April Bloomday 2011

Bloom day, the blog roll for gardeners world wide is the creation of Linda at

May Dreams Gardens, and you're one step away from having a look at gardens in bloom across the world. Thank you Linda! Now here's a quick peek at some of the things going on here at Conscious Gardening!

Red Yucca One of 12 tomatoes currently in bloom, I pinched off the first set to encourage the plant to set out more roots, I'm giving the ground a rest from the nightshades and have put them in pots! One of the multiplier onions blossoms in the onion bed. A pass along Canna from a plant swap, years ago at Elaynes. A gulf fritillary caterpillar munching away on one of several pass along Passion Flower Vines from Randy Case's garden 3 years ago. Spiderwort, coming up all over this year! Cecille Bruenner Rose with this years booming crop of blackberries! Also in bloom are my first Dewberries and Boysenberries! Summer ice cream fun on it's way! I am in love with the Peggy Martin Rose! I've planted two and they have been stunning. I'm not sure if they officially changed the name to the Katrina Rose, but I call her that too. This was the first rose to return to New Orleans after the hurricane, and she's a hurricane of pink!

Baily's Red Rose

This is another pass along rose that I picked up a few years ago and this is the first year it's done anything. I think it's a climber, well...a fainter actually. She's sent out several sprays that creep on the ground but put out these beautifully colored blossoms...this is the last of them unfortunately, now to get a trellis!

Katrina Rose, up close.

I don't know this lovely ladies name. I ask every year when she blooms for some help on an ID but have never heard back from the rose aficionados. So, I'm going to simply call her "Red."

Knock out!

Oh yea, she's a Knock out!

The fernleaf verbena and santolina have taken over the south end of the mound.

Fernleaf verbena

This is a long shot of the hummingbird and butterfly mix I threw down in my culinary garden, why? So I could watch my favorite garden faeries from the window in the Bird blind Bar through the summer, and stay nice and cool with a frosty Margarita in hand! I'm no dummy! Summer's upon us!

This is a portrait of the first cosomos in the mix, by afternoon several others had opened up.

Confederate Jasmine, and there's that sole cosmos in the background...so rich and lovely!

Frida's larkspur, a volunteer from my deceased neighbor that comes back each year in my yard.

She was a great gal, and I have fond memories of her quirkiness. Everytime I see a larkspur I think of her. I don't see people in too many flowers, but this one belongs to her.

The common pittosporum, covered in bees each year is one of my favorites.

The first blog entry I did over 3 years ago now, was about my amazement and love for the

Pride of Barbados, she's nearly 6 ft. tall now and no longer needs to be covered in winter...thank goodness, because I forgot all about her!

My sole poppy, I'm envious of those of you who have them return year after year.

Gold Lantana and pony's foot.

Simple marigolds and such in the boxes, but check out the height of the river fern and

heartleaf scullcap...they've come back with a vengence!

Jerusalem sage

This last shot is the promise of winter...a persimmon blossom, my favorite brown flower.

Here's the rest of the shy bloomers, whose photos didn't turn out so well...but deserve a mension just the same:

Iris

Gulf Coast Penstamon

Texas Sage

Rosemary

Oxalis

Autumn Sage

Cherry Sage

Lipstick Sage

Gregg's Mistflower

Mutabilis Rose

Pansy

Indian Blanket

Mexican Sage

Blue Mealy Sage

Alyssum

and volunteer Squash (?) flowers

Now, I've got 4 cubic yards of compost stinking my neighbors out, so I've got to get busy! I hope April finds you in blooms wherever you are! Thanks for stopping by, and do a little rain dance for us here in Central Texas...will you?

Happy Gardening!

Happy Birthday, Fool!

I meant to write a post on Fools Day, because it was Conscious Gardening's 3rd birthday...but I drank too much beer celebrating, and the weekend was a lot of gardening and more beer drinking. But I've been thinking about it a lot. Fools Day has become the beginning of the calendar for me as I like to challenge myself and start something new without the pressure of success...purely for the fun, fool and life of it. So, this years project is truly foolish...I've learned...more on that in a minute.

During the sunlight hours I've been spending most of my time doing the gardening chores...the stuff that's not really fun, but that makes a difference in presentation...pruning, raking, edging...I do all edging by hand, repainting, fixing stuff, transplanting...the list goes on. It's amazing how the garden is always in transformation, a living, breathing work of natural art...that I get to mess with.

