Conscious Gardening: Rosedale Garden Club

Showing posts with label Rosedale Garden Club. Show all posts

Sunday, November 15, 2009

November Color, GBBD

The Autumn colors are more evident in the photo...but mostly because loving spouse raked the leaves this morning before the Rosedale Garden Club convened on my front lawn for a tour, bringing with them scones and coffee...such a very nice group of people! I had sat next to Amy at the monthly Chica's Verde meeting a few months back and when she attended the Inside Austin Gardens Tour...we firmed up the plan to have her club meet here. Chica's Verde is a group of environmentally motivated women all working in 'green' fields...some of us literally.

The Autumn Sage is blooming around the birdbath, as is the Oxalis along the path.

Not a great shot of Belinda's Dream...it was so dark that the flash kept going off on it's own.

Bridal Wreath's delicate blooms.

Tropical Sage, Trailing Lantana, and Dianthus in the hanging basket blooming around the chicken coop.

More Trailing Lantana, Butternut Squash, you can't see the blooms under the giant leaves...but they are there, along with 3 nice sized vegetables. This is the former location of my compost pile and I always get volunteers...such a blessing. Esperanza or Yellow Bells is looking great but my orange variety hasn't bloomed in a month.

Patrick's Abutilon...has never had more blooms than now...this must be it's season, though it's been blooming since the rains came.

Turk's Cap has a few blooms but is mostly covered in fruit.

Sweet Pea

The Lavender is still hosting dozens of bees.

The local gardeners can't seem to agree on the name of this vine. I got it from my South Austin friend Julie, she didn't know what it was but I was told that it was Desert Willow Vine because the blooms are the same as the tree. I've also heard it called African Trumpet Vine, or just Pink Trumpet Vine. I had it planted on the east fence and it grew into my neighbors yard...east. So I moved it and propagated it, putting it on the chicken fence (above) and the west fence and both times it grew east, again. I think that's interesting.

When the purple Fall Aster is long gone, the native white is still hosting lots of insect activity...the snout nose butterfly's seem particularly fond of her.

Echinacea, Purple Cone Flower

Marigold, a variegated ornamental Pepper, Banana Pepper and gourd surprise...which means it's a volunteer and I have no idea what I'm getting, but it has a bloom...so it counts!

Predictable bloomers in November here in Austin: Copper Canyon Daisy, Cuphea and Mexican Sage...every year...since I planted them they've come through!

This is my blooming New Gold Lantana with Silver Pony's Foot that looked horrid this summer but has now come back with a vengeance!

Knock Out Rose next to the Katrina Rose, formerly, Peggy Martin.

Onion and Martha Gonzales Rose.

Datura Metal...I love this beauty!

The Rosedale Garden Club enjoying the monstrous Philippine Violet. I must give a shout out to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for her brilliant idea of having folks post what's blooming in their yard on the 15th of each month, Thank you Carol! Go to her site for the blogroll, and to check out gardens around the globe.

Here's the full list of what's blooming today in my 8b central Austin cottage garden:

Front and side yard:

Desert Rose

Plumbago

Bulbine

Hymenoxis

Gregg Dalea

Pink Skullcap

Salvia Greggi

Magestic Sage

Belinda's Dream Rose

Copper Canyon Daisy

David's Cuphea

Mexican Sage

New Gold Lantana

Native Fall Aster

Firecracker Fern

Blackfoot Daisy

Fall Obedient Plant

Canna's

Mexican Mint Marigold

Oxallis

Mums

Russian Sage

White Lantana

Purslane

Butterfly Weed

Purple Cone Flower

Trailing Rosemary

Agastache

Viola

Backyard:

Datura Metal

Four O'Clocks

Gregg's Mistflower

Miniature Pomegranate

Philippine Violet

Marigold

Martha Gonzales Rose

Knock Out Rose

Peggy Martin Rose

Sweet Pea

Shrimp Plant

Purple Vitex (bush)

Desert Willow Vine

Esperanza

Trailing Lantana

Tropical Sage

Mexican Petunia (purple...the pink hasn't bloomed in over a month)

Pigeon Berry

Turks Cap

Chili Pequin

Banana Pepper

Several ornamental peppers have both flowers and fruit

Okra

Dianthus

Bridal Wreath

Blue Mealy Sage

Turnera has buds

Lions Tail

Coreopsis

Butterfly Bush

Brugmansia has 3 buds

Purple Hyacinth Bean

The day is gorgeous...and I'm going to get out there and plant some onions before the rain!

