In the Garden Today

Seeking Higher Ground

The Texas spiny lizard is usually quite shy, however, today he posed for a portrait atop an old ladder in the garden. I've never been able to approach one with camera in hand; they typically make a hasty retreat.  I guess he was reluctant to leave higher ground.

On top of a wetter than average spring, we've received over 13" of torrential rain this month.  The backyard is a mosh pit and there are many drowning plants.  Among them: native columbine, Texas betony and lamb's ear.  No surprise that oak leaf hydrangea and river fern are content and taking it all in stride.  There are insect infestations and snails galore. Blood thirsty mosquitoes are swarming.

It's brutal out there.

But, you will not hear me complain.  After experiencing so many years of drought, especially the summer of 2011, I promised myself I would never utter a word of complaint about too much rainfall.  Ever.  I just never expected keeping the promise to be so hard.

The Invention of the Handle

Evening closes in gently.

A meandering country road snakes along the river carrying a couple, a long time married.

There are scarlet buckeyes in bloom and ephemeral beauties with slow beating wings nonchalantly gathering nectar...confident of tomorrow's abundance.

We give thanks for the invention of the
handle.  Without it there would be many
things we couldn't hold on to.  As for the
things we can't hold on to anyway, let us
gracefully accept their ungraspable nature
and celebrate all things elusive, fleeting, and
intangible.  They mystify us and make us
receptive to truth and beauty.  We celebrate
and give thanks.
Amen   {The Prayer Tree - Leunig}

She'll Be Back

Ah!  Look!  A butterfly!

These words drifted through the window and pulled me from the comfort of my chair.   A small girl excited by the sight of a butterfly stood open mouthed; transfixed by the acrobatic, graceful movements.  And I too stood transfixed, marveling at this small child's delight in her simple discovery.

She gets it, I thought to myself.  She really gets it.  A smile opened itself wide on both our faces as we shared the moment.  She reluctantly trailed after her companion and I wanted to yell, wait, wait ... you haven't seen the hummingbirds yet or the many lizards or the swallowtails.  But I think she knows.  She'll be back.

Joy was written all over her face.

Bliss Floating Above the Milkweed

                  

         Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, 

but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. 

 Nathaniel Hawthorne  

This is Where I Would Bee Too :: Sweet Almond Verbena

Sweet almond verbena (Aloysia virgata) beckons from across the garden.  The scent of this sweetly flowering shrub compels pollinators and gardeners alike to seek out the wispy blooms.  So small and seemingly insignificant, they throw off the most amazing amount of luscious scent. 

Impossible to resist ...

Of Bees and Oregano

Sometimes you think something is thriving but it really isn't.  And you don't know that until you try it someplace else.  This oregano has been growing in the back garden for years.  It seems happy enough but never gives more than a smattering of blooms. 

While cutting it back last year I scooped up some roots and buried them in the front garden.  Now I know what happy oregano really looks like.  There are blooms everywhere and most importantly and most happily, there are dozens of bees.  Now that just makes me smile. 

If you have a bunch of oregano try this recipe.  It's a keeper. 

What Hope and Yellow Have in Common

The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring.

                                                                                                                 ~ Bern Williams

Digging in My Heels

November 1st.   I'm not ready.  Yesterday, Halloween, I saw a crew of men decorating the entrance of a nearby neighborhood for Christmas.  Wreaths, lights, the whole shebang.  Really?  Really.

Don't misunderstand.  I love Christmas as much as the next girl.  But I also love Thanksgiving and I'd like to choke down my pumpkin pie before decking my halls. 

During this month of Thanksgiving I'm going to be intentional about appreciating and loving the simple, beautiful abundance of my garden. 

I'll be taking the time to enjoy these waning days of autumn.  The slant of late afternoon light causes the flowers to glow and there is the soft hum of the furiously beating wings of pollinators working feverishly to collect nourishment.

So I'm digging in my heels and holding firm to the season of Thanksgiving.  I'll be loving it for what it is: a simple reminder to stop, look around this life and remember that there is so much to be thankful for.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Autumn Attention Seekers

That Weird Feeling of Being Watched...

