tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77931401921739535532012-02-12T12:34:19.822-06:00vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.comBlogger1241100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-80177757153264217752011-10-12T16:01:00.007-05:002011-10-12T16:52:51.953-05:00

This weekend's rain inspired me to think about gardening again. I would usually be planting a fall vegetable garden now, but with more rain not in this winter's forecast, I decided instead to focus on replenishing my herb garden. So the World's Cutest Baby (who has now become the World's Cutest Boy) and I headed out to Natural Gardener this morning. I remembered it was Support Your Independent

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-34037727125295405672011-04-21T21:36:00.009-05:002011-04-21T22:23:25.203-05:00

Earlier this evening the World's Cutest Baby™ was exploding the meaning of cuteness as he splashed with his dad in the wading pool. I was able to tear my eyes away only because I spied the World's Cutest Anole™.Look how cute he is, stretching his legs, testing them not unlike the World's Cutest Baby™.He's either stretching his legs here or trying to get away from me. (For now, I'm going to

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-69556698464696221852011-04-01T09:20:00.007-05:002011-04-05T12:06:03.504-05:00

If you follow me on Twitter, you already know that my husband, baby, and I recently spent 10 days in Puerto Rico. My husband has been traveling there for a few months now on business.What you wouldn't have learned on Twitter is that that trip was a dry run for a much longer stay. A two- to three-year stay, depending on my husband's project.While Puerto Rican beaches are not as beautiful as the

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-24692967347826729522010-12-01T14:03:00.008-06:002010-12-02T08:07:33.491-06:00

Or, Why I May Never Again Give a Hoot About Spring TomatoesThat's almost 15 pounds of tomatoes you're looking at, harvested two days before Thanksgiving from two plants. I only harvested them because I wanted to spare my Austin gardening buddies a freeze over the holidays. (While it didn't actually freeze, some gardeners did have some frost damage. I lost my green beans.)MSS of Zanthan Gardens

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-63634697194323867682010-10-18T17:25:00.000-05:002010-10-18T17:25:00.931-05:00

My plan on Saturday for the Garden Conservancy Open Days tour was to get started early and tour as many gardens as quickly and efficiently as possible before the baby needed me the Longhorns played Nebraska. My plan was slightly foiled as baby slept until 9:15 (!), but I really wasn't complaining as that meant I slept until 9:15.And my delay fortuitously meant that I ran into Pam of Digging at

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-49319449106792128192010-10-12T21:55:00.000-05:002010-10-12T21:55:00.104-05:00

I seem to be finding less time to garden and having less success at it than usual so instead of abandoning this blog altogether, I'll share some shots from our trip Sunday to Sweet Berry Farm, near Marble Falls.A few pumpkins were still in the fields. Elsewhere on the grounds, the farm showed what it's really all about: the berries. Here are some strawberries waiting to be planted: Here's an

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-83877837904366969162010-07-28T14:20:00.003-05:002010-07-30T12:54:19.479-05:00

Last month without really thinking about it or planning for it, I became a mother again--three months after my first was born.While I decided to spare the Twitterverse the details of my first birth, I tweeted pictures and daily updates of this one.Which thankfully for the Twitterverse was more of a metamorphosis than a birth.Here's my second-born:But let's get too far ahead of ourselves. In this

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-24715304432533404052010-07-09T12:08:00.011-05:002010-07-10T18:02:31.659-05:00

Over the Fourth of July holiday we traveled against the tide (pun, intended) to the Gulf Coast. When I first booked the tickets back in April, I was looking forward to introducing my baby to more of my family and to one of my favorite places on Earth: Pensacola.As you might have heard, an environmental catastrophe of epic proportions the likes of which the world has never seen and government

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-35749304060954366662010-06-03T14:35:00.001-05:002010-06-04T14:17:20.532-05:00

When I first started gardening, I grew only vegetables. I considered myself more of a cook who gardens than a gardener who cooks. Then I started growing herbs (still the best bang-for-your-buck edible in my book), which had the added bonus of attracting caterpillars.After allowing those caterpillars to maul my herbs (here are my thoughts on caterpillar etiquette), I certainly wanted them to stick

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-54073460956943452272010-04-16T16:05:00.000-05:002010-04-16T16:09:08.708-05:00

Beginning on March 23, my garden has exploded in blooms like it has never seen before. The biggest stars have been the poppies, both red and pink. I love all stages of the poppies: from bud to seed head.This pink one grew from seeds that Joan Hilbig, a Green Corn Project gardener, gave to me and to CTG producer Linda Lehmuvistra. Joan wanted her pink poppies to spread all over Austin. I didn't

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-83007436012353519882010-04-01T07:35:00.008-05:002010-04-01T09:03:01.570-05:00

Over the years my garden has provided me with innumerable surprises--from the pounds of rusted nails and broken glass that initially constituted my soil to the vegetables that actually grew and fed me.I still see each flower as a surprise.I've also found some more unusual "gifts" in my garden. During the summer of 2007 when it rained and rained here and my chard grew to beanstalk height, I found

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-47997268203416021192010-03-20T13:15:00.001-05:002010-03-20T13:52:07.235-05:00

