Japanese maple at peak fall color
December 17, 2010 After school today my daughter and I simply stood amid the green branches of the Japanese maple at the front corner of the house, immersing ourselves in precision-cut, flaming red leaves. Blushing hotly, the maple is at its peak of fall color, and the very first leaves ...
Deer me! Whitetail buck torments yucca
December 15, 2010 Argh! A small herd of deer moved through the front garden this morning, as they do nearly every day, and I caught this buck in the act of shredding one of my softleaf yuccas with his antlers. I’d wondered why this yucca seemed a little beaten up ...
Japanese maple fall foliage finally
December 13, 2010 Christmas trees go up before many a central Texas tree accepts that autumn is here and drops the green facade to reveal its fall colors. My Japanese maple, a species Acer palmatum, is one of the holdouts, waiting nearly until the winter solstice to blaze forth. Rich ...
Hits of green (and tan) in the winter garden
December 12, 2010 This post is for Linda and Mark of Each Little World, who are blanketed under their third snowstorm of the week in Madison, Wisconsin, and who asked for “hits of green” from southern bloggers. A twilight stroll reveals soft blue-greens amid the leafy exposed limestone in my ...
Hey! I'm trying to sleep here!
December 09, 2010 You! Yeah, you. Can’t an owl get a little privacy? Sheesh! All material © 2006-2011 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited ...
Hey! I’m trying to sleep here!
December 09, 2010 You! Yeah, you. Can’t an owl get a little privacy? Sheesh! All material © 2006-2011 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited ...
Screech owl in the house!
December 07, 2010 Look who’s here! A little screech owl has moved into our owl box. For the past few days, I’d suspected we had a tenant. The box is visible from the window over the kitchen sink, and looking into the dark opening I’d seen a shadow or color ...
Succulent goodness for Monday morning
December 06, 2010 Got the Monday morning blues? I do—with blue chalk fingers (Senecio mandraliscae). ‘Bloodspot’ mangave’s purple freckles make me pretty happy too. Close-ups of succulents always reveal such interesting details: stripes, spots, light-tipped spines. Whether on the windowsill or in the garden, succulents reward the close observer. All ...
Plant This: Chrysocephalum apiculatum
December 05, 2010 For those of you in warm climates like Austin, here’s a great little ground cover with everlasting, silvery green leaves and nearly nonstop yellow flowers. Australian native Chrysocephalum apiculatum ‘Flambe Yellow’ was sent to me for trial by Proven Winners in the spring of 2009, and it’s ...
Shady winter garden still has sparkle
December 02, 2010 The Southern garden is quieter in winter but still mostly green. This pink abutilon, unbothered by cooler weather, is leafy and setting buds. One pink-veined blossom is already open. I’ve seen a few honeybees around, even at this late date. I wonder if they’ve found the abutilon ...
Light effects with purple fountain grass
December 01, 2010 Riding lower in the sky, the winter sun lights up the purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’) throughout the day, but in late afternoon it really zings. The inflorescence of purple fountain grass is always touchable, as soft and fuzzy as I’d imagine a bumblebee’s back to ...
Garden goodness after 1st freeze
November 30, 2010 My northwest Austin garden experienced its first hard freeze of the season on the 26th, but I didn’t have a chance to inspect what got zapped until Sunday, when I took these pictures. ‘Radrazz’ Knock Out rose is, not surprisingly, unfazed. I’ve been wanting a metal arbor ...
Grassy Foliage Follow-Up
November 16, 2010 The day after Bloom Day is all about leaves, bark, stems, cones, seedheads, etc. here at Digging, and maybe on your blog as well. Join me for Foliage Follow-Up, a celebration of non-flowery plant beauty. Pictured here is dwarf papyrus (Cyperus papyrus ‘Nanus’), a bog plant growing ...
Vibrant Bloom Day color
November 15, 2010 To celebrate this rather wintry (by Austin standards) Bloom Day, I’ll lead with a smattering of pretty flowers on the ‘Ava’ agastache. I had high hopes for ‘Ava’ in her 2nd year in my garden, but she kind of petered out early compared to last year. I ...
Mellow & not-so yellows
November 14, 2010 Is this the week of peak fall color (such as it is) in Austin? I think so. All over town crepe myrtles are turning a burnished orange, cedar elms shine pale yellow, and flame-leaf sumacs are, well, flaming red. The tint of my sunglasses adds richness to ...
Through a glass darkly
November 12, 2010 Gazing up from the watery depths, I spied a mysterious figure in the garden. Who could it be? All material © 2006-2010 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited ...
