the bark tree

New mower!

We got a new push reel mower!

After seeing this wonderful review of the Fiskars Momentum Reel mower by Genevieve on North Coast Gardening, Brandon and I were intrigued.  

Later, I had a conversation about push reel mowers with a customer at NHG and I mentioned it to him.  A couple weeks later he came back in to tell me he had purchased this mower and LOVED it.

We ran out and got ours the next day.

It is easier to push than our old push reel and we are especially pleased with the way it throws the clipped material back out in front for further chopping.  August likes it too.

Spring seating

Roses 2012

 

Family life

We had some door to door visitors stop by this spring passing out rather absurd pamphlets about family life.  Working in the garden with August, I groaned internally when I saw them, knowing they had seen us.  

Friendly August began chatting them up right away, showing them his digging area.

I finally stopped my work and talked with them a while and they were actually really sweet. They loved the garden and one said that her mother used to grow all kinds of things.   "We came to pass out this message about family life, but I think you've got it," they proclaimed.

Border width

A new spring project is underway: widening the narrow long border!

With a nifty new edging tool, I sliced through the surrounding lawn, adding about a foot of width.  This tool will also help keep the edges clean as the season progresses and the grass sneaks into the bed.

The newest wing of the border was made wider by an old fashioned shovel, prompting the purchase of the edge tool, which I've had my eye on anyway.

The remaining grass is then ripped out by hand and dumped into the overloaded compost heap. Organic matter of all sorts will be added later.

Little guy likes to "help" by sitting in my lap while I'm tearing out lawn.

Blog-iversary: 5 years!

February 18th of 2007 was my very first post.  The last five years have held a number of big changes for us.  Many thanks to everyone who has visited this enjoyable sidelong project to my garden.

With the mild winter we are having, my February garden isn't as desolate as in previous years.  See:  2008  2009  2011

Our wonderful flowering Quince (Chaenomeles speciosa) is gorgeous again even after suffering through the horrible summer.

Cabbages and violas brighten up the area in front of the quince.

Loropetalum in full flower, happy settled in it's new spot.

Lots of pink tones this time of year!  (Linaria maroccana) gives the long border a lift. 

Looking forward to spring!

One gallon gardening continues

According to my loose plan mentioned earlier, this fall I dug out the beds to connect the small shrubs planted in spring, thus extending the long border and ever so slowly reducing the giant lawn.

Both budgetary constraints and summer's high temperatures, which hit just after the first shrubs were planted, delayed this project.  Though still very low and narrow, the connected bed appears more deliberate than the poor little shrubs all alone in the lawn.

One-gallon-gardening has its positive side.  To watch plants grow from small babies into large vigorous shrubs is satisfying.

Though we all love instant gratification, I appreciate the beauty in a small new planting, especially while simultaneously imagining its future glory.

They grow quicker than you think!

A one gallon cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) planted last fall is gorgeous this year.

Our tiny bay laurel (Laurus nobilis) is slow growing, but still useable for cooking at this size.

I'm looking forward to future comparison shots of this beauty berry (Callicarpa americana), which is currently lost in a bed of iris and leaves.

Pittosporum 'Wheeler's Dwarf,' planted early spring, sent out lots of new growth this fall. 

The practice of gardening regularly teaches patience, delayed gratification, and humility.

White Rock Lake spillway

August and I went to check out the spillway at nearby White Rock Lake after a big rain.

In summer, this area was bone dry and lifeless.  

This day it was like Niagra Falls!  Many people like us came out to see the power of something larger than themselves and the whole place had a great vibe.

At a bakery/coffee shop afterward I calmed a cranky barrista by recommending that he visit after his shift was over.  

 

Some folks in our urban setting forget that this wonderful lake is right nearby.

Lawn

We never had to worry about lawn while living in Brooklyn.  Our tiny yard at first had some weedy grass which I eventually eliminated.  However, now we have an urban field of green and I spent a little time working on making it greener this spring.

Using a hand-held aeration tool, I poked lots and lots of holes all around the dead patches and in the decent looking areas too.  Many times I just left the thing sticking in the lawn so I could go back to it later.  With 2 year old August always playing around the yard as I work, there are constant stops and starts with every project.

