A Southwest Gardener's Journal

Picture This Photo Contest – October 2011

2011-10-25T04:07:00.000-07:00

Picture This Photo Contest -- October 2011

Yes, it has been too long since my last post. That admission aside, I found a little inspiration in a photo contest thanks to Gardening Gone Wild. Click the link above to see other entries for this month.

Our summer in Central Texas did not benefit at all from the rare scattered storms that our neighbors to the north and far south experienced. We finally did receive several inches this month, and I have renewed hope that this too shall pass.

To celebrate that hope, I have decided to enter my photograph of my favorite perinnial flower, the Aster.

Asters--Taken October 2011

This Aster was planted by Pat in our bulb garden over 10 years ago. He moved it when he made the rose garden a couple years ago. Every year it never ceases to amaze me. It blooms on time. This year was different. I truly did not expect it to bloom at all. However, in its current location, it does benefit from an occasional watering from the yard sprinklers.

It's a Dry Heat

2011-07-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

Such a dry heat that the air hits my face like an oven door opening. The temperature guage is set at a constant 100 plus degrees day in and day out. We are at 27 days in a row with 100+ temperatures, not counting the days we had in late May and early June. The last record for the searing heat wave was 1980 with 42 days of solid 100° weather.

East Texas is getting a little relief from gulf moisture surrounding the high pressure ridge, but it isn't strong enough to make Mr. H go away for a while. Today's weather report showed a tropical depression at the bottom of the gulf with hopes of moving toward Texas. Time will tell. In the meantime, watering the lawn is a waste of water and money. The trees are stressing badly. The bees are at their hives because there are few flowering plants from which to feed. Birds stay near the ground and are appreciative of the daily supply of water in the birdbaths and sunflower seeds.

All I can say is I'm holding out hope for the August prediction of rainfall. Something has to give!

A New Vision!

2011-07-09T14:18:00.000-07:00

Pat moves the rock border back
to make it easier to get to the
carport.

Prior to visiting Zilker Botanical Gardens on Thursday, Pat and I had started a project near our driveway. Previously, the rock border was about a foot farther out. When I pulled my car into the carport, I often had to run over the border just to get back out again. Pat had removed a tree and several saplings which made moving the wall back much easier.

After our inspirational visit to Zilker, we see new potential in this area of the yard. One of the plants that caught my eye was the Cast Iron plants at Zilker. They look a lot like Cannas, but they have purple-brown blooms in the spring. They love drought and are hardy to zone 6 (-10°)--yippee!! They are shade tolerant and mix well with irises, hostas and other perennials. We purchased our Cast Iron plants at Green 'n Growing Garden Center in Pflugerville. This is a fantastic little nursery offering all sorts of native Texas plants, pottery, and yard art!

Other plants purchased at Green 'n Growing were Flame Acanthus, Sapphire Showers, and Mexican Oregano. I also bought a lovely green pot which you'll see in another post.

Our last staycation stop was at Bonnies Greenhouse today. I bought some plants for my new pot, Mexican Honeysuckle, Mexican Sage, and a patio tomato plant to replace one of our spent tomato plant. I just love buying new plants for the yard. We don't quite know where we'll put all the new additions, but we'll have a blast trying to figure it out!!

Welcome home sweet plants!!

Zilker Botanical Garden Tour

2011-07-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

View of the Butler's Window and rose garden.
Their roses are looking a lot like ours--needed
some rain!!

For our "staycation" this year, Pat and I decided to trek down to Austin to tour Zilker Botanical Gardens and to pop in on a few garden centers in the area. We had a wonderful time touring the gardens as the photos suggest! For anyone living or visiting the Central Texas area, a trip to Zilker is worth it. The majority of the plants in the 31 acre garden are either native or well-suited for our Texas climate and drought-prone seasons.

We had several surprises on this tour. During this rain-stressed season in Texas, Pat and I were amazed how well the gardens were thriving. Also, I was surprised by how shady the gardens are and the variety of plants doing so well in the shade. Our yard is full of hot spots as well as dappled shady spots. We noticed they had planted Turks cap just about everywhere. This confirmed what Pat decided to do this spring--spread the Turk's Cap wealth in our own gardens. While there, I snapped pictures of landscape designs ideas we'd like to incorporate into our own garden.

Butler's Window from an historic home in Austin
This window was on an upper story!!

Beautiful Texas Sedge

I'd love to use our brick to form a nice feature like this in our garden!

I'm not sure what these flowers are, but they would look nice
falling over the rock border Pat has by our back driveway.

Gorgeous Caladiums...how I wish they multiplied!!

Water Lily in the Japanese Gardens

So beautiful!

My sister would love this one!

Cactus Garden

Pat outside a pioneer cabin.

Gorgeous!!

Repotting 101--Asparagus Fern

2011-07-07T05:50:00.000-07:00

Asparagus fern about to be rescued by yours truly!

Pat and his mom have the same mantra: Ferns love to be root bound. That may be true, but root-bound plants get on my nerves!! I have been asking Pat to repot several of our ferns that Mom B gave us years ago! To me they look like they are struggling. However, if one is patient and picks the right time to re-pot--ferns can easily multiply!

The asparagus fern that is about to do a multiplying act is actually sitting on the table without it's pot. Yes folks, talk about root bound--I could probably leave the plant like it is for several months, water it, and it'd still be green and good to go!! However, that might be border-line plant cruelty--so repotting, here we come!

Asparagus Fern

Before we get to the repotting portion of this post, a little bit about asparagus ferns. In my brief research on this plant I learned quickly that it is not part of the asparagus family, nor a fern. The foliage looks like asparagus plants, and the way the plant falls over the pot looks like a fern. However, this plant is a part of the lily family because it flowers and produces berries. Asparagus fern loves sun and drought! That is a boost for this family's yard! Allowing the plant to dry thoroughly between watering is highly recommended. While it does like sun--in this Texas heat we're having the foliage will turn yellow if there is too much sun, so part shade is recommended. We have ours in dappled shade, and I will be looking for other areas in the yard to give my newly repotted plants a little more sun so they can flourish. The ferns can be planted in the soil and will die back due to freezing, but will rebound in the spring after the dead foliage is cut back. I have not noticed asparagus fern in the ground in our area (8a/b), but apparently folks in Louisiana plant the fern in the ground all over the place.

