Oxblood lily ribbon of red and ruellia reticence
September 24, 2014 The oxblood lilies (Rhodophiala bifida) atop the retaining wall in the back garden are in full, crimson bloom, and that red ribbon makes me so happy when I step out to view it in the warm afternoon light. This cluster is growing amid the spiny arms of ...
Fall blooms in front, construction in back
September 23, 2014 Kicking summer to the curb always feels satisfying in central Texas, especially when fall’s arrival is not just a date on the calendar but marked by cooler, drier air and rain. Between Wednesday night and Friday morning of last week, my garden received at least 8 inches ...
Construction in the garden and other happenings
September 17, 2014 It was a one-two punch, seeing colorful stuccoed walls in Phoenix and Tucson in April and then in Portland in July. Unable to resist the siren song of structure, functionality, and color, I’ve hired a mason to build some walls in the back garden. Two days ago ...
Bold leaves and light-catching grasses for Foliage Follow-Up
September 16, 2014 I’m giving Moby, my ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave (A. ovatifolia), pride of place in today’s Foliage Follow-Up post. At nearly 7 feet across, he’s the star of the back garden in all seasons, but especially in late summer when the fall-blooming perennials haven’t really revved up yet. An ...
Trying Duranta ‘Sapphire Showers’ for end-of-summer color
September 14, 2014 My late-summer garden was feeling kind of puny to me last week — before we got the November-worthy cold front yesterday that dropped Austin’s high temperature to 65 incredible-freaking degrees and brought 1-1/4 inches of rain to my garden!! Sorry, I digress. Before that blessed weather event ...
First oxblood lily heralding fall
September 10, 2014 After our first September rain I start my annual oxblood lily (Rhodophiala bifida) watch, eagerly scanning the garden floor for green shoots nosing up or, more likely, the improbably sudden appearance of red trumpets. These September-blooming bulbs, dormant spring through summer, pop up that quickly after a ...
Bee-autiful activity in the curbside garden
September 07, 2014 Garlic chives (Allium tuberosum) in full bloom are like a flashing neon sign saying EATS to the local honeybees. Man, do they love it. So do I. They brighten up the summer-tired border with their frothy white blooms. Here’s a wider view of the curbside bed. The ...
Slow evolution of a side garden
September 05, 2014 Here’s why, years ago, I started taking pictures of my yard, despite the likelihood of looking cuckoo to the neighbors while snapping away at stretches of lawn or barely there, newly planted beds: it’s fun to go back later and see how things have changed. Changes need ...
Agave spikes and potted succulents get me through summer
September 04, 2014 I feel we’re in the home stretch now, but even at its worst summer can’t wear these plants down. In sun, Queen Victoria agave (A. victoriae-reginae), with its pleated, white-edged leaves, just laughs at the Death Star. Agave stricta, which really needs a bigger pot, and Agave ...
Plant This: Candy lily blooms are a sweet surprise
August 29, 2014 Visiting the garden of my friend Cat/The Whimsical Gardener earlier this summer, I exclaimed over a dainty, freckled flower on a long stem, with the sword-like leaves of an iris. Candy lily, she said, adding that she took no particular care and it thrived in morning to ...
Inspiration for my new bottle tree comes from the desert
August 28, 2014 When it’s too hot to plant, consider planting a bottle tree. It’ll never need watering, and the more the Death Star shines on it, the better it looks. I made a simple, post-style bottle tree 5 years ago. But the cedar post was rotting, and it was ...
Garlic chive time!
August 27, 2014 Like Captain von Trapp’s edelweiss, the clean and bright flowers of garlic chives (Allium tuberosum) cheer me up when I’m feeling down in the August dumps. “Won’t be long now,” they whisper. “This is summer’s last gasp.” With puffballs of white flowers held aloft on slender stems ...
I spy a garden spider, and she’s not alone
August 26, 2014 Everyone’s been talking this month about the common but uncommonly large garden spider, also known as black-and-yellow argiope. As it happens, my garden is home to at least one of these colorful, creepy, yet beneficial predators. She’s a big ‘un! She builds her web in the curbside ...
Waiting for autumn’s reviving touch
August 24, 2014 Whew! After writing 16 posts about Portland gardens, each containing scads of photos of summer-lush and richly blooming borders, I’m somehow ready for a return to my own Death Star-blasted garden. August is my least favorite gardening month here in Austin. I’m over the heat. I’m over ...
Succulent and cactus container garden thrives under Death Star: August Foliage Follow-Up
August 16, 2014 Two months ago I acquired another steel pipe remnant and set it in the gravel garden by the front door. There it sat empty for nearly 8 weeks as I traveled and debated what to plant in it. Finally, taking my own advice not to plant anything ...
Berkeley sedge lawn after mowing
June 28, 2014 Two weeks after I posted my 1-year assessment of the Berkeley sedge (Carex divulsa) lawn, the sedge had gone to seed, it was looking pretty rangy, and it was time to mow. Mowing it on a high setting with my battery-operated mower took all of 5 minutes ...
