Just Another Monday Morning

I know how this looks. But really, I don't generally let my wine bottles go for a swim and goof off. (At least, I spared you the photo of them getting rowdy and naked.) Sometimes they have to work.
















Here they are working, just starting to form the edging* for my new full sun bed. While I know many winos wine lovers, I need about 140 more bottles. So if you feel like drinking for a cause and are in the Austin area, wine up and drop me a note. I'll pick up your empties. For those of you outside of Austin, drink up and post the pictures.
















I could have cropped this picture but then you would have missed the huge pile of tree limbs. As I mentioned before, I realized after digging the bed that my neighbor's hackberries were providing too much shade for a full sun bed so my husband cut one of the trees down.

Then I went and bought two roses, which needed even more sun, so more trees and limbs needed to come down. I've already filled about 10 bags with cuttings. My husband even broke the chain on his new saw. I hope to have the rest of the big limbs cut up soon.
















We made the 6' by 15' trellis from a cattle panel and t-bars. I hope to get something to front and hide the t-bars, maybe cedar posts like I've seen at Pam's house and at Zilker Garden. I wanted to do it all at once but I was already behind on getting the new plants in the ground.

I hope the plants on the trellis will eventually screen a bit of my neighbor's shed but not her adorable pig.














I bought most of these plants at the master gardener sale at Zilkerfest; a few others are passalongs. I bought the plants at two different times so I didn't quite keep track of what I had already bought and ended up three butterfly bushes. I also think I don't quite have enough textural variety, but overall I am happy with what I've got:























one purple, one white, and one yellow butterfly bush
two Mexican bush sage (salvia leucantha)--one bought at the plant sale, one rescued from Lady Bird Lake when we dug the vegetable bed
three Mexican milkweeds























two Husker red penstemon (penstemon digitalis)--a new one to me; I like its dark, reddish foliage
two passionvines--one has a bud already!
three or four moon flower seedlings--I started these from seed and had a horrible germination rate but hope that the survivors will grow and flourish
Duchesse de Brabant rose
Cramoisi Superieur rose
three purple coneflower--I bought some seed but they didn't germinate well so I added a few plants I bought at Link's garden during the garden tour
three variegated sedums--also bought at Link's
















one Mexican mint marigold--a passalong from the MG plant swap
one Pride of Barbados--currently hidden behind the butterfly bushes; I wish I could have gotten a gallon-size but only a four inch pot was available. It's a bit lost now but should eventually go taller than the butterfly bushes
one rock rose--see below

(Annie, I'm confident you could get a 12 days of gardening song out of this list).














When I picked the spot for the bed, I tried to put it in an area that the dog hadn't already claimed as her own. I probably erred in letting her help me dig the area. She now feels some ownership over it. And I definitely should not have encouraged this behavior:
















but she just looked so comfortable and demure, note the crossed paws, that I didn't shoo her out.

I definitely should have stopped her when she buried in the bed the mini-waffle my nieces gave her. Unlike me, when my pup is given something to eat when she isn't hungry, she doesn't eat it. She buries it and saves it for later. When she buried the waffle, she carefully avoided any of the plants.

When she went to retrieve it hours later, however, she wasn't as careful. I came home to find something missing from the bed--the rock rose. I replanted it but I don't how long it was just lying on the grass. It may be the first casualty of the bed.























But as luck would have it, I didn't quite heat up my compost pile hot enough to kill all the seeds and have ended up with two volunteer plants. My guess is that they are cucumbers, possibly a melon, and just maybe a squash. Time will tell.
















*I totally borrowed this idea from fellow Hyde Parker Jill Nokes. I probably walk by her yard and admire her fence and edging at least once a week. I also considered using tequila bottles to edge the bed, a la Lucinda Hutson, but I decided that drinking that much tequila just meant too much trouble.

Inside Austin Tour: Bannockburn Church

Bannockburn Church was the only public space on the Inside Austin tour so if you missed it, you can still stop by. It's a huge space, nine acres in all. In fact, I wandered around for about 20 minutes taking pictures and admiring the roses before I ever found the other half of the property, including the iris garden.