Prior to sawing, it's important to part the "hair."
Okay, I was just messing around here!!

Repotting the root-bound fern

I must warn you the pictures your are about to see may shock and amaze you, but if repotting an asparagus fern is in your near future...reach for a hack-saw. Yes, a saw. After Pat had pulled one out and all the plants had been repotted, I actually read about it online. These hearty plants can withstand it, and I promise--it's next to impossible to break the plant apart without a saw!

Here he goes!! After the sawing, we had 4 plants to be potted!

This process will produce a lot of casualties, but the huge root system on this old plant (we can't remember how long we've had it, but we decided that it is at least 13 years old) will produce more foliage in no time at all.

Here's a shot of the root system--
This plant is here to stay!

I used my trusty wheelbarrow to mix the potting soil. I used a mix of good potting soil and Lady Bug compost, plus just a little vermiculite to help with drainage. I lightly wet the soil. I wanted to be able to keep the soil loose around the roots in the new pots so the roots can quickly find their way to the nutrients and become root-bound in less than a year! (Just kidding about the root-bound part.)

Have fun repotting ferns---they are so lovely around the landscape and super easy to grow!!

The final product!! Here are 3 of the 4 pots I was able to propagate. Actually, I could have
split the plant in half--I didn't have large enough pots, and the pot the plant
was in originally was plastic and was not usable.

June Forecast Prediction 2011!! Update!!

2011-07-03T06:25:00.000-07:00

June in a nutshell--dry as a bone and hotter than a firecracker!

Sunflower at dusk.

As long as we water, everything's good. Just got the water bill yesterday--it was only $123.00. We're on a septic system and pay for garbage pick up separately, so that bill is purely for water. Pat and I definitely be investing in a cistern--as soon as we can afford it. We may not get a very large one, but something is better than nothing. In previous blogposts, I reported how Pat and I captured rainwater with 3 and 5 gallon buckets. Without a steady amount of rainfall at the right time to switch out buckets, our catch has not been very much at all.

I cannot say that we didn't get any rain in June. We got about 1/2", but that was all. On my last update, I reported that the Farmer's Almanac predicted a wet June for our area. Now I don't feel so bad about my own predictions!

Now that I've seen how this "January" prediction thing works...I'd say that if I had paid closer attention, I would have known that we were in for a very hot and dry spring and summer. I think next year's predictions will be a little more accurate. Now for the results!

Even the sunflowers are begging for moisture!

My Prediction for June 2011--

It seems we will have a cool June. The high was only 8° above normal, but the low was 7° below normal. The sky did not hold much promise for rain today, so we will need to get our rain in the springtime as we usually do. The next few day's posts should be interesting as a cold front is moving in. We're expecting frigid temps and highs well below normal. Maybe we'll save on the electricity bill this summer!! Stay tuned!!

Actual June 2011 Weather

Notice the highlights in the prediction. That is what I will pay close attention to in January 2012. I was right about needing to get good rainfall in the springtime--but it didn't happen. My area as well as most of Texas is now in a severe to extreme drought. This has been the driest spell--going all the way back to October 2010. In reviewing my prediction for July and August...we won't see rain until August. I hope and pray we only have one more month of dry weather.

According to the Waco Tribune-Hearld, June was a record breaking month. June 2011 is tied with 1934 as the second hottest on record. June 22nd was the coolest day at only 90°. June 12 began 8 straight days of 100°+ temperatures with the hottest day at 106° on June 18th. In all, we had 17 days of 100°+ weather this month---which is about 8° above normal. Hmmmm.

Low: 67° to 80°
High: 90° to 106°
Winds: 0 to 43 mph with gusts from 17 to 52 mph
Precipitation: .88 at Waco airport

Conclusion--

I was right about the rain, but not so much about the temperatures--I'm 50/50 for June!!

Broiling Hot! Garden Update

2011-06-27T06:41:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe I have not posted regularly this month--but I suppose when it's nothing but 100+ outside, the tough stay inside!! Actually, our gardening activities have come to only watering, picking veggies and mowing so there really isn't a lot to report. Even with the high temperatures and the Extreme drought stage we're in right now, I'm so proud that Pat has been able to keep everything growing. We've harvested lovely tomatoes over the past several weeks--enough for us to eat. We have squash and zucchini, and Pat made a lovely black-eyed pea salad...but I dumped it on the floor (an accident)! Oh, well...the veggie crop is starting to play out--I'll post more about that later. On to a few photos and part 1 of my summer garden update.

Now I know what my mother-in-law did all the
time in her yard--she tamed the forest along
the fence!!

Pat and I spent this weekend at my in-laws house cleaning up the yard. It's on the market and the backyard was a mess for sure! Pat is chopping weeds and overgrowth from the flower bed my mother-in-law had there. We're hoping the grass will fill in quickly since we've started watering again.

The dead plants are gone--I'm sure that was
killing the curb appeal!!

I raked out flower beds, trimmed vines and mowed. When we finished we had to piles of brush, a full trash can and countless lawn bags full of leaves, sticks and vines!

Mom's potting benches spruce up our
back porch!

As a reward for our hard work--we brought home Mom's potting bench. It needed to be hauled off anyway. It's rotting away, but still has a few good years left. It's perfect on the back porch!

Since we needed to pick up some sunflower seeds for the birds, I couldn't resist buying another plant. Pat reminded me of the drought, but I had gardening goals in mind. I searched through the plants and all I found were plants I already had, or dying annuals. I was about to give up until I saw this lovely portulaca wanting a new home!! It's from Brazil, so it isn't cold hardy--but in my lovely shell planter, it'll look nice inside during the wintertime. I also plucked a few baby hen-n-chicks. I've heard all you do is pick them off and put them in dirt. We'll see!! If that's the case, I'll have hundreds of those before too long!! Here's another container planting for my gardening goals checked off!

