Diana C. Kirby, Author at Diana's Designs Austin

Carolina wren baby growing by the day…

When Mama wren flies out of the garage early in the morning, I sneak up on the step stool to get a peek at our little guest-in-the-hat.

Baby wren is growing by leaps and bounds.

Barely 5 days old, it now really looks like a bird.

Its eyes are still closed, but the wings and the beak are now clearly evident. I think it has tripled in size since I first saw it on Friday.

The Mama sits in there with it most of the day, but doesn’t appear to by flying in and out very often. She seems unfazed by the construction being done in our driveway as guys are sawing wood out there for our new wood floors inside. She’s just focused on that little bundle of joy.

I doubt the other eggs will open now that it’s been 5 days since this one hatched, but I didn’t think this one would make it either, so I’m not giving up hope. In fact, I’m not ever giving up hope again!

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:40:07-05:00May 30th, 2011|baby birds, bird nest, birds, Blog, carolina wren, nest, Sharing Nature's Garden, wrens|0 Comments

Drought is the best time to plan for floods

This year’s dramatic lack of rain has left our gardens parched and dry. But the rain will come. Maybe not much, but eventually our ugly cycle of drought will be followed by torrential rains that won’t soak into the soil and instead run off, creating a raging river, making walkways impassable and threatening your home and landscape.

If your property is on a slope, or you have poor drainage and design issues, too much water is no small matter. It can cause structural damage to your home and foundation and it can kill plants, trees and grass. Standing water left hours after a rain also breeds mosquitoes and can result in mold inside and outside of your home.

If left unaddressed, drainage problems that threaten your home and foundation can lead to costly renovation repairs – repairs that are much more expensive than addressing the drainage problems at the source – out in the landscape.

So what can you do, now – while it’s still dry – to correct your water problems before the next Central Texas flood? There are many options to address drainage issues — from simple downspout connectors and underground French drains you don’t see — to attractive dry creek beds and rain gardens that can beautify your landscape while getting the job done.

Down spouts

One of the simplest solutions to runoff and drainage problems is to simply bury downspouts down in the soil. If water from your roof, driveway or patio doesn’t drain naturally, you can install a flexible downspout connector and extension pipe onto the end of the downspout to direct the runoff out into your landscape. There the water can be dispersed throughout the lawn, instead of making a river on your walkway. (Be sure it always drains away from your foundation.)

Rain barrels

Rain barrels or cisterns can collect runoff from your roof to store and use to water your lawn or garden. Overflow pipes from rain barrels can also be directed to overflow into beds or rain gardens. Placing rain barrels on cinder blocks or raising them up off the ground helps with flow. Smaller rain barrels are available at most nurseries and garden centers and can be placed at several downspouts around your home. Larger, more sophisticated rainwater collection systems are also available from many sources in the Central Texas area.

As an added bonus, the City of Austin offers a rebate program for both non-pressurized rainwater barrels and pressurized collection systems. For more information, go to http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/watercon/rwrebates.htm

French drains

Another simple method to direct drainage is with a French drain. By digging the trench at the base of the slope of the problem area, it will capture and redistribute any unwanted excess water. A French drain is usually dug one to two feet deep, depending on the slope required for proper drainage. Filled with gravel and piping, it is then covered over with grass or landscaping so it is not visible.

Dry creek

A dry creek bed can be created with or without a French drain underneath it to help direct the flow of water in your landscape. River rock, pea gravel or other rock material is used to create a swale along the draining area, with larger rock to line the outside edges of the bed and hold the rest of the rock in place.

Rain Garden

Like a basin in your yard, a rain garden collects rainwater from your roof, sidewalks and landscape and channels it to soak into the soil instead of causing runoff problems. Planted with an assortment of native plants, a rain garden is an attractive and low maintenance way to solve drainage issues. Situated in a low spot in your garden that already draws water, the garden is dug out with a flat bottom, the depth based on the slope of the garden area. For our clay soils, the fill for the hole should consist of sand, compost and topsoil, since clay gets waterlogged and won’t drain properly. Then a berm (with a gentle, rounded slope) is placed around the downhill edge and up the sides. Native plants such as purple cone flowers, rudbeckia and sedges are perfect for rain gardens because they require little care and will develop strong root systems. The plants should thrive in moist soil. Ground cover or grass on the berm will help prevent erosion and disruption of the plants during a big rain. As with other landscape beds, mulch well and water as you would for other new transplants, even when it doesn’t rain. In a few years the plants will have strong root systems and will only need infrequent watering.

No matter which particular drainage issue plagues your garden, there are a variety of solutions available to help you channel your problems away.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:23-06:00May 28th, 2011|Articles|0 Comments

Baby wren alive in the nest, welcome new addition!

After the egg/nest debacle from 10 days ago, I’ve been anxiously watching the comings and goings of Mama Carolina Wren.

You may remember that I thought the eggs were no longer viable after being in the nest for a month, and I put them in the trash. Til I realized that there were more eggs than when I’d first looked – meaning she’d laid another clutch that might be viable. I wrote about that ordeal in a previous post, put the nest and eggs back very carefully and crossed my fingers.

Last night when I was walking into the house through the garage, I thought I heard the tiniest squeak coming from the nest. I stopped and listened – nothing. But later I saw the hat (and nest) swaying just a bit and wondered again if something was going on in there.

Mama Wren was sitting high up on the eggs, and fairly visible to me, whereas before she was far down in the nest on the eggs where I couldn’t see her.

So I took a peek when she was out of the nest.