I felt like I was back at the Antique Rose Emporium, both in the abundance of roses and the lack of signage on the roses growing in the space. (The signs might have been there on the day of the actual tour but not on the pre-tour .) So, alas, I can't provide names for most of these beautiful roses, but you can still enjoy them.























These roses look a little spent, but you might be too if you were growing on the side of a busy road. I walked around the front of the church to get this picture. I also got a few honks, but nothing is too much for the right photo.

The garden is really the brainchild of Jack Campbell, a retired farmer, who started working on the grounds with his men's Bible study group.
















The story I love about this garden is the Angel Neighbor. One day Jack was working in the garden, and a woman stopped and gave him a check for $1,000 for the garden's care. She lived down the street, enjoyed seeing the garden every day, and wanted to help. As she wanted, she has remained anonymous.

















The space has also been certified as a National Wildlife Federation Backyard Habitat.

I do recognize these Belinda Dream roses.
















I think this is a bald cypress. This area is just one of the many outdoor rooms on the church grounds.























I finally stumbled upon the iris test garden, which was a site for the International Iris Show. Some of the irises didn't even have official names yet, because they were still being tested.

I wish I had gotten this shot from a different angle, without the port-a-potties, but I was running late after getting lost in the roses.












This iris is named Seven Thunders.























I missed the name of this one.
















This bearded iris is Passion and Purity.
















I don't know how the irises look now but if you are in the area, I would recommend checking it out from time to time. With so many plants, I am sure something will be blooming there.

More High-Rises on the Austin Skyline

After two summers of struggling to keep my tomatoes supported with free, second-hand, big box, too small tomato cages, I built six-foot, heavy duty Tomato Towers (cue echo sound).
















At first, I wasn't too happy with the rust color of the concrete reinforcement mesh, but it really seems to blend in better with the garden than silver would.























It actually took me a while to get photos where the cages were visible. Of course, the main reason for building these condos is to keep the tomatoes happy and contained. And to prevent last summer's tomato massacre. After one of last year's summers heaviest storms, I asked my husband to check on the garden. He said it looked fine from the kitchen window. When I got up, I saw all the five and six feet tall plants--and their cages--lying toppled on the ground!

I yelled inquired nicely of the husband what was he thinking; obviously, my tomatoes weren't fine. He then admitted that he wasn't wearing his glasses when he looked.
















So far the new condo inhabitants seem happy with their new digs. I've already eaten two of the yellow currant tomatoes.
















I'd like to think this of this photo as the view from the penthouse apartment, but I'm afraid it might become the squirrel's eye view.

















Now if I could just stop singing, "Movin' on up . . . to the DEE-luxe apartment in the SKY-Y-Y, We're movin' on Up!" I'd be a happy gardener.

Inside Austin Tour: Link Davidson's Garden

Link Davidson's garden is definitely keeping Austin weird. It's an amazing array of found objects repurposed into garden art. I can't believe how much stuff he has crammed into a tiny space. I also can't believe how many different scenes and vignettes he's created. The photos below maybe represent half of his garden.

I loved, loved, loved his garden. It was so fun and unexpected; an expression of true joy. I know Link was nervous about how his garden would be received. I think for some people it's too out there. But for Link it's a great match. When I saw him on Friday, he was practically vibrating he was so excited and exhausted.

In this garden, pictures are really better than words so here are just a few of my favorite shots
































































































































































































I loved the inventive use of tin cans, the blue longhorn, the idol with the real bone, and the wind turbines. As MSS noted, you could use these turbines in place of barrel cactus. I immediately considered using them as a cheaper version of this fish hook barrel cactus I saw at a colleague's house:




















After a couple of double takes, I realized it was a sculpture and not a plant and quickly whipped out my cell phone to take a picture. Sara got it at a street fair in Colorado, but if you want to order one, you can find them here. Unfortunately, that one is a little out of my budget right now. (It's $580.)

A little more in my price range is the free tumbled glass mulch that Link had in his front yard. As promised, here is the contact information to get your own: TCEQ.

Sorry, Austin only!

Have I Killed It Already?

I'm feeling a bit like Icarus. I've successfully grown a few ornamentals. Then my hubris led me to believe I can handle growing roses. Instead, I've flown too close to the sun and now it's my plant that's melting.

I haven't even had a chance to document my new sun bed and already I may have one less occupant: the Cramoisi Superieur.























