Owl’ll be watching you
After weeks of live oak litter, first leaves and then pollen catkins, and weeks of me raking, blowing, and bagging, the garden is finally visible again. Sunday evening I went outside with no expectation of doing any spring chore: no clean-up, no pruning, no planting, no mulching, no nothing. It was blissful.
The soap aloes (Aloe maculata) are blooming, which is always special. They’ll do this about three times each growing season.
I like how they echo the new orange Hover Dish hanging from the crepe myrtle.
I thought it would be fun to plant it with Texas sedge, and now that it’s long and shaggy I’m enjoying the way it dangles its fiber-optic seedheads. Columbine and rain lilies are jammed in there too. I don’t know if the columbine is going to do anything this year.
Another wide view, with lots of blue, orange, and yellow-green
Looking left, the new stucco walls are totally working the space, with the gray wall echoing the curve of the stock-tank pond in the foreground.
Descending to the lower garden along the back fence, I stopped to ogle a bloom spike — the first ever! — on the Acanthus mollis. Those lustrous leaves are pretty fine also. I planted it 4 or 5 years ago, and it’s always either been blighted early by drought and heat or else frozen to the ground in winter, returning too late to bloom before summer’s heat sets in. But last fall I planted a black beautyberry nearly on top of it, and I guess it got the message that it better start strutting its stuff if it wants to keep a place in the garden.
Moving along the stepping-stone path, which leads under the arching branches of a Mexican buckeye, I stopped again to admire the new Yucca rostrata framed by a wine-colored loropetalum and a trio of pots filled with succulents.
Here’s the blue monolith wall from behind. That’s Moby atop the stone wall in the background.
Moving along to the hilly side garden, I realized I haven’t taken a picture of this year’s ‘Etoile Violette’ clematis flowering. The blooms are a bit shriveled from the recent heat…
…but still pretty.
The older Yucca rostrata is growing tall and shaggy. I’m contemplating pruning up the lower leaves to expose the trunk. But probably laziness will win out. Winecup (Callirhoe involucrata) blooms at its feet.
Here’s a new acquisition I don’t think I’ve shown: a weeping ‘Traveller’ redbud, which I ordered from Vivero. It arrived after the spring bloom, so that’s something to look forward to next year. According to grower Greenleaf Nursery, ‘Traveller’ grows to 5 feet tall with a spread of 5 to 12 feet.
Dan Hosage of Madrone Nursery discovered this weeping variety of the native Texas tree. He named it ‘Traveller’, according to Madrone’s website, in honor of Robert E. Lee’s horse and in tribute to his alma mater, Washington and Lee University.
A garden stroll wouldn’t be complete at this time of year without checking in with Papa Screech Owl, who hangs out during the day in a ligustrum just behind the back fence.
Evening was setting in, and he was waking up and probably thinking about breakfast for himself and the missus.
What a handsome fellow!
There was plenty of other bird activity as well, including this insistently chirping juvenile cardinal. She looked quite big enough to feed herself…
…but Papa was waiting nearby with a tasty snack.
“Feed me!”
“Come to the dinner table, missy!”
“But I’m playing!”
Cosmo and I watched these antics until it was time to get dinner ourselves. And oh yes, Cosmo is certain I had the walls built just for his lounging pleasure.
All material © 2006-2015 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
That Cosmo is a lucky dog to have such a beautiful garden to romp in complete with little walls where he can perch and watch over his domain. Love that big ole Whale in your garden. To have Screech owls nesting every year, I am just jealous. Cheers.
I feel lucky indeed to have the owls choose our garden to nest in every year. And isn’t it funny about Cosmo and the walls? He just loves them! Thanks for your comment, Lisa. —Pam
Loved taking the stroll around your garden. It’s looking really lovely Pam. And your wildlife shots clearly show what a welcoming garden this is for wildlife. The clematis has a much more open flower than any of my native hybrids.