In my gardening goals, I commented how I was determined to find something to grow in this little flowerbed by the house. I'm still working on it, but earlier this spring I had planted some cold-hardy/shade tolerant Hostas. I quickly discovered why nothing grows in this bed. The water hose is right by the bed, so it stays pretty moist. As soon as I'd planted the Hostas...here came the dogs to cool themselves. The photo below shows how we've remidied this problem. I've lost one of my Hosta plants...but two are hanging on. If we're lucky enough to get a couple more rains this summer, they may take off!

May Forecast Prediction -- 2011 Follow Up!

2011-06-01T04:49:00.000-07:00

Daylilies!

The month of May did have a few flowers to see. This year the Daylilies have rebounded due to a little care and attention! The garden is growing despite lack of rainfall. And our only week of hopeful rain netted us about 5 buckets of rain, and some of those were from drizzle. Thank goodness for a large roof and drizzle! As I noted in April's follow up post--May 1st brought chances of rain. Unfortunately, most of that blew eastward and wound up as killer storms. My heart goes out to the folks in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Joplin, Missouri.

Our June 1st forecast is hot, hot, hot. Only the Farmer's Almanac predicts any rain for our June month. We'll see what happens next! On to the prediction results!

Prediction for May 2011--January 5th

This is tricky. The clouds early in the morning looked like they were holding rain for a while. Then the clouds got a little heavier during the day, only to lighten up again. So, I'll say we will have some showers in May, but probably only normal precipitation for the month. We'll also have gorgeous springtime days with warm temperatures. Our high today was about 10° higher than normal. The wind will be mostly calm as wind gusts were up to 20 mph, but during the day, it wasn't windy at all. So folks, I think we're in for a pretty normal May 2011!!

May 2011 Actual:

Low: 43° to 77°
High: 56° to 100°
Winds: 0 to 46 mph with gusts up to 56 mph---yes it has been a windy month!
Precipitation: 2.14" (Waco, Texas) -- although I can't say we got that much at our place
Conclusion:

I should have paid close attention to the 10° warmer than usual statement! May has been a very warm month, but probably no warmer than previous years. I remember when the boys were young, going to baseball games in 100° heat. My prediction for May is proved only because I got it mostly right!

They’re Baaaaacccckkkk!!

2011-05-30T08:31:00.000-07:00

One of my earliest posts was about how Pat plants Sunflowers in the most random spots around the yard. In my quest for photos this weekend, I found that the Sunflowers are making a comeback. They literally are blooming overnight—second by second! The following photos were taken Saturday and today. Enjoy!

Photography Lesson #1

2011-05-28T06:18:00.000-07:00

I've included this picture to remind myself and to
show the challenges I have phtographing my yard.
The electric meter and the a/c unit constantly get in
the way. Not to mention one ball-chasing,
loving dog!!

I've signed up for on-line lessons in photography! Although they are free--and free sometimes means you get what you pay for, these seem to be good. So far the lessons and challenges are right on my level. Not too techy, not too easy. This week's lesson was the contrast between foreground and background and the various ways you can focus the subjects. Within the lesson, there is a challenge to take a black and white photograph 10 minutes away from your home. You must drive or walk 10 minutes away and take a picture of whatever is there. While I haven't worked on that challenge yet, the pictures on this post are my "dress rehearsal" for black and white beauties using the tips from the lesson. Enjoy!

Tomatoes & Lawn

Birdfeeder and twinkle lights in the background.
As I was practicing this lesson, I was also playing around with the features on my camera. Apparently, if you know nothing
about f-stops, you can still create some of the effects
professionals can! I actually chose the number of lights
I wanted to twinkle!

Duck Sculpture & Cedar Tree

I think this one is probably the neatest one because Pat's
moon came from a barbecue pit. The pit in the background
belonged to his father. I wonder what yard art he'll
create with that one??

Bird & Plant Shopping

2011-05-22T07:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Pat and I headed out to Homestead Heritage for the last time this spring. The seminar was on drip irrigation. We love the idea of watering our plants efficiently and consistently given the fact that we have had an excellent chance for rain for 3 days now and have barely registered a quarter inch. While there, we picked up a suet hanger and 4 suet bricks. If you’re ever at the General Store at the Homestead, buy your suet from them. They were only $1 each and the hanger was $2.75. That gives you an idea of how inexpensive these feeders can be.

Trap-perch bird feeder!

After that, we headed into town to Wild Birds Unlimited. It is one of my favorite stores. Although I can often find feeders elsewhere cheaper, their bird feeders tend to be higher quality, and some of them come with warranties or lifetime guarantees. We purchased this steel-trap birdfeeder while there. I just love this style. I bought a similar feeder for mother for her birthday a few years back. She said Uncle Billy had one like this and it was quite squirrel proof. The perch is weighted so that if a bird lands on it, nothing happens. When a squirrel lands, the perch clamps tight keeping the squirrel from the seed. We’ll see. We have some mighty fat squirrels on our property---cunning ones, too!

Hummingbird feeder from Poteet, Texas

We also purchased a tiny hummingbird feeder brush to clean the feeder portals. That cost a whopping forty-nine cents, and well worth the price. WBU also has a card with Hummingbird Nectar Solution and care for feeders. I like to mix up nectar in 2 cup batches. That way I’m not wasting a lot of nectar between batches. They recommend cleaning the feeder every 2 to 4 days, especially in the hot summertime, and changing the nectar regularly. Other websites warn not to use red food coloring as that can cause fermentation. (That made Mr. Pat a little upset…he likes the red color.) Below are the recipe and cleaning recommendations.

