeze. I love this plant, but I'm not convinced I should have planted it in such an open area. I wish the white cherry sage in front of them would grow faster, and provide a little support.
Across the walkway, the coral cherry sage is blooming. I lost the center portion of two of the three bushes this summer, so they're both sort of fan shaped right now, but this plant is so forgiving, I have a feeling that when I cut them back, they'll fluff right out into shape again.
The lantana is going through this interesting cycle where it blooms like crazy, then all the flowers fall off, and black seed pods appear, which I knock off---and then, it bursts into bloom again. I have visions of thousands of little lantana sprouts...
Moving to the backyard, I have some of the tallest, craziest marigolds blooming in the veggie beds. They're HUGE! I've had to pull some out, because while I wanted them to shade the tender bush bean plants, they're now blocking out all the sun.
Fall tomatoes are blooming, but so far, no fruit has set. I have high hopes for this latest group of flowers, since the weather has been cooler, and we're now dipping into the 60s at night. I've harvested three fat, squishy green tomato hornworms this week. Am I the only one who says "you little bastard" whenever I find one of these chowing down on my tomato vines?
The fall zucchini are blossoming, but mostly male flowers so far. Only one squash has set, and I whisper encouraging words every time I weed---which is daily, because the nut grass seems determined to take over this part of the yard. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some decent zucchini this fall, because the spring crop was sparse.
My sweet little ichiban eggplants are blooming, and I've already harvested one decent fruit. These grow long and slender, like cucumbers.
That's it for this month. Here's hoping for a brilliant fall!
This post is for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, gardeners from around the world snap pics of what's blooming in their gardens. If you blog about your garden, join in!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Garden Bloggers Bloom Day
It's the 15th, and time for another Bloom Day post. This month, I have much more to show off than I did in July. We've had about a week of long, soaking rains since then, so the garden recovered from the spell of over 100 degree days, and burst into bloom again. Here's what's blooming this morning, in the already blazing sun:
Crape myrtle trees in the backyard, above, and the front, at left. The whole back fence line is 30' magenta crape myrtle trees---one of the few redeeming landscaping features I inherited from the previous owners. While they insisted on mutilating the trees by cropping the tops every year, and stripping away the sprouts at the sides, I've let the back fence go wild. The sun hits these full on in the morning, so it's hard to see just how beautiful the brilliant magenta flowers are. The only down side: the flowers shed all over the place, creating a mess. I notice Bad Neighbor has been parking his truck in front of his own house since they started blooming...
Marigolds are still blooming in the vegetable bed. Since this is the one place that gets watered regularly, they're happy as clams. I've been dropping the dried seed heads into the soil around the fall tomatoes, hoping they'll sprout up and create a natural defense against pests---and also, crowd out the nut grass, which I seem to pull up daily.
Speaking of tomatoes, the fall vines are growing steadily, and already in flower. It's been really hot here, so I don't expect any fruit to set from these flowers---but it's a good sign that they're blooming, anyway.
In the herb bed, both the basil and the arugula have bolted, and are in flower. The arugula flowers are really lovely and delicate, so even though they indicate the end of tasty salad greens, I don't mind. Soon, this whole bed will be disassembled, and the surviving perennials will move to a permanent wood bed.
Moving to the front yard, the Mexican petunias are still blooming a bit. These have really flowered for a long time, and all three plants have grown so much, they're ready to be divided in the fall.
The rose bush I moved from the backyard trash pile is thriving in its new home. The blooms have been a little small, but still just as fragrant. I feel a little victory every time I walk past, because after years of fighting lack of sun in the shade bed, and then black mold in the backyard, it's now green and healthy.
By this time last year, the coreopsis had already died down to the ground, and I didn't think they'd come back. I moved them to the new yellow bed this spring, and they've been filling out very slowly, and giving a flower here and there. They're not as tall as they should be, but seem happy, so I'm just waiting and watching to see what they decide to do.
