salvia madrensis

A little garden trip down the road…

Last week I went on a jaunt to visit some of our blogging friends in San Antonio. They’ve come to Austin periodically, so it was time to venture south to see them. Our first stop was Melody’s beautiful and spacious garden. After a treat of delicious mini muffins and ginger cookies baked by her lovely daughter, we stepped into her sanctuary. The first view is a wonderful pool, surrounded by pots and plants that gave it a rustic, more natural look.

To deal with foraging deer, this fence guards Melody’s vegetables, herbs and some perennial favorites.

Garden art like this gazing ball catches your eye as you meander through the perennial garden.

Depending on which way you walk, this beautiful arbor marks the beginning or the end of a delightful path.

A shroud of vibrant green vines clothe the wooden structure.

This long view emphasizes the beautiful, though tough-to-photograph day with its bright light and deep shadows.

And then there were the gorgeous plants, like this salvia madrensis, one of my faves.

And then there were the gorgeous plants, like this salvia madrensis, one of my faves.  Clever uses of ordinary things added such a nice touch, like this cracked cement birdbath repurposed as a planter with a small figurine in the center.

Carrying on with the wooden theme, this vignette beckons deep in the path and offers a place to sit and ponder the garden.

Pots like this one, overflowing with bougainvillea, are scattered throughout the garden landscape.

Another striking salvia, Wendy’s wish stands out among lower layers of perennials.

From the distance, the arbor is quaint, but standing underneath, it’s quite grand.

I almost passed this dragonfly by as he was well camouflaged by backdrop of the fence and the surrounding plants.

Another long view across the landscape.

Across the yard, this rustic trellis serves as a home to a vine and a birdhouse.

Coral vine adorns this rustic limestone wall to the tool shed…though it’s really more like a tool house.

Inside the safety of the high fence, a collection of tasty hibiscus grow with impunity.

Sunlight streams in to light up this seating area.

More friendly and welcoming plants in the garden.

My tools don’t look like this!

While not a blogger, we tried to convince Melody to blog so we can keep up with her garden, but we didn’t succeed – yet!   Pam Pennick, of Digging, and our hostess, Melody, as we’re saying our goodbyes.

Thanks to Melody for graciously opening her home and garden to us for a wonderful morning.

Propagation planning for winter greenhouse plants…

My garden is making me very happy right now.  It looks great.  I don’t say that much, being my own worst critic, but I feel good about what I’ve accomplished since the spring. Even in this tough summer, I worked hard on it.

But, I realize it won’t be long before the blooms stop and plants go dormant as we usher in a short winter’s nap.

Many of the plants in my garden this year are not perennials.  Unless we have a very mild winter, I’m likely to lose some of my new favorites in the garden.

Like the variegated begonia in the right of the picture above.  It was fussy and had to be watered every day, but so did all my pots just about 10 feet away, so I babied it.  It was so pretty with its cranberry colored stems and juicy cream and lime colored leaves.  I want more of these next year.
This Persian shield is also one of my new faves this year.  I finally got a few close enough to the house and big enough that the deer aren’t eating them to the ground.  Love that vivid color.

This salvia madrensis below isn’t in my garden, but my friend and fellow garden blogger, Renee of Renee’s New Blog, gave me three cuttings of hers and I know I’m going to want more, so I will root some more over the winter. They are really hard to find in nurseries.

The variegated plant in the photo below is Cuban oregano – a strong smelling herbaceous perennial that is cold tender.  I lost my first one last winter, but promptly went out and bought several more.  And I stuck at least 6 little stems into the ground and they immediately started growing.  So, I will prune some off before the first freeze and have my own collection growing over the winter.

Don’t you think all of these plants would love getting to spend the winter in my greenhouse getting lots of TLC?  I do!

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