Hummingbird Nectar Solution

1 part sugar to 4 parts water (example: ½ sugar to 2 cups water)

Heat half of water
Dissolve all of sugar in hot water
Add second half of water as ice water

Cleaning Feeders & Birdbaths: 1 part bleach to 10 parts water

Caladium in birdbath

We finished the "shopping" part of the day at Lowes. We bought bird feed there because it's much cheaper than at WBU. We also bought 3 shade tolerant Hostas and 2 Caladiums. I planned to put the Hostas and Caladiums in the bed that is next to the house. It is a gardening goal of mine to find something that will grow well there besides Mondo Grass. Well, Mr. Pat loves Caladiums, and he snatched one of them to put in a special spot. I don't mind...it looks quite lovely there. Plus, it gives me an excuse to buy another plus 10 more plants for him to take care of! I've planted the Hostas, but I am waiting to snap pictures until we finish cleaning the bed out completely. I also need to watch the sun patterns, because I think part of that bed does get some sunshine.

Finally, other weekend chorse included:

praying for rain (none so far),
turning the compost bed--I think it's getting close to being finished!!
planting new plants
salivating over a tomato that is ripening
bird watching

Nice.

Thursday Thrills

2011-05-19T16:51:00.000-07:00

There is a lot to be thankful for this Thursday.

It may rain a ton tomorrow
There are new flowers blooming and almost blooming every day
We picked our first squash
The "squash beetles" are confused
The Hydrangea may bloom soon
There are more tomatoes on the tomato plants
Life is good!

Here are the pictures...enjoy!!

Daylily. Our Daylilies look a little on the spent side, but this is the first year in a long time that
we actually fertilized. Looks like we need to research how to care for them, and they'll probably
rebound!

This Daisy mound has been in the circle garden since the boys were in High School--
2001 or 2002 at the earliest. It is still going, although the blooms
are a little smaller than when they first were planted.
Nevertheless, we must be doing something right...because they just keep
coming back!

This Hydrangea bush was given to me by Abigail last year for Mother's Day.
Look---it's going to bloom!!!

Well, I declare...you never know what nature has in store for you. Here is our
Spineless putting on a spring show!!

Here is a beautiful cactus bloom---
but what's inside? Pat thinks they are
squash beetles---could they be confused???

Finally, my favorite picture today--more tomatoes are growing on our bushes!!

May Blooms & Such--2011

2011-05-15T08:27:00.000-07:00

May is turning out to be a better month than April--probably due to the rain and the winds calming down a little. Among a few other gardening chores I turned the compost pile yesterday, and it is finally showing signs of decomposition--I started it in earnest at the end of February. I'll update the progress next time I turn the pile.

Because yesterday was most likely the most beautiful day yet of spring, I decided to take a few quick snaps. Some of my pictures are probably bright because I still don't know what I'm doing with that fancy camera of mine, and I also experimented some. Nevertheless...here's what the lens saw:

The spineless will bloom!!

I'll start with my favorite--our spineless cactus! In an earlier post (don't remember when) I was fearful that the spineless wouldn't bloom because of the lack of rain and the setback it had suffered the winter of 2010.

But happily I was wrong about that. Our spineless is loaded with an amazing amount of blooms. Updates will definitely follow!!

Oxalis--Granny's favorite

I think I was playing around with F-stops and such on the camera with this shot. Seriously, I do not know what I was doing! But despite my lack of knowledge, I think the picture turned out okay. Or perhaps I should say...thank goodness for Picasa!!

Desert Willow in bloom

We'll need a little more rain to get more blooms on the Desert Willow, but it is looking lovely right now!

Easter Lily

When taking this picture, I was practicing resetting the white balance on my camera. A friend of mine had taught me what to do this week. I don't know if I got it right or not, but this shot was better than the auto shot I took previously!

Bee Station

When it occurred to us that the the drought was impacting our wildlife, I remembered an article I had read about bees. It suggested putting out shallow water stations so they can get water. Pat suggested I use pot saucers until I find something more decorative. I put rocks in the saucers so the bees can ease in and get a sip.

Squash blossoms!!

Some kind of fly or hornet on the Kalanchoe

And finally, our tomatoes are doing so well this year. Pat and I are so excited. Today he plans to water them with compost tea again. They are cracking a little around the top, but with our temps spiking up and down and everything else...we're not worried about that at all!

Tomatoes!!

Rain, Beautiful Rain!

2011-05-12T03:59:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord and hope the creek rises!!! We finally got a good soaking rain yesterday, and more is in the forcast for today and tomorrow! I was so excited, I even took pictures from the back door. Pat thought I was going to go out into the yard with my camera during a downpour--silly Pat!

The garden is getting a much-needed rain!

According to Weather Underground, Waco got about 1 1/2" of rain. Pat seems to think we got about that to 2". He ran out during a calm spell to replace buckets from the downspouts. We definitely need to look into getting either rain barrels or a cistern!

This time the back porch light was on, so you can actually see
the rain pouring down! Delightful!!

May 2011 Garden Update

2011-05-08T07:17:00.000-07:00

Pat is always on the lookout for a pesky squirrel grazing at the bird feeders. Lately he's been adding birdseed almost daily to the feeders. Then last night he had a frightening realization. The squirrels aren't at the bird feeders...the birds are. Additionally, they are hitting the birdbaths as soon as they are filled up. The drought is impacting them, and the bad thing is we didn't realize it. So, from today on we'll be checking the water in the birdbaths twice daily and filling up the feeders as much as possible. We have a slight hope for rain on Thursday, but that is so far off, I'm not even counting on it at the moment. The Farmer's Almanac holds out hope for decent rain chances in June. If so, that'd be a great start to summer and dampen the drought we're experiencing.

Please feed and water the birds. I know I also need to put out a few bee baths, too!

In other parts of the garden, the Basil and Vegetable Garden are coming along fine. We even have some yellow squash starting. However, the cucumbers aren't doing so well. Perhaps it isn't hot enough for them. Pat did say when I planted them that they haven't ever done very well. Maybe we need to toss that packet of seeds!

Zucchini, Squash and Cucumbers

Baby Yellow Squash!

