Well, it’s been an unseasonably warm winter here in Austin, even for us. So this was the closest we got to snow over the holidays! There were flurries on our Indiana trip, but not much to speak of and the wind was biting cold, so Grandma brought out the snow she’d saved in the freezer for Kallie to play with on the kitchen floor!
Kinda the best of both worlds!
Ok – I think this may be a variety of Duranta that was pruned into a tree. It was given to me 10 years ago when my dog was dying and I’ve babied it all these years without knowing what it was. Looks just like the berries on yesterday’s photos at Zanthan Gardens … and that got me thinking.
It has tiny, delicate white blooms on the branch ends and produces small, yellow berries on thin strands. What do you think??!!!! Has anyone out there ever had a white duranta variety that matches this description? I’ve never had even a guess to go on, so I’ll go trolling for web info and see what I come up with. In the meantime, put your gardening caps on and let me know what you think!
5 minutes online, and ta-dah!
My tree is a Duranta Erecta, commonly called Golden Dew Drop or White Sky Flower or Pigeon Berry Alba. I can’t tell you how exciting this is! The internet is an amazing thing. I’ve had a purple duranta in my back yard for a year — it’s shrub like and small and has purple flowers and produced no berries thus far. But reading Zanthan Gardens’ Blog – I looked at this one and its form and it reminded me so much of my tree, I started to search. Thanks for the help (albeit unknown!).
This is just another reminder to me of why I love to blog and to read blogs and to surf around the web. There is so much information and creativity and beauty out there — just waiting at our fingertips. Not to mention the sense of community and the comraderie that I get from belonging to such a great group.
So, I’m going to bed happy and content tonight.
Pretty Penta
Barely there Bougainvilla
Alyssum
Meager Moss Rose
Oxalis
Shasta DaisyA few little friends were still hanging in there in the dead of what we call winter here in Austin today on January Bloom Day!
Hard to imagine how much of the rest of the country is covered in snow. Yesterday morning was sunny and bright. Today, it’s overcast and gray and we are expecting some rain. But, we need it, so that’s ok.
While I’ve enjoyed my break, I have to say, I’m getting the gardening bug again! I read the article in the Austin American Statesman this weekend about starting veggie seeds inside in pots and I’m plotting to do that in a week or so! And I have a plan for major changes to the vegetable garden — see my sidebar for those developments!
And, you know you’re ready to get your hands dirty again when pruning makes you happy again! Yes — it’s true! I pruned the giant gingers in the back and some of the lantana and esperanza and other perennials for a few hours this weekend and enjoyed it. I think of it as therapy — it’s cathartic for me.
So, here’s what winter looks like in Austin, Texas in January. No snow … no beautiful icicles dangling delicately from the pines. Just dry, brown, hibernating perennials waiting for a few short weeks to begin bursting forth again.
I took a long blog-hiatus (sorry, I should have just said so in early December!) and took a much-needed break from gardening for a while. But now, the days are in the mid-60s and the sun is shining and I am thinking about … yes, you’re hearing it right, pruning! We’ll see – I have a long list of non-gardening things to do — but I also have a *”plan”* for fencing off the vegetable garden to keep out the pests (especially my two adopted “pests” — otherwise know as “PETS!” I’m envisioning an arbor to go over the gate!
Look for more posts soon, including details about the Austin Garden Bloggers’ Spring Fling in April.
We enjoyed our annual holiday party Saturday on a glorious, sunny 84-degree day and welcomed 150 people into our home. I did all the hors de oeuvres (except for my husband’s famous Sundried Tomato Palmiers) and decorating and it was delightful — we all had a wonderful time with friends and family. I had so much fun decorating the yard this year – many trees had red glass balls and giant bells and I put out a few poinsettias. Only the large ones placed in big garden pots made it, though, because the wind was in full force and kept blowing the smaller ones around. And, ironically, I had one lone hibiscus flower in bloom with this tropical weather — a bright RED one!
I’m going to refocus my energies this week — from party planning to baking and shopping — and to gardening! I realized I have more than half of my bulbs left and they need to go into the ground! And I have wildflower seeds to sow — think they’ll make it this late? The ground is still so warm, I’m hoping some will take at least. I’ve made a spot for them in a wild area, so other than raking and sprinkling them, I won’t have much invested so I guess it’s worth a shot.
Today really felt like winter, with the 40-degree weather and rainy haze. But tomorrow we’re back up to 72, so it will be more like what seems to be becoming average Central Texas weather. (Notice I didn’t say “normal?”)
Ok – here are some of the trees we trimmed. I think they look bare and sad, but I know that they will fill back in and be happier and healthier in the Spring. And I had to post a picture of my hosta that the deer have eaten down to the nubs! Why don’t they eat weeds, anyway? THAT would be a solution to all our problems!!! Ah – wishful thinking…
We’re getting a nice little drizzle at the house now. We’ve been a little dry, so the plants are happy with some moisture. And I’ve left the garage door open to let some humidity in for the plumeria which has officially moved into the garage for the winter.
I hope we get a real rain tonight — we could use it.