To make the patches more inviting for the St. Augustine runners, I added several bags of Humax Turf Soil Builder which is finely screened and easily trickled into the lawn by hand.

Finally, I applied an inexpensive organic fertilizer, NHG's 6-3-0 once the lawn began to show active growth.  In three weeks there was a marked difference and now it all looks great.

Spring pix

In an effort to get you up to date: photos of my springtime garden.

Front yard progress

The front yard is slowly coming along.  The weather has been more or less wonderful since the beginning of March.  We've had lots of warm, beautiful days — perfect for working outside.

The west-side bed has mostly pinks and dark foliaged plants, though, I added orange violas in winter when most everything had gone out of bloom.  Our house faces northwest with a few trees in my neighbor's yard partly blocking the afternoon sun so I've spent the past few months trying to learn how much sun the two front areas receive... it's rather patchy.

A little section of the east-side bed sticks out to receive more sun so I immediately planted my favorite flower — poppies — in that spot.

They bloomed a bit in fall, quietly withstood our harsh winter and were lovely the past two months.  We can see them from inside our bedroom window and they still have new buds.

In the same bed is an overgrown holly which I trimmed up to remove a bunch of dead wood and previously butchered branches.  It's still pretty much a meatball shape and out of scale, but since we are renters, I am hesitant to chop it down just yet. 

Attempting to soften the corner and lower branches, I planted liriope (L. muscari varigata/gigantea) underneath.

Though I certainly could've done a more thorough prep, the sunny front yard border has been cleaned up to the extent that I've been forging ahead with new plantings.

The oldest and therefore largest is Centaurea cineraria 'Colchester White,' which I stuffed into a bare spot last fall before ever removing any weeds.  I like how the silver leaves look with the trunks of the Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus).

Wave Hill has a large collection of salvias and I grew very fond of them while working there.  Beautiful blue Salvia farinacea 'Henry Duelberg' was discovered by Greg Grant in a Texas cemetary thriving without special care.

In the forefront of this photo is another blue mealy cup sage. Salvia farinacea 'Victoria' is a dwarf form staying under twelve inches.  It's sold as a bedding annual, but it returned where I planted it in my mothers garden last spring.  You can also see blue fescue and love in a mist (Nigella damescena).

Salvia. longispicata x farinacea 'Mystic Spires Blue' crosses another favorite salvia of mine from Wave Hill, 'Indigo Spires' with a dwarf form to make a shorter, sturdier plant with a gorgeous deep blue flower.

Lamb's ear (Stachys byzantia 'Helen Von Stein') is planted on the edge of the bed anticipating that it will spread and widen the border.  More to come!

Hydrangea bed

Just outside our back door was a muddy area with no plants.  I covered it with leaves for the winter.

The soil there was compacted and held water so I knew I have some work to do.

Loosening the old soil, I added expanded shale, and acidified compost as preparation for a hydrangea.

The new planting has impatiens, holly ferns (Cyrtomium falcatum), a dwarf pittosporum (P. tobira 'Wheeler's Dwarf), Mahonia fortunii, Hosta 'Summer Music,'  lamium (L. maculatum 'Beacon Silver'), one little painted fern (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum)...

... and a lovely silver blue variegated hydrangea (H. macrophylla 'Mariesii Variegata')! 

August says: It looks like broccoli.

Weedy shrub removal

With the help of my wonderful niece, Arden, some horrible weedy shrubs were removed from my garden this March!

She and I dug out this nasty invasive privet (Ligustrum sinense), which I was initially considering keeping only because it is evergreen.

After reading this article about how master naturalists are struggling to clear this problematic plant from the Trinity River Texas Buckeye Trail I knew they had to go.

Arden also helped me remove this oddly placed Nandina (N. domestica) in my back yard, last photographed in the February snow.

Knowing it's also invasive, I'll confess that I replanted the stump along a chain-link fence to it use as a screen.

August knocked over a watering can and enjoyed the muddy mess that resulted in the hole we dug.

I took this other privet out a day later.  There is still another monster-sized privet in the back yard which I am living with for the time being.

The front border looks much better without these big weeds and I now have more room for planting.

Thanks again, Arden!

Flagstone project

Using flagstone that was left over from the nice walk in front of our house, I'm attempting to cover some muddy, shaded areas in the back yard extending from our small porch.

