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Support your Independent Nursery Day

The gardening business isn’t an easy one. Local nurseries regularly face problems with weather, pests, disease and supply. This year, not only have they been faced with a rough economy, the current drought has taken an even greater toll on our local independent nurseries.

In spite of those challenges, we are fortunate to have many successful and thriving local nurseries that carry fresh, healthy plants, beautiful decor, excellent gardening products and — as important as all the tangible things — great advice. We are fortunate to have many great places for all things ‘plant’, so our fellow Austin blogger, Pam, of Digging has invited local bloggers to recognize October as “Support your Independent Nursery Month.”

This inspired idea has all of us singing the praises of our favorite haunts. I’m probably the closest blogger to the Natural Gardener – a local icon and a full family adventure located at 8648 Old Bee Cave Road, just past the “Y” in Oak Hill. Let’s just say I’m there a lot.

I always find something I want at the Natural Gardener. Their supply of native and adapted plants seems limitless and the stock always looks great. They carry only environmentally friendly organic products and excellent tools. The staff’s sense of design is insightful and selections of plants are always tucked in with shiny new pottery and garden art.

The Herb Garden, designed by garden author Lucinda Hutson, is one of my favorite destinations in the nursery, which is surrounded by large and creative demonstration gardens. They also have a butterfly garden, a stream garden, a tipi, a vegetable garden, a vineyard and orchard, a xeric garden and a compost tea brew house.
The Natural Gardener staff is always knowledgeable and friendly, recently helping me with an interview for one of my articles for the Austin American Statesman. They regularly host classes about every possible gardening subject. And the owner, John Dromgoole, one of the founders of the organic gardening movement, has long been a local superstar, appearing weekly on Central Texas Gardener on KLRU and on Saturday and Sunday morning radio shows on KLBJ (which I never miss – I get it live on my iPhone now and carry it with me in my pocket out in the garden).

But my very favorite way to enjoy the Natural Gardener is with my 8-year old daughter. We marvel over the butterfly garden, we bray back at the two resident donkeys, we cluck at the chickens and peer at the goats. Filling my cart with the nature’s beautiful specimens is wonderful. And the resident cats always say thank you from the counter as we check out. But ambling through nursery at a leisurely pace, enjoying this native Texas paradise of plants and animals (and insects), is one of my favorite ways to spend a day.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:20-06:00October 12th, 2011|Blog, Natural GArdener, Sharing Nature's Garden, Support your Independent Nursery Day|0 Comments

Drought tolerant plants for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

I had pictures on Bloom Day (on the 15th!) and I had most of the post done, but then … life happened. So, whether it’s the 15th or the 23rd, I still want to write about my garden and share it with you. Besides, things are still the same – no water, that’s for sure. But this morning it was a blissful 66, so hope is on the way.

We’ve had more than 86 days over 100 degrees here in Central Texas this summer. And we hit an all-time high of 112.

Our gardens are crispy and our arms are tired from dragging around hoses to hand water while we’re under water restrictions.

Only allowed to use irrigation systems for 1 day a week, before 10 am and after 7 pm, gardening has been more of a challenge than usual.

I’ve spent a lot of my time hand watering all summer long, so I have more blooms than some gardeners. I feel lucky to have had the time to devote to it.

But we do still have blooms and we’re learning more than we ever wanted to know about the true meaning of drought tolerant and xeric.

These Blackfoot Daisies are tough as nails and seem quite content in the heat.

Crape Myrtles are doing ok when they get a little water. Those with American Indian names are the most adapted to our climate.
This Katy Road/Carefree Beauty rose doesn’t seem the least bit concerned about the heat – and she’s providing some shade for the small cutting garden flowers around her.
Lord Baltimore hibiscus really came into his own this year with a profusion of blooms.
Mexican Oregano is thriving in this heat. In fact, I spent an hour cutting this one back as it completely outgrew its space and tried to take over the Sago and the nearby lavendar trailing Lantana.
Can’t kill this Datura either. Tough as nails and out of control.
Another Mexican native, Esperanza (also known as Yellow Bells) is a strong bloomer all summer long. It is outshining the variegated shell ginger interplanted with it.
Well, these Homestead Verbenas are happy, but I have also lost many of them this summer. I planted some in 3 different places at 3 different times since the spring and 6 of them bit the dust. These are well-established and have been in the crushed granite path for at least 3 years. Guess that made all the difference.
Some of the Lantana looked drought tolerant this year and some doesn’t. A few of them never really recovered from last winter’s 19 degrees. They grew some foliage but then just stopped. No more growth and no blooms all summer. Not a one. This “Bandana Cherry Sunrise” is full of blooms.
My photography skills were challenged on this photo — this is Pitcher Sage — a native plant that I got two years ago at the annual Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center sale. It is a stunning shade of blue and blooming its head off! In the same bed as the Lantana shown above and the Liatris below, also from the Wildflower Center sale. They share the bed with two salvia greggii. All of these plants are natives, they are in a space where they get less water than most of my other beds, and look great. There’s a lesson there — hope I’m paying attention!