Three little four nerve daisies have started to bloom, after suffering through late planting and intense heat. They still look a little pale, but they're supposed to be pretty drough tolerant. They're awfully sweet little flowers, so I hope they spread out when the temps cool a bit.
The Knockout roses have been blooming so much, I can't keep up with the dead heading. They're truly happy in the wretched heat. Right now, one is down by the sidewalk, and one is in the yellow bed. I think they should both be in the yellow bed, and I definitely have room, so maybe in the fall, I'll do a little moving around.
The gauras are hard to photograph, but both grew like crazy, and sent up dozens of flowers after the rain.
The cherry sage is also blooming like crazy. Sadly, two of the three seem to be sick, and whole sections of them are dying. I've been trimming away the dead stuff, and hoping the plants will survive. This one has not fallen to whatever plague the other two have met, and is still round and lovely.
This lantana was a one gallon, spindly little plant a year ago. Now, it's The Lantana That Ate Euless. It's huge, and after the rain, it went from no flowers to covered with flowers. It's amazing what a deep watering will do.
I'm not sure what the three giant liriope are doing. They're half green, half brown, and sending up dozens of little purple flower stalks. I think I'll dig these up in the fall, divide them, pull out the brown stuff if I can, and make sure they go back into bigger holes with more good dirt in them. I think I skimped on the digging when I planted them, and the roots are now hitting black clay.
Back for another month, the butterfly weed is still sitting in the holding pen on the front porch, waiting to be planted. I don't know why I haven't done anything with it. It seems like every time I head out to plant it, something else catches my attention, and I don't get around to it. Still, as long as I remember to water the poor thing, it continues to bloom.
That's it for this month!
This post is for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, gardeners from around the world show off what's flowering in their gardens. If you have a garden, join in the fun!
Crape myrtle trees in the backyard, above, and the front, at left. The whole back fence line is 30' magenta crape myrtle trees---one of the few redeeming landscaping features I inherited from the previous owners. While they insisted on mutilating the trees by cropping the tops every year, and stripping away the sprouts at the sides, I've let the back fence go wild. The sun hits these full on in the morning, so it's hard to see just how beautiful the brilliant magenta flowers are. The only down side: the flowers shed all over the place, creating a mess. I notice Bad Neighbor has been parking his truck in front of his own house since they started blooming...
Marigolds are still blooming in the vegetable bed. Since this is the one place that gets watered regularly, they're happy as clams. I've been dropping the dried seed heads into the soil around the fall tomatoes, hoping they'll sprout up and create a natural defense against pests---and also, crowd out the nut grass, which I seem to pull up daily.
Speaking of tomatoes, the fall vines are growing steadily, and already in flower. It's been really hot here, so I don't expect any fruit to set from these flowers---but it's a good sign that they're blooming, anyway.
In the herb bed, both the basil and the arugula have bolted, and are in flower. The arugula flowers are really lovely and delicate, so even though they indicate the end of tasty salad greens, I don't mind. Soon, this whole bed will be disassembled, and the surviving perennials will move to a permanent wood bed.
Moving to the front yard, the Mexican petunias are still blooming a bit. These have really flowered for a long time, and all three plants have grown so much, they're ready to be divided in the fall. 
The rose bush I moved from the backyard trash pile is thriving in its new home. The blooms have been a little small, but still just as fragrant. I feel a little victory every time I walk past, because after years of fighting lack of sun in the shade bed, and then black mold in the backyard, it's now green and healthy.
By this time last year, the coreopsis had already died down to the ground, and I didn't think they'd come back. I moved them to the new yellow bed this spring, and they've been filling out very slowly, and giving a flower here and there. They're not as tall as they should be, but seem happy, so I'm just waiting and watching to see what they decide to do.
Three little four nerve daisies have started to bloom, after suffering through late planting and intense heat. They still look a little pale, but they're supposed to be pretty drough tolerant. They're awfully sweet little flowers, so I hope they spread out when the temps cool a bit.