I've pretty much got a one-track mind these days, and it has little to do with my garden and almost everything to do with the little bundle of joy who should be arriving in the next week or so. But that doesn't mean that I have completely ignored my garden, it just means I see my garden through rose-, I mean baby-colored, glasses. As I look at my garden these days, I see that it is trying to tell

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-35796860752658512512010-02-25T22:07:00.007-06:002010-02-25T22:41:26.446-06:00

By now, I'm sure you've all heard about Austin's excitement over a wee bit of snow on Tuesday. I was completely jaded and didn't believe any of the weathercasters that the snow would actually materialize.And then, lo and behold, snowflakes the size of Texas fluttered down. I had to get out the camera, not just to document the snow but to take advantage of how the light dusting of snow would cover

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-56152220213192218692010-02-19T15:35:00.001-06:002010-02-19T15:32:28.768-06:00

This thing of beauty requires you to see the beauty of the negative space, of what isn't there instead of what is. Those of you familiar with the story of the Beast might have an easier time with this exercise.On a miraculous day last November, the handyman for the rental house next door knocked on our door. He didn't introduce himself; at the time I didn't who he was. He muttered his only words:

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-21543137914667637972010-02-02T18:15:00.000-06:002010-02-02T18:15:00.246-06:00

What? Not exactly what you were expecting? So, no, this tankless water heater isn't specifically a garden-related item, but it partially does explain my absence from my blog. And it does explain my new desire to hug shiny metal objects.After hating our bathroom for many years, the husband and I decided the moment was nigh to do something about it. Everything in the bathroom, as in much of the

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-59961614346033358742009-11-09T11:16:00.016-06:002009-11-09T12:55:20.268-06:00

Last Sunday I had a need to get out of town. The weather that weekend was gorgeous, and I needed an outdoor fix that my garden and the rest of Austin couldn't fill. I had long ago put Cibolo Nature Center in Boerne on my short list of places to visit after reading Pamela Price's tweets about it. (She also kindly assured me that dogs were indeed welcome to visit. After our trip last summer to

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-52716597052407948242009-10-23T18:10:00.012-05:002009-10-23T19:27:50.995-05:00

Tomorrow (Saturday, October 24) is the Inside Austin Gardens tour presented by the Travis County Master Gardener Association. All of the yards featured are National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitats, which means they are happy places for plants and animals.I haven't yet certified my yard (it's on the list!) but I have made it a happy place for some animals, caterpillars in

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-61312020339081367902009-10-16T12:00:00.000-05:002009-10-16T12:20:08.038-05:00

Pam of Digging is hosting a bloggers' celebration of national parks this week. As soon as she mentioned it, I knew I wanted to post about our roadtrip out west over Christmas/New Year's in 2006/2007. Between buying a new laptop and transferring photos and other files, and having said two-week-old laptop broken by a to-remain-nameless four-legged animal, it's taken me this long to post.For the

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-57227105730393221192009-09-12T11:59:00.018-05:002009-09-12T13:06:40.674-05:00

Rainbow over Kilauea IkeLast month my husband and I were lucky enough to travel to Hawaii, the Big Island, for someone's big digit birthday. (Hint, it wasn't mine.)When I saw all that was growing on the Big Island, I thought about a post comparing the beautiful, luscious plants to the same variety growing (or rather, not growing) in my yard. I quickly realized that such a post would be just

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-38186396317222506052009-08-01T20:23:00.000-05:002009-08-01T20:23:00.038-05:00

In early July, I had the chance to leave hell and visit Portland, Oregon. I'm not even sure I was actually invited before I started packing my bag. Of course, Portland ended up having its way with me. I left on June 30; our flight delayed by thunderstorms in Austin. The next day Portland had its highest temps of the year--low 90s--while Austin was chilling in lower 90s."Are you serious?!" I

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-22362539446920067182009-07-18T09:55:00.007-05:002009-07-18T15:17:52.754-05:00

As there's almost nothing growing and happy in my yard now, I thought I would post my round-up on growing garlic, because you need to start thinking about ordering garlic if you want to plant in the fall.Last October I planted five varieties of garlic. I marked the rows. I marked the bags with the corresponding row number, and then promptly forgot to make a note of that somewhere. So I can't

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-30272627055863411462009-06-18T13:00:00.003-05:002009-06-18T18:05:01.249-05:00

Last weekend as temperatures reached triple digits, my husband, dog, and I headed out to South Llano River State Park in Junction. I don't have any pictures from the wonderful park because as soon as we got there I got in the river and then five hours later I got out. It was perfect.In fact, it's given me an idea for a way to survive Austin's summers: a wearable river. I'm thinking kind of like a

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-5026649749337118022009-06-06T10:10:00.000-05:002009-06-06T13:55:29.515-05:00

A dear friend recently asked why I wasn't blogging more regularly. Besides the obvious reason (laziness), the primary reason is that I'm not finding my garden all that pretty right now. We're quickly moving into Austin's worst gardening season, and I'm already not excited at the prospect of keeping my garden alive during the next few months.But the people's (okay, so one person's) will must be

