At-Ten-Ten-Ten-tion Must Be Paid

Attention has been paid to the design of the garden. Once that Mystery Tree in the last post was identified as a probable Mulberry, it was no longer allowed to overwhelm the new border and it was not transplanted into a pot and nurtured. According to MSS of Zanthan Gardens her almost identical Mulberry sapling has survived several winters and bounced back after being cut down over and over. This kind of weedy tree might be fine on a few acres or a farm - I've read that the berries are great favorites of pigs - but there is no room for it on our small suburban lot!


I dug deep, and think all the roots came out.
MSS gave me Bluebonnet seeds last month and I planted some of them in the now-empty space. In Austin we sow these seeds in fall and then hope the little sprouts make it through cold weather, attacks by pillbugs and constant uprooting by squirrels as they dig holes for pecans.

You can't help but pay attention to the squirrels - they're rampaging everywhere in their fall frenzy - breaking branches while tearing pecan husks from the pecan trees and dropping fragments of husk on every surface. The constant leaping and running and chasing is hard on other trees, too - young Loquat #2 lost several of its lower branches. I guess the squirrels aren't burying all the nuts but are eating a lot of them. This leads to poor judgment by the Tree Rat as to how large a bough is needed to support their weight
The squirrels didn't kill the Culinary Sage - it died not long after the prolonged drenching from Tropical Storm Hermine. It was interesting to see which plants gave up after 12-inches of rain. Although the Silver Pony foot doubled in size, many of the grey-leaved plants including MoonshineYarrow/Achillea, Lavender plants and most of the Lambs Ears died quickly after the storms. Some salvias, most of the Shasta Daisies, some coneflowers and most portulaca are gone, too. For now those blank spots have been planted with more of the bluebonnet seeds from MSS.

Blooming blue already is that Scutellaria 'Dorota Blue' from last year. It barely survived winter freezes and I kept in into a large pot under the overhang all summer, hoping the part shade could keep the sun from killing it. That overhang also kept the skullcap from being pounded by rain. Now the fall show has begun. The leaves show stress from the past year but the flowers are abundant and beautiful.

That last post about the mystery tree made me neglect some autumn beauties. One plant responded to the rain with an astonishing display - the first blooms ever from red spider lily/Lycoris bulbs, another gift from MSS. What can I say? She is a gardening angel!

The first bud was a surprise - so lovely on its ownThen 6 flower heads rose up and began to open in the center of verbena, Gregg's Mistflower, Black & Blue Salvia, Blackfoot Daisies, Rosa Mutabilis and Bengal Tiger canna leaves They opened over a period of several days, and it was really a smashing combination.
I can't help but pay attention to flowers that smell wonderful when I walk out on the patio. A few days ago one of the heads of White Ginger/Hedychium coronarium was perfect.
The fragrance of Sweet Olive is a sure sign of fall in my garden. My three shrubs didn't seem to mind the rain and are covered in tiny fragrant flowers. If other plants in my garden die, I might take a while to decide whether to replant them. But if I lost Osmanthus/Sweet Olive, I'd be scouring the nurseries for a replacement without a moment's hesitation. I don't want to be without it.

Yesterday was the last project of the year for we members of the Divas of the Dirt, our cooperative gardening group. I've known them since the first project of the 2001 garden season - so yesterday marked 10 years of Digging With The Divas. Most of the story will be on the blog eventually, but for the amusement of my fellow gardenbloggers in Austin, here's a photo of what we spent hours digging up yesterday:It's the alternately loved and despised Horseherb - a plant that came in near the top of the Austin gardenbloggers' Most Hated Weed List via Twitter last week, while at the same time it's sold in nurseries and recommended as a native ground cover by other Austin garden people.

There's something to pay attention to in the vegetable patch, too. Most of the tomato plants died soon after Hermine, but just a little liquid fertilizer on the pepper plants brought new fruit. We've enjoyed the sweet frying-type peppers for breakfast Peppers-and-Eggs, but these are a small, rather hot pepper called 'Garden Salsa'.
Philo roasted them, added garlic and turned them into a chunky hot sauce. Science fiction fans are having much fun with the fact that the all important decimal number 42 is rendered 10-10-10 in binary numbers. Philo considered naming his relish the Secret Sauce of the Universe, but instead called it "Thanks For All the Peppers ". There are a few more hours left of this day -think I'll keep my massively useful towel handy.