The Knockout roses have been blooming so much, I can't keep up with the dead heading. They're truly happy in the wretched heat. Right now, one is down by the sidewalk, and one is in the yellow bed. I think they should both be in the yellow bed, and I definitely have room, so maybe in the fall, I'll do a little moving around.
The gauras are hard to photograph, but both grew like crazy, and sent up dozens of flowers after the rain.
The cherry sage is also blooming like crazy. Sadly, two of the three seem to be sick, and whole sections of them are dying. I've been trimming away the dead stuff, and hoping the plants will survive. This one has not fallen to whatever plague the other two have met, and is still round and lovely.
This lantana was a one gallon, spindly little plant a year ago. Now, it's The Lantana That Ate Euless. It's huge, and after the rain, it went from no flowers to covered with flowers. It's amazing what a deep watering will do.
I'm not sure what the three giant liriope are doing. They're half green, half brown, and sending up dozens of little purple flower stalks. I think I'll dig these up in the fall, divide them, pull out the brown stuff if I can, and make sure they go back into bigger holes with more good dirt in them. I think I skimped on the digging when I planted them, and the roots are now hitting black clay.
Back for another month, the butterfly weed is still sitting in the holding pen on the front porch, waiting to be planted. I don't know why I haven't done anything with it. It seems like every time I head out to plant it, something else catches my attention, and I don't get around to it. Still, as long as I remember to water the poor thing, it continues to bloom.
That's it for this month!
This post is for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, gardeners from around the world show off what's flowering in their gardens. If you have a garden, join in the fun!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
In the Works
On the window ledge of my under-construction dining room are some seedlings ready to be planted. On the left, three out of six zucchini seeds sprouted. in the center, four out of six bush green beans are growing like weeds. And left, my second attempt at eggplant has yet to produce a single seedling. I'm beginning to think I should just surrender.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
No News is...No News
It's been a while since I've posted, because the gardening situation has been bleak.
First, we were hit with a ridiculous string of over 100 degree days, which usually doesn't happen until August.
Then, we had rain. Lots and lots of rain. Daily rain.
Now, we're back to hot again. Today's heat advisory number was 105 degrees. The weather heads keep giving warnings about staying out of the sun, staying hydrated, and not overdoing it.
Unfortunately, since we had so much rain, the backyard was looking scary this morning. The grass was so tall, I was in danger of losing Weevil in it. So, I got up early, and got out there at 8AM to mow, weed whack, spray Roundup, and generally tidy things up. The yard looks bearable now.
I even started taking down the cinderblock beds this morning, and moving the dirt over to the new wood ones. I'm hoping to have another one filled this week---and I have the 500 pounds of assorted bagged dirt items in my truck to make it happen.
Pics shortly of the seedlings growing on the dining room window sill.
First, we were hit with a ridiculous string of over 100 degree days, which usually doesn't happen until August.
Then, we had rain. Lots and lots of rain. Daily rain.
Now, we're back to hot again. Today's heat advisory number was 105 degrees. The weather heads keep giving warnings about staying out of the sun, staying hydrated, and not overdoing it.
Unfortunately, since we had so much rain, the backyard was looking scary this morning. The grass was so tall, I was in danger of losing Weevil in it. So, I got up early, and got out there at 8AM to mow, weed whack, spray Roundup, and generally tidy things up. The yard looks bearable now.
I even started taking down the cinderblock beds this morning, and moving the dirt over to the new wood ones. I'm hoping to have another one filled this week---and I have the 500 pounds of assorted bagged dirt items in my truck to make it happen.
Pics shortly of the seedlings growing on the dining room window sill.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Garden Bloggers Bloom Day Bust
Today's the 15th, so I would normally be flaunting the lovliness that's blooming in my garden---but it's July in Texas, and we've now had 15 days of over 100 degree temps. It's bleak in the garden today...
This butterfly weed is still sitting in the holding pen on the front porch, where I can dump water in it regularly, which is probably why it's blooming. I keep trying to find a cool time to get it into the ground, but it just hasn't happened yet.