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-25094418140557546262009-05-18T10:10:00.009-05:002009-05-18T11:36:25.683-05:00

Last weekend we took our annual anniversary camping trip. I'm not usually one to return to the same place over and over, but Colorado Bend is such a great park that we returned for the third (maybe fourth?) time. What makes it so great? It's relatively close to Austin (about an hour and a half drive), it's on the water, the primitive, hike-in camping is only about a mile from the parking lot, and

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-74501347555936962352009-05-03T17:04:00.013-05:002009-05-03T23:40:35.882-05:00

After my last post's diversion into useful gardening information, I am back to my "don't do as I do" didactic method. Four months, two chainsaws, two axes, two loppers, one root jack, and 3,500 brown refuse bags later, I have cleared out the world's (or at least the northern hemisphere's) ugliest hedge, which I affectionately dubbed the Beast.This hedge, about 40 feet long by six feet wide by

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-44836947937856821092009-04-25T10:51:00.005-05:002009-04-25T12:37:39.707-05:00

While normally I pride myself on the fact that this blog rarely provides useful information except in the form of "Don't do what I did," I have actual useful information this week!Last Saturday my friend, neighbor, and fellow gardener Tom called to ask me about a problem with his Kieffer pear tree. God love him, Tom thinks that because I am a certified master gardener I know stuff about plants.Of

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-73667830538269156232009-04-01T15:31:00.007-05:002009-04-01T16:31:02.064-05:00

March is such a crazy time (in a good way) for gardening and gardeners in Austin. I never seem to find the time to post as often as I'd like. In particular, I missed Bloom Day. April is not looking like it will slow down much so I thought I would just go ahead and post what's blooming now.The top photo is poppies, grown from seed I bought at Natural Gardener and from some I got from Patty Leander

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-71800173311232722302009-03-17T21:27:00.011-05:002009-03-17T22:24:49.300-05:00

The rain knocked off some of the few blooms I had for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day so I thought I would follow up on a few previous posts. Y'all played the Dormant or Dead game so enthusiastically that I'll start with it.First up is the Forsythia sage, shown above. I labeled it dormant, and I was right! Yea! (None of you disagreed with me on this, so we all get points for it.)Next is the beautyberry

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-36134265201213477062009-03-09T19:48:00.008-05:002009-03-09T20:55:26.304-05:00

If you haven't yet had time to read my post from earlier TODAY, then by all means start there. (If you're squeamish, you might just want to wait until I turn my attention to something less sensitive like anole lovin'.)If you already read today's earlier post and clucked knowingly, then read on.After a walk tonight with the world's luckiest dog, I walked into the backyard with her to check on the

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-67508790473559292542009-03-09T11:13:00.011-05:002009-03-09T16:22:46.787-05:00

WARNING: Some of these images aren't for the faint of heart. I probably also wouldn't show them to your cat, unless you're okay with your cat licking your computer screen.This weekend I planted my tomatoes and a few friends. Ever since I read this post from Grow Better Veggies, the blog for Love Apple Farms, a biodynamic farm near Santa Cruz, California, I've wanted to try this method of growing

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-26520147987130953972009-02-16T21:58:00.017-06:002009-02-17T21:41:38.825-06:00

Last week I traveled to Cocoa Beach, Florida. The original plan was to visit with my husband while he worked on a project at Kennedy Space Center and use his credentials to watch the latest space shuttle launch up close. (Well, not that close; no one is allowed within three miles of the launchpad. But we still would have been close enough to be amazed.)As we knew might happen, the original launch

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-6260426394744923042009-02-04T20:20:00.000-06:002009-02-04T20:20:00.353-06:00

Here's a little game I like to call Dormant or Dead. Won't you play along? When you grow only vegetables, you don't get to play this game. But when you foolishly boldly add three new flower beds during an epic drought, you get the joy of determining whether your plant will return in spring or if it's gone to the great compost bin in the sky.First contender: the chile pequin, shown above. The

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-38165013599784420322009-01-26T11:39:00.010-06:002009-01-26T14:24:38.966-06:00

No, not that drought. My personal blogging drought, combined with my drought of interest in my garden. Entirely coincidentally, it's actually raining today.Of course, my prolonged lack of concern was not without collateral damage. The cauliflower seems to have taken it on the chin.The broccoli seems to have adopted Austin's schizophrenic weather as its personal mantra. Forming a head and

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-48844062138041892762009-01-08T10:26:00.016-06:002009-01-09T11:57:27.649-06:00

Much to my garden's dismay, I'm hibernating. I'm avoiding it. The drought, the temperature swings, the lack of success--all are currently conspiring to keep me away from the backyard. I even missed my dog's triumphant display of her efforts to protect me from any additional rat encounters at the compost bin.I'm sure at some point I will feel that desire to sow again. I received some nice

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-36832869541466544102009-01-01T18:22:00.011-06:002009-01-01T19:29:58.784-06:00