Had that awkward feeling of being watched this morning while watering the pots on the patio...turned around and looked down and there he was!  I believe it's a ribbon snake.  Docile and makes meals of slugs, insects, and small mice.  He can stay ♥

GBBD ~ The Roses of Autumn

'Marie Daly' sitting on the swing offering delicious fragrance.

Old fashioned Martha Gonzales with stock tank pond as a backdrop.

Livin' Easy with goldeneye in gorgeous autumn sunlight.

One pollinator or two on the Livin' Easy?  Do you see?

Stop by May Dreams Gardens to see what is going on in gardens around the world this fine October Garden Blogger's Bloom Day! 

Love Is Like a Butterfly

Love is like a butterfly: 

 It goes where it pleases and it pleases wherever it goes.

One Day. One Garden. Four Seasons.

Have you noticed some season shifting shenanigans in your summer garden?  Not that I'm complaining.  

This summer has been a dream compared to last.  We're at nine days of 100+ degree temps compared to thirty-nine during the same period last year.  You might recall we had ninety 100+ degree days in 2011.   Shudder.

The typically spring blooming abelia is looking lovely with small clusters of white flowers.  This dwarf variety shrub was a near casualty of last year's exceptional drought.  Taking encouragement from the winter rains, it rallied and is growing into a nicely shaped plant.

In even stranger news, daylily and purple oxalis are also blooming.  Purple oxalis in my garden is usually lush and pretty during the late winter and early spring.  The daylily is planted in the hottest part of my garden and I rarely see a bloom after May.  So many plants in confusion...

Ruby crystals grass is catching the morning light and my attention daily with its soft, feathery inflorescence.  This grass is new to my garden and I honestly expected it to be more of a spring/fall bloomer.  I'm thrilled to see it in bloom now though.  It's gorgeous and if it should decide to reseed throughout this bed, I wouldn't be disappointed!

Even the Japanese maple is holding on to a bit of its rich color.  These leaves usually go completely green by this time of year. The fringe texture of the maple leaves against the silver ponyfoot ground cover is so pretty.  Purple heart, in the top right corner, adds nice contrast to the silvery green of the ponyfoot. 

I've lived in Austin way too long to be fooled.  There is still plenty of summer ahead for sure.

Cicadas sing nightly and almost, but not quite, are able to drown out the summer sound of our Texas white noise (a/c units).   There is a harmonious chorus between the many cicadas and toads.

A sweet black-eyed Susan plays a game of peek a boo...probably with the bunnies that visit daily.

A true harbinger of fall, the American beautyberry is beginning to put on its brightly hued fruit.  And while I'm not one to wish a beautiful, relatively easy (so far) summer away, this latest development tells me that fall will soon be nipping at our heels. 

61 days soon to be exact.

How about you?  Are you seeing any unusual bloom timing in your own garden? 

What You Do Matters...Really.

Keep doing what you're doing.  It matters.

This is what I tell myself when I'm feeling run over by the garden.

Keep doing what you're doing.  It matters.

When another plant up and dies.  Or when the rabbits continue to chomp through all that lovely new growth brought by the recent rains.  When your sweet, excited, 80 pound dog tromps through the perennials trying to get at said rabbits.  When you walk out the front door and discover two never-seen-before insects and wonder if they are friend or foe.

Keep doing what you're doing.  It matters.

Did you know that you don't really know a plant until you've killed at least three of them?

That's what a gracious gardening friend tells me when I explain to her that I can't grow something she has growing beautifully in her garden.  I tell her, "Oh, I've tried that and it died."  She says, "Oh, you don't really know a plant until you've killed it three times!"

Thank you, Lord, for friends like her.  There is nothing like genuine encouragement to lift you up. 

Keep doing what you're doing.  It matters.

And although we can tell ourselves this, it is often nice to hear it from someone else.

So I'm here today telling you that what you do matters.  And to encourage you to keep on doing what you do.

