Springtime in Texas

We have really had some awesome weather around here lately. It’s the kind of days and evenings that definitely remind me of summer in northern Minnesota.

It is weather like this that helps me gain perspective on gardening here. Now, finally, after having lived here in Texas for more than 14 years and having been gardening for the past 6 or 7, I think I have finally come to realize that plants here in Texas thrive at completely different times than they do up north. Okay, it’s not really that I’ve just figured it out; it’s that I’ve finally decided to accept it.

Purple coneflowers and a wealth of other plants that are "summer plants" up north are really “spring plants" here in North Texas. I can grow them here, I just can’t expect them to do well past the fourth of July. This is exactly what makes gardening around here so dang hard for me! How do I plant for year-round beauty when I was raised in a place where gardening practically began and ended from Memorial Weekend to Labor Day weekend?

And, tell me exactly what plants do well around here past the fourth of July anyway? That’s just about the time everything starts going on the downhill slide and we still have a good two to three months left of summer. Hot, dry and, did I mention the hottest months left of summer?

Each year I gain a little more knowledge about what works well in the heat of July, August and September. And, every year I try to apply that knowledge. The problem is I just love the plants of springtime. I’m trying very hard to appreciate it all and enjoy each season for its own beauty. Even if it means that my springtime beauties are dead and gone until next year.

Tonight, I am enjoying the new blooms and foliage of springtime in North Texas. Even if that means that some of them will be shortlived. I guess that's what they mean when they say, "enjoy the moment." I think it will be my new gardening mantra.

Whew!

Yea! We did not end up freezing last night so my garden is safe for now. In fact, our day turned out to be beautiful -- 70 degrees, sunny and low winds. Tomorrow should be even warmer (near 80) and windy. Talk about ups and downs!

I don't think I'll do any significant gardening for a few days. I have too many other things on my plate. Hopefully, this weekend I'll get all my last transplants completed so the yard will be ready to go for demolition. We still don't have a dig date yet for the pool, but it sounds like it may begin next week sometime.

Here's another look at my knockout roses. They're in full bloom right now and I'm praying that they don't get destroyed in the pool building process.

Freeze Warning

It almost always takes me by surprise, but I should know by now that it will happen here in Texas -- one more freeze.


Last night, my husband scurried around the yard covering plants while I dug around trying to find enough sheets and blankets. This freeze seems later than others (although I could be wrong). So many tender perennials have made a full appearance and I would hate for their foliage to get burned by the cold air.

I’m not sure if we have managed to dodge a bullet yet or not. When I first got up the news was reporting temperatures in my city at 38 degrees. Then, at the next update they said 30. Our thermometer reads 38. Later this morning I’ll go survey the yard to see what’s what. Until then, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that everything survived the night.

Little by Little

The weather was ideal yesterday for puttering in the garden. The high reached 82 and it was sunny with a breeze. I absolutely LOVE days like that!

I was able to accomplish several tasks yesterday. Most of it the same as what I’ve been doing for the past 2 weeks or so – relocating plants and preparing for big diggers and tractors to come tear apart my backyard.

Because of pool construction and its location in the yard, my husband and I have decided to do away with the corner garden. We agreed that a new landscape design would ultimately look better once the pool is complete.

So, the corner garden that once never seemed quite full enough now seems like it houses a million plants!

Last week, I moved several plants to the beds by the driveway which badly needed a redesign. I thinned out the tall Ruellia (Mexican Petunia) that was already there and put edging around it to try to keep it contained. I took Summer Phlox from the back garden and transplanted it on either side of the Ruellia. Then, I split some Stella D’Oro daylilies and placed them in front of the bed. My plan is to finish this off with some annuals for seasonal color in the next week or so.

Yesterday, I spent most of my time transferring more perennials from the back bed to the side of the house. I also put several of the ones I’m not transplanting immediately into pots.

Today’s weather isn’t going to be as nice as yesterday, but I’m still going to head out there again. I have a few more loose ends to tie up before I can it quits for the weekend. My husband ripped out some overgrown shrubs by the driveway and we’re replacing them with azaleas (I was inspired by my mother-in-law’s beauties!).

I’m looking forward to sharing more of my progress on the side yard with you in the next few days.

Happy gardening!

Garden Sightings

I know. I have committed the ultimate blogger’s sin. I haven’t written a post in days!!

Well, I’m not going to make any excuses. I’m just going show you some garden pictures that I’ve taken around my home during the past 2 weeks. I've gotten some work done in the yard and lots of things have sprouted and even bloomed. Here's a look:

My HUGE knockout rose. It is so big (at least 4 feet tall and wide) and beautiful, and I'm a little afraid I might lose it when the work crews start digging the pool in a couple of weeks. I'm going to do all I can to save it because I'm not sure it will transplant well at this size. It sits outside my bedroom window where I sit at the computer. I absolutely love looking at it!

