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

Hot blooms in the hot town tonigt…

I know it won’t be summer for quite some time yet, but for those of us living in Central Texas, it’s already here.

Luckily for us, the plants in my garden are happy to see it arrive, and are showing off some of their hot blooms in honor of our hot weather.

Bog sage

This is the passalong I got from The Gardener of Good and Evil‘ — a Wisconsin ditch lily!

Coneflower

Geraniums

My first Plumeria blooms of the season, with a wonderful, heady lemon scent.

This amazing Allium is not a bulb I planted (THEY all died, or rather, they are still dying a slow and hot ugly death!), but this is an onion in my garden whose bloom I didn’t remove!
Need a plant ID on this one. This is one of only a handful of plants left from the original owner. I love it, but have no idea what it is. It’s a BIG shrub – I prune it to 3×3.

A little knockout rose bloom ready to knock our socks off with color.

A little mix of Damianita and trailing Lantana.

The Pitcher Sage I bought LAST spring at the Wildflower Center sale finally grew and bloomed this spring.
This is the Buddleia that I pruned into a small tree shape this week. It looks so much better with a haircut, but it was hard to cut off some of those stunning hot purple blooms.
Everyone should have a little Parika Yarrow – and I got some more today from Robin at GettingGrounded to add into the mix!

Up close and personal with Senorita Rosalita Cleome.

And this delicate little beauty is a Blue Curls, given to me at the last swap by Bob at Gardening at Draco. I cannot get over how sweet this little bloom is, yet the plant is growing fast and hearty as it can be.

It’s so nice when the summer bloomers are young and happy and not yet stressed!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:28-06:00May 22nd, 2010|alliums, Blog, blue curls, bog sage, Cleome, Coneflower, ditch lily, pitcher sage, plumeria, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

Someone’s coming to dinner…

My parsley in the veggie garden has surpassed the term ‘plant.’

It’s really a bush, now.

A very large, burgeoning bush.

Bursting forth with green growth all over.

It’s easily 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide.

But look who’s come to dinner to help take care of that for me!

My big, burgeoning bush is covered with caterpillars, having a big ol party!

I caught this guy actually eating on the parsley. I could see him chomping – jaws and all!

I want to pull out the parsley because it’s taking up so much garden space, but I guess I’ll have to wait until the party’s over! I have watermelons that would like that piece of soil, but they are just gonna have to wait their turn, I guess.

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:42:31-05:00May 20th, 2010|Blog, caterpillars, parsley, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

Making up for lost garden time!

I missed Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and Foliage Follow up. But I have a note from my doctor…

…just kidding!

But I was doing something important — my 7 year-old daughter and I were at a Mother-Daughter camp in the mountains for the weekend, hiking, swimming, horseback riding and enjoying nature. It was so fun.

But I feel the need to get back to blogging! So here are a few new things from my garden this week:
These are the first blooms of my ditch lily — brought back to me from Wisconsin personally from The Gardener of Good and Evil. What a friend! In a bucket in her car, no less!
This is my first bloom on my first Lamb’s Ear. I know, I know. I didn’t like them before, but I love them in the garden with the Katy Road Rose and Indigo Spires Salvia. And who knew that they bloomed? Not me!
Early Larkspur popping up — given to me by Zanthan Gardens two years ago. They are such amazing colors. Love that deep purple, especially.
The variegated Eureka Lemon is making a strong comeback after the hard freezes this winter. (Maybe it’s because I talk to her!)
The Sagos that are going to be fine are all happily adding new growth. I did lose one, though, a very young one in an unirrigated bed. Too much stress, I guess. This one is happy as can be.
The Plumeria is about to burst forth with yellow, lemon-scented blooms any day now.
Several of my Coneflowers are in bloom, but some sneaky bug has been eating on this one.
The Autumn Joy Sedum must also be Spring Joy, because it, too, is about to bloom. Go for it!
Another immature Coneflower bloom. It’s so compact before it opens up.
Artemnis got a new hairdo last week. Since she looks out over the deer water bowl, I have to be careful what I plant in there. I think this Squid Agave will do well in dry conditions and the deer won’t be interested in it, either.

And this is the first of my Day Lilies to bloom in the Day Lily bed. This is the Spider Miracle Lily — from Olallie Daylily Gardens. Last year it bloomed first on April 18th. So we really are almost exactly a month behind with garden growth — at least that’s been my experience.