All three Mexican petunias are blooming, and spreading nicely. Their blooms don't seem to last very long, so deadheading has been a challenge, but there are tons of them, so the pretty purple overpowers the faded brown. I just planted these in May, and I think two of the three already big enough to consider dividing in the fall.
The two surviving Knockour roses, plus the rose bush I transplanted from the backyard are all blooming, and seem to be doing well. The other two Knockouts withered and died. I think I kept them too wet while I was waiting to plant them, and their roots never recovered. Note to self: stop buying plants unless you definitely have the time and place to put them in the ground right away.
Naturally, the red yucca is still blooming, and happy as a clam. The lantana at the base of it has stopped blooming completely, and I'm not sure why. I noticed this morning it now has lots of seed pods on it. The last time it stopped blooming, I knocked all the pods off, and deep watered it, and it burst back into flower. Note to self: lantana needs to be deadheaded.
Moving to the backyard, the basil is in bloom. I've surrendered, and let it go ahead and bolt, because I was pinching off the tops daily to prevent it. Go on and bolt, sweetie.
Marigolds are blooming. The big ones above were planted around the squash bed. The squash is pretty much spent, and now the marigolds are blooming. Nice timing. The little ones at left are new, in the fall tomato bed. I went ahead and bought plants, since clearly my seed/seedling timing isn't the best, but I also transplanted some of the big ones to this bed, and am deadheading the seeds right into the soil. Perhaps I'll have a decent fall marigold crop...
Just as I was turning to go insided, I caught a flutter of wings over the honeysuckle, which is just barely still blooming.
This post is for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. If you have a garden, join in the fun!
This butterfly weed is still sitting in the holding pen on the front porch, where I can dump water in it regularly, which is probably why it's blooming. I keep trying to find a cool time to get it into the ground, but it just hasn't happened yet.
All three Mexican petunias are blooming, and spreading nicely. Their blooms don't seem to last very long, so deadheading has been a challenge, but there are tons of them, so the pretty purple overpowers the faded brown. I just planted these in May, and I think two of the three already big enough to consider dividing in the fall.
The two surviving Knockour roses, plus the rose bush I transplanted from the backyard are all blooming, and seem to be doing well. The other two Knockouts withered and died. I think I kept them too wet while I was waiting to plant them, and their roots never recovered. Note to self: stop buying plants unless you definitely have the time and place to put them in the ground right away.
Naturally, the red yucca is still blooming, and happy as a clam. The lantana at the base of it has stopped blooming completely, and I'm not sure why. I noticed this morning it now has lots of seed pods on it. The last time it stopped blooming, I knocked all the pods off, and deep watered it, and it burst back into flower. Note to self: lantana needs to be deadheaded.
Moving to the backyard, the basil is in bloom. I've surrendered, and let it go ahead and bolt, because I was pinching off the tops daily to prevent it. Go on and bolt, sweetie.
Marigolds are blooming. The big ones above were planted around the squash bed. The squash is pretty much spent, and now the marigolds are blooming. Nice timing. The little ones at left are new, in the fall tomato bed. I went ahead and bought plants, since clearly my seed/seedling timing isn't the best, but I also transplanted some of the big ones to this bed, and am deadheading the seeds right into the soil. Perhaps I'll have a decent fall marigold crop...
Just as I was turning to go insided, I caught a flutter of wings over the honeysuckle, which is just barely still blooming.
This post is for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. If you have a garden, join in the fun!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Note To Self...
...find a place in the backyard to grow sunflowers!
I bought these at Central Market today, after spending part of our monthly mixed-media group meeting staring at them from above. They're as big as salad plates, with stalks as thick as my index finger. Amazing. I want to grow some.
I tried putting these in one large vase, and they looked stupid. My solution was to plop them each into a glass bottle with a long neck. They look so pretty lined up against the kitchen backsplash, but I may have to cave in and bring one in here by the computer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
