shade plants

My garden and design photo faves of 2019

It’s a new year and I’ve just passed the 6 month  milestone in a new garden.  I miss so many things about my previous garden – an acre and a half that I nurtured and loved for more than 16 years.  I’m also excited about having a new challenge.  A BIG new challenge!

So, I’m recapping some of my favorite 2019 photos of my gardens, both old and new.

This Japanese flowering quince always joined the daffodils and hellebores as the first harbingers of spring.  These are plants I will definitely incorporate into the new garden.  I’ve already planted several varieties of daffodil bulbs.

The row of Mountain Laurels lining the old driveway was heady with grape-y goodness when they were all in bloom.  Luckily, there is a Mountain Laurel in the new garden.

I dug up and brought several hellebores from my collection to the new house and they are thriving.  I lost one in the process (I might have been too busy to take good care of them in their pots for months before I began creating a bed for them).

These lyre leaf sage also came with me.  They provide lovely ground cover all year and put up these delicate blooms in the spring.

All of the Austin Garden Bloggers will recognize this as Lucinda’s iris – passalongs that I believe we all share.

Rest assured, Lori, the ditch lilies you brought me back from Wisconsin in a bucket traveled with me to the new house, too.  I’d never leave those behind!

Dianella and loropetalum were building blocks in the previous garden and the will be again when I start building some big beds.

I think I’ll find a home for another ebb tide rose, too.

The current yard (it’s not a garden!) is covered with ivy.  I hope to craft a happier habitat for beneficials and pollinators and birds.

I loved the hot, confetti pops of color in the front bed at the previous house.  This is the one I jokingly called the hideous bed.

Swedish ivy always perked up the shadier nooks and crannies in the garden.

I fell in love with crocosmia at many Garden Bloggers Flings and was happy to add some to my garden two years ago.

I always made room for cordyline in the garden and in ornamental pots.

Of course I brought all of my pots with me.  I think we moved 75 of them – yikes!  Having them all here made us feel right out home on the big back deck and outdoor living areas.

This eyesore area at the new house needed an overhaul.  We had to regrade, take out trees, build a French drain and dig out a dozen trashy shrub volunteers.  As a small project, it was my first garden creation.

I started by giving some curves and shape to this part of the French drain to define a new bed area in this square space.  Then I painted the dilapidated concrete.  This area is the view out of the dining room French doors that open onto a courtyard.  I designed these steel panels and had them custom built  to surround the AC units at the previous house, but don’t need them here.  They were perfect for adding interest to this odd space.

Plants and a bird bath were the crowning touches!  The wrought iron table and chairs in the courtyard offer a lovely spot for morning coffee.

Lots of fun projects are on tap for 2020.  I hope you’ll come see how things are progressing.

Happy New Year and Happy Gardening!

Tour of Austin Garden Bloggers Fling’s beautiful gardens

I’m not sure I could pick a garden favorite at last May’s Austin Garden Bloggers Fling.  The itinerary included a taste of unique ecclectic, xeric, formal, contemporary, and cottage style gardens — a smorgasbord of landscaping styles to delight the senses.

My favorite shot, this picturesque view of the Austin skyline served as the backdrop of a bed running along the back of the Burrus garden.

This rustic stone water trough at the front of the house is surrounded by lush shade plantings.

 

 

 

A quaint cottage-style garden house was built using rock from the property, incorporating vintage windows, and serving as home to beautiful climbing roses.

This sweet dog quietly sat guard throughout our tour.

Flanked by a long driveway peppered with structural agaves and native trees, visitors get a glimpse into the xeric garden that awaits them above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Jamison garden, with its cottage ambiance, provided a winding path along the sides and the back of the garden. Filled with ephemera, water features, seating areas, and secret spaces, it’s charm was enchanting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After running out of room in her own garden, Burrus began beautifying the land that divides her street that runs by an elementary school.  With no means of irrigation, she filled it with xeric plants and provided seating areas for neighbors and school children to enjoy.

When we arrived at this garden, the torrential rain that drenched everyone at the Wildflower Center and at my garden had abated and slowed to a light sprinkling. Special thanks to Laura Wills , Austin Fling co-planner, for the insight to order colorful ponchos for this rainy day.