After visiting my wonderful hairdresser, Annette, a gardener who told me she built (and later rebuilt) her own flagstone patio, I figured I would give it a whirl with the available materials.

As with most of the garden, it's still a work in progress.  I'm planning to use pea gravel in the path area along the edge which leads to the front yard gate.  Though perhaps not completely professional, it will help keep us from tracking so much mud and dirt into the house.

Snow in TX

This was our view for days on end in early February.

When we moved back last February to Texas after 10 years in Brooklyn, I hardly expected to return to a snowy winter.  Admittedly, one week of snow days is nothing for the NYC area, but around here it's downright unusual.

On our icy porch, a pine (Pinus densiflora) stump I claimed from Wave Hill when we had to take a beautiful old tree down.

This might be the last time we see snow for a long time. Of course we had to get out in it for a little while.

With temperatures in the low 20s and teens, it wasn't comfortable for long.  The snow wasn't holding together very well so our obligatory snowman was dashed off quickly and was therefore quite small.

Inside, we entertained ourselves by building fires and watching the birds.

Chickadees and tufted titmice were frequent visitors to the feeder as well as a pair of cardinals.

A ruby crowned kinglet found a morsel on this cage I hung to hold a suet brick. We quickly realized that the squirrels were devouring most of it.

Here you can barely see the kinglet's little ruby "crown."  Roger Tory Peterson's last word in his description is: Inquistive.  We agreed.

In the warm days before the snow, this little carolina wren was singing his heart out each day on our fence, perhaps believing spring was already here.

Even when we can only hear him, we are always pleased by the presence of the lovely red-bellied woodpecker who, along with the smaller downy woodpecker, finds food in nearby dead tree limbs and occasionally visits our feeder.

An unusual vistor for this area was what we believe to be an ovenbird.  Two of them hopped around in search of food in our yard while the snow was on the ground and presumably winged it to warmer environs soon after.

All in all, we've counted thirteen different species in our yard including crows, mockingbirds, sparrows, blue jays and white winged doves.

We certainly enjoyed them all during the long days spent mostly indoors.

Summertime tree loss

A brief, but powerful July storm tore off the top of one old post oak tree (Quercus stellata) and smashed it down on top of another already weak old blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica).  This all happened in the front yard at my mother's house, where we were staying until September.

While rocking August to sleep for an afternoon nap, lightning flashed and thunder clapped so loudly and simultaneously, I was sure it must have hit right outside. 

Out the window, we saw that our neighbor's tree across the street had been sliced longways.  We stared out at this for a long while before finally wandering to look out the front door where we were shocked to see that our own trees had also been struck by lightning.

Strangely, just before we moved back to Texas in March, another old post oak (the stump of which I showed you earlier and which you can see here in the foreground) was badly damaged by a winter storm.

The trees did hit our vehicle, but fortunately, aside from a few minor dents, only broke the windshield.

Most of the ivy that was growing under the two trees fried in the resulting sun and these recently planted elephant ears that were receiving afternoon shade now need a new home.  It's amazing how quickly everything can change.

  

Ouch

In Texas, it's inevitable that a baby who loves to play in the dirt will get stung by fire ants.

Mom's house

August stays with my mother one day each week.  Here are a few of the things I planted at her house while we lived there which were still thriving until the winter frost.  Some folks might poo-poo annuals, but these little star zinnias (Zinnia linearis) looked wonderful all summer/fall and even survived a tree falling on them!

Texas Tarragon, a.k.a. Mexican Mint Marigold (Tagetes lucida) blooms prolifically in the fall. The leaves have a robust anise/licorice-like aroma.  This clump started as two little 4-inch plants in springtime.

Alongside more yellow star zinnias, coreopsis and guara they were part of what I'm now calling a "yellow border" which I began along her ligustrum hedge.  I'll add a few more this year to make it look a bit more deliberate.

 

My nephew also has a day with Grandmom each week which sometimes coincides with ours.

He and Augie had a big day pushing brooms around.

Filling the gaps

 

While we are staying with my mother in the house I grew up in, I've been working on the yard.  The first thing I did was trim up these two crepe myrtles that I planted back in the early 90s.  They were supposed to be dwarfs and stay somewhat shrubby, but they appear to be headed toward full size trees.  One was moved when they added wheelchair accessible sidewalk corners and I'm not particularly happy with the placement.  Not sure what exactly, but I'm considering adding some shrubs near them.

