November Pond

November pond 

Summer's Fading Light

Summer's last hurrah in the stock tank pond.  The petite Helvola water lily. 

White Flowers of May

Yarrow in the south wall garden.

White water lilies in stock tank pond at twilight. 

Between the Storms

The light is a bit other-worldly in the garden recently. The last remains of oak pollen have been washed away by multiple rain showers and the air is pure and clean, scented with jasmine.  Between the storms are opportunities to catch glimpses of magical light and the imagination lingers on what it might be like to live in a place with reliable and abundant rain.  A place lush and green.  This spring the mind doesn't have to wander far; not any farther than the back door.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Swooning Over Autumn's Light

Madame Ganna Walska

An Old Spigot and SIX Water Lily Blooms!

It's a water lily palooza out there in the garden today!  Oh my, so much lily goodness going on a girl can hardly stand it!

Five hardy 'Colorado' water lily blooms and one bloom on the tropical Madame Ganna Walska beckon to us across the patio.  Come. Look. Linger. Bring the camera...

Read about the fascinating Madame Walska here and here to learn more about her gardens, Ganna Walska Lotusland.

The lovely, dainty Madame Ganna Walska

If you've ever given any consideration to adding a stock tank pond to your landscape, I would encourage you to do it.  Don't worry that it won't work out, it will.  With a little effort, the right plant choices, some sun and some fertilizer, you'll have a beautiful, low maintenance water garden.

We bought a 4' x 2' stock tank from a farmer's supply store, used sand to level the surface, then simply added water and a solution to remove chemicals and metals from the water (for the health of the fish).  Visit a reputable nursery for water plants, the solution to detoxify the water, fertilizer pellets and fish, (if you're adding them).  I went to Hill Country Water Gardens in Cedar Park, explained what I was trying to accomplish and they helped me out with plant and fish selections.  I am using mosquito fish and a couple of goldfish to keep the mosquito larvae in check.  Their website has a lot of good information about keeping your pond healthy too.

Oh, yes.  I almost forgot.  The spigot.  My husband and I discovered this old spigot in the garage of his parents a couple of weeks ago.  It belonged to my husband's grandfather and when I saw it, I knew I had just the place for it. 

The sound of gurgling water is appealing to me and it's especially welcome in the summer when Texas white noise (air conditioners)  is so prevalent and drowning out the softer sounds of the garden.

To make the fountain, we used two pieces of galvanized pipe and a galvanized elbow (to make the turn), the spigot and a small pump (you'll also need a fitting to attach the pump to the galvanized pipe) to recirculate the water.  I  absolutely love the whimsical addition to the stock tank and it means even more knowing we re-purposed a found family object into a little garden treasure.

Really.  You won't regret it for a minute!

A Few Favorites for Spring

Early to bed, early to rise,

work like hell: fertilize

                                                                           Emily Whaley

All sweet peeps know the way to a gardener's heart.  This awesome soil knife was gifted to me by my step-mother and I've given it a serious workout these past few weeks.  The serrated edge has easily cut through dense, pot-bound water lilies and dwarf papyrus.  The handy measurement lines make bulb planting a cinch and the orange handle is easily found when misplaced.  It has quickly become my favorite 'go to' tool.  Thanks to Julie at Wife, Mother, Gardener for introducing me to this wonderful tool!

Speaking of sweet gifts, a fellow Master Gardener potted up a cutting of autumn joy sedum from her garden for me last fall.  The newly sprouted leaves are lush and such a pretty shade of green.  They give me something to look forward to as I've always wanted to grow this plant and enjoy its fall display of color.  I just love pass-along plants from friends; they make a garden extra special.

This week has brought forth an explosion of blooms and foliage.  It's amazing how quickly plants respond to a little bit of rain, warmth and sunshine. 

My favorites this week are the teeny-tiny, delicate little blooms that dance on the breezes of spring.  This little prairie fleabane is thriving and offering up a burst of sunshine in a dainty flower.

Another sweet flower stealing my heart is blue-eyed grass.  It was planted next to the fleabane last spring after seeing it on a garden tour last March.  This plant makes a great border addition and survived the heat and drought of last summer easily.

There is so much to be done before the heat and bugs return...hence the quote at the beginning of the post!

With rain forecast later this week, this quote caught my eye and brought a smile...

Thank heavens, the sun has gone in, and I don't have

 to go out and enjoy it.

                                                                               Logan Pearsall Smith

30 Days of Giving Thanks!

 Thankful today for you, the readers of The Whimsical Gardener.

A huge virtual hug goes out to all of you!  I'm so thankful to have discovered this wonderful blogging community through a simple photographic journal of my garden. 

30 Day Challenge ~ Thanksgiving ~ Day 24

 Thankful today for the time to reflect on the many blessings of this life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

30 Day Challenge ~ Thanksgiving ~ Day 23

A week ago today, the color briefly drained from our world...

The beloved Matriarch of our family passed away.  

In true Weezie fashion she comforted us in the days following her death:

To Those I Love And Those Who Love Me

When I am gone, release me, let me go.

I have so many things to see and do.

You mustn't tie yourself to me with tears, 

be happy that we had so many years.

I gave you my love and you can only guess

how much you gave me in happiness.

I thank you for the love you each have shown,

but now it's time I traveled on alone.

So grieve a while for me, if grieve you must,

then let your grief be comforted by trust.

It's only for a while that we must part,

so bless the memories within your heart.

I won't be far away, for life goes on.

So if you need me, call and I will come.

Though you can't see or touch me, I'll be near.

And if you listen with your heart, 

you'll hear all my love around you soft and clear.

And then, when you must come this way alone,

I'll greet you with a smile and say, "Welcome Home."

And so as the days pass the color slowly returns because this is how Weezie would want it.  