What a wonderful sight – a tiny little creature – just born – wiggling around down among the other eggs. If you look very closely (maybe click on the photo to enlarge it) you can make out the face on the new baby.

Honestly, after all this watching and waiting, I felt like I was the Mama!

This morning I took a picture when Mom and Dad were gone — they are both now working on feeding duty.

Hatching can take 24-48 hours and there are 6 more eggs in the nest. Some may be from the first clutch, and not viable, but our new little friend might be getting some siblings over the next few days.

And you can bet I’ll be watching (from a respectable distance)!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:23-06:00May 27th, 2011|baby birds, bird nest, birds, Blog, carolina wren, eggs, Sharing Nature's Garden, wrens|0 Comments

Spectacular Sprekelia

This Sprekelia is one of my favorite plants. It’s also known as an Aztec Lily or Jacobean Lily (Sprekelia formosissima).

But it’s not really a lily at all.

Sprekelia is a small genus of only two species in the Amaryllidaceae family from Mexico. So, it’s more like an Amaryllis.

Mine are about 16 inches tall and grow very well in dappled shade with some afternoon sun. They take a normal amount of water (whatever’s normal for Central Texas!) I do water them — they are not drought tolerant.

Once they’ve bloomed in late spring, the foliage just disappears completely in the summer, like other spring bulbs.

The plant does not set seed and its flowers are sterile.

They grow slowly, though. I’d love to share, but my cluster of them hasn’t expanded much over the last 6 or 7 years that I think I’ve had them, so they aren’t ready to be divided. (Or, I’m not yet ready to divide them)

The are right outside our breakfast room window, so I get to look at them every time I eat or work at the table, and they are in front of the birdbath, so it’s a lovely sight.

I love all the plants in my garden (well, most of them). But there are a few favorites that bring special joy, and my Sprekelia are among them.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:23-06:00May 20th, 2011|amaryllis, Blog, bulbs, lily, Sharing Nature's Garden, sprekelia|0 Comments

Carolina wren saga continues with clutch #2

You may have seen on my blog that a mama Carolina wren was nesting in a sombrero hanging on our garage wall. She was there for several weeks before Easter. As soon as I found the nest, we kept the door open, but who knows how many times she might have been locked away from them before that.

So today I decided it was time (they are supposed to hatch in 14-16 days) and I put the hat nest and eggs into the garbage can.

But when I did that, I counted 11 eggs and there were only 7 before.

I don’t know why I did it after I’d already gotten rid of the eggs, but I looked online just one more time for what happens when the eggs don’t hatch and what the mama does. All the other times I googled it I came up with nothing, but today I found a resource that says that birds will sometimes lay a second clutch of eggs later on top of the unhatched ones, since the nest is already made.

Oh no!

That would explain why there were now 5 more eggs.

So after I had a really good cry, my Mom convinced me to go out and try to save it all. I used a paper towel folded over like a pot holder to put the nest back in the sombrero. Then I took a tablespoon and gently lifted all the eggs I could find out of the trash can and into the nest and then I hung the sombrero back in the garage.

Checked a little bit ago and mama is sitting on the eggs again. I just hope there are some viable ones in there – think I got 7 back into the nest – hope some of them are the new ones, but that was all I could find. One broke and I couldn’t get the others.

At least I tried and I feel better. And I learned a lesson. Well, maybe two lessons – don’t move nests until there is absolutely no adult activity, and … keep the garage door closed all the time so they won’t make nests in my garage.

Or, (more likely) put a birdy – door in our garage!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:24-06:00May 17th, 2011|baby birds, bird nest, Blog, carolina wren, eggs, nest, Sharing Nature's Garden, wrens|0 Comments

Cannas and Coneflowers…

Time flies when it’s gardening season. It’s already time for Garden Bloggers Bloom day, hosted each month on the 15th by Carol of May Dreams Gardens.

Many plants are coming into their own in the garden right now. Foliage is filling out and becoming lush and new blooms are popping out to surprise me every day.

Unless of course the deer eat them! In my new garden bed, the deer have tromped around, but only ate the potato vines. I deliberately planted the bed with plants that deer typically shun. Except, apparently for Klondyke Cosmos. I was so pleased with my idea – planting this tangerine orange wispy flower grown from seed next to a vibrant purple salvia and some Mexican Feather Grass. I went out this morning to capture a photo of this little vignette, only to find…no vignette. The two blooms that popped up yesterday had been eaten off. So, you will just have to imagine what I imagined when I planted it all.

The Purple Cone Flowers above are some of my very favorite summer bloomers, and this year I have dozens and dozens of volunteers coming up so I will be transplanting lots of them into other beds.

But, I didn’t let the deer spoil my day. Many other blooms in the garden were happy to pose for pictures today.

These photos are of my King Humbert Orange Cannas. I love the hot yellow and tangerine against the lime green leaves.

This is a Mexican Bird of Paradise Tree — perfect for our hot,dry weather. Mine gets next to no water (especially in this drought) and yet it still blooms like crazy all summer long.
These Blackfoot Daisies are tough as nails — even though they look so delicate.
Coral Trumpet Vine is taking over my fence and sprouting up in 3 different nearby beds. But it’s stunning all over the fence – if it would just mind its manners!
Verbena thrives in these warm, sunny days, and it’s making a beautiful purple velvet carpet in my new bed.
Some of the combinations I planned for the new front bed are starting to fill in and look like I intended them to. These yellow Zexmenia are bright and cheerful next to the hot pink Salvia Greggii.
These Shasta Daisies are bursting with blooms in the cutting garden. But I love seeing them there so much that I don’t want to cut them!