Hope you have lots of blooms in your garden on this Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, hosted each month by Carol of May Dreams Gardens. Happy Bloom Day!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:20-06:00September 15th, 2011|blackfoot daisies, Blog, carefree beauty rose, Crape Myrtle, datura, esperanza, hibiscus, Katy Road rose, Lantana, liatris, Lord Baltimore Hibiscus, Mexican Oregano, pitcher sage, Sharing Nature's Garden, verbena|0 Comments

Wildfires torching Texas

For several days, Central Texas has been ablaze with 63 wildfires. More than 100,000 acres have burned and almost 500 families have lost their homes. A mother and her young baby lost their lives in one of the fires. Many more have been evacuated and are facing the heart-wrenching ordeal of not knowing what’s happening to their homes. Brave efforts have also been undertaken to protect pets and livestock.

Texas has put out a call for any firefighters from outside of Central Texas – current or retired– to help battle these blazes. FEMA will be here tomorrow to help in any way they can.

The Central Texas Red Cross has set up a fund to help these devastated families bridge this time in shelters and help them as they pick up the pieces.

If you’d like to help, you can donate to the Red Cross. (Blogger doesn’t seem to want to create this link, so please copy and paste in your browser if the link doesn’t work.)

http://bit.ly/pMgHDE

We’re all watching and anxiously waiting for the winds to slow down and quit fueling these wildfires. We are 15 minutes away from one of the fires and safe, but clearly smell the smoke outside.

Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who are affected by this devastation. Please help if you can.

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:40:04-05:00September 6th, 2011|Blog, fires, Sharing Nature's Garden, smoke, wildfire|0 Comments

Landscape drought damage requires long lens on camera…

With the worst drought in Texas history and 80 days with temperatures over 100, plants and people and pets are struggling this summer.

It’s 10 degrees cooler here today — 92 instead of 102 — and we have gusting wind cooling things down as well. Sadly, there are a half dozen wildfires in the Central Teas area around us. We’re safe for now, but 500+ people have lost their homes — burned down to the ground, 2 people have died, and today’s winds are spreading the fires ever further. 25,000 acres have burned. This is the back side of Katia. Instead of the rain we so desperately need that is flooding thousands of other people, we got wildfires. We’re praying for everyone in the path of these terrible fires.

While we are safe from the fires, we are at the mercy of the drought. But with a LOT of hand watering to supplement because we are under water restrictions, the garden looks o.k. overall. The secret? The long shot!

My mother-in-law was visiting two weeks ago and wanted some photos of our house and the gardens. I took lots of long shots, and realized as I looked at them that I rarely post photos like that. And it’s one of my great disappointments when reading other garden blogs — I really want to check out the big picture.

So here are photos of everything in the garden — showing of the bright and colorful and much too far away to see the dead and dying plants.

Come take a stroll around the garden with me…

These plants in the front bed are highly xeric and doing pretty well considering they were planted this spring and have endured this drought while trying to get established. There are dying narrow leafed Zinnias and Euryops and adwarf yaupon holly, but you can’t see them from here.

Yellow Esperanza (Yellow Bells) on the right are native to Mexico and very hardy. They are used to the heat.

The veggie garden needs protection from bunnies and our dogs, hence the fence INSIDE the other fence that keeps the deer out!

This is along the path in our woods that leads to the fenced back yard. This is where we feed birds and water the deer, squirrels, foxes, bunnies and mice! With this drought, we have 3 birdbaths and countless little bowls scattered around to provide constant drinking water for anything that needs it. With less blooms, hummingbirds really need our feeders this year, too.

The play scape, the cutting garden, the greenhouse and the xeric rock path.

