Fire!

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Tina

In late February 2013, on a windy, dry Monday afternoon, I walked into my backyard to assess damage from the gales of the day. I noticed the fence bordering the north side of my property pulled out from the four-by-four post in the ground and in danger of falling. As I contemplated repairing the fence, I was hearing a tssst, tssst, tssst sound. I finally realized that a neighbor’s large elm tree branch was being blown against the live electric wires over the boundary of my northern neighbor’s back property line. Each time the branch hit the wire, there were sparks, a small fire which almost immediately blew out, and smoke. I immediately called 911 and was transferred to the Austin Fire Department. Because there were other fires that afternoon, as well as downed electric wires, the dispatcher told me that a crew would be there as soon as possible, but not immediately. I nervously observed the increasingly scorched branch for the next hour. Within that hour, a group of firefighters arrived and viewed the branch, but by that time, the branch had apparently burned through and fallen to the ground. It probably fell onto the neighbor’s property directly behind my north-most neighbor. The firefighters left–I assumed they were going to check out property where the limb most likely landed, but didn’t (and don’t) know that.

Not long afterward, another neighbor called me and asked what was “going on” in my backyard. I walked to my back door and was shocked to see the backyard filled with smoke, flames whipping along the fence line. I called 911 and reported the fire. In those few minutes, as I watched the fire spread, not only along the fence, but into a garden IN my backyard, all I could think of was the devastating 2011 fire in Bastrop, Texas. For the first time in my life, I witnessed how quickly fire spreads and I feared that if the fire fighters couldn’t contain it, the wind would spread the flames throughout my property and the entire neighborhood. My (much calmer than I) teenage son helped me leash the dog, then he grabbed my arm and ushered me out of the house, to the front garden. There was still no fire truck screaming to my house, so I called 911 again. The dispatcher insisted that there was a fire truck at the address of the fire. I looked into my backyard and saw that firefighters were fighting the fire from the house directly behind mine. As it was late afternoon when the fire started, there were numerous calls about the fire. Eventually, another truck came to my house and firefighters tramped through with a long hose and were able to extinguish the fire. Later that evening, a captain told us that the fire department was shutting off electricity for the entire area because the tree was “electrified” and they had to wait for a City of Austin tree trimming crew to prune the offending tree far from the wires. As the crews were also overloaded with damaged trees, our electricity would be off until the crews arrived. By 2 am, our electricity was back on and the tree no longer a danger.

This is how my little garden was left:

The Feline Fire Inspection Crew, checking out the damage:

What a mess! But, my OCGD (Obsessive Compulsive Gardening Disorder) kicked in at full force and I got to work re-vamping that area over the next few weeks. Truthfully, the garden needed updating. It had always been a very shady garden (in the shade of both a Red Oak and Eastern Sycamore), but we drastically pruned the Sycamore when we installed solar panels in November 2012. The garden would now receive more western sun and I realized before the fire happened that I could add more sun-loving plants. Yippy! Who doesn’t love a challenge? So, the fire damage proved the impetus of change.

My poor Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides), planted along the ugly chain link fence, was ruined.

I long regretted that we hadn’t remove that nasty fence. It spans the entire length of my property at the back, abutting two different neighbors’ back yards. I’ve always had a congenial relationship with one of the neighbors in particular and never wanted to limit that physical connection. So I planted shorter screen plants along the fence line to obscure the chain link monstrosity. The Star Jasmine vines planted in this area matured very slowly and this this was the year that the vines would finally cover the fence. However, fire and heat wrecked havoc and I was left with the chain link exposed, as well as the unsightly back neighbor’s fire damaged wood fence. I hired a fence builder to replace the wind/fire damaged northern section and add a corner where the original wood fence and the chain link fence meet.

Then, The Nice Husband build a lattice screen in front of the chain link fence. It is opposite another screen he’d built earlier to separate the garden from the compost area. The space now evokes an enclosed, secret garden. And, the screen hides (not completely, though) the unattractive chain link and fire damaged wood fence that the neighbor still has not replaced. Later, I planted two more Star Jasmine vines to trail up the lattice. Remarkably, in late summer, I noticed that at either end of the lattice screen, two of the original Star Jasmine vines reappeared–I was amazed that they returned from the roots so long after the fire.