 

Next I planted a little oak leaf hydrangea in a bare spot near the garage where a hackberry tree once stood.  My dad laid out this brick patio himself back in the 70s. 
 

 

We used to have a wood fence behind where I planted this little fig tree — a cultivar called 'Celeste.'  When the fence got terribly old and rotten, Mom just had it taken down, which made our backyard visible from the street.  It's a surprising improvement and eventually the fig will provide a little natural screening.

 

It already has several fruits on it!

 

Next I began to work on gaps in the flower beds.

 

Mother has a weird way of expressing dislike towards her shrubs.  She decided this cherry laurel (Prunus caroliniana) was "out of bounds" and started hacking it up leaving stumps protruding from all sides.  Every time she passes she rips off another small section by hand.  Looks weird, doesn't it?

 

I cleaned it up a little and put in artemisia 'Powis Castle,'  lemon balm, golden sage, blackfoot daisies, moss rose and sedum 'Autumn Joy' below.  Later, thinking it looked too sparse and green, I added gomphrena 'Strawberry fields,' which I remember fondly from when my friend Gelene grew it from seed at Wave Hill. Along with plenty of organic fertilizer, I also dumped in a big bag of cotton burr compost to amend her cement-like clay soil.

  

There are two other cherry laurel shrubs which have also been hacked to heck.  I'm planning on removing this one here on the left.  Our friend Carlos works for a Dallas landscaping company and has plenty of experience tearing out old shrubs so he offered to assist me.  Then I'll have a whole corner to fill in next to her Ligustrum hedge.

 

Below the hedge there is a strip of lovely yellow Iris which bloomed beautifully this spring.  I decided to fill the gaps with some other perennials using a color scheme of yellow, white and a little blue.

'Stella D' Oro' daylilies and Mexican Mint Marigold (Tagetes lucida).

Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens), yellow columbine (Aquilegia hinckleyana), and Salvia farinacea 'Victoria Blue.'

My nephew Ray helped me plant three large elephant ear bulbs which are coming up nicely.

Near the front sidewalk corner there is a large patch of various ground covers.  I added three variegated liriope and some star zinnias to brighten up the edge.

In this shaded corner near the hose, I added some caladiums.  I probably should've gone with white and green to better match the varigated pittosporum, but I couldn't resist the cultivar called 'Carolyn Wharton.'  I have plans to place another dwarf pittosporum called 'Mojo' in the corner in front of the boxwood.

Another gap gets some hot afternoon sun so I used Salvia greggi 'Violet,' Nepeta 'Walker's Low,' mexican heather and lavender periwinkles.

 

Had to have a few containers on the porch.  Obviously I'm staying busy here and making good use of my employee discount at North Haven Gardens where I am a garden advisor. 

 

Here's my little garden helper, August who loves to be outside and eat dirt.

A big winter storm left a large tree leaning against the house so we had it taken down just after we arrived in Texas.  I'm pleased that they left this lovely stump.

Living far away in NYC, I longed for some time to do these kind of small improvements on the yards of my family. Soon I'll be working on my father's and sisters'.

Tree bargaining

One of my mothers-in-law (I have two) recently asked me about Chinese Pistache, a non-native, but well adapted shade tree for Texas.  I told her about 2 or 3 large specimens we have at North Haven Gardens, where I work, which are in the $300 range.  She said she'd think about it.

About a week later, we drove down to visit my other mother-in-law near Cedar Creek Lake.  Stopping into a grocery store for milk, but ever on horticulture alert, I quickly scanned the various plants and hanging baskets they had on sale outside the store.  I was surprised to find a Chinese Pistache tree in a little 3 gallon container for 12 bucks!  I couldn't pass it up!

But I did.  Considering that we were in a hurry ... how will we get it in the car, etc.  I left it behind.  After our visit, we started home passing by the store again without stopping. I began to regret not grabbing it. 

Minutes later my phone rang with my in-laws letting me know I had left my purse at their house in all the baby-loading confusion.  We had to turn back, so I had my chance to adopt the little tree.  I squeezed in the backseat with sleeping Augie so the tree could sit in the front floorboard.  Mother-in-law was pleased.