I've been looking online to try to figure out the problem. Of course, yellowing leaves can indicate a lot of problems: too little nitrogen, too little water, etc. I just don't know what this problem is. I planted this rose in the same conditions--double dug bed, lots of compost--as the Duchesse de Brabant at the other end of the bed. She is doing great--bright, green healthy leaves--and is blooming already. Both have been watered on the same schedule.
















The Cramoisi may be getting slightly less than sun but it's not a huge difference between the two plants. The Antique Rose Emporium said not to add fertilizer at this point so I'm a little stumped. I plan on pruning out the dead leaves, and the buds that I think aren't opening. (Some may have been on there when I bought it.)
















Any other suggestions other than go back to growing vegetables?

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: The IRS Extension Version

Yes, I am a blogging fool. My sister and my four and five year old nieces were in town last week so I didn't have much of a chance to blog or even read blogs.

But I (and my sister, who had lens envy) did take these pictures on the 15th. I guess technically I should have filed an extension with Carol at May Dreams Garden and perhaps paid my estimated taxes in advance so she wouldn't penalize me for posting late. Maybe she'll let it slide this time!

The pink primrose in the free plant zone is going crazy. It's even snuck through the fence into the backyard. I may end up with a wildflower meadow after all.

Last year I threw some seeds from the Wildflower Center back there and ended up with a lot of these tall red flowers. I have no idea what they are. Only one has shown back up this year. I was hoping that when it opened fully I could get a better shot of it, and someone could identify it. But the storm Thursday night annihilated it, and I can't even find its remains. I guess that's why I call that my tough love area. The plants have got to make it on their own, or NOT make it on their own.























In the frontyard a few of the yellow columbines stuck around long enough to be in bloom with the Gulf Coast penstemon, a color combination I actually planned!























I hate to say that I have a favorite flower. It seems so insensitive to all the other ones who really are trying their best. But I have to admit I do. This salvia coccinea, snow white nymph, is the first plant I have grown successfully in the frontyard. I love that it reseeds itself, blooms repeatedly, and brightens the shady frontyard. Several other salvias in shades of blue and purple are in bloom around the yard, but I don't have photos of them.























I bought two four-inch lion's tails at Barton Springs Nursery on sale at the end of the season last year. I think they cost one dollar, maybe even fifty cents. My husband is a huge UT fan, and I bought them for him because these blooms are pretty darn close to burnt orange.




















I have saved the best bloom for last. I call this one P in bloom. You can try, but you won't find it in any nursery.




















I think we have the first attendee of the 20th anniversary Garden Bloggers Spring Fling.

Inside Austin Tour: The Bakatsas Garden

The solar panels are just visible in the photo's upper left.

Off of Southwest Parkway, Mary and Clark Bakatsa have built a certified wildlife habitat that combines flowers, vegetables, and fruits in a French-inspired, Austin-green garden. From the minute you enter their cul-de-sac, you know their house and yard are different. I think it's the large solar panels on the roof that initially give it away.

The second clue is the herbs growing out front. The Bakatsas grow them there primarily for the wildlife they feed.

In the backyard, they have a pool, which I wouldn't normally think of as green, but I heard that it was non-chlorine pool. I haven't verified that but I would love to learn more.













Seeing all the art in the Bakatsas backyard made me realize I need to add more fun to my garden. I think these lizards look like lemmings.














I also loved this ball of twigs. It offered great textural contrast to the stone patio.


















This blue pot adds another nice accent.























The upper portion of the backyard is the star of the yard. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good shot of the espaliered apple trees that would have been to the right of the photo below.

















Here are some of the larkspurs that served as the unofficial symbol of the tour. Onions are in front of them.

















I was very surprised at how many plants were growing well in the shade. The herbs out front were in the shade. Mary somehow had roses blooming in the shade. And the chard below the table is growing in pretty heavy shade now.

Skip Richter was also on the pre-tour, and he said something I had never heard: if you are growing vegetables for the fruit, like potatoes or tomatoes, then the plants needed full sun. If you are growing them for their leaves, like lettuce or Swiss chard, then they would grow in part sun to shade. (I don't know how they would germinate in the shade. Maybe you have to transfer some starters into the shady areas?)























