Luscious Lycoris

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Tina

It’s fall!!

I can always tell, especially when these beauties surprise me. Even if I wanted to, there’s no way to ignore this!

After our first decent rain in early September, the Red Spider Lily, Lycoris radiata, sends up its bloom stalk and in the following days, stunning blooms unfold.

The long stamens give rise the the common name, spider.

These petals and those extravagant stamens still sported rain drops on a recent morning after overnight rain.

In the Amaryllis family and native to the Far East, this bulb has naturalized in the southern part of the United States. Here in Austin, they’re easy to grow. Plant now (in the early fall), in a part shade to shady spot and wait. And if you’re like me, forget about them, go on with your life, your stuff, and your gardening. Then be happily surprised each September–I never remember that I’ve planted them. They pop out of the ground and do this:

…and then they do this.

Usually there are several blooms, one atop each scape, rising from the dormant-since-last winter bulbs.

After the flowers fade, the foliage will emerge–it looks similar to liriope foliage, except with a pale-yellow stripe up the middle. The foliage will stick around until sometime in late winter–I don’t really know because I never realize that they’ve gone.

I only have three groups of L. radiata. In this area I planted two bulbs in two different spots,

…while here resides a single bulb.

I planted my bulbs three years ago and this is the second year they’ve bloomed. They seem happy here.

So you know how I’m always preaching about planting for pollinators–bees, butterflies, and other assorted wildlife? Well, forget all that for this one post: you plant Red Spider Lily for yourself. Go ahead, be completely selfish and shoot for style over substance. I’m sure in its native range, there’s something that feeds on Lycoris radiata–but not here. No sir, I haven’t seen anything so much as hover around the Spider Lily, wondering whether this is something worth sipping from or chewing on. This plant is for looks only–it’s a total fluff plant, indulging the pretty-plant-person resident in every gardener.

And that’s okay.

Plant, wait. enjoy!!

Foliage Follow-up, September 2014

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Tina

As with our blooms, the Central Texas foliage perks up with September rains, shorter days, and the suggestion of cooler temperature ahead. I join with Pam at Digging to celebrate the end of summer, new beginnings for autumn, and all things leafy.

The pond garden is a riot of fascinating foliage. Just take a look!

Lots of foliage action in this shot! Clockwise from the bottom, the actual water plants include the lily pads of the two lilies I grow (Colorado and Claude Ikins), the Ruby Red Runner, and the showy leaves of the Pickerel Rush, Pontederia cordata. All three pond plants contribute to the biological filtration of my pond, though I also have a mechanical filter.

Continuing with the tour d’ foliage, the plants adjacent to the pond include tropical Yellow Bells, Tecoma stans, Soft-leaf Yucca, Yucca recurvifolia, Firecracker Plant, Russelia equisetiformis, Martha Gonzales Roses, Iris, Autumn Sage, Salvia greggii, and Mexican Feathergrass, Nassella tenuissima. All of these perennials sport differing widths, textures, and colors of leaves.

Ruby Red Runner dies back in the winter, but by late summer into fall it’s full-on lovely and spreading.

It’s seeded out in several places around the pond. This plant, usually used as a waterfall biological filter and prized for its attractive foliage, produces teensy puff-ball flowers,

…which go to seed, thus, the spread.

Another view of the plants near the pond…

Not much blooming in those photos, but a variety of leaf beauty.

I particularly like these water shots with the creeping roots of the Ruby Red Runner, spreading its spidery fingers toward the lily pads,

…as if the roots are creeping outward to grab the pads. Or maybe they’re just reaching out for a watery hug!

The soft, elegant foliage of Lindheimer’s Senna, Senna lindheimeriana,

lends structure to, but also softens the back of my garden. Combined with the bright green leaves of the Yellow Bells and spiky, but matching-in-color American Century Plant, Agave americana,

…the Senna fits well in this spot.

The morning after a recent rain, the foliage of the Purple Heart, Setcreasea pallida, retained droplets along its edges.

With “traditional” autumn coloring, (which doesn’t happen for Central Texas on a large-scale until late November/December), the plumes of the Maiden Grass, Miscanthus sinensis ‘Adagio’, beautifully complement the flowers of Turk’s Cap , Malvaviscus arboreus, and the orange blossoms of Flame Acanthus, Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii.

Here’s a closer look at the inflorescence of the Maiden Grass.

Along with the orange-y and autumn-y color theme, this new ceramic container is planted with the ‘Color Guard’ Yucca, Yucca filamentosa ‘Color Guard’, accompanied by Woolly Stemodia, Stemodia lanata.

The container sits amidst a nest of blooming and berrying Pigeonberry, Rivina humilis.

What interesting foliage is gracing your garden space now? Celebrate foliage in your gardens and learn about other foliage by visiting Digging for September Foliage Follow-up.

Monarch!

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Tina

In my last post, I wrote about the steep decline in the population of monarch butterflies. I mentioned that I hadn’t seen any monarchs in my gardens here in Austin so far this September. Yesterday afternoon as I was in the garden planting more fennel and milkweed ahead of our first, bona fide autumn cool front with impending rain–there she was!

Flying fast and high, this lone Monarch flitted onto the Tropical Milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, which is ready and waiting, just for her–and any other interested Lepidoptera.

Only one Monarch, but she made my heart sing!

I took photos. Partly because I don’t know if there will soon be a time that there won’t be any monarchs to take photos of and also because I regretted not taking photos last spring when one Monarch visit for a day or two. I remember thinking at that time: There will be more–it’s that time of year.

With serious threats to the survival of this indigenous North American butterfly species, there is no guarantee that monarchs will visit my gardens in the future. I sincerely hope that my generation’s children and grandchildren will see monarchs in their gardens.