IT HAS TO BE DONE

There's a lot more to having a garden than planting, pruning and primping. There are those tasks that I call grunt jobs. Maintaining the structures you have added to give interest, like benches, woodwork, metal art, pots, patio floors, bird baths. I have quite a few of these and on several afternoons this past week it seemed the perfect opportunity to get out of the sun and sit in the shade.

These are the two signs that go above the side entrance and the Sun and Moon Archway. Wind, rain and the Texas sun take their toll on any kind of protection you might add. I found myself a shady spot on the patio, where I could continue to enjoy the garden, and in no time the job was done, the signs re-installed.

While I had the can of sealant out I decided it was time for a refresh of all my home-made hypo-styrene pots.

Many of the plants had grown leggy with time and imperfect growing conditions. They needed to be cut off and replanted but before that a spell on the  patio table was the perfect place to callous over the cut ends.

I am always trying to make doo with what I have with just the occasional new purchase. This is one of my favorites which also looks as though it could do with a trim.

With a new coat of sealant they are all ready for the summer heat.

Next job was the Ziggurat steps at the side entry. I remember learning about Ziggurats in elementary school. What a perfect name. I don't know if this is a general name for these kind of steps or was just someone else's interpretation but when I came across the name in an article on Folly Farm I decided to rename my steps. Edwin Lutyens did many renditions of these kind of steps, some of which are curved. They have all stood the test of time. You can read all about the stunning remake of Folly Farm by Dan Pearson. Of course Lutyens' were made of stone so the necessary work of removing leaves from inside the joints was never needed. Unfortunately for us, wooden steps require a little more maintenance especially when situated beneath a live oak tree. The only way to do the job is to poke all the debris out using a piece of wire coat hanger.

Then the steps need to be washed down and re-stained. Thankfully I could pass that job on to David.

The Carolina wrens, who make their annual nest on my cactus theatre have fledged. We had no idea the theatre was going to provide such entertainment. We sat outside in the garage link and watched them build, worried about the safety of the nest from snakes and then the busy feeding time. Then one day the mother was singing away in the tree calling them from the nest and within two days they were gone.

Time for a tidy up, a watering and more entertainment as two of the cactus are about to flower.

There are still more jobs like this to be done but right now it is time to clean up all the bluebonnet debris and the live oak leaves that have been hidden beneath them. It is a big job and will take several days.

OUT AND ABOUT IN THE OCTOBER GARDEN

Trying to work outside in this horrendous humidity is downright miserable. Where is our October weather? Those clear, dry days we expect after a brutal summer. They are just not happening this year and it means a delay in our fall gardening jobs.  This morning I took a walk around the garden with camera, while waiting for some garden visitors to arrive.

The entry garden doesn't see much in the way of change through the seasons although it won't be long before many of these plants will be moved to their winter homes.

In the front courtyard the pink crystal grass, Melinus nerviglumis is starting to flower. Those seed heads will ensure a new crop of grasses for next year.

You wouldn't know there was sunken garden here. Viewed over the wall from the English garden.

In the English garden Rosa 'Felicia' with her beguiling fragrance. Just a glimpse of her through the Sun and Moon archway.

The Philippine violet on the corner of the patio is just starting to bloom.

As is the shrimp plant. A new addition to this same corner.

The planter of bunny ears cactus, Opuntia microdasys, is back on the wall.

Peas are up.

Mexican mint marigold, Tagetes lucida, is just starting to bloom.

Lots of grasses in the herb garden and one big one over by the potting shed. This one is lemon grass, Cymbopogon.

The stock tank pond surrounded by gaillardia, cosmos and narrow leaf zinnias.

A splash of pink from the Japanese anemone. Are their petals supposed to be distorted?

The fall bloomers have definitely enjoyed our recent rains. And there is more to come this weekend.

THE LATEST PROJECT

David loves doing projects which is a good thing because I keep thinking of projects for him to do.

Between the side door of the house and the garage there is a wall with an opening. It has advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantages far outweigh the advantages. Summer breezes are nice but in winter the wind howls through there and summer and winter if the rain is in the right direction it blows through there wetting everything outside the door.

We needed something we could open and close. Shutters wouldn't look good with our style of house but a sliding barn door shutter would be perfect. A week ago on our Sunday walk we discussed how it should be. Tongue and groove paneling to match the door. David worked on it all week and yesterday we slid the door onto its barn door track.

I won't have to worry about leaving my gardening shoes outside the door.

The day before installation David worked incredibly hard cleaning the wall. This summer with that rain it was looking awfully stained from mildew. The plants have all been removed to the driveway where they will remain. Some of them will be going in the garage for the winter.
I'm thrilled with how the shutter looks. Thanks David.

SAY HELLO TO MY NEW.......

little fish in the side-entry stock tank water garden. I don't have any live fish in this pond but may add some mosquito fish this year.

Of course you probably know where he came from but I won't tell.  I had to give him several coats of sealant to make him water proof and for now he is above the water line on a temporary stand while I think of a better perch.

