Sharing Nature's Garden Archives | Page 68 of 124

Vines of all kinds …

The cooler nights are starting to affect the vines, so I thought I’d get a few more pictures before they fade away for the season.

I need to go harvest those Coneflower seeds just to the right of this morning glory.
Can you tell I love blue and purple vines?
This mandavilla is so happy here. Too bad it won’t come back after winter.
These scraggly guys are behind the fence.
This Cypress Vine will have to be cut back with a machete when it dies for the winter!

This Tangerine Beauty Crossvine is so not supposed to be blooming now! It’s an early Spring bloomer. I think it’s blooming because it’s just so happy that the heat has finally abated and we’ve gotten a little rare rain.
This Purple Hyacinth Bean vine is loving the rain – it’s been a sindly stalk all summer and now it’s bursting with blooms and beans.

What’s your favorite vine?

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:42:39-05:00October 2nd, 2009|Blog, cross vine, hyacinth bean vine, mandavilla, Morning Glory, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

Oh my!

I did it.

But I didn’t do it right. So, I’ll be “under construction” here for a bit. If I can post this message, that will help, but my new background doesn’t include a dashboard for editing. And the old blog layout that I thought I saved the way blogger told me to — well, now they don’t like it any more.

sigh.

That’s what I get for wanting something different.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:38-06:00September 29th, 2009|Blog, Sharing Nature's Garden, Uncategorized|0 Comments

A Night to Remember

For the past 3 years, I’ve sadly only seen the rare blooms on my Night-Blooming Cereus after they were done and spent. I’d find them the morning after, hanging limp and lifeless, like a broken goose-neck. But last week, I was “surveying,” and found a bloom almost ready to open.

I watched it for two days, and voila – caught it wide open!

According to Wikipedia, Epiphyllum oxypetalum (Dutchman’s Pipe) is a species of cactus and one of the most cultivated species in the genus. It is also referred to as Night blooming Cereus.

I think they normally bloom once a year. So glad I caught it!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:39-06:00September 29th, 2009|Blog, epiphyllum oxypetalum, night blooming cereus, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

A taste of this and a taste of that which is to come …

This Golden picture of lusciousness is the first harvest of my zucchini and straight-neck squash.
I sauteed several small squashed in a pan with onions and olive oil, seasoned with sea salt, pepper, and a few twists from my dried porcini mushroom mill.
Then sprinkled a little parmesan cheese on the top to finish it. It was delicious.

There are several other things in the vegetable garden that aren’t quite ready yet, but promise goodness yet to come.
The recent rains have the lime tree bursting with blooms and itty-bitty limes.
The canteloupe given to me by Meredith, of Great Stems, is going like gangbusters and nestled down among the dozens of pretty yellow blooms, one happy little canteloupe.

And of all my tomato plants, this one is the furthest along. It’s a Via Italia, a roma tomato that I bought at the Natural Gardener, planted with the canteloupe, squash and celeriac on August 10th. There are a few other tiny tomatoes on the other plants, but they look like little buttons for now, so we’ll wait to profile them!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:39-06:00September 27th, 2009|Blog, canteloupe, fall tomatoes, lime, Sharing Nature's Garden, squash, tomatoes|0 Comments

A little devil at work in the garden…

…and it’s not even Halloween yet.

See those marginally nice-looking Agapanthus? Well, they were short-lived. As you can see below, they were mutilated, bit by bit.

And then devoured.

Leaving a trail that led staight to…
…her mouth! (And she looks so innocent here, doesn’t she?!)

She’s NOT!

I don’t know what it is, but Dakota loves to munch on the poisonous Lantana in the mornings (and puke) and she loves to dig up my bulbs. There must be something about them that she finds tasty or challenging. (Can’t decide if it’s better than Tanner. He eats you-know-what–ewww.)

Ah — as if deer, squirrels, pests and erratic weather weren’t enough!

Looking forward to the Austin Garden Bloggers get together tomorrow to swap plants, visit and meet our new local Ag Extension Agent, Daphne Richards.

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:42:39-05:00September 25th, 2009|Agapanthus, Blog, Dakota, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

Oh, Happy GBB Day!

It’s Bloom Day here in Central Texas, where the ground is still damp, the morning skies are a little gray and the gardeners are on Cloud 9.

Carol, of May Dreams Gardens, invites us to share our garden blooms on the 15th of every month.

Enjoy a little trip through some interesting things in my garden today.

This isn’t everything that’s blooming here today, just things that have burst back into life after our 7 inches of glorious rain last weekend.

It’s amazing what a good dose of real rain water will do for our gardens. And it was even down to 69 degrees last night.

Fall is just around the corner.
This is a Hyacinth Bean that was turning yellow and not flowering before the rains.
Sadly, the rains washed my BT off this Butterfly weed. Can you see the hundreds of baby caterpillars eating at the buffet there? Ewwww. They have almost destroyed the plants, so I think I will have to spray them again.
The Abutilon is very happy, and has managed to bloom all summer in spite of the drought.
I’m ever so proud of this beautiful clump of Oxblood lilies, passed along to me by MSS of Zanthan Gardens.
The Sweet Alyssum are bursting with blooms thanks to the cooler weather.
My favorite purple ‘Homestead’ Verbena.
Straight neck squash blossoms promise wonderful produce to come.
That pesky Cypress Vine is out of control again. I like it right now, but thank goodness for winter!
This is a canteloupe bloom. It’s taking over my whole garden — it’s bed, the pathways on either side of its bed and part of the other two beds! It better make me some fruit.
There’s another view of the squash with its blooms peeking out. And, there, see the canteloupe tendrils sneaking over in front of it?
Morning glories saluting the day again.
My Cosmos in the cutting garden are have gotten their second wind now.

The Esperanza are stunning — they were happy in the drought and now they are happy with the rain. Can’t complain about that, now can you?
The Hibiscus in pots have multiple blooms for the first time in months.
Autumn Joy Sedum is blooming its little head off.
Another little Oxblood lily.
One of the few Agapanthus that the darn hound dog didn’t dig up. What is it with her and bulbs at this time of year? Is there something going on here that I am missing?
These poor little Salvias have been stunted all summer long – and bloomless. Yeah for rain.
The Turks Cap is full of little red hats of happiness, and the Mangave ‘macho mocha,’ given to me by Pam, of Digging, is pretty happy here, too.
The flickering flame-like blooms of the candlestick tree, Cassia alata, are lighting up my garden.
And, of course, what would a lot of rain be without a pretty mushroom?
A few little Lobelias, planted with no success several years ago, have made a bit of an appearance now. I don’t think they will really make it where they are though — I might have to think about moving them.
The wedelia is so slow to grow here, but I did get several blooms out of this one this week.
And the Buddleia is finally blooming again. The other one is borderline dead, but it’s showing signs of a few green leaves this week. I hope it survives.