The weather didn’t slow the tour as bloggers walked toward  the contemporary xeric garden filled with sculptural yuccas and agaves and Cor-ten steel elements.

Stay tuned for more Austin Garden Bloggers Fling garden tour highlights.

 

Best little plant in the house and in the garden…

Don’t you love the delicately textured, scalloped leaves of this variegated Swedish ivy? No surprise considering the oddities of botanical nomenclature, but it’s not an ivy and it’s not from Sweden, either.  The botanical name is Plectranthus verticillatus, and it’s in the same   And the scent is a heavenly citrus.

I’m always looking for beautiful variegated plants to add just one more pop of interest into my landscape beds.  Swedish ivy is a tried and true favorite, along with Cuban oregano.

They’re slow and low growers in my garden, zone 8b, so I sprinkle them along bed borders for interest.  They like a good bit of shade, and they have moderate water needs.

I planted some late last summer, then realized as we were facing the first cold snap that I didn’t want to lose them to the cold weather.

So, I bought two plastic dish pans from the a dollar store and drilled holes in the bottom. 

Well, to be honest, I didn’t actually drill the holes, Jeff did. Thank you, honey. You could also just poke the holes with a screwdriver or some other sharp object.

That’s actually what I was in the process of doing when Jeff saw me and said, very politely, “uhmmmm, why don’t you let me do that?”  Ok, ok.  So it wasn’t the most sophisticated approach, but I was getting the job done – really!  (I could write a book on all of my “necessity is the mother of invention” approaches to problems.)

Then I used coffee filters to prevent soil from spilling out right away.  Ultimately they would be draining into the floor of pea gravel from a shelf in the greenhouse. Once they started to re-root, it wasn’t an issue any more.

I dug up the plants from the garden when the temperature dipped below 50 at night, getting as many roots as possible.

Then I placed 2 clumps in each plastic container, allowing a little room for some winter growth.

To make it a little easier to separate them the next spring, I placed a paper towel tube between them.  It didn’t separate them 100%, but it did help to contain them.  It also made it a little bit easier to pull them apart without destroying the rootball or losing too much of the soil. They also produce small, white flowers which you can see on the photo below.

They lived in the greenhouse through the winter where they thrived.  What?  No greenhouse you say?  No problem.  Around the world they are a popular houseplant, native to Australia and the Pacific islands.  They look great trailing out of a hanging basket.  So, plant them up in a pretty pot.  They like bright indoor light, so find a special spot for them near a window.

If digging and replanting with the seasons isn’t your jam, just take a few cuttings and you can propagate them in a water glass like you did in high school.

I’ve watched them grow full and lush since spring, and will be pulling them up and overwintering them in the greenhouse again.  I’ll probably bring a few into the house this year, too.

Now, don’t you want to grow this in your garden or in your house?

Great garden color combos to perk up the fall garden…

A big package from Plant Delights made me squeal with delight yesterday.  Because I already had two flats of small plants for containers and the garden waiting impatiently in the garage, I vowed to spend the time to get these right into the ground.  

As I considered where to put them — they are additions to collections I’ve already started — I thought I would just mix them in with the existing varieties.  The order included 3 heucherella ‘Solar Eclipse,’ and 2 hellebores — ‘Berry Swirl’ and ‘Golden Lotus’ — and 1 sprekelia (red – so going elsewhere).  And, sitting in my garage for two weeks – 2 ‘Tutti Frutti’ shrimp plants.  

Hmmmm. chartreuse and burgundy and cranberry and yellow — that looks like a fabulous combination.  So, I looked for a spot to place them all together and found a corner with 1 existing ‘Tutti Frutti’ and plenty of room.
Oh, and see my new shovel?  It’s the first time I’ve used it — it has a nice flat bar to step on and provide more power and stability and has a nice handle that makes it easier to press down on it and put some oomph into it.  Especially great for me, with tendonitis in my arms and an occasionally cranky back.
It was much easier to use and it’s a little smaller than a standard shovel – just my size. I found it at Red Barn Garden Center up north when I was up shopping for a client the other day.
It was getting dark when I finished, so this isn’t the best photo of it all done.
Now, Central Texas is flooding, the rain is about to come into my garage and I expect my plants to swim by at any moment.  So much for getting them in before a nice rain!