But in the evenings I've been geeking out on YouTube watching countless home and professional videos about growing your own hops. Spouse of my life, is a beer enthusiast and home brewer. I, his devoted assistant am more of a cheerleader and micro-manager..."make this beer, make that one...I want to have a bitter beer that I can add my sage to, or brighten with some coriander"...etc...etc...so goes the weekend conversation, over many a beer and laughter, it's one of the reasons we work so well together.

Anyway, typical me, before doing the research, I'd already jumped in with both feet and ordered hops from the Austin Home Brew Store. Now, after countless hours of reading and watching I realize that I've bought the absolute wrong kind...meaning, any kind at all because hop growing in Texas is...well...foolish. Hops grow in cool, damp conditions...with up to a 30ft bine (that's what they call the vine) needing both full sun and an enormous vertical structure. I am no less in love with the idea of growing them mind you...just hyper aware of my probable doom.

Here's what came in the brown bag:

I think I picked this one because it sounded Alaskan, a temporary home for me, familiar...and totally wrong for here...doi.

And here are my two dead sticks soaking in some water and Alaska Fish Emulsion to try to bring them to life, and pump 'em full of good stuff before burying them...where they will most likely die a sad horrible baked death in our black land prairie mud. I was only able to find a few brave souls that have tried to grow hops here and they did it in 20 gallon pots, watering twice daily. I'm gonna take a more foolish approach, bury'em high on a mound (like they do up north) but with about 6 inches of mulch. I'll water them in the pre-dawn hours, but that's it. I've been fantasizing about wild success and building new elaborate arbor/pergolas on raised walkways like Mr. Miyagi's garden in Karate Kid to support my massive beautiful hop buds...once again, his garden is in a prime hop growing environment, ah...dream on. The only pre-existing structure that could hold the weight of the bines, should they actually grow, is my poor, sad, unused chicken coop, which doesn't get full sun but dappled, and I'm thinking of July and August and hoping that I'm right about protecting my northern roots from our hotter than hell crazy summer sun...we'll see. What's the fun of being a gardener if you don't take chances, right? Even if I get one hop bud, I'm celebrating! Join me on my foolish quest, I'll be planting tomorrow and staring at the ground, beer in hand for the weeks that follow. I feel like a kid who plants corn believing in a popcorn tree! What crazy risks have you taken in your garden lately? Happy Gardening!

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!

Equinox Project!

I've had a nasty patch of nandina that keeps coming up from under my neighbors yard. 'Said' patch has been removed 3 times over the last few years...always thinking I got the heart of the plant but nay...today I think I got it...isn't that color beautiful?...like agarita, so yellow.

It even looks like a heart. I actually think it's a pretty, but common little plant and I love the berries but it's so invasive, so difficult to get rid of that I took the step that I've sworn never to do...I donned gloves and touched a sponge soaked with RoundUp to it's severed root stem. I feel kinda sick about it but digging wasn't working and my neighbor doesn't mind it so...

I've had a plan for this area for two years now, ever since we lost the Red Bud that was at the center of the nandina patch. Today, the equinox was the day that all the work got done!

Loving spouse and I hit Lowe's and bought cedar, PVC pipe and all the hardware to set up two planter boxes. I'm not a fan of straight lines, especially the square as a design feature...but, it fit the space and I've always wanted a convenient way of using shade cloth and a place to grow winter greens safely and also be able to lock out the nasty squash vine borer early start stuff... shoot, so many versatility's...plus it's easily dismantled and moved!

One box constructed...look at that proud smile!

All along the fence I carefully snipped the roots, but still we lined the box with cardboard and probably won't plant until fall...I half expect the battle to continue, that patch was there when I moved in 14 years ago, it's the last of the invasives in my yard! Yea!

After the second box is constructed it was time for the classic prairie wagon hoops.

We just got the 10ft. 1/2 inch thin plastic ones...they are sturdy but bend easily enough...I picked the stuff and place and got to do all the design/bossing around but loving spouse wielded the power tools on this project!

It takes two to get it done quickly...not two Boston Terrorists, though they seem to approve.

So satisfying to see it all come together...

