Spring in Austin Feels Like All Things Are Possible!

 Bluebonnets in the meadow behind our house.

 Big box store iris bulbs bought on clearance looking fabulous in the evening light. 

Pass a long oxalysis always brightens up any spot in the garden.  

 Scarlet Flax in the meadow. Threw some seeds in the fall and I'm so glad I did. I'm smitten. 

Vetch and bluebonnets in the meadow.

 Homestead verbena has been a heavy favorite of passing butterflies.

Prairie onion is prolific in the meadow this spring.

Farmer's Market Flowers for Easter Celebrations

Farmer's Market flowers made all the more special when gifted by the hands of a child.  Even if she's grown ♥ maybe especially when she's grown. 

Oh, Yes! I Love Texas

It's February 8 and the first wildflowers are appearing on the hillside in the backyard...JOY

windflower anemone 

Move Along. Move Along. Nothing To See Here.

:: cotton tail and goldeneye :: fall in central Texas :: happy heart

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.

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! 

Sometimes You Need a Swift Kick in the Rear

The next time I decide to paint any room larger than 6' x 6' go ahead and give me a swift kick.  And the next time my sweet husband looks at me with complete sincerity and asks if I'm sure I don't want to hire someone to paint and I say no, just kick me.  Hard. 

And, the next time I take on this project the day after we get home from vacation the week of school starting for my son and my daughter readying herself to leave for college.  Yes, you know.  Just give me a kick.  And, my parents and extended family are coming to town the following week for a birthday celebration...Yes.  Really.  I did this.  Knowingly.  

Three rooms and two hallways painted a gorgeous warm gray.  Thankfully I love the color and the work was worth it!

So this lunacy explains my blogging absence and I've missed you sorely.   There has been so much happening.  We've gotten cooler temperatures, a little rain with more on the way and there are so many signs that fall is coming!

The oxblood lilies gifted to me in March by my neighbor Leroy are blooming!  They are delightfully charming and old fashioned and have lived up to the expectation of JOY I anticipated.  I adore them.

This group of mushrooms appeared in the yard yesterday.  Amazing, really because the lawn in the back is parched.  Wonderful these little miracles out there just waiting for the perfect conditions.

Spider lilies are eagerly pushing up the earth with one in bloom all the sudden.  The others aren't far behind. 

But my favorite fall story is this little fall aster...

This was planted three years ago with the excitement that every gardener has when she plants a flowering perennial.  I could just imagine how it would spill over the slope, loaded down with sweet lilac hued flowers each fall.  But a rabbit ate it down to nearly nothing only for it to come up again the following year to suffer horribly through drought and heat.  This year it was nibbled again but fortunately the bunny found the nearby black-eyed Susan more palatable and the aster finally grew.  It's still tiny but it is a survivor and it is proclaiming the start of fall loud and proud. 

This little aster gives me hope and makes me smile every time I see it.  I want to be like that little aster.

A Bit of Fragrance

A bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that gives you flowers...

A small gesture presented in the tiniest of packages.   A cherished bouquet gifted to me by my girl.  Whether two or twenty years old, it doesn't matter.  What mother can resist the delight of a child as she proudly surrenders her carefully selected posies chosen just for you?   Sweet moments. Simple joys.

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.  ♥

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.

Wildflower Wrangling

I'm a cautious sort.  This means at times living vicariously through others who aren't.  In this case, my friend Deb.

We were heading out of town to pick up some recycled glass mulch and I spotted these gorgeous purple wildflowers among the sunflowers along FM 1327.  While volunteering at the Master Gardener desk last week I was reading up on Texas wildflowers and came across wild foxglove in a book.  I hoped these might be them and we stopped to take a closer look.

I've written briefly about Deb before and alluded to her inquisitive, playful nature. She wasn't to be deterred from gathering up a few samples of these wildflowers. The home on the property was abandoned and the fence in disrepair.  It was as if the universe was graciously inviting her in...

Did I mention that I'm cautious?  And leery of snakes.

Stick in hand, swinging it to and fro to warn any snakes of her approach, Deb made her way out to the middle of the field.  She is clearly not cautious...careful, but not cautious. 

Cautious is still standing on the side of the road, iphone in hand, snapping pictures and prepared to call 911 if necessary for a paramedic.

Deb grew up on a farm and showed steers as a teenager so apparently has no fear of snakes and such.  Unlike myself who grew up in a big, metropolitan area on the east coast.  I watched, coached and cheered from the sidelines wishing I too was brave enough to tromp through knee high grasses in sandals and shorts.

A few minutes later, she returns triumphant and all smiles with a small cluster of flowers gathered to bring home to dry for seeds so she can spread the love of a beautiful prairie wildflower in a suburban landscape.

Turns out, these are not the wild foxglove we'd been hoping for but possibly bluebells, a Texas native.  Looks like she gathered a little something else there in the left of the bouquet. I'm not sure what that one is, maybe wild petunia?  Any ideas?

I learned a lot yesterday as I watched my friend carried by sheer joy into that field. 

One, always have my 'good' camera with me when I'm going on an outing with her because there is never a dull moment (these shots were taken with my iphone).  Phones have really come a long way, haven't they?!

Two, it would be a good idea to wear jeans and boots no matter the season or destination when in her company.  And, maybe carry a shovel and anti-venom.

And three, you can experience immense joy and satisfaction cheering on your brave friend as she marches forward to a task you'd like to do but just can't muster up the courage for. 

*By telling this story I am in no way condoning nor advocating wildflower wrangling*

May All Your Weeds be Wildflowers

A Rain Soaked Garden Bloggers Bloom Day!

Well it's just been too long since participating in Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.  While taking in the posts of my fellow gardeners, I became so inspired to join the fun that I grabbed my camera and ran out into the rain soaked garden to see what I had to share.

There are rain lilies...lots of them in the space beyond the fence.  They've been blooming for a week now in response to all the May showers.  You can see they look a little tattered from the .80" we received last night but they'll spring back.  Last night's shower was a slow, gentle, soaking rain with periodic rumbles of distant thunder...perfect to drift off to sleep to.

The dill sends up fireworks of yellow blooms to entice the swallowtail butterflies and hover flies.  As much as I enjoy cooking with the dill and parsley, I seriously look forward to photographing them more!

The dwarf oakleaf hydrangea, planted last spring, is coming into its own.  The foliage is gorgeous and the blooms are just beginning to fill in, brightening up the shade of the Japanese maple bed.

In the sunny bed along the back fence, verbena bonariensis floats above other perennials attracting near by butterflies.  This pass-a-long plant from Amy at Go Away, I'm Gardening, makes me smile and think of her every time I walk by.  Thanks, Amy!

And one last shot before the skies opened again with another soft, soaking rain!  Hallelujah!  Livin' Easy is on it's second round of blooms this season.  I counted 14 buds the other morning!  This spring has been so fabulous especially in contrast to the horrid drought of last summer.

I hope this GBBD finds you all soaking up the joy that spring has to offer!

Thanks, Carol, for hosting this meme on the 15th of every month.  Stop by the other bloggers' posts to see what they have going on in their gardens this May. 

A quick note about comments:  Unfortunately, I've tried unsuccessfully to leave comments on many Wordpress blogs.  There are a few I'm able to but many redirect me to a page requiring that I sign in to Wordpress.  Any information as to why this is happening would be much appreciated.  Also, I've made The Whimsical Gardener a word verification free blog.  It has been no problem with only one spam comment actually making it through Blogger's filter.  I would encourage y'all to give it a try; it sure makes it a lot easier on those wishing to leave a comment ;)

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!