Pat says he has 3 buckets of rainwater to use on the tomatoes this week. That's impressive considering we're catching rain in 3 to 5 gallon buckets! He's making compost tea with most of the rainwater. I love how I get something started....and then he takes over!! Isn't it great??

The Circle Garden is coming along nicely.

Basil...grow baby, grow!!

Irises--2011

2011-05-05T16:43:00.000-07:00

Bearded Irises--Iris Garden

Our Iris show in our first Iris garden was lack luster. Most likely due to the lack of rainfall during March. Also, this garden does not seem to produce blooms regularly. We have several hypotheses: inadequate sunshine, poor soil, and an abundance of weeds. After about seven years or so, I would have thought that this garden would be jammed packed with Irises, but the bulbs have been slow to multiply.

Nevertheless, when the Irises do bloom in this garden, they are beautiful and showy!

Another view

Bronze Beauty

I do not know the official names of these Irises. I can tell you that the best blooms we had this year were from "Mom's Iris Garden." I've named it for my mother-in-law because almost all of the bulbs came out of her yard. Pat transplanted them as she requested. She was funny that way. She'd have to have a certain plant. Then she'd buy as many as she could and plant them all over the yard. Then she'd get tired of them, and Pat would dig them up and bring them to our yard. I think she had this planned all along!

Peachy-keen

Purple Delight

Yellow & White with Lilac Beard

Soft Pink bud

We're hoping for a better blooming season in 2012. The lack of rainfall had to have impacted our Iris show this year. In the meantime, well allow the greenery to continue to make sugar to feed the rhizomes and pray for rains to keep the greenery alive for as long as possible. In the fall, we'll fertilize and clear away the dead stuff and keep our fingers crossed for spring!

April Forecast Prediciton 2011 -- Follow Up!

2011-04-30T17:56:00.000-07:00

Our garden lizard, Larry, rests beside the fennel

The month of April has been atypical to say the least. Hot, windy, humid and almost rainless are the only words to describe the month of April. Temperatures have been around average to hot with a couple of cool nights. We usually wait until May to turn on our airconditioner because our country home has a lot of cool breezes at night. But this year we barely made it to the end of the month.

Our total rain collection amounted to about 5 1/2 buckets. We should have easily filled 12 buckets with regular rainfall. Our tomatoes are fairing well despite the lack of rainfall due to compost tea watering. Our compost pile is still having a hard time because of the wind drying it out. Despite the lack of rainfall, we have our blessings to count. At least everything in the garden is still green, except the onions...they need rain desperately. We harvested lettuce and cabbage and they were the best ever. Our Basil is finally taking off, and the squashes and cucumbers are doing very well. While our Irises did bloom, they did not show as much as I expected due to lack of rain.

Tomorrow, May 1st, we have our best chance this spring for decent rainfall. I pray it comes!

My Prediction for April 2011--January 4th

It was a very mild day. I did not need a jacket at all. As the day progressed, more and more clouds and moisture rolled in, giving me great hope for at least normal rainfall for April with normal temperatures.

Be looking forward to some May flowers in 2011 is my official prediciton because I am expecting our annual April showers! I posted a picture of one of my prized Irises because they usually sneak up on me and bloom in April. Sometimes I wonder if I am not stretching it a bit...but if you looked at the sky today, it should have rained buckets. Optimism prevails again in this prediciton!!

April 2011 Actual:

Low: 34° to 75°
High: 76° to 94°
Winds: 0 to 38 mph with gusts up to 47 mph
Precipitation: 1.87" according to Waco, Texas weather station

Conclusion:

I think it's safe to say that I'm learning a lot about weather prediction. There was no rain on January 4th, so I should have predicted little to no rain in April, because that is what we got. Our average rainfall for April is at least 3". We barely got an inch and a half at our place. I feel badly for the people in Alabama because I think that if we had gotten some of those storms, they would not have been so hard-hit. I pray that our weather begins to even out so that we all are blessed with rainfall goodness and miss the devastation of severe weather. My prediction for April is disproved.

Veggie Garden Update

2011-04-28T19:01:00.000-07:00

Pat plants some Peas

No, we are not planting a full garden this year. Pat did win most of the argument for this year. He decided to plant peas even though our soil sample wasn't back yet. Our partial report on the soil fertility appears to indicate a good fertility in our soil. However, there are deficiencies. Nevertheless, Pat decided to go with what most experts agree upon and that is all soil is in need of nitrogen. Planting peas will help nourish the soil with this most important nutrient.

Peas grow despite the shade!

Here is a close-up of the peas growing well. As of this post, they are about double in size now. We are not thinning the peas since we want them to be a cover crop. The plan, as I understand it, will be to harvest this crop and then plant a fall garden. Once the fall garden is harvested, we'll plant rye (seeds are already purchased) for a winter cover crop. Then we'll be on our way to a full-producing garden!

Squash and Cucumbers

Squash and cucumbers grow in one row. I get to prove my point that no matter the condition of the soil...during the first year...we'll have great success. I've already thinned the plants to about two per mound. However, on Easter Sunday, Pat declared that they have not been thinned enough. Little did he know that his mother-in-law already approved the plantings and said that they will bump into each other, but they should be fine. I don't know. I think I'll give it a while and decide a little later. In the meantime, it bothers me that our "full-sun" garden has so much shade during the morning hours. Hopefully, the afternoon sunshine will be enough to give us a good yield.

Collecting a little rain water!

In the meantime, it is dry...very, very dry. If I had been a little more knowledgeable about predicting weather, I think I would have accurately predicted a drought. I have a teacher-friend who claims I am a hopeless optimistic. I am beginning to believe she's right. We have fires around Possum Kingdom, extreme drought in most of West Texas, and a severe drought in Central Texas. The bucket you see in the picture represents less than a quarter inch of rain. I was able to collect 2 1/2 buckets of rainwater, and I am grateful for that! Since this collection, I have another 1/2 bucket to crow about! Saturday, April 31st, Pat and I plan to go to Homestead Heritage to learn more about rainwater collection.