Don't give up.  Don't be discouraged for long.  Gardening and creativity (yes, really, gardeners are creatives) are skills that need to be practiced.  And practiced.  And practiced.

Take a minute to listen to this sage advice...

Keep doing what you do.  It matters.

Really.  ♥

Impressions of Summer

Uber-Summer Begins...88 Days Until Fall

88 days...88 days...88 days...88 days...88 days...88 days...88 days...88 days...

The mercury reached 109 Fahrenheit today.  Let's give that a moment to sink in: 109F today.  As I write at nearly 10:00 pm, it's still 98 degrees.  The prediction for tomorrow is cooler weather: 104F...a slight improvement.

With a few exceptions, not many plants stand up to intense temperatures and prolonged periods with little rain.  There are a few stalwarts in my garden that manage to remain calm and collected no matter the conditions.

Clothed in cool silver/gray foliage and shades of lavender and apricot; globe mallow, prairie verbena and verbena bonariensis don't find themselves slumped over at midday, wilting under the summer sun.  They stand arms wide open, enticing any determined butterflies and hummingbirds that dare to be out and about in the harsh heat of the big, bright sun.

As uber-summer takes a firm grip on our fair city I'm taking notes on which plants are sturdy and confident in the heat and which might need to be relocated.  Uber-summer is always a good time for taking stock and doing some mid-season planning and dreaming of our second growing season.  Lots of dreaming...

Countdown to fall: 88 days.

A Serious Pest to Monarchs: The Tachinid Fly

Elation ensued when this monarch caterpillar was spotted last week on milkweed in the front yard.  Earlier in the month monarch butterflies were spotted visiting the milkweed and depositing their eggs.   

Imagine my delight when I discovered the caterpillar had situated itself in the window by the front door to transform itself into a chrysalis and then a butterfly.

What luck.  The perfect view of the transformation from inside and outside!  I was overjoyed.

Until I came back the next morning to photograph the process and found this...

There is a serious predator in the garden this spring.  The tachinid fly is a parasitic fly that uses the monarch caterpillar as a host.  This bristly, big eyed, slow moving fly stealthily approaches the unsuspecting caterpillar and injects it's fertilized and incubated egg into the caterpillar.  The egg then hatches inside the caterpillar and the first instar begins to feed on the monarch slowly killing it from the inside out.  Monarch caterpillars are not the only victims, other caterpillars fall prey to this fly as well.

Jenny of Rock Rose solved the mystery.  We were chatting Saturday at the monthly Austin bloggers Go-Go and I explained that when the caterpillar began to dry out a silky string was hanging from it's head.  She did a little research and forwarded a link to me about the tachinid fly.

What really bums me out is that I didn't dispose of the caterpillar the way I should have and will most likely have more of the pest in my garden.  I learned a valuable lesson.  When something strange happens, no matter how busy you are, investigate.

A Few New Plants for My Garden

Rainfall has been so generous this May!  I've recorded 4.1" in my rain gauge so far.  The wildflowers have reappeared in the space beyond the fence and the rabbits seem to be happy eating what's available out there.  They've made no attempts at anything in the garden - yet. 

Between thunder storms, I've captured a few images of some new plants. 

This lemon yellow rosemallow Hibiscus calyphyllus is planted in dappled shade and I'm counting on the sunny yellow flowers to brighten up the understory of the Anacacho orchid tree Bauhinia lunariodes.   After some research it seems to manage our winters just fine so I'm trying it in the ground.  It should get about 3-4' tall and bloom through to first frost.

Ruby grass Melinis nerviglumis 'Pink Crystals' has been on my wish list for a long time. While at HD I scored a couple quart size plants! This pretty, small grass adds delicate texture to the new front bed.   They are said to reseed.  Talking with other gardeners leads me to think if it's planted in/near decomposed granite it reseeds readily.  Maybe not so much in heavier soils.  We'll see.

