Spider lilies are up
So much for calling the end of summer. It’s been as hot as Georgia asphalt for the past week, and I’ve been out in it every day, getting the garden in shape for fall. At least it’s given me a chance to appreciate the spider lilies (Lycoris radiata) that popped up in a bed of Mexican feathergrass by the blue fountain, which makes for a great color contrast with the red.
Did someone say “spider”? I’ve spotted several large garden spiders in the back yard lately. This one is using my red Circle Pot as an anchor, and has a splashy color echo going on as well.
That’s a big spider!, says Cosmo.
This is the best my majestic sage (Salvia guaranitica) has ever looked in this garden, thanks to the reasonable summer we’ve had this year, despite current sauna-like conditions. The American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) next to it is all berried up for fall…if it ever arrives.
And the dwarf Texas palmetto (Sabal minor) out front is looking happy too, with an arching stem of fruit dipping into the foxtail fern (Asparagus meyeri) below.
Hope you’re enjoying more pleasant weather in your garden, but happy Monday all the same!
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Digging Deeper: News and Upcoming Events
Austinites and native-plant shoppers, I’ll be at the member’s day Fall Plant Sale at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center on October 14, and I hope to see you there! I’ll be signing books between 1 and 3 pm in the Wild Ideas gift shop. If you’re not a member, of course you can still come on out and see the gardens and stop in at Wild Ideas. Hope to see you there!
South Texans, come see me at the 2nd annual Planta Nativa festival in McAllen, Texas, on Saturday, October 22. I’ll be delivering the keynote talk, “Local Heroes: Designing with Native Plants for Water-Saving Gardens,” that evening. Tickets are on sale at Quinta Mazatlan. I hope to see you there!
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Your garden does look great! I love the pop of colors as do the spiders. Cosmo looks like he is quite happy with the weathers. Happy Monday on Tuesday…Have a great week.
Cosmo, like his mama, prefers a cool 60-something or 70-something day. At this point, though, we’d both settle for 80-something. —Pam
Cosmo’s facial expressions are priceless!
He’s quite a character. —Pam
Is Georgia asphalt hotter than ours, Pam ?! I LOVE our orb spiders and miss them when they disappear. I noticed this morning that one of mine is building her egg sacs. I also noticed my yellow lycoris was starting to shoot up. Now, if we could just get the season to cooperate!
Ha! That was a Laura Dern quote from the David Lynch movie Wild at Heart. 😉 I planted yellow lycoris bulbs one year, but they’ve never come up. If I could remember where I planted them, I’d relocate them and try again! —Pam
Same weather here in Dallas. We used to have L. radiata everywhere, but I don’t see them anymore. Same with R. bifida, and lightning bugs. What’s going on?
Bummer, Peter. I have spotty success with the spider lilies, but the oxbloods are pretty dependable. As for lightning bugs, we saw tons of them earlier this summer, and I even read an article about why we were seeing so many: a wet winter and spring, and they need leaf litter in which to hatch their larvae. And no spraying, of course. I fear for them next year, with so many people spraying for mosquitoes this year. —Pam
We have a huge population of lightning bugs this year! Our back yard is butted up to property where they have not mowed down the weedy fields for awhile and after sundown it looks like thousands of fairies flying around with their lanterns! It’s just magical !
Wonderful, Patty! I love watching lightning bugs. It brings back childhood memories. —Pam