With the sapling mulberry gone, you can now see the amazing size of the Salvia vanhouttei in the new border. I raved last GBBD about the $2, 4" starter plant from Barton Springs Nursery that turned into a temporary shrub, but this plant needs more than photos - it needs attention for just a few seconds on video.

Lose Some, Win Some

This post, "Lose Some, Win Some ", was written for my blogspot blog called The Transplantable Rose by Annie in Austin.


ED Jan 29: Looking into the back garden at house #3 Illinois - mid-1990's

Winter in Illinois meant -15°F/-26°C, shoveling snow, chopping ice and growing a garden full of dormant plants. Eleven winters in Austin have taught me to expect occasional snow, some spectacular ice storms, occasional dips to the 20's and have taught me that many marginal plants will make it through with a little help from a gardener. It's unlearning time when January 2010 brings the coldest temperatures in decades.

Some of the effects of the 13°F/10.5°C measured in my garden won't show up for months - some of the editing was sudden, but the garden will change and this blog will help me remember what happens.

Although the loss of perennials also means the opportunity to try new ones, I'm grateful that the deep cold barely touched the Green Bones of the garden. So far the evergreen yaupon hollies and Burford hollies, the loquats and sweet olives, live oaks and Southern wax myrtles and 'Little Gem' magnolia, the boxwoods and Mexican oreganos, the camellias and roses and abelias, the Pineapple guavas, Magnolia figo/Banana shrub, Dwarf Myrtles, Buddhist Pine/Podocarpus, Bay laurels, Gregg's salvias, cast iron plants and sturdy evergreen vines of Star Jasmine seem fine. The Carolina Jessamine vine didn't even lose its buds.
Another cold front is on the way now, poised to banish the balmy 63°/17°C of the last weeks so the 25°F/3.8°C can return. It's time to once again cover tender plants and move others from the patio back inside the garage. But there are fewer plants to worry about this time - any lingering annuals and most of the marginal plants have bailed!

After that hard weekend some plants died immediately. A warm house wall and layers of covering couldn't save the African aloes - their gel-filled leaves felt like water balloons, collapsing when temperatures rose. This Aloe vera and skullcap huddled side-by-side under the layers against the wall - that was enough protection to keep the pot of Scutellaria indica 'Dorota Blue' looking fresh and green but the Aloe has collapsed.

Obviously dead was the Zone 9 Mexican flame vine, an iffy choice when it was planted on the new trellis last fall. After 15-seconds of mourning it was replaced by the Ramona clematis blooming in its holding container since 2007.

Many plants died to the ground - there's no sign that the Duranta erecta, the cupheas, the Mexican honeysuckle, the Blue butterfly clerodendron, the tall yellow Brugmansia/Angel Trumpet or the Milkweeds/Asclepias curassavica will have enough strength to resprout from the base. I don't know how far the chill entered the ground - if it went down a few inches even normally hardy salvias and the southern bulbs like canna, calla, amaryllis, rainlilies, agapanthus or the Butterfly Gingers in the open borders may be dead. If the Amarcrinums don't live I won't be one bit philosophical about the loss!


Many plants, especially the Texas plants, have dropped leaves but the stems are flexible so they'll probably survive - defoliating now are the Texas sage/Cenizo, native wisteria and all three Barbados cherries (largest one seen above). Semi-evergreen non-natives like roses and dwarf pomegranates have dropped leaves, too and the native Silver Ponyfoot/Dichondra argentea has died back in large sheets to a few places where the silver grey leaves are alive.

The larger Meyer's Lemon tree also had special covering and and lights. It didn't look too bad at first, then the leaves started curling. Last weekend the lemon leaves turned brown and started falling. I'll cover it again tonight and turn on the lights, hoping that green stems mean the tree can recover.

Covering won't help several dead-looking palm trees or the bicolor iris or the bulbines. Just in case they're not dead I'm crossing my fingers and leaving most of those plants alone for now. The clump of bulbines above were dug out for another reason - they'd taken over a space earmarked for a pomegranate tree.