The final piece of art that caught my eye was the compost tumbler. (I bet you thought it was the sculpture.:-)) Mary uses to finish off her compost. She has several larger areas in the back of the yard where the compost does most of its, well, decomposing.























I think Mary's garden is a great example of what you can do in a suburban development, provided of course you don't have the serious deed restrictions that some people do. Just another reason I love living in Hyde Park.

Inside Austin Tour: The Stocker Garden

The entrance to Jenny and David Stocker's house and garden

Wow! The Inside Austin Garden Tour was a phenomenal success. I'm still waiting on the final attendance totals, but I know that at Patty Leander's garden where I volunteered we had more than 600 visitors! I particularly enjoyed getting to chat with MSS of Zanthan Gardens for a while. Vicki of Playin' Outside was in charge of the volunteers there so we had a bit of a mini-Spring Fling reunion.

I think a few things contriubuted to the high turnout: the beautiful weather, the focus on sustainability, and Austinites' desire to become more even more "green" and to grow their own food. Maybe the recent alarming articles on rising food prices, especially for organics, also spurred on some folks to check out the tour.

And it helped that we weren't inadvertently scheduled on the same day as the Garden Conservancy Open Days tour like we were in the fall of October 2006. That year Patty had about 150 visitors.

I am posting pictures of the gardens in the order in which I visited them on the pre-tour. You can tell that I photographed the later gardens in a harsher sunlight, but I think you'll still get an idea of the spirit of the garden.

The Stockers' garden is a series of rooms, enclosed by deer-proofed fencing. The rose room is the first, well, maybe the second room as you walk around the back. You walk through a lovely space that looks like a hill country vignette to get to the rose room so maybe that's the first room?

















The pool room is next. It's just a riot of spring wildflower color.













The official theme of the tour was sustainability, but many of us soon decided that the real theme was larkspurs and poppies. You'll see why. I later found out that many of the plants came from seeds shared among the different gardeners. If I remember to put out the poppy seeds Patty let me bring home, I'll join the poppy brigade next spring.














A view from the back meadow of the vegetable garden. The Stockers use a variety of materials for tomato cages. I loved the organic look of the wooden cages, but my new cages will be metal ones like these. Not the prettiest but the best chance I'll have at controlling the rambunctious yellow pear tomato.
















The second vegetable area. The potting shed is one of the fanciest I've seen. It also contains a bathroom.
















This spent tangerine crossvine was on a gate on the way out. Even the plants past their prime were beautiful at this garden.

A Sneak Peak at the Inside Austin Gardens Tour

Today I went on a sneak peek to the gardens that will be featured TOMORROW on the Travis County master gardener garden tour. I hope that you put it on your calendar when Bonnie told you about it. But in case you didn't, and you still need a bit of enticement, here are a few photos of the garden.

Oh, and did I mention that plants will be for sale?

Each garden on the tour this year forewent the usual lawn backyard and instead filled that area with plants.

Unfortunately, I missed the first garden in Round Rock but did get a sneak peek at it on Central Texas Gardener two weeks ago. It's the only garden up north. The rest are in southwest to southeast Travis County.

The second garden you might recognize: it's Jenny Stocker's wildflower-filled garden rooms.



















The third garden combines solar power, a pool, flowers gardens, espaliered apple trees, and vegetables gardens in a great mix throughout the front and back yards.























The fourth garden I visited is pure South Austin, a wonderfully eclectic and artistic mix of found materials that will make you wonder, How did he think of that?


















The fifth garden is the only public space on the tour. The Bannockburn Church grounds include a iris test trial area, dozens of rose varieties, and many, many different gardens throughout the property.























The next garden is the one where I will be "floating" tomorrow: Patty Leander's backyard vegetable garden. Patty gives many public talks on vegetable gardening, and I highly recommend attending one when you get a chance. She's very knowledgeable, funny, and happy to share her love of gardening.























The last garden of the day is in far southeastern Travis County. The address is still in Austin, although we did drive through San Leanna to get there. The owners are Indian, and some of their vegetable varieties reflect their heritage.























I've really just tried to whet your appetite for the full gardens for any of you who were on the fence about touring.