Winter garden blooms – the hellebores are back with a flair…

Balancing precariously on the see-saw of spring weather in Central Texas (yesterday it was 77, today’s high will be 57), this season’s garden bloomers have to be tough.

Did someone say ‘hellbore?’  These prized beauties are the perfect antidote to the cold and windy weather blues. 

 This blazing beauty is called ‘stained glass.’

I found only one plant blooming last week.  Today there are 3 in bloom and 3 more have new buds, eager to open.

 This one is ‘winter’s wren.’ 

Aren’t they wonderful?  Also known as Lenten Roses (though they are not related to roses), hellebores are frost-resistant and most are evergreen.  In my garden, they sometimes disappear in the heat of summer, but always come back reliably when the real chill of fall arrives.  They are known for their drought and neglect tolerance and their exceptionally long bloom period from late winter through spring.

I misidentified this as ‘winter’s wren’ last week.  I just went through my plant notebook and now know that this one is ‘green gambler.’  (And then I just spent 30 minutes looking through the notebook and adding plants that I planted last year but didn’t record…rabbit hole!)

These are in a mostly shaded spot and I give them a periodic extra hand-watering with the hose.  A few houses down, my neighbor’s are beautiful and she does no supplemental watering.  They are fine in dry shade but they do like decent drainage.

It’s sometimes hard to see their downward-facing blooms, but they make me feel like a kid again in the garden.  I find myself rushing out to check the plants for new buds and blooms, happily rewarded when I find a shy new flower hiding under the canopy of leaves.

If you’ve got an empty spot or two in your dry shade garden, try a few of these.  Different varieties have different zones, so check closely, but they range from zones 4-9.  Hellebores, a must-have for your winter/spring garden!

Hot art and design spice up Portland De Sousa Fling garden

Full to the brim with ideas and a mile-long wish list of plants that I know I can’t grow here, I’m reacclimating to Austin and my own garden after 6 glorious days in Portland, OR.

My seventh Garden Bloggers Fling beckoned last weekend – with an agenda full of great friends, gardens, nurseries, and gift shops. 

The whirlwind started early and ended late and wowed me all day long every day.  Because there were so many gardens in every imaginable style – I just closed my eyes today and blindly picked one to begin my posting.

The JJ De Sousa garden was one of my favorites.  Hot colors created a riot of interest in the garden – plants and art and seating everywhere shouting “look at me, look at me.”  The rich and sophisticated hues of tropical colors were designed to brighten the shady spots of this garden and to celebrate the hot, sunny spaces.

 This whimsical gate welcomes visitors.

 The colors of the tropics permeate everything in the garden, plants, pottery and decor.

 The plants looked happy and healthy everywhere I turned.  Ah, the benefits of some rain in the garden.

 Pots and gazing balls coordinate and contrast.

 The side garden ends with a fabulous wooden gate — which leads to another pocket of paradise.

 Come on in, the party’s in here!

 More whimsical art sets the mood for this garden.

 Every little nook and cranny was filled with some sweet something designed to delight the senses.

 This precious little statue is squirreling away succulents instead of seeds.

 This regal Egyptian dog statue comes down to earth with clematis and nasturtiums trailing all around.

 These tall, elegant vases, capped with aeonium, added a little note of sophistication.

 One of many seating areas that welcomed visitors to sit a spell.

Color joined texture in this garden — smooth ceramic pots, gritty gray concrete and the sleek look of the corrugated tin made a cool combo.

 Ahhh – I could sit here for hours!

 And, a little humor.  Chicken nesting boxes now home to hens and chicks … ha ha.

And just past the shrimp plant in this bed, a colorful stock tank water feature with a metal shrimp  sculpture and glass globes.  Look up whimsy in the dictionary — this is the photo you’ll find.

The same burst of colors that enriched the shady front garden, with a drier, sunnier twist.

 More whimsy around the corner.

 This Buddha statue, hidden among the trees, looked just like a giant gummi bear.

 There were little vignettes like this everywhere.

More color, radiating everywhere.

And back through the gate again.

This was one of many Portland gardens on the tour to feature trendy tropical-style colors and decor.  But beyond the design, this hot garden would brighten any cloudy day.  It certainly brightened mine.

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