With the drought were are experiencing and with the dreaded knowledge that we did not get rain in January until the 8th day (August), any rain we are blessed with needs to be harvested. As of this post, we are expecting a 70% chance of rainfall Sunday, May 1st. May it happen!! Please Lord, let it be!!

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T06:49:00.000-07:00

Have a wonderful Easter everyone!

Great niece and nephew--Hadley & Aiden

As we celebrate with family and friends, we are so grateful for all of them! How much more fun it is with the little ones around!!

Christ is risen!

Christ will come again!

Container Garden Update & Soil Recipe

2011-04-22T06:27:00.000-07:00

Feeling successful!

Yellow bloom on the succulent!

I have throroughly enjoyed my succulent container garden! I can't tell you how many times I walked past the empty strawberry pot and cursed it because no matter what I'd planted, it died!

On my oriniginal post I thought I had given the soil recipe for this garden, but I didn't. I was probably thinking at the time: It's probably a good idea to wait and see if this thing works!

Tons of blooms!

The plants in the
openings are secure!

Succulent Recipe

Most people probably use sand and such for their succulents. Pat and I always use what we have, and we don't have any sand. I think the success for this container was adding a good compost to the mix and wetting the mixture first before planting.

About 50% potting soil and 50% compost.

I added about a handful of vermiculite which helps retain moisture in the mixture and aerates the soil.

Next I moistened the soil in a tub and mixed the ingredients well.

When I potted the succulents, I added soil to the bottom of the first row of openings and packed it lightly. I think one of the tricks to a strawberry pot is making sure the soil doesn't compact after the plants are added. The soil needs to be compacted prior to watering in the plants so it doesn't shift. I think that's how I've lost plants before---they literally fell out of the hole, and I couldn't smash them back in again!

Next I added one plant at a time to each hole while adding more potting soil mix and packing it down. I continued until I reached the top. I still watered everything in, but I didn't have to water much since my soil was moist to begin with.

Pat is so pleased with the result, he says he's going to move my container to a "prominent" spot in the garden to show it off!

That makes me smile!

Garden Update--April 2011

2011-04-21T04:19:00.000-07:00

Dianthus among herbs--2011

There is a reason my posts have been few and far between: Internet---Internet---Internet.

The blessings of living in the country is you get to have a yard, and a garden, and your dog gets to run the neighborhood.

The curse is the lack of high-speed Internet. When the leaves grow--no Internet. When the wind blows--no Internet. When the rain falls--no Internet.

Nevertheless, there is still beauty all around. And whether or not I can report it...I still get to enjoy it!!

Romaine Lettuce & Cabbage...were delicious!

Another shot of the herb garden. This time in the foreground are: Romaine Lettuce (delicious), Cabbage (so much better than supermarket cabbage), Parsley, Oregano, Chive, Arugula, Chocolate Mint. In the background: Thyme, Dill, Tarragon.

Pat plants a cover crop.

Pat plants a cover crop of black-eyed peas...the official legume of Texas.

Anyway, he wins most of the argument for planting a cover crop which is to feed our garden so we'll have many years of excellent crops. Then the soil test came back and our soil is extremely fertile. Who knew? We are low in phosophorous and potassium? We were betting on nitrogen, but we don't have the complete results yet.

Yard wagon and spineless

Our spineless cactus is taking off as well. After two harsh winters in a row, the solid, aged base is feeding the greenry and sprouting new pads. I've been hoping for a few blooms, too. But that may be asking for too much this year. I'm glad it is rebounding.

What's this I see. Another spineless cactus in the making?

It's Soooo Dry

2011-04-10T08:12:00.000-07:00

To be honest, when I started this Grandpa experiment about predicting the weather for the year, I thought it was a little silly. However, looking back on the first few days of the year, I can tell you I was in denial about how dry this year may potentially be. At Homestead Heritage, the instructors stated that one of the biggest challenges for Central Texas farmers and gardners is the inconsistency of rainfall throughout the year. It either rains buckets or doesn't rain at all. This is holding out to be true for this year.

So far we have officially had between 4.03" and 4.28" of rainfall for the Waco area for the first 110 days of the year. In reviewing the average rainfall chart below, we should have had about 7" so far. There is a little hope that we will have some rain this week. Going by KWTX's forecast, we have a 40% chance of rain starting at 6:00 p.m. tonight. It must happen...it must!

Another thing that is not helping one bit is the windiness of this month! One would think it was March or something. The lack of rainfall and the consistent winds only make it that much drier outside. But despite the weather conditions, our garden is thriving due to our monthly water useage! Hopefully our rain chances increase for the rest of April---it's time we caught up!

Rainfall Averages for Waco, Texas

Sadie chews on a stick on the dry, dusty ground! ;-)

Annual 33.34 inches

January 1.9 inches
February 2.43 inches
March 2.48 inches
April 2.99 inches
May 4.46 inches
June 3.08 inches
July 2.23 inches
August 1.85 inches
September 2.88 inches
October 3.67 inches
November 2.61 inches
December 2.76 inches

Years Averaged 30 years

March Forecast Prediction 2011 -- Follow Up!

2011-04-02T07:34:00.000-07:00

Redbud Trees bloom in March

March closes the door on winter and opens the door to spring. This has truly been the case this year. March has been tumultuous with the days either being cold, mild, or very hot. I can tell you this...no matter what I predicted for March we did not get one drop of rain. It is an understatement to say this is not a good thing! On to the follow up:

Actual prediction for March 2011

Given the cloud cover and mild temperatures, I predict March will usher in Spring for Central Texas. We will have mild temperatures in the day and cool nights. There will at the very least, be normal rainfall regardless of the fact that there was no rain on today's date. March is known as the windy month, but winds were calm today. So, we will come in like the lamb and go out like the lion for March 2011. It might be that April will be our windy month.