I will post more pictures for those out-of-towners who can't make another trip to Austin this spring! And I will give out the contact information for FREE tumbled colored glass mulch.

Enjoy the tour, and hope to see some of you tomorrow.

Did I Say ONE Rose?

We had a plan. It was a good plan. Four women, one Prius, a trip to the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham without breaking the bank or buying more plants than we had room for in our yards.

The plan fell apart. Quickly. One woman had to back out at the last minute. Another claimed that her current post-layoff status left her unable to purchase any plants at this time.

That left two of us with too much room. Luckily we still had a small car. If not, we would have come home with a metal pig, a trellis, and maybe a purloined poppy or too. (Guilt, the law, and limited acceleration speed in the Prius put the kibosh on that latter idea.) There was talk of returning with a rented truck, but I think it was the heat and sun getting to us.

We were free, however, to take any of the plants listed above.























I thought these were the Madame Antoine Mari roses Lori wanted me to take a picture of. I had remembered arbor, and I thought I remembered near the front. Well, now that I home, I realize they aren't. But if you want photos of these particular roses, Lori, let me know. I took a bunch.
















The Madame Antoine Mari roses from Lori's pictures had been pruned back because they had completely engulfed that arbor. I may have taken pictures of them, but, um, I forgot to take notes on any of the plants. (Sorry, Lori!) Geez. Can I just say that they were all pretty roses?



















I tried to take a few pictures of the pairings of the roses with other plants. There were lots of roses paired with salvia, like these mutabilis (mutabilii?) paired with marcus salvia.
















We followed the yellow brick road, muted by the bright afternoon sun, out to the fields where more roses bloomed.























Belinda's Dream had been on my short list of roses, but the emporium was out of them. I think it was because so many of them were blooming profusely throughout the grounds. The store also did not have the Julia Child rose I was considering.























The emporium had so many scenes and vignettes to take in that I occasionally felt like I do whenever I visit a mall--just a wee bit overwhelmed. A bit like this rose.

















But whenever that happened, I found a nice shady bench to rest on and then I soldiered on. Shady, quiet vignettes like this stream helped cool me off.























The windmill wasn't spinning much, but it sill offered a clear sign that we were in Texas.























I have no idea what kind of rose this is. It's just pretty.
















Here's the kitchen garden. As we were examining the potatoes in the far corner, I learned about when to harvest mine from a nice customer walking by. It reminded of the Spring Fling. No matter which garden I was in I could ask the name of a certain flower, and somebody had the answer.
















This walkway leads to one of the many buildings on the property--although there is one less than there was seven weeks ago tonight. You could tell that the fire that destroyed the retail shop was still clearly on the minds of the people working there.
















I'm a bit worried that I am getting a little overambitious with my gardening. I've only been growing more plants than I've been killing for a couple of years now. Roses just seem to have a whole 'nother layer of complexity to them than do other perennials.

This little bird bath added a nice accent in this bed. It's not a rose, but it is harder to kill.
















I did not see the Souvenir de la Malmaison for sale. (It may be the pink one below that was blooming but not labeled.) And based on some of your comments, that may be a good thing.
















No trip to Brenham can truly be complete without a stop at the Blue Bell Creamery. We had visited the roses for too long to tour the creamery, but we weren't too late for a dollar scoop of ice cream.























I hope one day to snooze like this:
















And now, drumroll please, what rose(s) did I come home with? Based on your recommendations, I purchased a Duchess de Brabant, known to be Teddy Roosevelt's favorite. His name had come up several times during our drive to Brenham so when I loved the smell and look of the Duchess and then saw that Teddy loved it too, I bought it.

And then, I stopped an emporium employee and asked for her recommendation. I told her I wanted a hardy, repeat bloomer for Austin that had a great scent. Her eyes lit up. Then I added, "And not red."

She looked crestfallen. So I asked her to show me the rose she had in mind until I added that last criterion. She led us to the Cramoisi Superier: "This fine old rose has velvety, rich crimson flowers with a silvery reverse and a deliciously fruity fragrance. The double, cupped form of the blossoms is distinctive, keeping with the rounded shape even when fully open. Like all true Chinas, it is very nearly everblooming in a warm climate."

The smell really was amazing. And the rose turns pink in the center in cooler weather.

So I bought it too.

