Three For Thursday

The Lady Banksia is my favorite rose right now. We planted her before we built the deck and pergola, then added Old Blush just over 3 years ago, they're almost meeting now.

Front pergola from below.

The front deck and pergola from the driveway.

The Lady Banksia up close.

Happy Gardening!

A Stroll Through Zilker's Green Garden on the Summer Solstice

In spite of the heat, I don't think the garden could be more lovely and I have to share the blossoms with you. This isn't a story, it's my job, one of them...and sometimes, it's the best place to be. This morning you could hear the Northern Cricket Frogs singing in the pond and, one visitor told me that there were more butterflies in my little meadow than in the Butterfly Garden. When you work alone for hours on end, words like these are pure sweetness.

Wooly Butterfly Bush

Purple Cone Flower, like a dream.

Lions Tail, that I planted in November...just five of them in 4" pots!

Buddleia or Butterfly Bush

A symphony in lavender... Society Garlic, Majestic Sage and Mexican Oregano.

This is one of 3 rock mounds in the "Little Meadow," (I call it that because I designed it to be viewed by a child) when you kneel down all the flowers are eye-high and it's quite dreamy, especially when all the butterflies and dragonflies are dancing in the morning sun.

I transplanted some Polygunom from the ground in the Master Gardener greenhouse and it's taking over nicely. The little ones always get a kick out of the glass rings.

Zexmenia

Echinacea

I just love these flowers, as do the butterflies. If you love butterflies, please join me tomorrow night, June 22nd at Zilker Botanical Gardens for the Butterfly Forum at 7pm; the speaker will be teaching us how to identify our beautiful garden guests.

Thanks for taking a stroll with me, if you haven't been out to the gardens in awhile, may I suggest you go early...no later than 8am, and bring water!

Happy Gardening

May Day brings Roses

I tend to 4 gardens here in Austin, the Grow Green Demonstration Garden at Zilker Botanical Gardens, Howson Library in Tarry Town, the Crestview Baptist Church...it's a developing plan, and of course...my own. The picture below does not give justice to the roses at Howson Library.

They have 9 rose bushes all together, 8 Martha Gonzales and one 9ft. Mutabilis. Last week I began my workday with the roses. I decided to count the 'dead heads,' I quit at 250. I am amazed at how the roses in Austin are growing this year. We are recovering (I hope) from a horrid drought and we've had one rain each week since the second week in March...and apparently June is our heavy rain month! The temp has been mild, mostly in the 80's and it's been strangely perfect...most springs seem like they happen over night...it's cold one day the next you need a Margarita to handle the outdoors and are met with swarms of thirsty mosquito's.

When I first started this job, I didn't care for it because it's on busy Exposition Boulevard, right where the city bus parks and I would gag from the fumes and it didn't feel much like a garden, even though I knew the plants...almost all native and all drought tolerant. It's been a year now and it's one of my favorite places in town. (I try to arrive well before the busses start running and go inside to browse when it arrives.) It's also one of the favorites of birds, bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and readers...my favorite people. Above is a photo of a wren nest by the front door, they sing to me while I work...I stop singing for them.

This is Martha Gonzales...looking her best and being ravaged by a honey bee. She stays.

This is tired Martha, she goes into my pocket.

This is Martha's hip...I got to her too late. I try to get them all so they don't waste energy making hips but keep blooming, sometimes I miss one. I let Martha rest December through Valentines Day, that's when she gets a hair cut and shortly after a yummy meal of some organic food. She likes it when I sing Dianna Ross, "Loving you is easy 'cause your beautiful..."

Yes, I'm a dork...I sing to flowers.

Only 5 more to go...it's been an hour so far.

This is the second time my apron pockets are full! And, I have yet to get to the big mama Mutabilis!

2 hours later...my thumbs smell delightfully green and sweet.

And you can find these on the counter inside. The lovely librarians are ever so helpful so I do my best to keep them in the flowers at least once a week.