Some fall-planted cilantro didn't care about the cold but I was surprised to see that smaller bluebonnet and larkspur seedlings were missing after the freeze.

Apparently some seeds were still underground - a few bluebonnets, the larkspur above and more cilantro germinated and popped up after the freeze.

Every border, front and back, has a sprinkling of Verbena bonariensis seedlings eager to fill in blank spots.

Birds eat berries from the Wax-leafed Ligustrum in my neighbors' yards and drop the seeds here. This Asian invader wasn't bothered by a mere 13F so I've pulled hundreds of these seedlings.

The new white camellia 'Morning Glow' lost a few buds, then opened others with brown edges. The rose pink Camellia japonica never opened its buds but hasn't dropped them.


All three Sweet Olive shrubs have pushed off the frozen brown buds and popped a new set of fragrant flowers.




The Loropetalum AKA Chinese Witch Hazel AKA "Razzle Dazzle" is defying whatever weather comes next.


Ranunculus bulbs are pushing up leaves all over the garden. I grow a few every year and they look much more robust with rain and cooler temperatures than in the last couple of years.



Inside the house a Smith & Hawken Amaryllis blooms on the windowsill. This doesn't look one bit like the picture of 'Apple Blossom' on the label but it's a winner.

This post, "Lose Some, Win Some ", was written for my blogspot blog called The Transplantable Rose by Annie in Austin.

Garden Blogger Bloom Day, November 2009

Every month Carol of May Dreams Gardens invites us to share what's in bloom. She thought of this idea back in January of 2007 - meaning some of us are close to the end of Year Three and you've become familiar with most of our plants.

So for this third edition of November Garden Bloggers Bloom Day I decided it could be fun not only to show you what's in flower, but to show you how each plant fits into the garden as a whole. Let's wander around, following the numbers on this rough and simplified map. - it gets a little bigger if you click: The bed near the front walk is #1 - here's Rosa mutabilis in bud and bloom, sending up new shoots.



A few leaves from the whitebud have fallen on a clump of Creeping phlox. It only bloomed once a year in Illinois, but decorates the edges of this bed in both spring and fall. The Yellow Bulbine is trying to take over the whole bed.

Cross the driveway to a bed anchored by three Spiraeas, #2. I like how the pink cuphea and a fragrant mistflower mix it up - a Red Admiral butterfly approves.
The Pink Entrance Bed, #3, has whites and purples and blues, too - like this blue-violet Duranta. Can you see that branch with different leaves? It's the 'Rumba' weigela - still alive after the summer of 2009!

There is plenty of Pink in the Pink Entrance bed, including this froth of pink Gaura backed by a fading 'Belinda's Dream' rose. This is the only open Belinda flower, but more buds are swelling.
Let's go toward the Garden Gate - first passing the fuzzy purple Mexican Bush Sage at the corner of the garage, #4, with colors even more intense than at October GBBD.

Once through the gate we're inside the privacy fence passing the NE fence border #5. Salute the Salvia madrensis, but you'll have to look up to do it.... the wooden fence is 6-feet tall. It was just starting in October and is now in full bloom.



Buttery yellow 'Julia Child' rose grows in this border - also displaying only one rose today, and saving buds for later.


While we walk the grass path you'll see yellow glowing on both sides - in the triangle at right, Bed # 6, the Mexican Mint Marigold is at its peak with Russelia equisetiformis, Firecracker plant adding a touch of orange
I've planted both the sunny fence border and this first triangle bed with shades of yellow & blue, with lots of white and touches of orange. I've called this Blue Butterfly flower Clerodendrum ugandense until now- Pam/Digging showed it with the current name, Rotheca myricoides 'Ugandense', in a recent post. But an assortment of clunky names can't make the flower any less lovely.

On to #7 Back in the corner of the vegetable plot is a raised planter with an old-fashioned Rose of Sharon bush and a yellow mum below. I used to hate the word 'mums', but at least I can remember it - had to look up Dendranthema x grandiflora, Prophet Series 'Yellow". This mum was here when we moved in, still had the tag.