Monarda 'Peter's Purple' has an interesting story. Seems in the garden of Texas native plant expert Peter Loos there was a tryst between a Mexican Monarda bartlettii and an American Monarda fistulosa 'Claire Grace' and the heat loving, mildew resistant, lavender topped 'Peter's Purple' is the result to the delight of Texas gardeners.  I've added it to the sunny butterfly garden in the back and am really looking forward to seeing how this plant performs.  My aunt has a stand of red Monarda in Louisiana and I was captivated by the number of butterflies and hummingbirds that visited throughout the day. 

How about you?  Any new plants you're trying out in your garden this year?  I'd love to hear about them!

Hurtling by at Sixty Minutes An Hour...

The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour...whatever he does, whoever he is.   ~ C.S. Lewis

My sweet friend, Susie, is an encourager.  She posted this quote recently and it was exactly what I needed to hear.  Although it may feel like spring is hurtling by, time isn't moving any faster than usual.  We all have the same sixty minutes every hour and I'm determined to make the most of them during this glorious season.

Finally, our shy resident...appearing a little grumpy!  A couple people have suggested that as the eggs hatch and the nest gets more crowded, the female will roost on nearby branches while the owlets hang out in the box.  Hopefully then, I'll have more to show you.  Until then, I catch quick glimpses and chronicle them as I can.


Spring is in hyper-drive around here. Oh, wait.  No, sixty minutes an hour...

Anyone out there know what kind of caterpillar this is?

They were all over the garden last week and there are now several chrysalis' hanging around on the side of the garage.

I'll keep watching and will hopefully get a shot of one emerging.

This predatory fly was on the garage wall too.  Possibly taking advantage of the plentiful supply of caterpillars and beetle larvae.

The lambs ear has been chewed to pieces looking as though it's been used for target practice.  Beetles and caterpillars have been discovered on the poor thing and plucked off and dropped into a soapy water solution.

The Turk's cap has proved to be delicious for this hungry little caterpillar. {Do you see it...lower right hand corner...tiny, tiny}  I've been physically removing any pests that I find but I'll bet the predatory fly is helping out with the population too.

A sense of humor is especially important this spring. I'm growing dill, parsley, celery and milkweed to feed hungry caterpillars and the irony that not one of these plants has been eaten is not lost on me!  There is still plenty of time for the swallowtails and monarchs to find these plants but it does make me shake my head.  Gardening is a lesson in patience, no?

There is an astounding population of Red Admirals in Austin this spring.  It's a wonderful sight often filling me with a complete sense of admiration and joy for the miracle of them! 

Dozens {no exaggeration} of Red Admirals flit about enjoying the plentiful and intoxicating flowers of the star jasmine, Jerusalem sage and roughleaf dogwood.

 

 

Last year's experiment of growing hostas in containers went well.  They've sprung to life this week and look really nice tucked into bare spots around the shady perennial beds.  Their broad, beautifully textured leaves add a tropical lushness to the garden.

The rock rose is blooming and is a bright addition to the border of a part-shade bed.  This plant can suffer from powdery mildew when grown in shade so I've given it plenty of breathing room.

I've posted often of my fondness for orange globe mallow.  This pink variety is much more demure but no less pretty.  Planted last spring, it held on through the heat and drought of last summer not growing much.  This spring it shines with clusters of pale pink flowers atop velvety, gray/green foliage.  Not as showy, the pink pulls you in for a closer inspection asking you to slow down long enough to admire her.

Even with all the hungry bugs and spring feeling as if it's tearing by, it doesn't disappoint in the least.  A relaxing couple of hours spent in a playful friend's garden reinforce the value of moving slowly, breathing deeply and enjoying friendship. 

Here is Deb enjoying a nasturtium blossom from her garden.  Deb is one of the most playful people I've ever met...she is a fellow Master Gardener and full of surprises.  A little more on that later...it requires a whole post!

She seeded the greenbelt behind her fence with wildflowers last fall and a lovely small meadow now flourishes with a variety of flowers and butterflies.   Neighbors enjoy the beautiful scene as they stroll the nearby path.

I hope you're finding encouraging, playful friends to enjoy this alluring spring with...don't let it zip by without taking time to notice.  It's amazing out there!