My Mexican Orchid Tree (Bauhinia mexicana) also suffered heat and some direct fire damage:

While most other plants returned quickly, it was late spring before the Orchid Tree grew from its roots.

I don’t have photos of this past growing season, but the Orchid Tree enjoyed several bloom cycles.

The heat damage to the Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora) occurred primarily on the right side of the tree.

Eventually, that side of the tree defoliated, though it recovered and there is new growth.

I had pruned the Inland Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) to the ground prior to the fire, but the early new growth was damaged.

I re-laid my soaker hoses, composted and mulched, plus we experienced good rainfall, so they recovered nicely.

The Shoshana’s Iris wasn’t damaged by the fire, but were on the receiving end of firefighter boots,

and didn’t bloom in the spring. They have recovered well and I hope to enjoy blooms this spring.

I planted a Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) on the new corner fence, flanked by four Goldeneye (Viguiera dentata) and they grew and bloomed magnificently. So much so, that I’ve recently removed two of the Goldeneye–they grow too large for that area. I also added some Mexican Feathergrass (Nassella tenuissima), White Tropical Sage (Salvia coccinea) and some Crinum Lily. By early summer, this is what the fire garden looked like:

For now, with the “cold” winter we’ve had, the garden is barren, except for the evergreens.

The discoloration between the new and old fence sections annoys me. I added bottles across the top of the lattice screen, in the hopes of distracting from the fire damaged neighbor’s fence and the little bit of the chain link that is visible. Also, as I age, kitsch appeals to me.

Still, I’m grateful that our damage was minor, appreciative for the quick response of the Austin Fire Department and glad to have successfully re-gardened this area.

Blues In The Garden

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Tina

I love blue. Blue flowers, especially.

Blue–Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata),

Blue–Majestic Sage (Salvia guaranitica),

and Blue–Heartleaf Skullcap (Scutelleria ovata sp.bracteata).

In truth, most of what I consider “blue” in my gardens has a tinge of lavender or purple, like this Heartleaf Skullcap,

which is currently at its peak of loveliness in gardens all around Austin.

It’s difficult to capture the beauty of this plant with my little point ‘n shoot camera because of the subtlety of the blue/lilac bloom paired with the grey/green foliage.

I especially love it with my bright blue, well-used (by the birds, not me!) bird bath.

Or combined with the cultivar Mealy Blue Sage and small, light blue bird bath situated on a bed of City of Austin recycled glass.

The Henry Duelberg Sage is a great blue-blooming perennial for Central Texas. This particular plant is the most purple of the Henrys in my garden,

but, it’s still mostly blue to my eyes.

I’ve noticed that the blues that I grow in my gardens are blue in real-time, but often show purple in photographs. Conversely, the native bog plant, Pickerel Weed (Pontederia cordata), is blue to me in this photo,

but in real life, I see it as purple.

I favor blue accents in my garden art as well. I usually refer to accent items as my garden ‘do-dads’. I’m easy to buy gifts for because it’s fun to have funky or silly or interesting do-dads in the garden. Do-dads–like my groovy gazing ball,

or my blue glazed pots for plants,

flanked by pots in the other colors I gravitate toward. I augment the blues in the garden with do-dads in these other colors.

But I tend to prefer garden accent pieces in hues of blues. I chose tile and glass pieces primarily in blues for the mosaic stepping stone under the archway,

although I could use a few more blue bottles on the bottle tree.

My tree tipped over during a heavy wind a few weeks ago and two of the four blue bottles that were on the tree smashed–I’m still finding shards of blue glass in that bed. Sigh. I’ll have to buy more of this high sugar/caffeine soda for the bottle tree. I’ll let The Boy drink those, though.

Oops. Well, this isn’t in the garden and my favorite thing here isn’t the blue wall, either. He’s studying hard for the SAT. (More like hardly studying….)

Oh, and not to forget, my wonderful new, blue Sky Chairs.

My old ones finally ripped through ‘n through, requiring replacement. I loooove these soporific chairs. Many a snoozy (usually) weekend afternoon/evening I’ve spent lolling about in one or the other of these chairs–listening to the waterfall of the pond, watching birds/owls/bees/butterflies and enjoying the fruits (or veggies) of my gardening labors.

What colors do you love in your gardens?