I spent the holidays visiting my family in Alabama, and I've got several posts' worth of photographs. Maybe if I make it my New Year's resolution to post them all, I'll do it.Now that you've stopped laughing, I hope you can enjoy these pictures from Bellingrath Gardens Christmas in Lights.Located outside Mobile on Fowl River, the gardens were created by extremely rich Coca-Cola franchisee Walter

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-21543984931534730442008-12-18T18:23:00.010-06:002008-12-18T19:19:27.286-06:00

Many years ago when I was new to Austin, I remember hearing someone complain about the humidity. I'm fairly certain that I said, "Humidity? You want humidity? You can't handle humidity!"Okay, so maybe I just dated myself, but trust me, that kind of talk was da bomb in those days.I have lived in some of the most humid cities in the United States--Mobile, Alabama; New Orleans, LA; and Washington,

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-85059827380890122782008-12-10T22:18:00.002-06:002008-12-10T22:46:54.380-06:00

So by now I'm sure you've heard about our weather yesterday. We went from a record-high of 81 degrees to snow in less than 24 hours. Sigh. Is it any wonder that Austin is the garden blogging capital of the world? We have a lot to complain blog about.Our rapids shifts in temperature keep our plants on their toes and down in the dumps, or maybe just confused as heck?My fig tree is the perfect

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-70207900858472959392008-12-06T09:26:00.012-06:002008-12-06T12:10:16.639-06:00

Other than a few photos I used for an April Fools' Day post, I never posted any photos from our trip to Argentina last fall. Probably because I didn't have a blog then. I'm finally processing some photos to get prints made and thought you might enjoy a look at life in the Southern Hemisphere.Our first stop after Buenos Aires was Iguazu Falls, located at the border of Argentina and Brazil.The park

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-51599066168036212352008-12-03T18:10:00.010-06:002008-12-04T20:28:37.682-06:00

It's Lone Star, the deer my in-laws took in and nursed this summer. He's a big boy now--notice how he's lost his spots.My in-laws have encouraged him to leave and let him out of his summer holding pen when the deer in the neighborhood came by. A couple of times he joined the crew, but he's not stupid. My in-laws are great cooks and fed him quite well during his stay. The normal grass he was

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-76129809292807064802008-12-01T18:53:00.004-06:002008-12-02T09:27:17.168-06:00

As some of you know and many of you have probably guessed, Vertie is not my real name. When I told my husband that I had started a gardening blog and that I was using a different name, he asked why.I told him it was fun to have a nom de plume.He asked, "Don't you mean nom de bloom?" (Now you see why I married him.)So at the risk of confounding you and breaking through the fourth wall, here's a

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-30457388776272984342008-11-22T12:29:00.002-06:002008-11-22T12:31:39.042-06:00

You must check out Annie's latest song. She'd been telling me about the idea for a while so I am so glad that I don't have to keep it a secret any longer!Great job, Annie!

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-414384892923570212008-11-15T12:20:00.014-06:002008-11-15T18:01:13.777-06:00

For Carol's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, I decided to finally reveal my newest garden bed. For those of you keeping track at home, that's THREE new garden beds in the last six months, which is probably one or maybe two too many. Ask the front yard gardens. They'll agree. More on them later.In September, I took advantage of a gardening WOO to dig this bed. I decided fairly quickly that rusty metal

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-88714139708350663772008-11-12T16:08:00.012-06:002008-11-14T13:59:16.436-06:00

Once upon a time, this was a gardening blog. I posted pictures of plants and flowers in my yard. And then sometime in September, I took a bug class, and this blog veered strongly towards the bug love. Between the zombie watching, camping, and Peckerwooding, I haven't focused much on my own horticultural efforts.But today is a new day.The new sun bed, the one with the wine bottle edging, has

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-40623033456973038892008-11-08T18:44:00.030-06:002008-11-15T11:11:11.618-06:00

On Friday, seven of us Austin garden bloggers traveled to Peckerwood Garden in Hempstead. Since I'd heard about the garden and YuccaDo Nursery, which is in the process of moving from next to the garden to Giddings, I'd always wanted to visit. Hempstead is not that far from my in-laws in Magnolia, but we'd never been able to combine a trip to visit family with the limited open days at the

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-28838944590254858052008-11-05T17:35:00.004-06:002008-11-05T17:46:57.480-06:00

Blooming together today in my yard for the first time:RedWhiteBlue Coincidence? I think not.

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-33940244681957750752008-11-03T16:29:00.028-06:002008-11-03T18:35:06.428-06:00

Last month on the long drive home from our four day, three night hiking and camping trip in the Texas panhandle, I perused the latest edition of the Texas Travel Guide I'd picked up at the Caprock Canyons information center.I've been reading and highlighting previous versions of this guide since even before I moved to Texas and have found some good information along with some oddball items and

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-18607504564441041682008-10-31T10:35:00.006-05:002008-10-31T11:19:23.147-05:00

During our recent camping and hiking trip, I kept noticing all the dead and dying plants. I have always loved this stage of the plants.And of course, I thought what a great Halloween post idea. The ghouls and goblins of the plant world.Can't you just imagine blood dripping off the head of this plant?Speaking of blood, I also came across this prickly pear covered in white fuzz.During my entomology