The other day I dug up and divided a clump of cannas, replanting some of them and setting aside the other half for my friend Ellen. Until the pecan leaves fall the vegetable garden is in dense shade so I plopped Ellen's cannas into a big pot and stuck them in the abandoned tomato plot. One of her plants had an opened bud - since they're still here this counts as my bloom, right?
This time let's walk back between the triangle beds...the path is still "grass" now, but we have plans for granite. On the obelisk in bed #6 the Blue Pea vine has more pods than flowers but what's there is cherce*. (*Tracy & Hepburn, Pat & Mike)
The tropical milkweed is as pretty in bud as in bloom, and the Mexican Mint Marigold shows through the network of vines from the other side.

On the south side of the path at Triangle #8 there's are tiny larkspur and cilantro seedlings and various annual salvia seedlings but the only flowers are on the dependable white reseeding Zinnia linnearis. The green shrub is a dwarf Greek myrtle.


Bed # 9 is the best spot in the whole garden, offering morning sun, afternoon shade, shelter from hail and cold north winds, access to the hose faucet and attention from the gardeners who use the back door. Currently blooming in this desirable location are the pink mouse-faced cuphea and the big Brugmansia/Angel Trumpet. The Meyer's Improved lemon ripens a handful of beautiful fruit.

Before we head for the patio a close look reveals a beautiful green spider who has captured a bee.


On the South end of the patio, #10, impatiens bloom in one pot, Sambac Jasmine is budded in another and a potted Meyer's lemon promises Cranberry-Lemon relish for Thanksgiving.


The arch connecting the patio to the grassy area under the pecans is covered by a Coral Honeysuckle in both beautiful bloom
And delicate, graceful bud.


Cross the grass to the South fence where #11 was designed as a hummingbird bed with lots of Salvias. Right now Gregg's salvia, Pineapple sage, Salvia coccinea, Salvia 'Black & Blue', Salvia guaranitica, and Salvia farinacea each have a few flowers in red and blue, but when the Cuphea llavea/Bat-faced cuphea combines these two colors the result is so cute it gets the photo.

Enlarging one batface on a different photo surprised me - How old is this plant? It looks like it's growing a beard:
The hummingbird bed merges with a shady long bed as you move to the right - first bats, now toads? The Toadlily plant is half the size it was last fall, but it survived in shade and managed to push out a few spotted flowers.
As we head toward the garden shed, stop to look up at my beloved Loquat, grown from a seedling, now flowering and covered in butterflies 12-feet up in the air. The buds are just beginning to open on the lower branches.

The sasanqua Camellia started blooming this week in the bed along the garden shed, #12.
A new shrub might have died but I planted it in 2004. Being established in filtered shade meant that the camellia not only survived but made a few dozen buds and flowers. Austinites on Hill Country terrain don't usually succeed with camellias, but they're not uncommon in my part of Austin.

A few feet away is the Bulb Bed, # 13, jammed with leftover Christmas amaryllis/Hippeastrum, with dollar store Daffodils, with non-blooming Agapanthus, old Easter lilies, freesias and other bulbs picked up on sale. One pot of Oxalis regnellii 'Atropurpurea' , sometimes called Purple Shamrock, has been divided over and over and appears in a dozen clumps front and back. The flowers seem paler here than in real life.


Through the arch to #14 - where more dark purple comes from a Potato vine in a blue pot, annual Impatiens act like perennials in this sheltered spot and green Oxalis bloom white.
The wooden privacy fence surrounds this little area and separates the front and back yards. I've heard this kind of space called a Dogleg, but after we cleaned out the junk we christened it the Secret Garden. When May Dreams Carol visited my garden I joked that the secret was that I would never let the Air-Conditioner appear in any photos.


But here's the real secret of the Secret Garden: Three Sweet Olive/Osmanthus shrubs are spaced around the south end of the house, with inconspicuous flowers wafting a lovely scent over the whole back yard. A visitor might wonder where the fragrance came from, until I tell them the Secret.

The complete GBBD list with my best shot at the botanical names will appear is now up at Annie's Addendum.
To see more than 100 Bloom Day posts from around the world go to Carol's roundup at May Dreams.