Game On, Spring

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Tina

As February races toward its conclusion, this Austin garden is ready for spring. I started pruning in late December, after the first of the freezes lay waste to the herbaceous perennials in my gardens. I’ve been pruning since. Seven garbage cans full of garden detritus every week, for almost two months.

Plants like Turk’s Cap (Malavaviscus arboreus var. drummondii) are whacked.

The luscious, sunny-blooming Goldeneye (Viguiera dentata)? Nary but sticks protruding from the ground.

The Martha Gonzales Roses are reduced to a fifth of their full size.

Some Variegated Flax Lily (Dianella tasmanica),

fared better than others in my gardens.

All I pruned from the Flax Lily were the freeze damaged straps. It’s the one plant (I have four groups of them) that I dutifully covered with each freeze forecast into the 20s.

And the Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii) and other evergreen native shrubby plants are pruned into tidy balls,

or spindly bits of green perched on woody stems, waiting for the just right light and breath of warm spring air to burst into new growth.

I still have more to prune, but I’m almost finished for the year.

I didn’t lose any established plants this winter and that gratifies me and validates my garden choices. I choose natives or hardy non-natives, with the occasional splurge for the newest, cheap thrill plant that everyone (okay, just gardeners) is talking about.

I always think of the winter landscape as barren, but it isn’t, even in this winter which was colder than any of the past 19 years. With most of the flowering perennials in my front garden temporarily gone, I’m reminded how nice my ignored-most-of-the-year evergreens are during their winter concert on this sunny February day.

And in my back garden, I like the clearly defined garden and pathways. The iris and yucca straps dominate,

while the Heartleaf Skullcap (Scutellaria ovata ssp. bracteata) insinuates its soft green carpet anywhere allowed.

I have a clean pond, which will make pond maintenance easier for the rest of the year and appeals to my aesthetic sense. I don’t think the fish care whether I clean the pond or not.

Spring is almost here. The Mexican Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera) is pruned to the ground

but life begins anew.

The Columbines (Aquilegia chrysantha var. hinckleyana) are lush,

their first buds emerging.

Bring it on, Spring.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, February 2014

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Tina

Well, given our colder-than-the-last-decade-or-two winter, I don’t have many blooms this February. The non-native to Texas, Leatherleaf mahonia (Mahonia bealei),

sports its yellow blooms, though not all quite open and coupled with developing berries.

Also, a personal favorite of mine, the native-to-Texas Coral honeysuckle vine, (Lonicera sempervirens),

shares a sprinkling of its clusters for now. In a month or so the vine will be covered with these lovely red blooms, much to the delight of bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

And that’s it! Nothing more: zero, nada, zilch in the bloom department.

For a look at blooms from around the world, check out Carol at May Dreams Gardens, who hosts Bloom Day for garden bloggers.

Native Texas Plant Week and Foliage Follow-Up–October 2012

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Tina

Joining Pam at Digging for Foliage Follow-Up and celebrating Native Texas Plant Week, I’ll focus on some of the lovely Texas plants currently wowing with interesting foliage in my garden.

Or, as in the case of the Big Muhly (Muhlenbergia lindheimeri), showing off its slender foliage and its magnificent inflorescence. Fall has arrived with the plumes of native grasses entering their full glory. Sigh. So beautiful.

This Silver Ponyfoot (Dichondra argentea) augments the brighter green and blooming perennials around it.

Its creeping habit is graceful as it spills over edges and rocks.

Most people in Texas would consider this plant, Horseherb (Calyptocarpus vialis),

an obnoxious weed. I’ve found many of these hardy, drought tolerant plants insinuating themselves in cracks between stepping-stones or at the base of raised beds. I had so many individual mats that I decided to plant as many as possible in a sitting area that was once grass, but has been a mulched area for about ten years.

I planted the left side after some heavy rains last May and the right side, after rains during the summer. The Horseherb has filled in remarkably well. Scarily so. I hope I don’t regret have this tough plant so close to a more formal garden. I’ll need to keep it tidy with a line trimmer, but the area is almost completely shaded, so it won’t need extra water and Horseherb can handle moderate foot traffic.

Inland Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) is sporting its tawny seeds for fall.

Although the pretty yellow blooms of the Lindheimer’s Senna (Senna lindheimeriana) are all but gone and the seeds are ripening for the birds, I still love the beautiful soft grey-green foliage of this native perennial.

Lindheimer’s Senna is especially nice paired with the bright green, more tropical looking leaves of the ‘Esparanza’ Yellow Bells (Tacoma stans).

The always elegant Mexican Feathergrass (Nasella tenuissima), softens gardens with its thread-like shimmery green to golden brown leaves.

Years ago, someone shared their White Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) with me. Yarrow is a favorite of mine because of its beauty and durability. Best in shade, it grows well in even the driest of summers; its blooms are long-lasting. By this time of year, I’ve pruned the flower stalks, but the leaves remain lush.

This Retama is about seven years old. It’s grown tall and has yellow flowers all summer. The bloom cycle is toward its end, but the delicate, feathery leaves are fetching.

Be STILL my beating heart! I love Gulf Muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris).

I love it! Although my little Muhly is no rival for some of the beauties of this species that I see around Austin, I’m still thrilled that I have some plumage. Someday, little Muhly, someday!

Glory in both blooms and foliage! And if you live in Texas, happy Native Plants Week! Wherever you live, try native plants for your garden. For more information about North American native plants, check out the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center site.