Happy Gardening!

Wordy Wednesday! Solstice 2012!

CBC Update

I wrote to the CBC on April 26th letting them know that I'd had an arborist come out to confirm the fire blight on their giant Barlet Pear tree and had a quote for them. They have yet to have it removed. I've had to let go of any hope or fear about what it will do to my garden, and our neighbors's gardens. Here is a shot of the hell strip across the street. I've continued to plant things there and try to go over at least once a month to pull weeds and keep it somewhat tidy. The rocket myrtle is looking lovely!

Wordy Wednesday 3.21.2012

At 7:30 this morning I went out to snap a few shots of the garden and discovered the owl. I sat with her the entire day...until 3:30, when the American Elm she and her babies called home had been taken down around her, she dropped down into her box. Had I known that my Mr. Owl had started a family, I'd have waited on the tree. As it was, we didn't realize it was "mama owl" until several hours later...when she refused to leave, and then finally at sunset, when Mr. Owl arrived...I hope the babies make it and that we have a family...come May!

Wordy Wednesday 2-29-2012

I walked into the kitchen just in time to see mama redwinged black bird strike the window just inches away from the supposedly "safety sticker" purchased from Audubon specifically for preventing bird strikes. She was in shock and we were terrified that one of our furry monsters would get her...so we carefully placed her in a little nest I made in a wire basket. Her beak was split up the middle and she sat still with her mouth open and her head at a strange cocked angle for a good 5 minutes. I ran and got the camera and when I came out she had closed her mouth...which was bleeding at the tip and her breathing had calmed. I went inside to give her some peace, when I opened the door 20 minutes later...she took off!

"Be the change you want to see in the world." Gandhi

Chicas Verdes

I went to lunch today with a host of lovely Green Ladies who meet at various locations on the first Tuesday of each month to discuss all things Green in Austin and beyond. The speaker was Niyanta Spelman, executive director of a fairly new NGO, Rainforest Partnership~Linking People to People for a Sustainable Future. It's a worthy cause and I wanted to give a shout out to her group and invite folks to check out their site if this tugs your heartstrings.

Her presentation was engaging and she is available for presentations and networking.

www.rainforestpartnership.org

Rose Garden Planting at CBC Valentines Day 2009

We are going to be putting in a rose garden tomorrow morning at the Baptist Church on Dartmouth Ave. Anyone in the neighborhood is welcome to join us. We'll meet at the coffeeshop at 10am for cookies and a brief talk, then we'll be planting 9 Martha Gonzales roses, leaving space for an upcoming pergola to house two Lady Banksia's. Both roses are featured in the new Grow Green guide that will be released to the public on February 22nd, next Sunday at Zilker Botanical Gardens for the 5th annual Grow Green Festival. The festival begins at 12 noon and is free. Please help us keep Austin Green!

What is your Signature Plant?

This is in response to Tina's question (In The Garden) about signature plants. It came to me right away as I was reading...mine is a Sunflower...for many reasons. They are a weed, the Kansas State Flower, where I was born, they are super sensitive to sunlight...that's why I live in Texas...to keep warm, I'm a sun-lover, yellow is the most cheery color, there are so many different kinds of Sunflowers...one for every mood it seems. Also, almost every part of the flower is useful: petals for dye, stalk for fiber art, seeds...well that's obvious. They bloom where planted. I feel strong and diverse, like a sunflower...When I took the "what flower are you?" test on
Gardening While Intoxicated blog, I came up Sunflower and last but not least...I have a two flower tattoos...one of them is a Sunflower:)

Tree Planting November 1st!

