1st garden–2007

December 07, 2007 When December rolls around and the home-improvement stores fill up with cut Christmas trees and you can’t find anything but pansies on the garden tables, Austinites can still get their gardening fix at several wonderful independent nurseries around town. Since the ground never freezes (we haven’t even ...

December 07, 2007 Arabian lilac, or purple vitex (Vitex trifolia atropurpurea) Did anyone think I’d be ready to try another vitex so soon after removing the last one? Neither did I. And then I saw this beauty at Barton Springs Nursery. With leaves that are green on top and purple ...

December 06, 2007 First Xris’s roof, then Elizabeth’s, and now mine. The necessity of replacing our balding and wind-damaged shingles could no longer be put off, so this week we had the house reroofed. I always dread repair work or painting on the house because of potential damage to the ...

December 05, 2007 At the Wildflower Center last weekend, I was drawn to the agaves and their sharp spikes, just as Aurora is drawn to the spindle of Maleficent’s spinning wheel in Sleeping Beauty. But without Maleficent thundering, “Touch it, I say!” This closeup of the central spiny leaves, furled ...

December 04, 2007 Photo courtesy of morgueFile There was much gnashing of teeth and vows of resistance among non-Blogger garden bloggers last week. (See my post and readers’ comments.) Dismayed to find that the comment fields on our favorite Blogger blogs had been altered by the powers-that-be (Google/Blogger)—our beloved “Other” ...

December 01, 2007 The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is a must-see destination in all seasons, but an autumn or winter visit is always delightful—and less crowded. Today was especially fun because Jill Nokes held a book-signing in the gift shop. Here she is holding a copy of her new ...

December 01, 2007 The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is a must-see destination in all seasons, but an autumn or winter visit is always delightful—and less crowded. Today was especially fun because Jill Nokes held a book-signing in the gift shop. Here she is holding a copy of her new ...

November 29, 2007 In the midst of my annoyance over the Blogger changes, I received an email from a new Austin garden blogger, Libby at Aurora Primavera, which immediately put me in a better mood. I love reading local garden blogs, and a new one always makes me happy. Libby ...

November 29, 2007While getting caught up on other bloggers’ posts tonight, I noticed a frustrating development. Many of the garden bloggers I visit host their sites at Blogger.com, and suddenly none of these sites allows me, a non-Blogger commenter, to leave my website link. Essentially, Blogger is now requiring anyone ...

November 29, 2007 ‘Marie Pavie’ rose Autumn days like today are what I dream of during Austin’s hot, sticky summers. The day was absolutely perfect—sunny, blue skies, 68 degrees, a slight crispness in the air. I wish I could say I spent the whole day outside, but alas, there was ...

November 28, 2007 Euphorbia tirucallii ‘Sticks on Fire’ A couple I’m friends with gave me this red pencil tree for my birthday. The husband explained, “We thought the pencil tree was appropriate since it is from Africa and there is a cool Texas version of the plant that grows around ...

November 27, 2007 This summer I posted about Austin’s goal to become certified as a Community Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. With a population of 735,000, Austin would be the largest city in the country and the first in Texas to become certified. Now I hear that Austin ...

November 26, 2007 Photo by Mary R. Vogt, courtesy of morgueFile Now that Thanksgiving is over, and our national obsession with turkey has ended for another year, I thought I’d show you my collection of non-edible birds. I never set out to collect bird ornaments, but somehow I’ve acquired quite ...

November 21, 2007 ‘Belinda’s Dream’ While preparing for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving Day feast, I took time to give thanks to my garden, just by being out in it for a few minutes and smelling the roses. Ahh, pink roses. Thanks. A bee is thankful for sweet ‘Belinda’s Dream’ as well. ‘Carefree ...

November 20, 2007 Great purple hairstreak. (Thanks for the ID, Lee.) A kaleidoscope of butterflies—and bees—have been fluttering around the shrubby white boneset (Eupatorium havanense ) for days. Also known as white mistflower, though much woodier and shrub-like than blue mistflower, it’s my latest blooming perennial, often starting around Halloween ...

November 20, 2007 May 2007. The Vitex agnus-castus in bloom was a sight to behold. Unfortunately, its beauty as a front-yard focal point was limited to about three months in late spring–early summer. Each summer it put on a tremendous amount of growth up top, but underneath the canopy, even ...