The floating rafts made it through the winter and look as good as ever. So much so that with some help from David I made two more this weekend. They will help shade the water surface in the larger stock tank until the water lilies cover the surface.

There is a little less shade here this year due to some trimming back of low branches on the live oak tree. That meant not so many cactus on the steps. 

TAKE A WALK OUTSIDE, PART 1

If you have been to my garden you know that the house is completely surrounded by walls creating smaller gardens within. Outside we have 2 acres of juniper, oaks, persimmons, retama, agarita, growing on dry, dusty thin limestone soils. Around the house itself we have created garden areas which we think tie the land to the house. So I have two vastly different areas in which to garden.

This was the one area we employed someone to move the rocks, which form the dry creek, into position. I then dug down and added river rock to create the wet-weather creek running though this area. I have introduced agaves into the mix, for structure,  and anything that will grow without irrigation. These include the dwarf yaupon, Texas lantana,wax myrtle, rosemary, yucca, copper canyon daisy and Mexican feather grass. It is a sea of bluebonnets out here in the spring.

The dry creek runs all the way across the front directing water from our infrequent, heavy, Texas downpours. Plants seem happy to seed in the area but the soil is poor and dry and few attain any height. That is, all except for the A. weberi which are the most successful along with the zexmenia and the fall flowering Lindheimer senna.

The creek eventually passes in front of the garage where a pipe feeds any water underneath the driveway and into the real wet weather creek at the bottom of the property. There is little color out here during the summer but another explosion of yellow from the Copper canyon daisies, goldeneye and senna during the fall. A. Weberii is prodigious pup maker and the large ones came as young offsets from my neighbor. I now have plenty of my own to share.

Looking back towards the front entrance gate two turquoise pots hold Agave demettiana 'variegata' It is not hardy in our winters but it is worth putting in the garage for the winter. The original plantings of two sago palm are now in the ground. The one in the photo went unprotected this winter and all the leaves turned brown. The other, much smaller plant,  I was about to pull it, thinking it was dead, when I spotted some changes in the center core. It now has a small crown of green leaves. These plants have survived since the age of the dinosaurs which is a testament to their power to live through difficult conditions.

Beyond the garage we have a side entry. In England this would be referred to as the tradesman's entrance. A door by which the milk would be left or if someone was doing a job he would use this door if he wanted to contact the owner of the house. We use it quite differently. We invite our guests who come to visit the garden to enter this way. It is more convenient for a group to meet on the driveway under the large live oak tree before entering. Plus, the flow for a tour of the garden tour begins here and leaves by the front gate to pass around the outside wall into the other enclosed gardens.

Many of my potted cactus and succulents spend the summer here in the shade of the live oak tree.

Looking back from the platform you can see the large stones which David used to create steps down from the driveway. It was not an easy task deciding how to marry the rounded edge of the driveway to the native area. In the end we decided on the ledge stones. They all came out of the ground on our lot. Our personal quarry!

For a while we thought we would make this area into a Japanese garden, but it was never to become one. This summer I have spent a little time working to improve the area. I added this wooden pot found at a garage sale. A new stock tank pond is contained within a raised bed with some home-made floating islands. I am trying to get silver ponyfoot established around the tank. It is a difficult spot being in the shade until the brutal mid-day sun peaks over the roof-top and shines full on the tank. I am thinking I may need to add some plants on the backside to give shade to the tank.

If you enjoyed taking this walk with me then check back for next time when we'll continue a walk around the house to the back and far side.

WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT AGAVES, CACTUS AND SUCCULENTS

I am heading into the agave, cactus and succulent phase of my gardening life. The evidence is right there as you climb up the steps to enter through the side gate of my garden.

It is perfect place for these plants. A few hours of direct sun and several hours of filtered sunlight under the branches of the live oak tree. It is one of the few places in my garden where there is filtered sun. One lucky plant gets to sport the clay collar I found at a yard sale.

When visitors come to my garden I invite them to come in through the side gate. From there they can pass through the front courtyard garden and out through the main gate and around the outside of the house into the back gardens.

Look at the variety of shapes and textures in this plant grouping. Small cactus and euphorbias look better when they are grouped together in a wide-mouthed pot or with others.

Small agaves in hypertuffa pot.

Fireplace grouping.

Strawberry jars make great pots for these plants.

My weekend acquisitions; Candellia, Euphorbia antisyphilitica. That's a handy plant to have around!

But the biggest statement of all comes with the large plants situated in the landscape. On the right, Yucca rostrata, sapphire skies

Paired with plumbago which is having its best year ever.

There's a little experiment going on here with the soft leaf yucca. It was a tangle of offsets and dead leaves. I am hoping that the plant will respond to the cut back and take on a new life. Otherwise I will be looking for a replacement.

Structural plants are needed to give height and statement in the garden and none do it more beautifully than the agaves. And no agave makes a bolder statement than the Whale's tongue agave, A. ovatifolia.

Two of these beautiful agaves live in the front courtyard garden.

This is just the tip of the iceberg!