We’re getting a wonderful, soaking rain and summer storm tonight. Sat on the back patio with my folks who were over for dinner tonight and smelled the fresh air and let it mist on us a little. It was so refreshing. And we need the rain — looks like we might get it well into the night.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:28-06:00May 17th, 2010|Blog, ditch lily, eureka lemon tree, Lamb's Ears, larkspur, Sago, Sharing Nature's Garden, spider miracle lily|0 Comments

Enter, stage right…and left…

The towering palms — the ones that made you think you really had driven too far south of town and ended up in Corpus Christi — are gone.

They came down with barely a whimper on April 29, and left four big holes.

Today, three of those holes were filled.

At the back corners on either side of the pool, I planted two beautiful, graceful, arching Pindo Palms. I’ve been wanting one since the garden bloggers toured Peckerwood Gardens together in November of 2008.

In the open space in the back bed, I also planted a purple Datura (there is a white one there now also) and a Cardoon. Tomorrow, I’ll add several Silver Ponyfoot plants to (eventually) cascade down the wall and fill the base of the bed. (They’re pretty darn tiny right now, but they’ll grow!)

I think a giant burgundy Dracena may be joining them on the end soon. And I’m sure I will think of some more things that need to be in there as well.

See, doesn’t that pretty Pindo look so much better?

I also planted a Pineapple Guava tree on the other side of the pool, having fallen in love with them on our bloggers tour to San Antonio to the Botanic Gardens. I didn’t get a photo of it, but it comes before this palm in the photo below – right where I am standing. (I didn’t take a picture of it because it looks like a giant bush-ball, and I am going to prune it up into a tree once it’s gotten over the shock of the move.)

They didn’t photograph very well in the afternoon sun, but the look sooooo much better there than the other palms. Guess I can let out my breath now … everything went as planned and I’m happy with the result. Can’t ask for more than that!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:28-06:00May 11th, 2010|Blog, Cardoon, dature, pindo palm, pineapple guava, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

And then there were more!

Several more Professor Neil irises opened up for me today, eliciting squeals of delight.

(Good thing no one else was in the garden to hear me!)

I think I got better color on these. They are such a warm, plum-like, burgundy-color that I really can’t describe them.

Suffice it to say that they looks so rich and velvet-y that I can’t get enough of them.

That’s why I am gushing about them and why they are getting two posts in as many days.

Guess it’s no secret who my favorites are in the garden, is it? But then, we all have favorites, don’t we?

And disappointments.

Like this next iris.

This is supposed to be a vibrant tall bearded iris called “Ocelot.” If you look at this link to Dave’s Garden, you will see it has a rich buttery color, combined with a royal purple.

Sadly, that is NOT what bloomed in my garden today. I was so careful to choose the iris colors in this bed, and then I’m foiled again by Mother Nature. Sigh.

It’s pretty and delicate, but it’s just a little too subtle to be anywhere in the neighborhood of the engaging Professor Neil, don’t you think?

Maybe it’s our conditions – heat, drought, never-ending rain and then colder than you can imagine for Central Texas. Hmmm… Mother Nature again.

Maybe it’s my soil. Black clay. Hmmm…Mother Nature.

So, has Mother Nature foiled your garden color schemes, too? Who do we see about this?!

I want to know where to file my complaint!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:28-06:00May 3rd, 2010|Blog, irises, Ocelot iris, Professor Neil iris, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

Sweet Garden Surprise

I’ve been wondering if my irises were going to put on a show for me this year.

Last year, none of them bloomed.

At all.

I had planted several different varieties in an effort to create the beginnings of an iris bed.

My first irises were a mystery. It took me lots of searching and some blogging queries to determine that this is a Louisiana iris named Professor Neil.

I’m afraid I didn’t get the full range of color with my camera. It was a little too hot already and when I realized the photo was lacking, I went to shoot another, but today it’s gone already.

I am so excited to see that glorious dusty burgundy color with the wheaty-gold. They are so rich and unusual.

There is another bud in the iris bed. It’s a very different kind — I think it might be either a Lace or Ocelot iris that I ordered and planted in 2008.

It’s like Christmas in May!

A surprise around every corner — after last year’s iris-bloom drought, I’m enjoying every one of them.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:29-06:00May 1st, 2010|Blog, iris, Lace Iris, Ocelot iris, Professor Neil iris, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

Diana C. Kirby

About Diana C. Kirby

Hot blooms in the hot town tonigt…

Someone’s coming to dinner…

Making up for lost garden time!

Enter, stage right…and left…

And then there were more!

Sweet Garden Surprise

Escape in the garden