Kiss My Grass…Goodbye

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Tina

I’ve recently rid myself of the last remaining turf on my property by building a pathway where the grass was. It’s easy to lay a pathway, especially if the topography is flat. Adding a pathway is also a good way introduce structure to a garden. A defined pathway gives visitors a specific route for meandering a garden space.

When we built our pond three years ago, we placed it within the border of an established, large perennial garden and adjacent to the remains (swing beam and pea gravel) of the kids’ play-scape. We hung some nice hammock chairs so that we can sit by the pond and enjoy the fish, flowers and sleep. (Inevitably, that’s what I end up doing when I sit there and (ahem!) read.)

Because I haven’t been able to decide exactly what I wanted for the pathway, I left a (roughly) half-moon shaped patch of mostly Bermuda grass which leads from the patio/archway to the sitting area by the pond,

and then onto the next walkway/mulched area.

Other than occasional hand and automatic weed-eating at the border of the pond and gardens, I haven’t done anything to maintain this grass area. After the Summer From Hell of exceptional drought and almost 100 days of over 100 degree temperatures, coupled with no additional irrigation, the grass died.

Good riddance.

It’s time to build a pathway–I just have to decide what my building material will be. So…mulch? Or gravel, (pea or larger?)? Crushed granite? Or City of Austin crushed, recycled glass?

I prefer mulched areas because I like to walk barefoot and I don’t mind walking on mulch, plus I like the warmth of the earth tones in a landscape. But I have two large mulched areas already and want something different. Plus, my sweet dog loves to roll around in the mulch and I have enough problems with indentations in the mulched soil from his back-scratching antics that I don’t want to give him more opportunities to dirty himself. (More on that in another post.)

I love the look of crushed granite, but I don’t like walking on it barefoot and the dog is still going to roll in it, so no solution there. And as beautiful as recycled glass is, I don’t think it’s practical for a walkway where we’re going to be barefoot.

Gravel it is!! I like to walk on pea gravel (feels good on the feet!) and the area where the play-scape was/hammock chairs are, is covered with pea gravel, so this choice simplifies the layout of this area. My original plan was to have something other than pea gravel for the formerly grass area, but I prefer to keep the lines simple and pea gravel fulfills that desire.

The downside to using gravel is that it will be hot in the summer from about 10 am to about 3pm because of the direct sun. The area is mostly shaded after that and gravel cools quickly, so other than a few hours during the day where it will be necessary to wear shoes, it won’t be a difficult place in which to walk. Another related problem is that the heat generated from the rock might contribute to some evaporation from the pond. However, I don’t think the evaporation will be that significant

This was an easy project to complete.

1) I hand pull and weed-eat remaining grass (which there was not much of) and start laying weed-block.

2) My weed-block of choice has always been newspaper. I use fifteen layers and overlap the sheets so that the more ambitious weeds can’t get through. It’s best not to do this on a windy day….

3) I have to excavate about four square feet along the pathway, just past the arch. That area is flush with the river rock and an embedded stepping stone under the arch. I don’t want to add weed-block and pea gravel directly adjacent because it will be higher than the stepping stone and that won’t work.

4) I dig out the soil with a sharp-shooter and use the straight-edge of a hoe to even the soil and keep the slope consistent. I excavate about three inches deep, for about one and one-half feet in length, gradually sloping upward to the top of the soil where it meets the remainder of the established path.

5) The remaining pathway is bordered by five-to eight inch high limestone chopped rock and the ground is flat, so I can simply add weed-block and pea gravel directly on top of the soil.

6) I open bags of pea gravel and pour. The total pathway area is about twenty square feet, so I purchase individual bags from a nearby nursery. If it was a larger project, it would be more economical to order gravel from a local landscape supply company. Except for the excavated area (where I use three and one-half inches of gravel), the pea gravel on the pathway is two and one-half inches deep.

I complete one end,

then the other.

Finally, I finish the whole deal!

I built the pathway in two or three afternoons, working for an hour or two each, as I had time.

No more grass! Just nice pea gravel that requires no maintenance and that feels good on the tootsies. The dog can roll around in it (it’s become his favorite spot) and all it needs is the occasional rake pulled over to keep it level and tidy.

Now it’s time to clean up the billions of Red Oak leaves which are currently falling to the ground and covering everything. Ugh!

There’s never an end to garden projects…