The back corner of the yard got a few new plants this summer along with an old, worn out bistro table and chairs and a stunning Filamentosa yucca for a focal point. Even rusty metal furniture looks good from far enough away!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:20-06:00September 5th, 2011|Blog, cutting garden, drought, drought damage, esperanza, front bed, greenhouse, landscape project, long lens, new bed, pathway, Sharing Nature's Garden, water restrictions, xeric, xeric plants|0 Comments

Garden decor and displays at Dragonfly Farms close the 2011 Seattle Fling

The last stop on the Seattle Fling was as fabulous as each of the previous outings. The entire trip just kept getting better and better. We got to tour the beautiful display gardens of Dragonfly Farms and nursery and look through their amazing plants. Heidi Kaster of Dragonfly Farms & Nursery was our garden hostess with the mostest.

Some bloggers were able to take plants home with them because they’d driven. And some bloggers who’d flown to Seattle packed their suitcases full of dirt and botanical booty and crossed their fingers that the plants would survive. I was lucky; Jenny of Rock Rose and her husband were camping and my plants were treated to a scenic drive across the countryside in their airstream camper before making their way here with Jenny yesterday!

The display gardens meandered all around the large nursery and house, delighting us with secret pathways and unique garden art at every turn.

Panning the nursery tables, so many colorful plants invited us in to browse.

There were many beauties I would have loved to take home with me like these Dahlias.

The intricate pattern on this pottery caught my eye. Isn’t it cool?

Plants and pots and trees… oh my!

There were many fabulous specimens through out the display gardens, like this poppy.

Intent on finding the next brilliant photo, bloggers Jenny of Rock Rose and Pam of Digging troll the eye candy.

So many majestic plants provided vertical interest in the garden.

I wish I knew the name of this luscious little blossom and its berry neighbor.

The Clematis in the PNW were all blooming their little heads of while we were there, thanks to a cool, wet spring. I was glad to see them before I had to return home to my brown, crispy ones.

What a selection of succulents! Now THIS table was really hard to pass up.

This quaint shed with its assortment of garden decor was inspiring. Now, garden “stuff” I could put in my suitcase!

The earlier rains of the day left the gardens dewy with droplets of rain.

This huge vase, tucked into a nook in the garden, makes for a fabulous focal point for visitors coming down the path.

Even exotic animals graced the display gardens.

The house hidden behind the display gardens is as whimsical and entertaining as the rest of the nursery.

After shopping and touring, we were all treated to the wonderful Punch Drunk in Love with the PNW happy hour. Our hosts, Proven Winners, put out a spread of food, blackberry punch cocktails and gave away their new Blackberry Punch Calibrachoa, which has been voted one of Sunset Magazine’s “25 Hot Plants to Grow Now.”

It was great to see the sun come out after our rainy morning at the Bloedel Reserve, and to relax with our hosts and blogging friends one last time before venturing back on the ferry and back to reality on Tuesday.

By Diana C. Kirby|2019-07-15T19:14:20-05:00August 28th, 2011|Blog, dahlias, display gardens, Dragonfly Farms, garden bloggers, garden bloggers fling, nursery, Seattle, Seattle fling, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

A garden surprise around every corner…

One of my favorite Seattle private garden tours was that of Denise Lane’s garden. We all enjoyed a break and a nice lunch in her wonderful outdoor entertaining area.
We spent quite some time in this amazing garden and were able to stop and visit and admire in many cozy seating areas throughout the garden. Here, Layanee of Ledge and Gardens and Cindy of My Corner of Katy spend a quite moment talking plants.

Denise Lane shared her garden’s history with us with a photo album chronicling each step of the process.
The flowing garden curves were all filled with beautiful border plants.
The garden’s secret series of paths led us to many different sculptures and works of art. I know you see the metal heron, but did you notice the lime and brown cat tails in the background? I almost missed them myself.
My favorite scene in the garden was this water feature flanked by Doric columns and covered with vines and plants from every angle. It was so packed with texture and color and sounds and scent…it was very hard to capture it all in a photo.
Austin blogger and my travel mate Jenny, of Rock Rose, was as taken with this garden display as I was. I managed to pull her away from her photography for just a moment.
Another lovely place for bloggers to rest and contemplate the garden.
I love this little birdhouse with the green roof. Makes sense – birds are far greener than we are!
This Greek column just popped up out of nowhere in the garden.
Several beautiful pieces of pottery adorn the garden, or maybe the garden adorns several pieces of pottery.
It was hard to choose among all my photos because so many of their subjects are so interesting like the pairing of these succulents.