Waiting out the thunder
Yesterday I bought 12 bags of mulch, and today I bought 12 more, intending to take advantage of the cool temperatures at 9 am this morning (60 F; 15.5 C) to spread it in the new circle garden. But darkening skies and flickers of lightning dampened my enthusiasm, and instead I snapped a few shots of the garden and am waiting for the thunder to stop before I go back out. Here is my main patch of Texas bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis ) growing in the highest raised bed.
This is one of the Proven Winners plants that I’m trialing: ‘Senorita Rosalita’ cleome. I’ve never grown a cleome before and have no idea how they do in Austin, but I hope this one is a success. Rosalita is supposed to be heat tolerant and thornless.
Thornless? Not this Rita. Purple prickly pear (Opuntia macrocentra) is all budded up and ready to pop open its dazzling yellow flowers with red centers.
I’m quite taken with my new silver Mediterranean fan palm (Chamaerops humilis var.’cerifera’). It already brightens up the shady section of the new circle bed between several live oaks. With a silver or white shade-tolerant groundcover beneath it, it will look stunning. Bulbine from the previous owners is growing there now. I had no idea it tolerated so much shade, but it does, and flowers there too.
After seeing sedges in bloom in Lee’s garden, I decided to try them in my own. This is the native Texas sedge, Carex texensis , good for dry to moist shade.
I’m stealing everyone’s good finds. After Jenny found ‘Radsunny,’ the yellow Knock Out rose I’d been wanting to try, at Whole Foods of all places, I ran out to get one too. The flowers start out a deep yellow but fade as they age.
And an update on the ‘Macho Mocha’ mangave bloom stalk. See for yourself.
And here’s what I need to get cracking on right now—mulching the newly planted circle garden.
All material © 2006-2009 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
The more I see those Texas Bluebonnets the more I like them. I’m going to do a little research and see how they will do for us. They sure are pretty.
They’re irresistible to Texans, and for Alabamans too, it seems. I can send you some seed if you want. —Pam
I’m interested in hearing how the yellow Knock Out does for you. The cleome is pretty too. I hope the storms go away so you can get out there and work!
The storm clouds didn’t bring me any rain this morning, alas, but they went away after an hour or so, giving me time to finish mulching before I had to get the kids from school. I still need another 10 bags though. —Pam
Have fun mulching, Pam! Aren’t these temperatures great? I’m hoping the day’s weather will include a bit of rain later … after we’re done with our efforts in our gardens!
The weather this week has been perfect! Well, yes, we could use more rain, but it’s great weather for gardening. —Pam
Your circle garden is very nice! I’m looking forward to watching it flourish! The yellow Knockout is pretty, I like the pinkish tinge.
Thanks, Robin. I’ll get some pictures of newer roses on the Radsunny soon. They’re much more buttery. —Pam
I like your garden circle. Perhaps the weather will cooperate for you today.
It did! Thanks for visiting, Keewee. —Pam
I too am smitten with the bluebonnets. What a lovely photo, the lush color of the flowers juxtaposing the smooth stone garden art. I was sure that the cactus flower was a rose bud. What a beauty.
That Opuntia flower opened this afternoon. I’ll post a picture of it soon, Grace. —Pam
Pam, I had a white cleome last year that I thought was charming…the bees seemed to like it, too. Senorita Rosalita is favorite color and would be welcome in my garden..Are these test plants out yet? I want to get mulch/soil conditioner, but it has rained so much the bags weigh twice as much as normal! Your “baby Garden” is coming along nicely..I love the chess pawn in the middle of the garden! have fun mulching…it’s a good feeling of accomplishment to mulch. gail
I’m pretty sure all the plants they sent me are available for general purchase, Gail. Soon I’ll post a list of everything they sent. A couple of them—‘Diamond Frost’ euphorbia and ‘Toffee Twist’ sedge—were already growing in my garden. —Pam
Pam — don’t you hate gardening interruptus by weather? I was at Home Depot this morning at 7:30 getting soil, perlite, compost and a few other things. I fully intended to garden today, but the impending thunderstorm ran me out with only 1 plant and besides, it’s chilly out there. I am hoping it will warm up, so we can both garden in a little bit. BTW — I love the circle — it’s so cool there.
I got my mulching done. Did you have a chance to get your gardening done too, Diana? —Pam
We had the same thing happen on Sunday. I waited it out, darting out and in throughout the day. ended up getting a lot done after all. Love the Opuntia bloom shot. Don’t you just love the structure these plants provide in the garden, granted dangerous structure, but structure just the same!
Dangerous structure, for sure! I love those spiny plants. They’re my garden architecture. —Pam
I love bluebonnets too! SO many people have said how beautiful they are in Texas. Someday I hope to see them in person! We have Lupins here and when ours bloom I will take a picture! They grow around here wild.
