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The latest in garden decor?

What do you think? Modern art? Sculpture de plastique? An obstacle course?

No, it’s my latest attempt to protect my plants.

Yes, that’s right. Little Miss Emmy (as I’ve named our resident yearling deer) has been munching on all my newly-planted plants. Remember the Cuphea I planted on Sunday? She ate about 1/3 of one Cuphea the first night. Then she nibbled on another one. And by the time I bought these milk crates and got them out there this afternoon, she’d sheared them all way down to the base. And she ate all the bloom buds off of the 3 mums, too. She did leave the Mexican Oregano alone, though.

Sigh.

I’m hoping that the only reason she ate the Cuphea was because it was young and tender and newly planted, and that she’ll leave them alone when they grow a little bit. After all, I thought the mums would be safe because I have two of them that have lived in the same spot in pots for a YEAR untouched. They are big ones, so, I’m crossing my fingers and hoping they grow big and woody and taste terrible!

See how little she left me?

While I was planting all the plants for the deer to eat for dinner on Sunday, I also dug up several volunteers and potted them. The first two, L to R, are probably not going to make it, but the last 3 are Crape Myrtles and should be a beautiful fuchsia color if they came from the seeds of the nearest tree. (Though I do have a row of white ones far away — just my luck — these will be white when I want them to be fuchsia!)

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:45:08-05:00September 23rd, 2008|Blog, cuphea, deer, milk crates, mums, Sharing Nature's Garden|14 Comments

Sunday, Sunday…

Well, after shopping at a new local nursery, buying plants and planting them (3 little Mums, 3 Texas Betony, 3 Mexican Oregano, and 1 Zexmenia), I finally gave in and started weeding.

It is such a chore in most of the beds, but the rock and crushed granite path is just the worst. (Did that sound like whining?!) I wet it down and settled in on my little plastic stool (see left) and filled an entire plastic tub (my favorite gardening item) of weeds and grass that have invaded my pathway.

It was a nice day, maybe 90, but overcast for part of the afternoon and a little breezy, so it was most pleasant to be out there.

My back was talking to me this morning, but I ventured back out there for 2 more hours until the heat and hunger got to me. One or two more sessions and I should make it to the end. (Then I can start all over again, right?!!)

My DH washed the dogs and they enjoyed drying off in the sunshine. Dakota dried quickly, but Tanner takes a while and kind of looks like Cujo when he’s wet!

And then just an hour later, I discovered that Tanner had ditched his collar somewhere in the yard. And I learned a very valuable lesson after searching twice through the whole yard — peering in the bushes and all: Don’t buy a GREEN dog collar!

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:45:08-05:00September 22nd, 2008|Blog, dogs, Sharing Nature's Garden, weeds|12 Comments

Seeds and berries….

Sometimes I have lots of blog fodder. Weeds, pests, diseases and drought give me lots to whine about!

But, seriously, I got today’s idea when I was reading Mr. McGregor’s Daughter’s blog a few days ago. Her post was filled with beautiful berries, a sign of Fall in the Midwest.

She suggested we all post about our berries, so, voila, here is a peek at my measly berries.

These are the berries on our lantana, after it’s done blooming for the long summer season.

There are berries galore on this Yaupon Holly Tree. If we get a little cooler weather, they will soon turn a beautiful red to entice the birds.

These are berries on my White Duranta tree.

And that’s one lone berry on my Purple Duranta. This plant is still too full of blooms to be putting out seeds yet, but in a few weeks it will be covered in these cute little golden balls.

Thanks, Mr.McGregor’s Daughter, for a nice post idea!

By Diana C. Kirby|2019-07-15T19:14:17-05:00September 20th, 2008|Blog, seeds, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

Long shots … and the list!

Ok. This is IT. Time to make the Fall “TO DO” list for the garden. Lots of things to do — and this year I am going to try to move more plants to better spots. I know some of you do this all the time (Pam!) with success, so I’ve been inspired by your work and am going to try it. I have some holes to make and some holes to fill and a new bed to carve out.

(And then there is the WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDing…the ENDLESS weeeeeeding!)

So I’ve taken some long shots of the garden areas so you get some perspective, and I’m gonna make my list right here before God and my fellow garden bloggers!

Here goes:

This is the bed by the front mailbox. I planned it and my son planted it for me sumemr before last . However, it’s gotten very overgrown because I was overzealous in my planning (I didn’t really make an official scaled landscape plan…that would have made too much sense!). So, some of the center plants – namely the Gold Lantana, are going to come out when they go dormant so there is more space in there. A few more plants – a salvia or a guara – may need to go as well.

This is the bed I dug up and planted last Fall. The right side is just peachy. The left side, $%*#^*s!

These little plants never took off and the deer munch on them and I think they are just too small in scale anyway. They were variegated expensive little specialty mega-nursery specimens from the BOX and I’ve learned my lesson! Maybe I will move them to the back when I pull out the giant viburnum. So, now I am thinking about some small evergreen shrubs here in the back for foundation plantings and some perennials in the front. Mexican oregano is topping my list right now for the front area. I did put the Cuphea there yesterday and somebody nibbled on one.
(Put chicken wire on shopping list!)