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-25441861881264613972008-10-29T21:26:00.005-05:002008-10-29T22:02:52.687-05:00

One of the many reasons why I wanted to add a full sun flower bed in the backyard was so that I could grow a passion flower. I just think that the flower is one of the most unusual and beautiful ones out there.I have mentioned before that I have moved on past my disappointment that the flower is not purple. I have come to love all the parts of this vine, including the tendrils that are quite

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-56690574195690486292008-10-24T17:50:00.011-05:002008-10-27T23:14:15.059-05:00

So much has happened since I last posted. I've even gardened (imagine that!) but first here are some photos from our recent camping trip to Caprock Canyons, with a side trip to hike in Palo Duro Canyon. I still plan to post photos of the canyons and their lovely vistas.But what struck me as I viewed the photos was how much stalking I did. Insects, spiders, birds, bison. I was an equal opportunity

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-55988907981822163232008-10-13T21:17:00.008-05:002008-10-13T22:39:46.249-05:00

Yesterday I found this visitor on my car. Crazy Billionaire also recently found a praying mantis on his car. What exactly are the mantises thinking? That they can hitch a ride to a better neighborhood? That if they wait long enough one of us really big animals will come along and be their next meal? They do eat vertebrates after all.(More correctly, this insect is probably a Carolina mantid, and

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-51399456837957208472008-10-12T20:52:00.004-05:002008-10-29T22:07:00.051-05:00

When I saw that Zanthan Gardens had "a momentary lapse into cuteness," I knew I had to participate in The Inelegant Gardener's LAPCPADPOUB (Let's all post cat photos and dire poetry on our blogs) day. The cat and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary this month, and he deserves a mention after so many more mentions of the dog, otherwise known as the animal ruining the cat's golden years.And his

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-56492640599572535692008-10-10T20:34:00.015-05:002008-10-10T21:53:48.239-05:00

Last night I planted garlic. A lot of garlic. Halfway through the process I thought I really should have just kept the garlic to eat and not even bothered trying to turn one clove into a bulb I had so much of it.But I had started the process and couldn't (or wouldn't) turn back.In August I ordered the All Warm Weather Winter Area Sampler Assortment from Gourmet Garlic Gardens. I had also looked

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-19901024261767559982008-10-09T00:04:00.006-05:002008-10-09T09:18:39.598-05:00

Well, a partial answer, but after yesterday's whiny post on my lack of germination, here's something of a thank you for not just telling me to shut up and sow.How to Create Side-by-side PicturesI tried to write this without just providing links, but while I have been doing a lot of learning around here, I haven't done enough to write about HTML code without having that HTML code function.So to

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-45641741911826923782008-10-07T13:27:00.007-05:002008-10-07T15:44:27.831-05:00

Last August I was so excited to try out Tim Miller's planting by the moon schedule. Through no fault of Farmer Miller, the planting schedule has been a dismal failure chez Vert.The lettuces I seeded back in early September yielded these lonely guys:I seeded the whole area, about 4' by 3'. I shielded with shade cloth and still ended up with these three plants, which I really should worship right

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-57546956294143582232008-10-02T09:15:00.012-05:002008-10-02T16:35:08.607-05:00

In honor of my first hoe, I am offering my version of Carol of May Dreams Gardens's now famous series, You Might Be a Gardening Geek. Unlike Carol's much beloved hoes, gardening geek is a category on her blog while her hoes are relegated to the tools category. She's tweeted me that she's going to address that issue. That whole sequence might be reason number one that I might be a gardening geek,

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-56091114763576932162008-09-29T11:14:00.007-05:002008-09-29T14:12:26.096-05:00

I do really think I have lost my mind. My sanity has been questioned before, more than once, but I think the continuing heat, the continuing drought, three days at the Austin City Limits festival, and a rapidly approaching birthday have pushed me over the line.But when exactly did line crossing occur?Maybe it was when I ran back inside to get my camera rather than shooing away this grasshopper?

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-18433541102829081702008-09-22T11:45:00.018-05:002008-09-26T11:00:37.189-05:00

Or what more can you ask for in one morning?Last Saturday's photography class at the Wildflower Center was wonderful opportunity to combine so many of my interests.As I mentioned in my previous post, I rented a tripod for the day and was happy to test it out and learn how it could help me. Unfortunately, it weighed more than my dog, and I found it difficult to reposition to catch any quick

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-11410971973409898332008-09-22T09:40:00.023-05:002008-09-22T13:54:07.065-05:00

Hello, sun!Last week was a very busy one Chez Vert. I was very happy to attend all the master gardener learning opportunities--entomology training, photography training, and Patty Leander's fall vegetable lecture--although I probably could have absorbed more of the information if it hadn't all been coming at me at once. By Saturday afternoon I felt like the zombie ants just moments before their

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-88856889177178975312008-09-18T18:04:00.007-05:002008-09-18T22:22:21.484-05:00

How do you make a group of master gardeners and budding entomologists cheer? Show them a video loop of the phorid fly stinging a fire ant and laying its egg in the insect.How do you make that group roar with excitement? Show the part of the video where the ant's head falls off.Almost every speaker this week has shown us that video, and it has never failed to elicit that response. (Unfortunately,

