Valentine Blossoms for BloomDay

Soooo, it's been 3 months since I've blogged...oh well. I've been busy birding, camping, reading, making things, hanging out with some of the coolest people I've ever met, planting and planning. Plus, I went back to full-time work briefly this fall, teaching art...but I'm back to making things and wondering what I'll be when I'm grown up. Such is the life of a drinker and dreamer, or as my friends say "free-spirit" and what my family probably calls a "lost soul." This winter has been strange...unusually wet after the drought of the summer and unusually warm...which just confuses the plants to no end. My yard is actually looking pretty good considering...well, my low maintenance plan of dumping 16 cubic yards of mulch last spring and trying to rid the place of almost all traces of the dreaded...lawn. The mulch was an excellent idea but I have to share with you the horrors that followed. See, we got 8 cubic yards of fresh, beautiful smelling cedar one day from Davey Tree's and it took me about a week to distribute the mini mountain in my driveway. I took a well deserved rest, then called them up again. This time I got random stuff, along with a really cool bench but I also got something horrid...an infestation of the dreaded Palmetto Bug. For those of you who don't live in Texas, that's a fancy way of calling the biggest friggin' cockroach you have ever seen! One or more of the trees must have been harboring a nursery! It took us months to get rid of them...because we don't pour poison around or in our home, or on the land...ever...even when invaded by roaches. So...we got those sticky strips and lined the doors every night and woke up to a terrifying nightmare. "NO MORE MULCH" says loving spouse...and this time, I agree. He has agreed to buying the fabulous Sylvan Mulch from the Natural Gardener, and it's my favorite, it's just beaucoup bucks. So much for gardening on the cheap. The good thing is that I'd piled it up so deep (trying for 8-12 inches as suggested in Gaia's Garden) that I really don't need much more.

Getting back into the Garden Blogger Bloom Day regime, above is my first and only success at getting an orchid to bloom the second year. Last year I gave up on trying to grow my favorite flower and gave ALL of them to my neighbor Aimee who, although seemed lost in her own yard, has a green thumb when it comes to Orchids. Since assuming this, Aimee has taken off in her yard and lost almost all her orchids this year, due to leaving them outside too long...funny how things flip-flop like that. I'm chalking my success up to...neglect. When I was "trying" to grow orchids, I was reading books, buying the food, misting them daily...and when my lovely daughter surprised me with yet another orchid after I'd given all mine away, I just sighed and decided to watch it die in peace. Clearly I was mothering the poor things to death! This is Austin, Texas...one of the most humid places in the state! Why was I adding mist to the mist? Beats me, except I did my research and that's what the book said! Shnizbit. Trial and error is the best teacher.

The oxalis this year is huge. Mine didn't die off at all so the little mounds now look like shrubs. The pink flowers are just the simplest expression of spring and for the first time my purple oxalis looks strong...maybe even strong enough to split and transplant a wee bit!

Purple oxalis blooming alongside heart leaf skullcap, which is not blooming.

Here are 3 more bloomin' beauties that never lost their sheen over the winter:

Shrimp plant

Trailing purple Lantana

and fern leaf Verbena.

The usual prune date for roses in Texas is in fact, Valentine's Day...but the new growth is profuse and several of my ladies are already in their finest:

Knock Out!

Old Blush on the front pergola is covered in blooms...the most on any of my roses right now.

Martha Gonzales never stopped blooming...always having at least one blossom...through the winter. Cecile Bruenner, Peggy Martin and Lady Banksia are waiting for longer days I suppose.

In the food department...the kale is so pretty I hate to eat it!

just kiddin' this is ornamental kale, you can eat it...but we don't.

This is our wedding tree, a Mountain Laurel that was knee high when we planted it nearly 11 years ago. It's been covered in buds before, but it seems to have exhaled in width over the winter.

Standing under it brings back memories of the playground and eating purple sweet-tarts...because that's exactly what they smell like.

Now, my peach tree out back doesn't even have buds...but the one I planted directly across the street from me is showing off! And oooooh are her peaches delicious!

Just as delicious as these eggs and butter plant, a pass along gift from my neighbor Regine. Again, kidding...they're not edible, but they do look like eggs and butter.

I have to show case my favorite hell-strip plant Hymenoxis, or four nerve daisy...because she keeps on bloomin' and she comes up in different spots each year!

I thought my germander was pooping out, but I gave her a haircut and she came back with a powerful bloom that had the bees buzzing for days...but they seem to have moved onto the many rosemary mounds now.

I think this photo is two bees kissing!

This last shot is not the last of the blossoms but it's one of my favorite winter staples...the arugula flower.

I sure do appreciate ya'll reading this...I know it's been awhile but I'm hoping to post at least once a month from here on out...just for my own documentation purposes.

Some upcoming events for Crestview folks are:

It's MY Park Day for Brentwood Park on March 3rd from 9-1

and this Saturday the Grasshoppers of East Dartmouth Ave. are crossing the street to gussy up our rose garden and PROPERLY trim the trees at the Baptist Church.

Other things blooming in my garden are:

Mexican Honeysuckle

Snapdragon

Autumn Sage

Alyssum

Agarita

Purple Ruellia

Loriopetalum

and as I went back one more time to check my list, I noticed that the Lady Banksia out back had one cluster of butter popcorn colored blossoms! So, she's on her way after all!