She encouraged us to rejoice for her and so we all try.  

 And here we are graveside, not wanting to leave.

We lingered, told remarkable Weezie stories and laughed at the antics of her long, full life.  

We observed how she is the most Christ-like person we've known and what an

 extraordinary example of walking in kindness she was to every single life she 

touched.  We spoke of how her loving spirit lives on in our children and we vowed to always

remember her so that future generations will know of her faith, character and strength.

Most importantly, we declared that we would celebrate her until we meet again.

Today my heart is filled with gratitude for the time I've known Weezie on this Earth 

and for the promise of being reunited again in our Eternal home.

Rest in Peace, sweet Weezie.

February 27, 1917 - November 16, 2011

30 Day Challenge ~ Thanksgiving ~ Day 5

I'm thankful for what may be one of the last water lilies of the season.  Austin-Bergstrom International Airport reached 26F (-3C) Friday morning.  After the record breaking summer we've had, it probably 

won't surprise you to learn that this is a record breaking low temperature.  Still, finding thanks

in the small treasures of the garden.

Finding Gratitude in Flat Light

Things are looking up...there is rain in the forecast for this weekend.  Mostly for West Texas, but hey, we'll take what we can get.  If my western neighbors are getting rain, I'm going to rejoice along with them!  It has to fall here eventually.

I've been thinking a lot about gratitude.  Specifically, how my attitude has been lacking in it of late.   After a quick trip to Vail, there was no eagerness in coming home to my drought stricken city.

The weather was absolutely perfect in Vail.  Golden Aspens were brilliantly proclaiming the glory of fall. 

But even in dire times, there is always a bit of something to be grateful for in our own garden...

As a gardener who is captivated by the way light changes the mood of a garden, I rarely photograph my garden mid-day.  The light is just too sharp and harsh.  

But today is different somehow; promising cloud cover has mellowed the edges of the mid-day shadows and these lilies appear softer and more delicate than they have all summer. 

Sometimes, gratitude is found in the most subtle of moments.  I'm grateful for the subdued, relaxed feel the garden exudes as it exhales a prolonged sigh of relief from the blistering heat of summer.    Finally, this gardener too is ready to let go of the breath I've been holding.  With renewed gratitude, I embrace this respite.

Gratitude is an art of painting an adversity into a lovely picture.  

                                                                                                                                        ~Kak Sri

Sailing Through Summer...

Colorado water lily.  Not fussy;  loves full sun, fertilization once a month and simple

admiration from garden visitors.

GBBD ~ Simply Astonishing!

You're probably thinking that I'm astonished by all the flowers blooming this April in my garden and you would be partially right.  My last post highlighted a lot of our spring flowers and I am delighted with them but they aren't what is causing my astonishment. 

In the last couple of days I've seen a bunch of "firsts" of the season and the sightings have left me giddy.  I've seen my first hummingbird, baby toad, damsel flies, inch worms and unfortunately, mosquitoes.  The Swallowtail butterflies have returned and laid eggs on the parsley and they've recently hatched and there are a dozen or so caterpillars

I'm amazed at the life that has returned to the garden with the return of warm weather, plentiful food and water sources. 

 The dove regularly visit the stock tank throughout the day to find refreshment.

A moment of rest on the swing will find your senses swimming in the delight of the star jasmine and gardenia.

The jasmine has filled in nicely over the last couple of years.  While walking up to the house the other day, I could smell the jasmine from the front yard!

Even the birds have an opportunity to enjoy the heady scent.

The pink guara has come into bloom this week and caught my attention.   I like the combination of  the strap-like leaves of guara and fleshy, soft leaves of lambs ear.  The silver foliage of the lambs ear contrasts nicely with the dark green/burgundy foliage of the guara. 

On the other side of the garden there was a surprise waiting; peeking through the Mexican feather grass was a fiery, red daylily.  I had forgotten that there was a red variety in the mix!  Moving them last year has really paid off.

It's a beautiful, fiery shade of red and I really like that it has a bit of yellow at the base of the flower to complement the Stella.  It was such a nice surprise!

And a couple feet behind the daylilies is the truly astonishing moment of the day...is that what I think it is?

Oh. My. Gosh.   All I can think is to recite 'red on yellow, kill a fellow' several times and then tried to calm myself enough to see if it really was red on yellow.  Yep, it is.  A coral snake!

We've lived in our house for 12 years and I've never seen a poisonous snake in our yard.  Lots of  snakes but not poisonous.  Until now.  I have to admit, I was really freaked out.  I don't like snakes.  At. All.

There may be many of you who are not frightened of snakes and the sight of a poisonous snake may be no big deal.  It's a big deal to me.  I did gather my wits and had the presence of mind to get my camera and the shovel. 

I had every intention of killing the snake but then as I calmed down and began to watch it (armed with the shovel of course), I became enthralled with it.  It's quite beautiful and it wasn't anxious at all.  It looked like it was going to hang out for a while so I hit the shovel against the fence which caused him to move along.

I came inside to do some research.  They are highly poisonous but rarely bite humans.  They feed on other snakes, birds, lizards and rodents.  I'm really glad I didn't kill it and I'm praying that we won't cross paths again.  I intend to be a lot more careful about where I stick my hands and feet in the future.

Then a couple of hours later I noticed a shadow in the grass by the Texas betony.  With all my senses heightened from the encounter with the coral snake, I wasn't sure how many more surprises I could take!

Again, I grabbed the camera and as stealthily as possibly made my way over...

It bolted and headed for the fence...

It's just the stray cat that I've occasionally heard and rarely seen.  Thank God.  It's the great circle of life out there!  Insects, birds, lizards, snakes, cats...

and DOG!

Visit May Dreams Gardens to see what's happening in other gardens around the world this month.  You never know what you might find!