The garden is looking great. The compost will be a big help too! I need to get busy on that myself!!! Have a great day!!
You too, Cindee. I look forward to seeing your lupines when they bloom. —Pam
We are waiting the rain in North FL, they say it will be ugly! Your gardens are beautiful, I am trying Cleome for the first time this year too, of course mine have thorns but are supposed to be heat tolerant as well!!
We’ll have to compare cleome notes at the end of the summer to see how the promised heat tolerance really panned out. —Pam
I love the structure of your circle bed! Can’t wait to see it as that plants mature. I had not noticed the “D” shaped bed in your previous posts? What are you planting in it?
The one with the triangular rock in the middle? I’ve got a ‘Winter Gem’ boxwood and some Texas sedge in there. For structure, I’ve planted a dwarf boxwood at each path corner in the circle garden. —Pam
Wow – that Senorita Rosalita is phenomenal! I also love the pale yellow rose – who would have thought that Whole Foods would carry something like that.
It’s a pleasure to watch the progress on the circle garden as well.
Chloe M.
Thanks for following along, Chloe. I’ve been having fun creating this new garden space. —Pam
I thought that was a rose bloom coming up behind the prickly pear. What a beautiful bud. I can’t wait to see the circle garden all mulched. Do you have a second floor? How did you get that shot? It looks cool. Maybe you should have a knot garden someplace?? A view like that would look cool at a knot garden. I just love knot gardens even though my garden isn’t formal nor do I have a view like the one you showed. Sigh~~ I keep trying to get my little knot to grow. Slow growing plants I used. Seesh.
Lisa, I took that photo from the elevated deck behind our house. It’s kind of a pitiful space right now, with almost no furniture, plus it gets baking hot in the afternoon, but perhaps I’ll take a picture to show you. We hope to roof it eventually, and then we’ll have a nice, comfy spot to overlook part of the garden. —Pam
I’ve been eyeing that yellow Knockout for sometime Pam. Let us know what you think of it. Hope you get to your mulching soon. That’s what I spent the better part of my morning doing too. 🙂
Racquel, I will be sure to let you know how the ‘Radsunny’ performs. It’s only getting part sun in my new, shady garden, so I expect that to slow it down a bit. But my ‘Radrazz’ roses still bloom in part shade, and I expect the yellow to also. —Pam
Great photos Pam. I have some Cleome — sometimes. It reseeded and I haven’t a clue whether I will have more this year or not. The long seed pods look like spider legs and are filled with poppy seed sized seeds. The color of Senorita Rosalita is very pretty. Cool prickly pear too. Macho macho man…….. every time I see it I hear that dang song!!! EAR WORM
Sorry about the ear worm, Janet, but I couldn’t resist making that connection. 🙂 —Pam
Your baby garden is looking fine. Love all the flowers. Have you ever heard of a tree cactus? I have one. They are easy to propagate. They will bloom & it is yellow. I must admit that I’ve neglected mine a bit but plan to put it in a larger pot. I thing that will help.
I haven’t heard of a tree cactus, Lola. I bet the bloom is pretty. —Pam
I’ve never grown Cleome, so I didn’t know they had thorns. I have heard they have a funky scent. I like the color of that one. If it doesn’t smell bad, I might like to try that one. I love the Opuntia flowers, and it looks like you’ll have several on it.
This cleome is said not to smell bad. I took a whiff this morning, and there’s a faint odor that’s not exactly pleasant, but I had to get really close to smell it. —Pam
I’ve been watching your Mangave stalk with interest. I always called these plants Manfreda, until I learned they are a cross between Agave and Manfreda. One that does well here in Phoenix, at least in the shade, is Mangave ‘Bloodspot’. Horrible name, but nice plant!
Aiyana
You’re the second commenter to mention the ‘Bloodspot.’ I’ll have to look that one up. —Pam
Oooh, I’ve been wanting to try RadSunny, too! It’s on my wishlist at Barton Springs Nursery. Which Whole Foods did you find it at? Were there more?
I got it at the Whole Foods downtown, Lori, and they had a ton of them when I was there. —Pam
Thank you, Pam, for this wonderful blog. I found you when I looked for photos of a chenille plant, and stayed to read when I realized you are in Austin. I am a native Texan, living in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina, where the growing climate is so very different. I miss the natives I had in Dallas, the winecups especially. I’ve found I can grow echinacea in the one sunny spot in my yard, but the flower of my heart, the bluebonnet, will never live here. Now that I’ve found you, though, I can feast my eyes on your beautiful bluebonnets. Thanks!
Thank you, Susan, for visiting and commenting! The mountains of N.C. are lovely indeed; I lived in Raleigh for five years and visited the Asheville area often. Come back and visit whenever you need a bluebonnet or other Texas plant fix. 🙂 —Pam