And this is what it looked like this morning:

I honestly didn't think we'd finish that fast, or we would have gotten soil! Hmmm, soil. Last time we used Natural Gardener, I think it's time to give Geo Growers a try!

I hope you all are having a wonderfully productive spring and a very happy equinox to you all,

Happy Gardening!

Bloom Day March 2011

What a beautiful today. 64, light breeze and sunny. I hope you all are having a wonder-filled bloom day, Thanks to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for hosting GBBD and being the inspiration behind the sharing. Welcome to my zone 8b garden in the heart of Austin, Texas, in the tenth year of my marraige to the love of my life, in this hear yard...Thanks for stopping by.

Rosemary and my favorite "hell zone" plant, hymenoxis.

I get so excited just before the buckeye bursts into coral blooms for a short visit.

Hello Martha Gonzales, the first rose to bloom this spring.

We are hoping for a beautiful crop of apricots due to the snowflake blossoms just fading now.

Oh peaches, you will be welcomed freshness in my morning yogurt smoothie, and Margaritas.

The Mountain Laurel in her gorgeous hues has perfumed my front yard like a sweaty palm holding purple Sweet-Tarts...that's what it smells like to me anyway.

By this afternoon, the cross-vine had opened a few of her flashy blossoms...she's calling to the hummingbirds, but we haven't seen one...yet.

Oh Lady Banksia, you are my buttery-popcorn favorite cheer right now...but you are oh so hard to photograph in all your showering delights

Old Blush, this is the first blossom, but this afternoon...over a dozen opened up.

Lady Banksia

It just doesn't translate...she's anchored the West side of the house.

Terrible photo, I know...but both figs are lookin' great...and this is after a transplant!

The simplicity of the arugula flower...the remaining plant from the entire winter garden, lost this year to weather...first time ever in my yard.

Loriapetilum or Fringe flower, from the Hazel family...so, since I have a new neice named Hazel...this is her flower and I'm reminded of her sweet spark when I see it.

Well..here's the rest of my list:

Iris

Autumn Sage

Oxalis

Spider Wort

Carolina Jesamine

Fernleaf Verbena

Daffodil

The more exciting things in my garden have to do with what made it through the winter without help. I didn't pamper, other than watering thoroughly before the worst of the freezes and pushing the leaves up around the base of things. I brought my house plants in, but that was really it and I thought I'd lose more. The most surprising things that are coming back are the brugmansia and the Philappine Violet...I just figured they'd had enough. Part of being saved has to do with the many microclimates in a dense suburban yard and

enriched soil...which I am really bad at keeping up with.

I hope everything is magical in your yard!

Happy Gardening!

Love in the Garden

Me and Greg

So, this is Greg and I standing in front of our Mountain Laurel that we planted on this day, ten years ago March 11, 2001...it was a Sunday back then. After we planted the tree, we went to Stubb's Gospel Brunch with our closest friends and family, came home and got married in the backyard.

That's how slow a Mountain Laurel grows.

I love you sweetheart,

Happy Anniversary and Happy Gardening!

March! Already?

Spring onions and compost tea.

Well, it's obvious that I've NOT been blogging, but I have been doing a lot of gardening...even though my goal is to (un)garden in order to help the upcoming renters along...but it's hard, really hard when the weather is nothing short of perfical and that mesmerizing green glow of the new sprout is shining through the setting sun with that flash of faerie dust that makes you think that winter was all a dream. I stood fast this winter, didn't pamper, cover, in other words...prepared for the worst and I lost big time. I am so very sorry that I didn't bring in my 1o year old Stag Fern, RIP you beautiful weirdness...long gone also are ALL my hanging plants...how on earth could they have made it? So, I have lots of hanging baskets if any of you are in the market. I just can't be bothered. The teens are doing their best to drive me insane and I know that we are leaving so I send a metaphorical kiss to everything I pass...I've become an urban farmer, thinking only of what I can eat...and what's tough enough to survive.

Still, I tarry. Pruning everything..as if a renter will? Luxuriating in the miracle of return...why does it mystify so? Something deep inside us all must scream...see you didn't kill me, life goes on! The soul of a gardener cannot be still. Even when I try to take steps away...I can't. Gardening is an addiction to life, the cure.

Happy Gardening!