Thank god we ran out of room in the car, before I ran out of room in my bank account.

One Rose?

I'm heading off to the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham tomorrow. I've been to the San Antonio location but never the Brenham one so I am very excited.

We have planned it so that we have limited space available in the car for purchases. (I think you all know how the spring season tugs on the wallet.)

So, my question to you is which rose? (I know other plants are for sale there, but I want a rose for my new sun bed. )

The possibilities so far include:

Belinda's Dream
Marie Daly
Julia Child
Souvenir de la Malmaison

Some of the sources I've consulted (besides your blogs, of course):

Earth Kind Roses

American Rose Society, Fragrance in Roses

I am open to any rose of any color. It must be fragrant and a repeat bloomer.

So which rose do you love best?

Back to Business

The Spring Fling was fabulous. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting all the great bloggers. I add my thanks to those already out there for Pam, Bonnie, Diana, and Melissa.

(I would add my photos but that would have required me to remember to get the camera battery out of the charger--a too tall order for an early Saturday morning. I was lucky to find the Holiday Inn. I thought I knew exactly where I was going but I always get turned around in that part of Austin.)

As much as I could have just basked in the memories of yesterday today, I have plants that need to get in the ground! So this afternoon my husband helped me get a full sun bed in the backyard. I'd started the bed last week when it was cloudy, and I gradually realized during the week that the neighbor's hackberry was casting more shadows than I wanted.























I asked her if I could trim it back, and she said we could do whatever we wanted, including cutting it down. We trimmed a few limbs (okay, my husband trimmed the limbs; I held the ladder) and decided it was still too shady. So down came the tree. My husband loathes hackberries and enjoyed ridding the world of one more.













I think the tree looks bigger lying on the ground than it did upright. It's now up to me to get the tree into manageable chunks so the city will haul it away.

Also back to basics was the pup, who after last week's unsuccessful attempt to befriend a toad, was trying once again to find herself a pet. This time a fuzzy black caterpillar was the latest victim acquaintance.

















I hope to have the bed finished in a few days. I still have to figure out how to get a trellis home without a truck. How can I live in Texas and not have a friend with a pickup?

Until those plants are in the ground, here are a few pics of the cosmos in my cutting garden. The whole point was to grow them and then cut them for inside, but they look so happy where they are that I haven't had the heart to cut them. Geez, maybe I'm not cut out for this gardening stuff!

Welcome to Austin!

Nothing like golf ball size hail bouncing up to your doorstep to start off the Garden Bloggers Spring Fling!
















I just hope it didn't hurt any plants.
















My husband was more worried about the hail hurting the cars. Priorities, mister, priorities!

Nature's Rain Barrels

After this weekend's rain, I found these raindrops in my nasturtiums. The drops almost look like jewels.

Early Bloom Day

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day may not take place for a fortnight but I just have to post these flower pictures now. I'm not sure these plants will still be blooming on the fifteenth. I also feel like I've been holding out on you a bit, by not sharing photos of the stars of my yard.

My iris is finally blooming. Most of my flowers seem to be on a slower blooming schedule than some of the others around town, but, oh boy, when they decide to bloom, they bloom!













My neighbor brought me back some tulips from Holland. I really didn't think they would bloom here, but his girlfriend assured me they would. I'm glad to be wrong, in this instance.













These Frederic Mistral roses really must have enjoyed getting all that rain last summer. They are blooming like crazy. And they smell fantastic. Another instance when we need scratch and sniff Internet.



















My husband is such a rabid Longhorn fan that I haven't told him this rose is named Oklahoma.













This lavender rose is my favorite. You can also get a glimpse of the other roses in the background.













I really should have gotten a picture of the container garden that holds this water lily. Next time.



















The El Calafate bush is one of the more unusual plants in my yard. It's from South America.



















And finally, my favorite bloom right now--the Chilean firebush. It's just spectacular.













I hope at least some of these blooms hold out for a while. This is definitely the best time to be in my garden.









( I'm fairly certain that by now you've figured out these flowers aren't blooming in my yard, but just in case, April Fools. I took these photos on our trip last October to Argentina. Lucky for me, October is spring there. The firebush looks particularly spectacular because it's highlighted against the Perito Moreno glacier.)