GARDEN BLOGGERS' BLOOM DAY DECEMBER 2014

Mild days have meant that Texas gardens have not yet shut down for the winter. Many gardeners are reporting very early bloom times for plants such as iris and clematis.

I am a little sad that this mullein has decided to bloom early. Over the last month it has produced a rosette of leaves and sent out a flower stalk which is now in bloom. It was supposed to do this next year.

The same is true of the Carolina jessamine, Gelsemium sempervirens, which is usually a February bloomer in my garden.

Blanket flowers, Gaillardia pulchella, seem to bloom year round.

Heart-leaf ice plant, Aptenia cordifolia with welcome pink blooms.
But the general scene is one of a garden settling down for a winter's nap.

It's such a beautiful day I need to get outside and cut a few things back in readiness for spring. Wishing you a Happy Bloom day. Please join May Dreams Gardens and see what is blooming in other gardens.

JUST WHEN YOU THINK IT WILL LAST FOREVER

Just when you think it will last forever summer is over in a flash. Jack Frost pays your garden a visit and takes away with him much of your lingering color.

We have had two freezes in the last two weeks. The first one dipped into the 20s.  It was just for a few hours but what a difference those few hours made. Gone are the tithonia, gomphrena, most of the zinnias. The garden is taking on her winter cloak. A sudden bareness.

Yesterday, in a more sheltered, shady spot by the front entry gate, it was time to deal with the mountain of potted pothos that had grown during the summer, trailing and rooting alongside the wall. After taking a few cuttings, to root in a glass jar, I sat down and began a serious cutback. I was just pointing out to a visitor last week that I never sit on this bench. I was wrong.

It was the perfect place to sit and do the job. I also trimmed the tips of the A. demettiana, which will go inside for the winter. I'm not the one who has to carry this inside and I'm very cognizant of things that could cause eye damage these days.

Then I turned my attention to the sunken garden pulling out the faded zinnias and the masses of gomphrena.

What lies beneath would make a good title for a posting. So many things come to light after removing the summer planting. This ice plant can now enjoy the spotlight.

Billowing mounds of alyssum need to be cut back so that they will once again take on a more compact form.

It isn't easy to cut back flowering plants but I am thinking now of spring. I want my alyssum to look like this one which was cut back to nothing several weeks ago. Although I love the deep purple one I have all shades from purple down to white. It is another of my reliable re-seeders. The bees love it and it perfumes the air with its sweet honey fragrance.

While crouching down removing errant seedlings and weeds I noticed that the blue gilia, Gilia rigidula, is once again in flower. I have never seen this plant in a nursery and I don't know why because though a delicate looking and diminutive plant it is as tough as nails. Several plants on the chalky hillside have gone without water all summer and although not blooming like this one are starting to leaf out again. It seems to seed readily although I have yet to see the seeds. This one is growing by the rock in the center of the sunken garden. The soil is poor and dry and the constant shedding of the surface of the stone makes for a very alkaline soil.

I am certainly going to try to propagate this little beauty.

SWING HIGH, SWING LOW

Could it be that, once again, I'm talking about the weather? You bet. The wind is howling through the trees as yet another front passes through. Last week it brought a temperature in the low 20s, yesterday it was in the 80s. Tonight, back to freezing again. No rain in weeks. Yep, if you want to grow in Texas you'd better be tough.

Unless....

someone is kind enough to take you into the house. Some of my plants get to spend the winter in a more favorable place; the greenhouse, potting shed or even the house. These two ice plants are just flowering their heads off in the greenhouse.

I moved all my 'tenders' into the greenhouse last week and, despite no heater, they seemed to survive that frigid night. I put it down to a few things. Radiation heat from the rows of wine and milk bottles, warmth stored in the gravel on the ground and some protection from the cross vine which re grew this year and is once again creeping over the roof.

The third blooming plant is Plectranthus, 'Mona lavender' It was one of the plants used by the folks at Gardener's supply. I enjoyed its blooms so much in the fall that I thought I would try to winter it over.

But apart from that, the garden is now taking on its winter appearance, with the loss of all the little zinnias and cosmos which were growing between the pavers in the herb garden. Aready, I see the tough little spring bloomers waiting for their turn. Blanket flowers, coreopsis, poppies.

SNAKES ALIVE!

This morning I was talking to my neighbor about a coral snake that had been seen in another neighbors garden. As I walked through the gate there was this Eastern Black-Neck Garter snake. They are fairly common around here but this is by far the largest I have seen. A few minutes later I came across another snake, this time in the garage. It was much smaller and possibly a juvenile garter snake. I wonder if it had anything to do with a little frog I saw hopping in the garage the other night. It is one of their favorite foods. Yes, it's that time. Warm enough for snakes and tarantulas and scorpions. I need to make sure I don't leave the door open. Not that closed doors stops the scorpions. I killed one in the living room the other night.

The first flowers opened on the ice plant I started from seed. It is Delosperma floribunda 'stardust' The color isn't quite as vibrant as I had hoped for but it should do well planted in one of the spaces in the sunken garden. The pelleted seeds arrived in a tiny capsule and I had little hope that they would germinate. They did and I have six plants.

I almost missed this group of lace cactus. I was busy removing bluebonnet seeds in the front granite area. It was hiding underneath bluebonnets and zexmania.

The flowers at the top of the now 7' stalk on the Manfreda sileri, finally started to open. Not very interesting I'm afraid.

Now here's a horn worm with a difference. Anyone have an id on him. He's busy eating the Missouri primrose leaves and looks as though he is about to burst. Caterpillars in general seem to be quite drawn to the leaves of the primrose including the pink evening primrose. The furry caterpillars have stripped all the leaves from those plants leaving only the seeds! Smart move on nature's part. I did finally break down and spray the tomatoes with bt. There were just too many hornworms this year.

Finally we watched a young mud dauber emerge from the adobe nest by the kitchen door. He ran up and down the wall drying out his wings and finally made his first attempt at flight. Just a short one, but long enough to know he needed to dry out some more. I think we can finally remove it from the wall.

GARDEN BLOGGERS' BLOOM DAY MAY 2010

I can't sleep. The rain is pounding on the roof and thunder crashing all around. It is 4:30am on May Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Although it is going to be a soggy one here in central Texas every gardener is celebrating a good garden soaking. The wine cups and ice plant that have wowed my garden for weeks will likely not be opening today.

Our native Clematis pitcheri will still be open because unlike the more showy open flowered clems. this one has rather waxy petals.

Ever since a packet of Brachyscome or Swan river daisy seeds came in a magazine I have grown this annual. I can't get enough of the tiny purple and white flowers. Open pollinated so I can save the seeds from year to year.

Another year with my gorgeous mounding Wright's skullcap, Scutellaria wrightii. This one has solid purple flowers which is rather unusual.

The more usual is two toned.

Although blanket flowers are blooming everywhere, most are the single petaled variety.

Only one of the fluted form appeared between the pavers in the vegetable garden.

What a surprise I had yesterday when I spotted this pomegranate flower and it is not on my big pomegranate tree, which has been flowering for weeks. This one is on a tree I grew from seed. Of course it is in the wrong place; an impossible place.

It was just in temporary spot and I had every intention of moving it this winter but didn't get round to it.

If I don't do it next winter we will soon be unable to walk down the path.

I think we will be seeing a lot of these this week. Happy Bloom Day.