As the Irish Blessing goes--may March hold these blessings for us all:
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Actual weather for March 2011

High: 57° to 94° average 75°
Low 27° to 65° average 50°
Wind 12 to 32 mph with gusts to 45 mph
Rain 0.15"---this fell somewhere, but not at our place :-)

Conclusion

While the prediction of spring will come and it will be windy during the month of March came true, the rain prediction did not. As far as it being mild, the average temperatures suggest that for the most part, March was a mild month. However, we did have those "extreme" days but they were few and far between. The fact remains that the nights cooled off and we did not have to use the heater or air conditioner during the month. It appears that I am 75% correct for March--I could be stretching it, but I will say that the hypothesis is proved for March!!!

Local Spring Events

2011-03-31T15:50:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers:

Springtime is now ripe for getting outdoors and enjoying the crisp cool air before it turns unbearably hot. I thought I'd give you the free seminars held at Homestead Heritage for the rest of the year, plus a few more Spring things to do in the Waco/Central Texas area.

Homestead Heritage--Free Seminars held 10:00 to 11:00 at the General Store

April 2--Pest Control in the Garden
April 9--Flower Gardening
April 16--Canning and Preserving
April 23--Easter
April 30--Rainwater Collection
May 7--Controlling Weeds
May 14--Beginning with Chickens
May 21--Drip Irrigation

Brazos Nights--First Friday of the month, beginning in April--Indian Spring Park, Waco, Texas--7:00 p.m.

April 1--Texas Country with Jason Boland & the Stragglers, and Eleven Hundred Springs
May 6--Cinco de Mayo Celebration with La Ley 104.1 FM & guests
June 3--Waco Symphony Orchestra
July 4--HEB, Star 92.9 & ESPN 1660 present 4th on the Brazos with The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Carolyn Wonderland, 36th Infantry Division Band, Waco Community Band & HEB Fireworks!!!

Beasts 'n Blooms & Earth Day Too! @ Cameron Park Zoo on April 7th from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

This 7th Annual event allows visitors to enjoy the zoo, purchase plants, herbs, and flowers while children get to work with Master Gardeners, do arts and crafts and face painting.

For Earth Day activities, learn about recycling, habitat restoration, migratory bird information, animal enrichment and wildlife conservation.

Admission is $9 for adults 13 & up; $8 for seniors age 60 & up; $6 for children 4 to 12 years old; under 4 years, free. Military discounts are available.

For more information call 750-8415 or visit http://www.cameronparkzoo.com/

Easter Egg Hunts--April 23rd

Bledsoe-Miller @ noon
South Waco Park @ 10:00 a.m.
Dewey @ noon

If you know of other events in the Waco or Central Texas area, please leave a comment on this post!! Now, get outdoors and have some fun!!

Composting 101 Revisited

2011-03-28T04:05:00.000-07:00

Pat and I attended a free seminar on Composting held Saturday at Homestead Heritage. We got some clarification and some redirection on our composting process. Number one correction in our thinking is, if you use a pile to compost, it has to have enough mass to heat up. That is why ours was staying cold. It did get hot at one point, but I know I killed it by adding chlorinated water and having a small mass--see below. Saturday, Pat re-worked our pile to hopefully bring it into balance so that it'll work for us.

Newly reworked Compost Pile

The following is what we learned in order to build a compost pile.

The size of your pile should be at least 4x4x4. It is necessary to have enough mass for the pile to get hot. We were missing the volume.
The bottom layer should be made of good sized sticks to lift the pile off the ground. This promotes air circulation. We did not do this step previously.
Follow with brown matter--leaves, dried grass, etc. They recommend 50/50 mix of brown and green matter.
Top with green matter--mown grass (they say not Bermuda since it tends to seed. The piles do not get hot enough to consume the seed. Add at your own risk! We will later this summer...we have no choice, as I said earlier finding green for us is tricky). Add water.
The third layer should be topsoil or previously composted matter. Sprinkle some on top of the green to accelerate the pile.
As you add each layer, add enough water so it is like a wet, wrung out sponge. Not too much. However, you'll want to add unchlorinated water as chlorine kills bacteria. And you want your pile to have a lot of bacterial action. However, because we did not have an in-line filter, we put regular garden-hose water on the pile anyway. Surely, by the time the pile begins to work, the chlorine will evaporate.
Keep alternating brown with green until it is at least 4' high. In our picture you can see that ours is about a foot short. No matter, it has more mass than what I started out with, and it's better than nothing.
Prepare to cover your pile during heavy rains. Too much water will drown the microbial action in your pile.

A few tips and recommendations are:

It's okay to have the pile under a shade tree (I thought we needed the sun, but not so).
Stick your hand in to see if it's getting hot. Be careful, if it is hot you'll know it quickly. It can get as hot as 180°!
If adding manure, make sure the animals were not taking antibiotics---again, antibiotics kill bacteria and it will still be active in the manure. Avoid horse manure as their digestive systems do not completely break down seeds. The best animal manure is dairy cow as they are not allowed to have antibiotics on the milking line. Chicken and goat poop are fine, just know where it comes from. Commercial growers of chickens will inoculate often with antibiotic. Chickens raised by individuals most likely will not.
Avoid cat and dog poop as they have lots of parasites which will not be killed in the composting process.

Once your pile gets to cooking, it is necessary to turn it. What Homestead suggests is moving the pile to another bin to do this. Use the same method as before adding more brown and green. Turn the outer corners of the pile first since the outside will decompose slower than the middle.

Depending upon how hot or cold the pile is, compost will appear anywhere from one to six months. Compost should be rich, dark brown like coffee grounds, and smell like earth. Add the compost to your garden as soon as it is ready.

Homestead adds theirs about 6 weeks prior to planting. They layer the compost on top of the garden bed and put mulch over it. This allows the soil time to "digest" the composted materials. Mother used to turn it into the soil. I'm thinking that's how we'll do it, but you never know. That will be on a future post.

For now Pat and I are hoping to cook up some compost!