We are just one week away from the scheduled planting date at the CBC on East Dartmouth Ave, south side of the street.
I'm encouraging everyone to show up at 10am for coffee at the Connection Cafe and to pick a tree. Please bring your garden gloves, shovel and wheel barrel if you have one. Davey Trees is delivering mulch! There are 17 trees to be planted along the sidewalk and around the corner on Woodrow Ave. This project is to help replace the 5 trees that have died over the past decade, beautify and also to address the heat island effect.
Please join your neighbors in this project! It's a great opportunity to introduce your kids to gardening and get involved. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to call me @ 459.7314

Happy Gardening!

CBC Update!

The time is drawing near for the CBC/Dartmouth Av. Beautification Project to happen. Paul from TreeFolks came by last week to verify the space and trees for our November 1st plant date. We will be putting 17 trees into the ground along both Woodrow and Dartmouth Av. At the Neighbors Night Out I will have a map of the tree locations and familys can choose which tree to plant. My daughter has designed a T-shirt logo that you can check out and we will order shirts for participants who want to share the joy. Remember to bring your own shovel for digging and hauling mulch. This spring we will add flowers and hopefully some benches! Please join us
in the transformation of our street!

Hard Core Gardening...

CBC Update!

We are having a meeting with Tree Folks September 12th just to verify the space and trees. Some of the grass has grown back but we're dedicated to getting the good stuff in right! Our current planting date is still set for November 1st, 10am and we can use all the help we can get...if you'd like to know how just e-mail me at greengardener@grandecom.net
The Crestview Baptist Church has really taken going green quite serious. This morning I was speaking to their Minister of Community Connection and he informed me that the entire staff were now taking Monday's off to save energy...Right On!

CBC Plan Approved!

Chicken Heaven

One of the joys of gardening is the evolution of crap, or composting. I love turning the pile...it's hard work for sure
but it's just so rewarding. The top is always dry and airy but when you dig down to that super rich level...full of bugs and worms and wet delicious smelling fresh soil, you know you're doing the right thing. No one loves helping out more than the chickens. They are usually a bit jumpy due to their teeny weeny bird-brains but when they have their sight on dozens, maybe hundreds of plump critters their excitement and need for protein overwhelm their fear of the shovel and they literally dive in face first. I'm going to have to catch it on film sometime...they love compost almost as much as my dog loves Kitty-Rocha. Nasty, nasty stuff.

Old Fashioned Family Fun

Taking photos at dawn is the best. Staging photos is an art form. Dealing with pre-teens and full on teenaged girls can be a nightmare. We were down visiting my neighbor's horses a few weeks ago and stumbled upon a blackberry forest...literally! So we decided to arrange a morning of bliss. The following weekend we took my two girls out to pick blackberries, ride horses and do a photo shoot. A morning like this has the potential of going sour, not everyone rises like the sun, shiny and full of energy...not to mention typical teenaged attitude and the borage of petty complaints. Throw in a camera however and suddenly eyes sparkle, hair flies, dimples emerge and between handling the animals, the reflection on the water, arranging the props and making sure your models don't have blue lips and are not tearing each others hair out for "that shirt" the potential for magic emerges. The girls were so funny, they couldn't believe how many blackberries there were..."how many can we eat? As much as you want, but let's take enough home for a cobbler." (Rare sound of giddy squealing) The second location was in the hayloft. The texture of the hay and soft lighting were perfect. I was expecting wining about how it itched or the bugs etc...but it all seemed fine, we just made sure that the same amount of attention was paid each model. Then off to the horses, who would be fed after their work. Now working with horses is a bit more of a challenge. Taking a picture of a flower is one thing...composition, lighting, background...mostly nature takes care of the beauty but the horses have to be directed along with the girls, and of course there is the safety issue and only one of the girls is comfortable and "into" horses. Once again though, the camera seemed to erase all fear and the inner model arose. The entire shoot lasted about 4 hours, which included feeding and tending 4 horses, 5 changes of clothes, staging photos at 3 locations and picking several containers of berries and one prairie-girl sized basket. The great thing is that the morning goes down in history, beautifully. In a few years we won't even remember the hassle...
Blackberry slideshow under construction.

Conscious Gardening

Sunday, November 15, 2009

November Color, GBBD

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