These are Oxeye Daisies. They are my first bloomers every spring. If you don't dead-head them faithfully, they will proliferate like crazy! This batch started with one 4-inch pot! Believe it or not, I have thinned this out several times. I'm sure mine would have a longer bloom time if I were better about dead-heading, but what can I say. Life just gets in the way sometimes and I end up with fewer flowers and loads of seeds!

This is the best my Clematis has ever looked! I planted it 2 years ago and it took awhile for it to take off. I wanted a smaller vine that would help camoflauge the air conditioner without becoming a nuisance. It's finally starting to do it's job. Now I just wish it were closer to the patio so I could enjoy looking at it every day! Guess I'll have to plant another one!

This Spiderwort plant is the offspring of a passalong that I got from a Master Gardener friend. It's indigo blooms are always some of the first to show up in spring.

I couldn't resist adding an image with my sweet little kitty cat! She's almost 15 years old and still prowling around my garden. The purplish-pink blooms are creeping phlox and the ornamental grasslike foliage in the bed behind her are heirloom daylilies from a garden club plant sale. They have been some of the hardiest plants I own. They aren't as showy as some of the newer hybrids, but a very reliable, low-maintenance plant.

I like this shot because of the stone horned frog in the background. (Go TCU!) In the forefront are blue salvia and guara. Both do well in this front bed that gets nothing but full sun all day.

Unfortunately, I had the camera on the wrong setting when I took this picture (I hate it when that happens!). I'm posting it anyway because my adorable daughter is standing next to one of my favorite sights of spring -- azaleas at my mother-in-law's house. I'll be going back there to re-shoot them because she has at least three huge azaleas that never cease to amaze me. They are fantastic!

Happy Spring y'all!

Online Gardening Anticipation

I’m pretty excited. On Friday, I received my pre-planned garden from Spring Hill Nursery in the mail and by Saturday afternoon it was all planted. Now it’s raining and I’m getting excited to see everything start to grow.

As a first timer at online ordering a pre-planned garden, I have to tell you I’m impressed so far. Spring Hill Nursery did an excellent job of packing and shipping the plants. And, the plants themselves seem to be very healthy and of good quality.

I had only one small hitch which was remedied easily. One of the plants they shipped – the Butterfly Weed – came in the wrong quantity. I was short one plant. No matter. I jotted off an e-mail to their customer service department and another plant is already on its way. Easy peasy.

To make me feel even more optimistic, my neighbor stopped by while I was planting my front bed. She told me she had ordered a pre-planned garden from Spring Hill several years ago when living in North Carolina. She said she had great results. Despite having a small twinge of negativity (because gardening conditions here in North Texas are quite a bit different than in North Carolina), her news gave me confidence.

I’m not ready to start bragging about my possible success, but I do want to pass onto those considering following in my footsteps to do your research. I really think the key to successfully ordering plants still takes a small bit of know-how on the part of the gardener. I think you first need to know the conditions you’re working in (sun exposure, soil conditions, etc.). Also, research the plants themselves to see if they do well in your part of the country. I felt confident in my online purchase because I was already familiar with most of the plants in the grouping and knew that they do well here.

For now, I’m excited about my purchase. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it will flourish in my front yard!

Discovery Day

I put a pretty good dent in gardening this weekend. I received my “garden in a box” from Spring Hill Nursery on Friday and planted it all. I was going to blog about it today but it will have to wait.

Something kinda cool happened today when I decided to bring my ivy geranium outside from spending the winter in my house.

The plant was pretty messy and had several green, gangly shoots all over the place mixed in with brown dead leaves. No matter. I decided to just prune the heck out it and hope for the best -- an approach that has worked well for me in the past. So, I whipped out my handy pruners and got to work. In the midst of it all, I made a discovery: I found a bird’s nest.

I should first confess that this was not a huge surprise. I remember a little bird flying in and out of there last spring and early summer. But, of course, I had forgotten about it until now.

The nest was cool. I admired the bird’s handiwork. It had used grasses, a piece of plastic bag and even what appeared to be a cat’s whisker! Interesting. But, the best discovery of all came when I looked inside the nest. A perfect little egg shell sat in there completely undisturbed and left cracked open as if its former inhabitant had left only minutes or hours before. My heart did a little dance. I was pretty excited. I called the kids over to take a look and they were equally excited.

I love discoveries like these. It’s just another reminder of nature’s wonder.