Thanks, Jenny. The clematis flowers are normally a bit fuller in the petals, but the heat has gotten to them. They will be happier with this week’s temperatures. Before I tried Etoile I’d thought the open-flowered clematis didn’t do well in our climate, but this one has been reliable for me. I’m trying another one now too. But I do also love the bell-flowered ones. —Pam
Never tire of visiting your garden, but will admit the owl photos are always my favorite. Then again, maybe it’s your amazing use of color. No, maybe it’s the way the plant textures play against each other. Guess you get my point – it’s all perfection in my book.
Oh, you’re very kind, Vicki. It’s far from perfection, but it makes me happy. And I’m even happier to know you enjoy it too. As for the owls, yes, they are a joy to watch. —Pam
Your garden is looking good. I can’t imagine what all you will have done to it by the time you get ready for visitors this fall. Cosmo is such a cutie. Before a few years in Tucson, we lived over by UTSA and had walls around our pool that our first golden and spitz liked to sit on for glamour shots. And yes, I’m a Southerner (water bugs) born here in San Antonio, but we were an Air Force family and were gone off and on.
Most of the garden work in preparation for the fall tour has been done, Pam. From here on it’ll be maintenance mode. Isn’t it funny about dogs liking to lounge on walls? My childhood pet, Ginger, liked to lounge at the end of the diving board of our swimming pool. A dangerous spot, but I never saw her fall! —Pam
It is very nice to bid farewell to oak leaf and pollen litter for another season. Especially when hiding under all the mess is a garden so lovely as yours. Great cardinal father-daughter exchange, I wasn’t aware you spoke bird but then again the refrains of certain conversations are universal, aren’t they?
Anthropomorphising is fun! 🙂 —Pam
How much shade do your Berkeley sedges tolerate? Cultural requirements?
The sedge shown in this post is actually Texas sedge, but both tolerate shade, dappled shade, and morning sun very well. Once established they need little water, maybe a deep soaking once or twice a month in summer if conditions are dry. —Pam
What a darling title! I love your garden and the additions are wonderful. The leaves of the Acanthus mollis really appeal to me. Thanks you for the back story on the travelers redbud they are great for smaller spaces. Happy spring!
I’m excited to try ‘Traveller’, Laurin. Happy spring to you too! —Pam
All that wildlife (and pet life) made me smile. Looking good. Nice to relax in the garden every once and a while, isn’t it?
You bet, Jean. Enjoyment of the garden is what makes it all worthwhile. —Pam
Such beautiful pictures! And I LOVE the owls…
Me too, Sharon! They’re darling garden companions. —Pam
Great idea for Texas Sedge grass. It grows wild all over our property and I love it. Can’t wait to try it in a hanging basket.
Happy planting, Susan! —Pam
Really nice! I love the way the various colors are woven though
out your space.
Thanks, Nance. When I can restrain myself from going all rainbow, a color theme can be quite nice. —Pam
Oh, I am positively drooling over that photo with the stock-tank and the seating in the background! It looks sooo relaxing and beautiful! The walls are perfect now.
Thanks, Lauren. I’m really enjoying them, and so is Cosmo. —Pam
I always love seeing your resident screech owls. That third photo of papa screech is gorgeous. I hope I get another owl passing through my garden this year. We’ve had barn owls, a screech, and a great horned owl. I wish one of them would stick around.
Have you tried putting up a screech owl house, Evan? They are very amenable to living in boxes, and that way you get to watch them for months. —Pam
That was a lovely stroll about your garden. Great photos of the wildlife – and resident canine overseer – too.
Thanks, Kris! —Pam
Excellent photos of the owl. They are quite a tough subject because they usually come out as the sun goes down, making for bad lighting. Good job!
The male of our screech owl pair roosts in a tree along our back fence line all day long, so he’s easy to photograph, Karen. I delight to see him there every day. He’ll stay as long as the chicks are in the owl box, but when they fledge he’ll depart. —Pam
I never tire of your great screech owl pictures. So great! I look forward to having my own resident screech owls someday.
Sending owly wishes your way, Rebecca. They are such fun to watch. —Pam