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Why I garden…

I was trying to think of a nice gift for the office staff where I volunteer weekly at Kallie’s school. Knowing they get more Starbucks cards and candles than they can shake a stick at, I turned to my garden.

Isn’t that why I planted a cutting garden? To bring some of the beautiful, nature of the garden inside.

So I picked as many flowers as I had time to find and made these three jelly jars to give them. I filled them with roses, daisies, larkspur, lantana, Mexican oregano, wine cup, marigolds, and cosmos.

Not being the gardening type, they were amazed that all these different flowers had come from my garden and were so appreciative of the gesture.

That really is why I garden — so I can share some of the beauty and tastiness with my friends and family. And that’s why I decided to call my blog “Sharing Nature’s Garden.”

And now, I’m sharing it with you!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:28-06:00June 4th, 2010|Blog, cutting garden, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

Wildflower Wednesday — Way out of control

Welcome to Wildflower Wednesday, when we join Gail of Clay and Limestone to share our photos and stories of native wildflowers. My favorite today is in my own garden.

Golden Coreopsis has grown out of control in my garden. They were 1 foot tall when I put in the original plants 2 years ago. Last year I didn’t have any at all – some garden helpers pulled them out in early spring thinking they were weeds. But this year they are back with a vengeance – a towering 4 feet tall, growing over all my other perennials and shrubs. So I am enjoying the show they’re putting on, and then I plant to pull them and let them reseed in a more appropriate place where they can grow to their heart’s content!

Golden Coreopsis, Coreopsis tinctoria
This amazing wildflower gets 1-4 feet tall. The yellow and reddish/brown leaves are bright and bold, made even more so by the giant stems on which they rest.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:28-06:00May 26th, 2010|Blog, coreopsis, golden coreopsis, Sharing Nature's Garden, Wildflowers|0 Comments

My sweet Magnolia

What a beauty.

I know we aren’t “supposed” to grow Magnolias (Magnolia grandiflora) here in hot, dry, alkaline central Texas, but many will tell you that the dwarf variety, “Little Gem” is acceptable.

If you love the look of the old south and all the romance evoked by these glorious trees and the lush gardens in which they are usually found, you will find Little Gem much more than acceptable.
Our recent rains have prompted a flush of blooms all over our Little Gem, and the scent is just heavenly. I walk out to the middle of the yard and stand there just to take in the aroma.
It stresses a little in the drought, but then many trees do, even our natives sometime show their displeasure with our unrelenting summers.
In anticipation of another La Nina summer, I think I will fertilize or compost mine now to give it a little extra boost going into the heat. After all the enjoyment it has given us, I think it deserves a little extra TLC.

Majestic flower! How purely beautiful
Thou art, as rising from thy bower of green,
Those dark and glossy leaves so thick and full,
Thou standest like a high-born forest queen
Among thy maidens clustering round so fair,–
I love to watch thy sculptured form unfolding,
And look into thy depths, to image there
A fairy cavern, and while thus beholding,
And while thy breeze floats o’er thee, matchless flower,
I breathe the perfume, delicate and strong,
That comes like incense from thy petal-bower;
My fancy roams those southern woods along,
Beneath that glorious tree, where deep among
The unsunned leaves thy large while flowercups hung!
– Christopher Pearce Cranch,
Poem to the Magnolia Grandiflora

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:28-06:00May 23rd, 2010|Blog, Sharing Nature's Garden, Uncategorized|0 Comments

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

Blog

Why I garden…

Wildflower Wednesday — Way out of control

My sweet Magnolia

Hot blooms in the hot town tonigt…

Someone’s coming to dinner…

Making up for lost garden time!

Escape in the garden