FOLIAGE FOLLOW UP DAY, MARCH 2014

This maybe the first time I have posted on Foliage Follow up Day but it seems appropriate today as many spring blooms are missing from my garden.
I think, like Pam I have to give first of the day to Whale's Tongue agave, Agave ovatifolia. I have two of these, both in the front courtyard garden, but they differ slightly in their structure one being more open that the other.

I was prompted to call the nursery when I noticed a pup forming underneath the one directly above. Not supposed to happen. However the seed supplier in Germany stood by his seed saying it was definitely A.ovatifolia. I'm not unhappy with this one but I don't think it is quite as attractive as the one at the top.

This Agave lophantha was a passalong. I know some who would not entertain its spiky leaves, which would rip your hands to shreds in a moment. I love it for its green color. It has that bright green streak running through the center; not unlike A. lophantha quadricolor, my next passalong. Gosh, I love this one and I can't have enough of them, which is good because my friend Bob always has tens of these to share.

I can see that this year I will need to move the bulbs of the Tulipa clusiana as the Agave parryi is making their life very difficult.

I have another Agave parryi this one 'truncata' Both came from the Desert Botanic Garden in Phoenix.

All these plants add drama and interest to the garden year round.

What would I do without Agave weberi? What would I do without my neighbor? Every one came from his garden. This agave has a high pupping propensity. I think they look magnificent among the rocks and despite a few blemishes they have survived this horrible winter.

The star of my back garden is the Yucca rostrata. How I wish I had bought more of them at the time. It was just a tiny thing in a pot and has grown incredibly over the past 6 years. What a show stopper this plant is and not dangerous at all.

Spineless prickly pear cactus and squid agave, Agave bracteosa, fill another corner of this garden. Squid agave is another heavy pup maker.

It will be quite a contrast for the secluded garden on the side of the house to have something so prickly. I made this hyertuffa pot especially for this Dyckia.
I still have lots of other green plants like pittosporum, Indian hawthorn and the beautiful viburnum but I thought I'd shine a spotlight on my prickly plants on this Foliage Follow Up Day. Thanks for hosting Pam.

GARDEN BLOGGERS' BLOOM DAY MARCH 2014

Welcome to March in my garden, which is far from being its normal self following a terrible freeze just over a week ago. We are not used to having a temperature as low as 20° at this time of the year and it has taken its toll on Southern gardens. Despite this, there are some plants who just don't care and they are the ones blooming today.

In the early morning Tulipa clusiana Lady Jane showing her underskirts.

An hour later she begins her show,

Until finally her petals are fully open. In Texas these are the only tulips that can be grown successfully, naturalizing and returning whatever the weather. I think they are sorely under utilized.

This large agarita bush, Mahonia trifoliata, was just a little behind some of the others and so her blossoms managed to survive unscathed. There is an intense honey fragrance on the air today.

A cluster of unknown narcissi on the corner of the once named Spanish oak garden. I shall be sorry when their blooming finishes because they have just been magnificent this year. I think the spring bulbs have benefited from our very cold winter.

Viburnum 'Spring bouquet' Has been its most magnificent this year.

Close up of viburnum flowers.

Ipheion

Summer snowfake, Leucojum aestivum.

Narcissi with California poppy.

First buds on the stocks.

Gopher plant, Euphorbia rigida

Erigeron daisy.

The first of many bluebonnets to come. Please join Carol at Maydreams to share your March blooms.

GRAB A BICYCLE AND RIDE THE STREETS OF TAIPEI

Riding a bicycle could never be easier than it is in Taipei. It's easy to pick up a bicycle, swipe your pre-paid Easy Card card and off you go. We received the card in a delightful visitor package and it allowed us a few rides on the MRT before we had to add some money at any one of the booths. The first ½ hr is free, thereafter 30 NT$ (99cents) for each ½ hr. There's a basket on the front, an integral lock and the saddles are really comfortable.

The side walks have special lanes for bicycles as do the roads crossings and there are hundreds of alley ways to keep you off the main roads. In such a busy city but we never had to cycle on the road and we never felt at risk.

We cycle by the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial.

On this particular day the Presidential buildings are open. Mark and Juju have never been it open before so we lock up the bikes and head into the buildings. By this time we are thinking coffee. There are hundreds of wonderful coffee shops in Taipei but we choose Starbucks because the building has some history.

On this same spot 100 years ago stood a tea house.

We are always sure to check out the markets when we travel. This one is the dry market.

The displays of dried foods are a feast for the eyes. Occasionally we stop for s sample.

You have never seen such a variety of dried sweet meats.

This stall keeper is proud to show us his dried eels!

Then we cycle to the Botanic Garden, leaving our bicycles outside. They come with their own locks.

Taiwan enjoys a mild sub-tropical climate but winter days can be chilly. Rather like California some trees lose their leaves which give the garden a wintry look.

The glass houses protect many of the cactus from winter rains but there is a good selection of more tolerant agaves and aloes.