A big thank you, as always to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for organizing Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, where folks all over the world can go for their monthly blooming interests!

Happy Gardening!

Nursery Crawl plus some Junque!

We hit Buck Moore, my regular haunt early Friday morning. They had some good looking veggie starts on the front porch but were pretty low on seed. If you are into chickens, then you should know that Buck Moore sells the ONLY organic chicken feed in all of Texas, fortunately for me they're right up the street near the corner of 51st and Lamar.

They also carry a variety of other pet products and collectibles.

Then we headed over to Sledd's Nursery...someplace I'd apparently driven by and never seen! It's in Clarksville and has been around for over 30 years.

The plants were super healthy! But we didn't get a chance to talk to anyone to find out about the care, although after careful scrutiny of my photos I saw that they had a large container of Compost Tea...good sign!

We noticed that the prices were a little high...but then so was the quality of the product.

One of their outdoor covered area's.

These topiary frames were adorable and I think they are made on site. Pretty much any animal you can imagine, even a monkey was hanging from the ceiling....oooh, but expensive! The horse was almost $600!

The little half trunk benches had a price tag of $149...again, pretty expensive.

There were some really attractive arrangements! I love the color on these Lobelia!

We still had some time to blow before lunch and Randy wanted me to see this little dive just near my place and it ended up being the only purchase I made! I've got a "For the Birds" area in my backyard and I found a few folksy items there. They really have a ton of furniture and collectibles though...he was right, it was worth the stop and the place next door has used cowboy boots...I need to get back there with my girls!

This little place is tucked away on Burnet Road, an upscale antique warehouse collection and reupholstering shop. In my opinion, everything was outrageouly expensive...but a fine place to peruse for inspiration!

In with the pricey shops is Randy's friend Kirk's studio..."Body by Kirk" is a full workout facility with small and private classes.

Isn't Randy so00 modern?

I loved this simple Buddha and very fine vase...I'll spare you the heart-stopping price!

Since the shopping was going quick due to our being light-in-the-wallet, we had time for one last stop, though the agave juice was starting to call my name...

This is a beautiful turn of the century greenhouse hidden in the middle of the UT campus. A private residence since 1910, now being given to the university.

Here is the front of the house...it was being boarded up as we arrived. I'm all for the preservation of this beauty. The grounds have been left fallow but someone out there should step up with the funds. The view from the master bedroom is of the capital through Red Buds...just blooming now. Randy was fortunate to have attended the estate sale run by an old friend Carl McQuerry, art collector and writer...note to self, get the low-down from Carl! UT isn't known for it's preservation...so we'll be watching this site.

Jorge's is on North Loop just off Burnet Road, next to the fire station as you can see.

We opened the place up and the Marg-machine was ready!

Bam! 6.39$ a drink! Good grief...is this what an economy in crisis looks like? I had the lunch special, a cheese rellano, which was okay at best. The Margarita was small, but tasty...after the second (that's when we found out the price...ouch) we both started to feel it...at least they were strong...made picking up the bill a little easier.

Here's the scoop. Randy loved his meal, and will drink anything...didn't care about the price but you'll have to check out his blog "Horse Lips-Horse Sense" for his side of the story. Our waitress was classic and the place isn't bad...kitsch Mexican folk art and lovely tile...along with an old rock n' roll station...we were singing when we left.

Here's a place I'd been dieing to hit and it just seemed out in the middle of nowhere so I hadn't made it...plus, I have a 5 star rating in Orchid-death. They are my favorite flower, bar none and over the years my SS (sweet spouse) has brought them to me now again only to watch them die under my over-care. I can't seem to grow the simplest of wildflowers or the duchess of exotics...I'm in some kind of hard-knock-perennial-catch-22.

The first thing you hit is their outdoor rose nursery! Their collection is second only to the Rose Emporium...so said Dicke Patterson, the rose expert and nurseryman who showed us around and was genuinely charming.

I can't remember all the names that were just pouring outta Dicke's mouth!

I've never really seen the appeal of nailing a flower to the wall, though after I went to the annual orchid show at Zilker, I realized this was all the rage. I'm not convinced that a wall is reminiscent of a tree.

This room was amazing...plenty of air circulation and the flowers were all blooming!

Resident parrot in one of the many greenhouses. I'm a big fan of pets at work, but I always feel so sad to see anything in a cage.

This is the wonderful Dicke W. Patterson, who teaches classes regularly at It's a Jungle.

I ended up with so many shots of the orchids it was hard to pick which ones to show. One final word, this place is wonderful...they had more than just exotics and roses...they also had a nice variety of natives, fruit trees and garden furniture...give them a call about events, classes and demonstrations. They've been in business a long time and you can feel the love...we need to hold onto this Austin gem.

Countryside Nursery is located at 13292 Pond Springs Rd. and has been in business for just 3 years. They had a huge selection but are located on a big flat parking lot. If you just want good prices and live up north, it's a fine spot. They have John Dromgoole's products and he's coming in April for their Spring Fling talk.

They have a respectable assortment of natives and landscaping trees of every size.

They also carry lots of pottery, birdbaths, fountains and patio furniture...they really do have everything and at a good price.

After today, I was ready to have a comfy seat and take a break! Thanks for joining us on our monthly nursery crawl, restaurant review...sort of, and all things Austin.

Happy Gardening!