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-81295282601675007352008-09-15T19:55:00.006-05:002008-09-16T17:51:43.652-05:00

I just got home from my first day of a week-long Master Gardener Entomology Specialist Training. It was fabulous. So interesting. By the end of the week I should be able to identify the bug my husband found in my new herb bed. And I should know not to call it a bug but more properly an insect.Until then, I thought I would keep track of some of the most fascinating tidbits of today's class.--Ants

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-21220887955912313082008-09-15T09:46:00.007-05:002008-09-15T19:51:04.564-05:00

Twenty-four little hours.My "best" bed went from this toTHIS!A new herb bed filled with Mexican mint marigold, common sage, rosemary, Italian oregano, Mexican oregano, lemon balm,rue,French thyme, lemon thyme, hot 'n' spicy thyme, dill, spearmint, peppermint, and berggarten sage. I've also planted some chive seeds and left room for some annuals I'd fogotten: parsley and cilantro.Some, like the

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-83187567123535929522008-09-13T10:39:00.002-05:002008-09-13T12:49:15.614-05:00

Normally, I am a hand-tool kind of gal. Yikes, that sounds a little racy. How about, normally I'm a double digger? I like digging in the dirt. I like running the soil through my hands, breaking up clods. I became a gardener after spading and forking my back 50 feet into a producing vegetable garden.So, it was hard for me to admit defeat, but with a shrinking gardening WOO (window of opportunity);

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-29157717431322976102008-09-10T11:28:00.003-05:002008-09-10T11:50:17.205-05:00

Last night I attended the first session of a Master Gardener sponsored plant photography class. Brian and Shirley Loflin, authors of Grasses of the Texas Hill Country, are teaching the course. A lot of the technical talk about sensor size, TTL metering, and histograms flew over my head. My Nikon D40x is my first SLR, and the learning curve is pretty steep. I have learned the basics of depth of

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-18077635864033041752008-09-06T20:11:00.007-05:002008-09-07T13:05:22.374-05:00

I ran into Annie in Austin today at the Natural Gardener and realized that I wasn't the only one Austin gardener gearing up for the fall season. We can't plant just yet but the moment that window to plant appears, we'll be ready.The plants have been selected and purchased. (If I ever make a list of essential gardening tools, a wading pool will be one of them. It's great for soaking wine bottles

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-39505259994083198822008-09-04T17:12:00.005-05:002008-09-04T17:44:20.493-05:00

Is it the well-mulched and damp-looking soil that would be oh so rare in Austin this summer?Is it the blooming daylily in the photo, signaling that this plant is obviously not in my dirt patch yard?Or is it that I was able to get so close to this baby deer?Maybe another photo will help you.Ah, yes, it must be the harness and leash on the fawn.My brother-in-law was working when he saw a dead

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-16650819149737354682008-08-26T09:34:00.009-05:002008-08-26T10:47:34.994-05:00

Or at least stop using my garden edging as an excuse for your wino ways!(That cri de coeur you just heard was my husband exclaiming, "But I have not yet begun to drink!" Don't worry, honey, you can still drink; I just don't need the bottles any more.) To my husband, my friends and neighbors, and many of you bloggers, I raise a glass. Many people suggested I ask a wine store for their empties.

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-88548138822082246032008-08-22T09:28:00.005-05:002008-08-22T09:54:24.708-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I missed the Austin Organic Gardeners monthly meeting. I wanted to go because the topic was one of my favorites--fall vegetable gardening, but I completely forgot. Luckily, a friend did not and shared her notes with me.About 130 people attended the meeting, more proof that interest in vegetable gardening is exploding. (I think regularly the meetings have about 30 people.)

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-8911900190050027422008-08-10T20:01:00.009-05:002008-08-10T21:26:25.765-05:00

Last night I had the privilege of attending a Dai Due dinner. The brainchild of chef Jesse Griffiths and his partner, farmer Tamara Mayfield, Dai Due is a roving supper club that offers multicourse dinners prepared with only locally produced, seasonal ingredients, grown with sustainable agricultural methods.As you can imagine, Jesse and Tamara are big supporters of the local food movement, which

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-446506489265764552008-08-07T07:24:00.003-05:002008-08-07T07:38:07.097-05:00

Yesterday morning when I woke up and realized that I had not heard a rainstorm capable of delivering one to two inches during the night, I was disappointed.And then I went to let the dog, and the morning glories took my breath away.The blooms covered the trellis from top to bottom. It's a little hard to tell in this picture but I've got two vines, one on either end, each filled with flowers. We'd

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-63965847385309850832008-08-01T13:20:00.004-05:002008-08-01T14:05:15.370-05:00

After my trip to Tennessee, I traveled to southern Alabama to visit other family members, including my ten-year-old niece, who is already a good photographer. I think she'll also soon make a fine garden blogger.She wanted us to go outside and photograph her garden, as noted above. She wanted me to point that she painted that sign when she was little. She writes much more clearly now.I think she