This end of the driveway bed struggles. It gets sun, but not enough to make the Lantana planted there happy. So, I need a sun-part-shade solution here. And deer proof. I’m thinking…I’m thinking…

I need a new crop of shade plants for the left side here and a few fillers on the right. Dappled light here and this is the deer path, so no hostas or toad lilies or such. The ferns are happy there, though, so I might just go looking for some other varieties to make it a fully ferned bed.
Now to the back yard. Here’s Dakota, helping us with our tour! This is the back left corner, where I let a landscaper talk me into some viburnum because I’d run out of ideas after planning most of the back yard. (Serves me right!) I HATE them. They are like big meatballs and they are boring. BUT, the dogs run a path into that corner to check out the deer beyond the fence, so I have to incorporate that into my planning. Smaller shrubs – maybe loropetalum for some nice color, and a river rock path into the corner so that it looks planned instead of just dog-bare! And some more perennials in a row on the front for summer color. I should look for thing the deer DO eat, since this bed is safe and there are so many things I can’t plant out front!
Here’s the close-up view — see the dog path? That isn’t going away!

And this is my new bed. I had guys dig it out early in the Spring and with the early heat I never got to it. So it need some cleaning up and some edging and I have Agaves and Sagos and things to go in it. And some Aloe pups from Pam at Digging, too. Don’t you love that big pot? It’s from Miguel’s imports on Burnet Rd.
And the rock path needs more plants as well. But it is filling in very nicely and I am tickled.
Did I mention that I am not tickled about the grass that’s coming up in the path? THAT is on the top of my list. (oh – and that’s my foot in the picture!)
And, then a greenhouse is going in that bare corner across from the veggie garden. We had one at the last house and when we moved and our daughter was 8 months old, a greenhouse was something I so didn’t have time for. But now she’s started Kindergarten and I am pining for one, so I’ve put it on my list.

So, who’s already taking bets I can’t get even 1/2 of this done? Anyone want the viburnum? They’re perfectly fine, and healthy, just not what I want there. Oh – and I have to divide GIANT Bi-color iris and would be oh-so-happy to share.

Whew. I’m tired already!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:52-06:00September 18th, 2008|Blog, Sharing Nature's Garden, to do|0 Comments

Can you feel it?

Can you feel the Fall air that’s swept into Austin this week?

This morning the thermometer at our house read 61 degrees. What a nice relief. We’ve been waiting a lonnnnnnng time for some cooler weather since our first 100-degree days arrived in early May!

Today at noon, it was 77 degrees and I was fully engaged in planting, pruning and pulling weeds. Finally. I have not been motivated for quite some time. Those weeds were screaming at me and I was ignoring them — day after day! But today, they got my attention and I finally silenced them — at least some of them. I planted the Cuphea that I posted yesterday (and before they died, even, so I get a gold star!), pruned my overzealous lantana in several beds and pulled nut sedge. I’m going to “treat” them, but I’m out of “treatment” right now, so I had to pull these and vow to get rid of the next set right as they come up. So, one bed down, five to go!

Wish the brisk temps were here to stay, but it’s not to be. We’re going up a degree a day and will be back up to 90 this weekend. But hey, that’s still not 100!

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:45:09-05:00September 17th, 2008|Blog, Sharing Nature's Garden, weather|0 Comments

Bloom day…

Hard to believe it’s the middle of September — and Bloom Day again. Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for inviting us all to join her Bloom Day party!

I think these are my new favorite flowers.

They are Blackfoot Daisies, native to Texas and they love the hot sun and dry summers we have here.

And they aren’t picky about their soil, either. They grow in rocks and crevices and my beds!

They are perennials for the most part — I only lost a few from last year. And the new ones I put in this Spring are spreading like wildfire.

These are the newest bloomers almost in the garden — they are Totally Tempted Cuphea — and I’ve never seen any like this. Instead of the traditional purple and red little bat-like faced blooms, they are all hot pink. Don’t even look like bat faces at all without the bi-color. But they have a profusion of blooms and will love the hot spot I want to plant them in.

Mealy Blue Sage

Society Garlics all in a row.

Senna

Cypress Vine taking over again!

Coral Trumpet Vine

Duranta Sapphire

American Beautyberry

Turks Cap

Purslane

One lonely little winecup growing up from the grass that isn’t supposed to be here!

Bulbine

Indigo Spires

Hibiscus

Zinnias

Sweet alyssum

Moss Rose

Crape Myrtle

Little Katie Ruellia

Hibiscus

Euonymous

Plumeria

Wave petunia

Geranium

Hyacinth Bean Vine

Candlestick Tree

Blue Daze

Esperanza

Can you believe — this is a huge primrose jasmine that normally blooms in February! We had a cool spell last night – it must have gotten excited about the promise of better weather.