We return the bicycles and head for home.

Vivian needs to practice her cello before our planned evening visit the to the night markets. We'll be heading out on foot this time.

A SPLASH OF YELLOW IN THE WINTER GARDEN

It's still winter here in central Texas and she let it be known this last week when the nighttime  temperatures plummeted to 20° It was bad news for many of our plants that had leafed out, some already with blooms.

 Here's one plant whose blooms were not affected by the events of that evening, Gopher plant or Euphorbia rigida.
This plant was new to my garden last year and I am thrilled with how it withstood summer heat and a very cold winter. Its long trailing stems seem to be just perfect for trailing over the limestone ledge rocks in the sunken garden.

I already have plans to add more to this garden. Several seedling have shown up in places remote from the original plant.

The milky latex sap found in the stems of euphorbias mean that the plant is not attractive to wildlife, a bonus in a garden where deer visit. It is in my plans to add more outside the walls where deer roam freely.

There are blooms on another unknown Euphorbia species, this one wintered over in the house. The tiny blooms show up like little beacons on the stems.
The Euphorbias comprise a family of over 2000 species, many of which will be recognized in the garden by their milky sap. Known sometimes a spurge most gardeners have one plant in their mind when we say spurge-that terrible spreading or upright summertime weed.

The blossoms of at least one of my agaritas, Mahonia trifoliata, was spared from the freeze. Tucked in a corner of the house and twisting around a live oak tree may just have saved this years berry crop. Because of its extremely prickly foliage it is best grown in wild areas of the garden.

Gerbera daisies are not flowers I ever buy, unless tempted by a sale tag. Who could resist a $1 sale tag for really healthy looking plants with many buds hiding in the crown of the leaves. I couldn't. And I was sorely in need of some larger pots to pot up the pepper plants I had bought.
We had just over 1½" rain yesterday and a chill wind is blowing today. I'm not feeling much enthusiasm to go out into the garden today.

LEMONS FOR SHROVE TUESDAY(PANCAKE DAY)

I just went out to pick lemons from my Meyer lemon tree. Yes, the temperature is 30° but my lemon trees are in the potting shed. They are in fruit and flower at the same time.

But what does this have to do with Shrove Tuesday?

At our house we could never let Shrove Tuesday go by without having our favorite dessert. Forget the trifle, sticky toffee pudding and Christmas pudding. Our favorite is pancakes. No, not American breakfast pancakes smothered in all kinds of gooey, strawberry, whipped cream concoctions or with a dose of pancake syrup. But those deliciously thin, rolled crepes sprinkled with sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice. We have been eating them on this day since childhood.

Shrove Tuesday is the last day before the beginning of Lent and pancakes were a way to use up those forbidden foods such as eggs and butter. Pancake races take place all over England, the most famous of all being in the town of Olney in Buckinghamshire. The race has been run there since 1445. Shrove Tuesday was a half day holiday and the 'Shriving Bell' would ring out from the church to call people to the service. Legend has it that a lady was in the middle of making her pancakes when the bell rang and she ran to the church pan in hand. Today the ladies of the town wearing apron and scarf start the race by tossing their pancake, run the 380 meters from the market square to the church, then toss the pancake again. The winner gets a kiss from the verger. Men can participate too but they must wear the apron and scarf.

I'm pleased to say that we have passed on pancake making through two generations. It wasn't Shrove Tuesday but while we were in Taipei at Christmas our 9 year old granddaughter made pancakes for us one night. We were busy discussing what we should have for dessert when the subject of pancakes came up. Vivian went into the kitchen, got out her recipe book, and measured out the ingredients.

She didn't toss the pancakes but used chopsticks to turn them.

Then made this lovely presentation. We ate them the same way we always do with sugar and lemon and they were delicious.

LOOKING BACK AT OLD PHOTOS OF THE GARDEN

Someone asked me this week if I would give them some photos of my garden. It wasn't a garden club but a bridge club. From time to time they use one of the notice boards to post about club members. This time they were doing a feature on our bridge players who also garden. Everyone likes to show their garden at its best so naturally I was on the hunt for some of my favorites.

This was my number one pick. It was taken in October on a day when Gardeners' Supply came out to film their catalogue. They were looking for a non regional look and all my narrow leaf zinnias created the perfect setting for their bench. No they didn't leave it behind!

You can tell it is spring in this photo because of the ever present pink primroses, Oenothera, and all the poppies. Look at that clear blue sky, reflected in the pool and a far cry from the current miserable 38° The photo was taken in April..... just around the corner.

This is an August photo of the front courtyard. Bluebonnets and other spring flowers are long gone and grasses and cactus are on show. I'll bet the temperature was in the 90s on this day. We almost had that temperature here this past week.
As I look at all this color and greenery it is hard to imagine that it might be like that again this year. Now I must go out into the garden and cover a few tender plants because we are predicted a low of 24° and there is a lot of tender new growth out there.  I do hope it doesn't get that cold.