Rose hip/heads are a main ingredient to lots of potpourri. To prepare them correctly, you would spread them out and let them dry, then spritz them with a mixture of essential rose-oil and spring water, let them dry again. We only have 5 rose bushes at the Green Garden, but over the year I've put 11 in at the Baptist Church and I have 12 at my house. I used to think they were prissy high maintenance girls but I don't anymore. Roses love Texas and vice-versa. They are tough and beautiful and you can't hold that against them! There is a list of Earth Kind Roses online at TAMU, these are roses that have been tested by Texas A&M and prove to be hearty, disease resistant and drought tollerant...check 'em out!

Happy Gardening!

CAMN at the Ladybird Wildflower Center

I remember the first bluebonnet field I saw. It was in Waxahachie, Texas 12 years ago this spring. I have a quintessential picture of my then, 2 year old romping in her state flower and I put that photo out every spring. I never get tired of fields of blue, wildflowers or the beautiful breezy Texas spring, filled with buzzing life.

I've recently become a Facebook addict. Yes, my name is Cheryl and I'm addicted to Facebook.

One of the things I love about it is keeping up with the weather in other parts of the country. I spent 7 years in Alaska... my formative years that is, and this time of year, up there is not lovingly referred to as "break-up," as in the ice is melting and breaking up. It's a muddy mess. I wish we had the stylish rain boots they have today. Anyway, this blog is for my friends up north, especially Scott whose mother retired in Pampa and thinks all of Texas is a flat, stinky desert. I've tried to wooo him into the heart of Texas but stereo-types are hard to break and you would just have to be here to know what those of us who live life in our year-round gardens have come to understand. I am the poster child for the bumper sticker "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could."

But, enough about that. It's dang hard for me to keep focused in the spring, especially on gorgeous day's like this. Which leads me to our CAMN class...which, after driving in through all the flowers, crushed me by making us sit for an entire morning before being able to explore the gardens! Never the less, the class was clean and clear and helped me organize the messy-mess of botanist naming with a great little game and then practical application exercise using Brother Daniel Lynch C.S.C.'s book and the binomial system of classification. The above photo is of my groups classification project. Which, being spring and all...put our minds in the gutter...screws and hooks...you can imagine.


We were able to do it, amazing through the giggles and straight up (no pun intended) naughty-naming and we had a great time. We played the game after a wonderful lecture from Flo Oxley, PhD. student in Botany and long time employee of the Wildflower Center. If ever you have the chance to take a class with her, get ready to speed through the information...she doesn't miss a beat, you won't doze and you'll walk away empowered. She was a hoot!

Oh yea, I want one of these from my backdoor to the garage:)

Tiniest little wildflower growing up through the wall.

The Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center is truly a stunning facility and recently joined forced with the University of Texas. Check out their site at: http://www.wildflower.org/

Right now there is a sculpture sale and show.

Next weekend, April 10-12 is their yearly Spring Plant Sale and Gardening Festival.

If you haven't taken the time to drive out there, you really must. It's charming, has lots of classes and events, shopping and a healthy cafe...not to mention the views.

Mexican Honeysuckle.

Doesn't this just make you want to take it easy? I managed to snap all these shots while my class was diligently working on identifying species using the guide...ho hum, it was much to pretty to look at a book.

One of the several ponds.

Mexican Buckeye seeds.

More plants getting ready to jump into your yard! I've heard told that some stuff sells out on the first morning...

The live Bluebonnet Cam...what a crack up! It's on the website.

Here's Flo Oxley telling us about some farmer who drug this old hollowed out tree in after the bees left...why? He didn't know.

I think this is close enough for you to smell it...mmmm rich burnt honey goodness!

This was one of my favorites of the sculptures! It had a sold sign on it...dagnabbit!

We were told that having just a few Indian Paintbrushes among Bluebonnets will deter the bugs.

That's one healthy field of blue...with just one red spot for safety's sake. I don't know what to say Scott, you're missing out if you pass through life without seeing a Bluebonnet field...Texas ain't Pampa.

The day was great, the class was worthy and if you're interested in being a Capital Area Master Naturalist, get on it! They only take 30 applicants a year and it's a world of knowledge. Tomorrow, we are meeting at the LCRA Redbud Center to learn about Ichthyology, Herpetology, Aquatic Systems Ecology and Management, and Wetland Ecology and Management. I should be ready to put in that pond after this!

Have a great day and Happy Gardening.