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-85273514877574279812008-07-31T12:36:00.009-05:002008-08-01T13:04:34.417-05:00

I returned last night from an extended tour of the Southeast--Texas to Mississippi to Tennessee to Alabama--and back. My favorite garden-related part of the trip was visiting the Mennonite vegetable market near Reliance, Tennessee.My traveling companion--my about-to-turn-six-years-old niece--was fascinated by the horses pulling this tractor on the way to the market. I'm glad that she was too

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-11314838768428822862008-07-06T17:58:00.006-05:002008-07-06T18:51:20.391-05:00

Last Sunday, at least at my house, we got quite a bit of a downpour overnight. I was quite excited, almost as excited as I was the late summer evening in 1993 when it finally rained after 65 days.The next morning I surveyed the effects of the rain. I was thrilled to see puddles on the tarp I'd put down to solarize the soil for my next project. Given the heat and drought, my grass is already quite

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-51454939933397928892008-06-24T14:44:00.015-05:002008-06-24T16:22:50.974-05:00

But I did promise you more photos from the Bay Area. I may have only been there for four days, but I've got pictures for two weeks of posts. Don't panic. I won't actually post two weeks' worth, even if I do find that just looking at these pictures makes me feel at least 20 degrees cooler.And I think we can agree that we can all use that about now.Until my dream comes true of moving to California,

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-16235363701777695932008-06-18T17:41:00.011-05:002008-06-19T12:02:35.939-05:00

I think I have finally figured out why Austin is the garden blogging center of the universe. To explain my point, I will present my theory on why there are so few northern California garden blogs.(I do know there are some very good garden bloggers in northern California. My statements are in no way backed by scientific analysis, but they do include a tongue firmly lodged in my cheek. I did try to

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-46765793305786067432008-06-16T17:28:00.007-05:002008-06-17T16:14:25.071-05:00

I just spent a long weekend in northern California, primarily around Berkeley. And I am in love, again. (I've been there before and fall in love every time.) This time I was so excited to be in the land that Mark Twain never actually described as "the coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco" for many reasons: a girls' weekend; traveling with a good Austin friend to visit

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-21776271062179734382008-06-11T17:18:00.006-05:002008-06-11T22:36:00.974-05:00

Even sunflowers hate the sun sometime.The official start of summer is still ten days away, and yet here we are already with ten days of temperatures over 100 degrees so far this year. Even the leaves of my sunflower are burnt to a crisp.The heat makes me irritable, particularly when I look at my vegetable garden. Now I fully admit that I bear some responsibility for its sad state. I have focused

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-77201542404655760192008-06-10T09:17:00.004-05:002008-06-10T09:25:55.312-05:00

If you'd like a little insight as to why this blog is called Vert, check out Susan's post at Garden Rant.

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-1639493100887071092008-06-08T11:50:00.012-05:002008-06-09T21:43:40.089-05:00

Last weekend my husband and I went to visit his family near Houston. They've never actually lived in Houston, but for those who don't know the area, it's an easy answer. They originally lived in Spring but most have moved farther west, which continues to make our drive shorter.We usually stay with his sister who lives in Magnolia. He's got five sisters, all of whom live within twenty minutes or

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-77172221397800097882008-06-05T13:41:00.004-05:002008-06-05T14:13:14.201-05:00

Last week I pushed my luck. I saw some tomatoes that were close to being ripe, but I wanted to let them fully ripen on the vine. Why else do you grow your own tomatoes but to eat freshly picked, vine ripened lovelies?Well, this is why else. Because some untoward characters will come along and eviscerate the fully ripe ones. Then you learn that homegrown tomatoes that begin the ripening outside

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-45644746972120284952008-05-30T14:05:00.007-05:002008-05-30T15:20:28.863-05:00

To be quite accurate, this Lemon Boy is NOT my first tomato of the season. It is the first tomato of the season to make it inside the back door. I've been eating currant tomatoes (labeled as yellow but growing red) straight off the vine for a week or two now.I love the color, flavor, and texture of the Lemon Boys. They are an almost perfect globe of sunlight. They grow relatively pest and disease

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-44301081889061417082008-05-28T17:25:00.006-05:002008-05-29T16:31:59.058-05:00

In between trips to Taylor for BBQ and Memorial Day BBQ parties, my husband and I decided to escape the heat (and the brisket) and go kayaking on the San Marcos River. The Zedler Mill Paddling Trail starts west of Luling and ends six miles later at the Zedler Mill site in the city of Luling. The kayak rental guy promised that were no trees blocking the way.Obviously, this tree didn't thwart our

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-52814109364870853972008-05-23T11:30:00.007-05:002008-05-27T12:27:22.551-05:00

Ed and Tatiana filming our new tomato cages.If you had told me three years ago that I would be taping a segment of Central Texas Gardener and speaking about vegetable gardening as if I knew something about the subject, I would have thought you had inhaled too much manure.But there I was on a slightly overcast Thursday morning (the best for filming! said Linda), talking about the Green Corn

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-47681325843690046262008-05-20T17:55:00.004-05:002008-05-20T21:39:44.763-05:00

