You voted for Digging — thank you!
Dear readers, thank you for voting all through last month for Digging in the About.com 2012 Readers’ Choice Awards! I found out yesterday that Digging won for Best Gardening Blog! Now, I know how many really good garden blogs are out there, and I know how excellent my fellow finalists’ blogs are. I also know how foreign some of the plants that I write about, which grow well in central Texas’ unique climate, can seem to gardeners in other parts of the country and world. As I write about gardening in a difficult, dry (when it’s not flooding), blazing hot climate, I’m honored that my long-distance readers find that Digging has relevance, and that it’s meaningful to you. And to my Texas readers, we who’ve been overlooked for so long by national gardening magazines and books, thank you for your support and for continuing to inspire me with your gardening enthusiasm!
And now for a few gratuitous images of the garden, shot yesterday on a warm spring afternoon. Pictured at top is red globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua), a gorgeous semi-evergreen for sunny, dry soils, which blooms from spring to frost. Just cut it back by about a third between bloom cycles.
My soap aloes (Aloe maculata, previously saponaria) are in full bloom in the protected raised bed behind the house. I love these red-orange candelabras.
In the deep shade of a live oak grows a serendipitous combination of Acanthus mollis, Ming fern (Asparagus macowanii), and a wild, pink-blooming oxalis that simply appeared on its own. This combination delights me, and it could only be topped if the acanthus decides to bloom for the first time. Come on… The acanthus and oxalis will melt away and go dormant once temperatures really heat up, but they’ll return in late fall. The Ming fern has proved resilient in heat, cold, and drought.
The first “real” waterlily bloom of the season: ‘Colorado.’ It did bloom once or twice over our mild winter, but the flowers in cool months are faded and a mere shadow of themselves. This is how it should look. In the heat of summer it goes a little more apricot.
The lavender-pink spires of Gulf Coast penstemon (Penstemon tenuis) are up and attracting eager bees. This is a lovely native for dappled shade or morning sun (or even a wee bit of afternoon sun, as in this case), especially mixed with columbines and purple oxalis.
Gray globemallow, whose leaves are silvery compared with those of the red globemallow, is a newer addition to my garden. It’s doing well with less sun than it would prefer, as is the ‘Color Guard’ yucca beneath it.
Happy spring! And thank you again!
All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Congratulations, Pam. You inspired me to start a blog and I love every posting you make; full of wonderful information and stunning photography. Your plant choices have motivated me to add new plants to my garden. Yes, I garden in your zone, but I can understand that readers in other zones would also read your postings. There is nothing I love more than to read about gardens in California and England. In fact anywhere. There is always something to learn, plants that overlap zones and garden design ideas.
Congratulations Pam. I thought you were definitely the most deserving of this reward. I totally enjoy your writing style and beautifully composed pictures and the fact that you recommend the use of natives in the garden. I often send copies of your post to other friends to give them ideas of how to use natives in their own gardens.
Delighted to say, “Congratulations” and well-deserved! I think many of us didn’t miss a single day in voting for your very educational, interesting, and consistently beautiful blog. Thanks for all the enjoyment and knowledge.
Congrats!
Congrats, Ms. Digging! I agree w/ you on places that are overlooked, etc. And even if not 100% relevant specifically, a good blog on horticulture can inspire anyone anywhere, and at the least, show what others are doing. Either way, “it’s all good”, whether the Death Star boils ATX, or is a convection oven bake in Abq!
Congratulations! A very well-deserved award.
Congratulations! I love your blog because its inspiring me to work with different plants in my new garden. I was actually happy to find a blog relevant to my climate (“difficult, dry (when it’s not flooding), blazing hot climate” describes my desert very well!) And your photography is beautiful!
Excellent choice! You make hot and dry beautiful.
Congrats! Love the spring blooms. That Aloe is especially pretty.
Congrats!!! A natural choice… your blog is inspirational, informative, and entertaining. When I grow up, I want to blog like you! You’ve motivated and inspired me in many ways these last few months. Thank you!
Dear Pam … I just love it when the team/person/blog I vote for wins!! Doing the happy dance!!
Congrats – its so well deserved!
Congratulations!!! It’s a well deserved award.
You also inspired me to start my blog. And, I’ve learned so much from reading your blog.
Way to go!! Keep up the good work.
Congrats , a well deserved award.
Not in Texas, but I voted for you. I enjoy the way you write about gardening in a hot climate. I can feel my garden sighing with relief as the first Oxalis leaves appear.
Congratulations Pam! You ROCK!
Congratulations, Pam! I don’t know anyone who deserves this as much as you and your blog. For a long time now I have been telling people who live or move here to avoid nationally published books and magazines and concentrate on the locally oriented ones. I’m glad to see validation by someone as authoritative as you. BTW, where did you get the orange globe mallow? I’ve been wanting one for my new garden, and you have only increased my desire with such good ideas for combinations with other plants. Things that do well for you tend to do well here in Dallas, too.
Thanks, Peter! I’ve gotten all my globe mallows at Barton Springs Nursery in Austin. I’d be glad to send you seeds this fall if you remind me later this growing season. —Pam
That’s wonderful news! Congratulations!!! Laura
Congratulations!!! Your blog is great! Mary Delle
Congratulations Pam. Now I know the name of my aloe. It’s about to bloom.
Congratulations! Yours was the first gardening blog I ever read and it is still my favorite. By the way, I announced in my blog today that I was scrapping the prairie garden and returning to lawn.
Ha! Happy April Fools to you too, Michael! —Pam
Pam, much-deserved congratulations! You ARE an inspiration to many, and your beautiful photos and easy-to-read writing style complement your knowledge that you are so eager to share. Your posts have helped me tremendously to make better plant choice. For the first time in 5 years, I’m actually liking my garden, and the maintenance this year has been minimal compared to previous years. Good job! With your background, perhaps you need to start a magazine – or e-magazine – for gardening in the Southwest with realistic suggestions.
Wow. What an honor, but it’s no surprise to me. Your attention to detail, great photography and thoughtful, interesting posts are delightful. Congratulations!
Well deserved. You’re such a gift to our blogging community with beautiful pictures, relevant information, and a generous spirit. Thanks for all the work you do to make our lives and gardens better places.
congrats!!
We have some pink blooming oxalis that came in on its own and has taken over my flower beds in front of the house. My husband declares them a noxious weed but I think they are pretty ground cover even if they are a little bossy. 🙂 Oh well.
A big congratulations to you! I’m glad to see you get the recognition you deserve. Your passion for gardening shines through with each post. I’ve also enjoyed several blogs on your blogroll. Keep up the good work!
Way to go, Pam! You had some tough competition. I love those other blogs, too, but your blog has a special perspective that makes it unique. It’s high time your blog was recognized for its impact, and how neat that the award came from your readers! You’re an inspiration to gardeners and bloggers everywhere.