This squash looks how I feel. I can not believe that it has already hit 100 degrees! I can already feel my SAD (seasonal affective disorder) coming on. I know that most SAD suffering occurs in the winter months when the sun isn't out. But here I get cranky and irritable and sad when it's too hot and sunny. I look outside and it's beautiful. The sun is shining, and the sky is blue. I should be

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-71524619180183722782008-05-17T14:04:00.004-05:002008-05-18T15:21:30.299-05:00

WARNING: The following photos are definitely not rated PG.Note the progression of color of the, um, top anole from brown to green. I'll leave it to you to attribute meaning to the hue change.**Now with added dialogue.SHE: I thought you said this was a private shed.SHE: When is that dog going to stop barking?SHE: Omigod! She's taking pictures. Do you think I look fat in this position?HE: Huh? Did

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-7642444333518574782008-05-16T15:40:00.005-05:002008-05-16T16:05:39.884-05:00

I'm a day late, and oh, about twenty blooms short. I really think I should have entitled this post, Not Bloom Day. With a few exceptions, none of my plants are in bloom. Not my Barbados cherry, not any of my buddleia, not my supposedly everblooming Cramoisi superieur, although at least it's alive, unluck the rock rose pictured above. I may be hallucinating or drinking too much wine in service of

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-5192770549771222422008-05-14T10:33:00.008-05:002008-05-14T11:15:35.153-05:00

Lately I've been finding some new friends in my various garden areas. As long as they look good, they are welcome to stay, but I just wish they would introduce themselves.I'll start with the ones in the free plant area. I saved this plant (above) when we installed the vegetable garden on Lady Bird Lake, which--I will tease you a bit--is going to be on TV! More details to come.Back to plants. When

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-37886425813829499882008-05-12T21:33:00.005-05:002008-05-14T11:04:39.001-05:00

Morning mist over the Colorado RiverThis weekend we went camping in Colorado Bend state park. We had planned the trip a while ago. My husband was looking forward to a cellphone- and email-free weekend after too many long weeks of work and travel. I was looking forward to communing with nature and eggs and bacon cooked on a campstove.When the weather forecast predicted a high of 97 for Saturday, I

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-25100733888490565162008-05-06T17:32:00.003-05:002008-05-06T17:47:08.022-05:00

The latest blooms on the sweetpeas are a lovely light and dark blue. They are using the cosmos as a trellis.In a couple of days, the zinnias will enter into the color chaos in the cutting garden. I don't remember what color they will be so it will be a nice surprise.In the front yard I'm having more a purple phase. The Chinese ground orchid that was so small at Zilker Garden Fest that the seller

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-22733958256693571292008-05-03T17:35:00.007-05:002008-05-03T19:11:31.085-05:00

Yesterday MSS and I went to the city's recycling center to pick up our free glass mulch. (She took some pictures, which I hope she will post because I didn't bring my camera.) Given the size of Austin, it's actually a pretty small facility (maybe there are others?).Karl, who couldn't have been nicer, showed us where the mulch was and warned us about how heavy the tiny pieces of glass could get.

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-23866129476423458242008-05-02T09:18:00.003-05:002008-05-02T09:25:01.222-05:00

Even though I have contracted with my friends and neighbors to be their recycler--for wine bottles, only--and my husband and I doing our part, I am still far from my goal of 175 to 200 bottles for the edging on the new bed.So, I decided to redirect the wine bottles in my extended neighbors' bins into my yard. Pickup is today. I had planned to forage under cover of darkness last night, but I got

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-88041492474842923082008-05-01T13:00:00.005-05:002008-05-01T14:27:19.542-05:00

When I originally planted a variety of seeds in my cutting garden area, the plan was, well, obviously, to cut the flowers and bring them inside.But now the seeds have germinated, the plants have grown, and the flowers have bloomed, I find the flowers are just so pretty, and look so happy in the bed, that I decided I would just visit them outside instead of bringing them in. Because I wasn't

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-17665060492379352892008-04-29T10:27:00.010-05:002008-04-29T21:55:14.463-05:00

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

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-45251143102224212692008-04-28T09:03:00.005-05:002008-04-28T09:57:05.780-05:00

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

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-50553845931820789982008-04-25T14:58:00.004-05:002008-04-25T15:28:00.379-05:00

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

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-8500192103871935162008-04-23T13:25:00.010-05:002008-05-02T13:02:17.761-05:00

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

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-62623541765535655242008-04-22T10:59:00.003-05:002008-04-22T11:15:37.192-05:00

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

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-35085576820546174822008-04-21T09:59:00.005-05:002008-04-21T10:40:24.674-05:00

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

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-9929430908355496552008-04-20T18:55:00.006-05:002008-04-20T19:36:09.713-05:00

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

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-81596583235317049572008-04-20T09:52:00.004-05:002008-04-20T10:59:33.273-05:00

The entrance to Jenny and David Stocker's house and gardenWow! 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

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793140192173953553.post-82350258501420019872008-04-18T18:10:00.006-05:002008-04-18T20:38:40.248-05:00

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

vertiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12199391563643437871noreply@blogger.com5