Spring Blooms--March 2011

2011-03-26T07:02:00.000-07:00

Mountain Laurel Bloom
almost spent

Newer Mountain Laurel Blooms--so fragrant!

The Mountain Laurel blooms are so beautiful and fragrant. However, this year we did not get as many as we usually have. It could be due to Pat's pruning efforts, but I wouldn't change a thing. The tree is gorgeous--we should have more blooms next year!

First Bearded Iris

Another view

All of mom's Irises are doing beautifully at the west end of the house! Pat was thinking we wouldn't get a show, but there are a ton of "wrinkled" leaves indicating future blooms. That is how I can tell if an iris will bloom...the leaves get wrinkles in them, and sure enough, a few days later a bloom begins to emerge.

More Irises to follow!

Dianthus & Strawberry Begonias

I'm very proud of my efforts with the Dianthus and Strawberry Begonias. I pinched back all of the frost-bitten leaves on the Dianthus instead of Pat. He's more tender and gentle than I am...I'm pretty radical when I pinch back plants, and they usually do better when I do it! Quite possibly the only thing I'm good at gardening-wise! Pat also asked me to add more potting soil at the bottom of the Strawberry Begonia, and I managed that all by myself! It's perking up nicely, although I do think I needed to divide it. Pat said no. Just wait until I have another day off---I think I'll do it anyway!!

Antique White Rose

This is the rose bush I blogged about having black spot so badly. Well, the lack of rain has helped it recover. Look at all the future blooms this baby has!

More blooms to come!

Circle Garden & Succulents!

2011-03-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Digging--Pam Penick, I am going to try
growing some succulents!

On Thursday, Pat and I trekked out to Bonnie's Greenhouse to pick up plants for our circle garden. When I turned a corner, there were all sorts of succulents wanting to be purchased. Remembering posts from one of my favorite bloggers, Pam Penick, I decided to give them a try knowing I had an unused strawberry pot begging for some plants! I am amazed that succulents do so well here. In Abilene, we had a terrible time keeping any sort of succulent growing--most likely due to the "real" winters there!

Finished Succulent Garden

In our rock garden, we have had some sort of succulent growing at the base of our rose bush for years now. I suppose that when the leaves fall and cover them up, they offer just the right protection during the winter. This spring they are really taking off...so why not try a container of succulents!!

Update on Gardening Goals--Circle Garden

Pat and I worked Thursday and Friday--okay, maybe Pat worked harder than I did--cleaning out the circle garden and planting new plants. Below is a picture with all the plants labeled except for the society garlic which you cannot see. The society garlic has been nipped back quite a bit due to our hard freezes. However, we do see sprigs coming up so we do have some hope! Pat also dug up some Russian Sage and I potted those for transplanting later. Finally, he relocated some Turk's Cap among our thicket to add a splash of color along the edge of our property.

Circle Garden--cleaned up and ready for Spring!

I can hardly wait!!

Starting Seeds

2011-03-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

Soil, container, seeds, & directions!

Yes, it's probably late to be starting seeds indoors now, however I have a good reason. I do not know how to do this, and my first attempt didn't work out! Pat told me to put the seeds in pots and put them on the windowsil. A gardening expert, Dick Raymond, said, "Don't ever put seeds in pots, and don't ever put them on the windowsil!" Okay. So now I'm trying his method!!

I've chosen to experiment with Cilantro seeds because it really doesn't matter when you plant them. In fact, it probably isn't a bad idea to plant several plants in your garden at different dates in order to have fresh Cilantro until frost. I purchased the seeds from Homestead Heritage, and they claim to be "slow" bolt which is even better. We tend to lose our Cilantro throughout the season due to the Texas heat and bolting.

Here are the directions for starting seeds indoors:

Start with good potting soil already moistened. Have seeds, container, a tray, and a wood block for packing at hand.

Tamp dirt down before planting seeds

I used a mushroom container for this project and poked holes in the bottom for drainage. I also had another takeout tray I'm using for the saucer. The key, according to Raymond, is to keep the seeds moist and warm. He also says water from the bottom...so now I'm set.
Add moistened dirt and tamp down. Plant seeds. Cover with dirt. Tamp down again.

Water well and cover with
a plastic bag. Wait 10 to 14
days and there should be
sprouts!!

Water well with a squirt bottle and put in a plastic bag. Place the seedling on top of the refrigerator and check periodically for sprouting seeds.

I started this project on March 13th so it will be a few more days before I see sprouts. So far the soil is staying moist, and I have had to add some water to the tray, so I'm hoping this is a good sign!! I'll post an update when I see life!

Eddy Series--Our Terrain

2011-03-16T09:04:00.000-07:00

Our youngest came home for a visit over spring break. He is currently enrolled in a soils class at Stephen F. Austin State University--Axe 'Em Jacks!! This is his last semester [please pray for good grades]--and we're loving that!! We are also loving the fact that Matt has to collect and analyze some soil samples as a requirement for this class. When he mentioned this way back in January, my first question was: "How deep?" Turns out he needed to go three feet deep.

My son Matt collecting soil samples for class. Notice the depth
of the hole. Notice the tool. When I say rock, I mean rock!!

I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story, but first here is a little research about our soil:

We live on the west side of I-35 in southern McLennan County. Our area is known as the "Eddy Series" which consists of shallow to very shallow, well drained, moderately permeable soils. Yes it does!
Taxonomy class is loamy-skeletal, carbonatic, thermic, shallow. Hmmm...there is a familiar ring to this analysis.
Our soil ranges from brownish gray to dark grayish brown in color. Check.
The depth of our soil ranges from 3 to 14 inches thick over chalky limestone. Yes, we found this out when we rented the ditch witch to dig an electrical trench. A job that should have taken 20 to 40 minutes took 3 hours. I wish I was kidding.
The whole soil contains 35 to 50% chalky limestone fragments by volume. Yes it does!
The fragments range from very weakly cemented to strongly cemented. Agreed.
I could go on....but I won't. We have very rocky soil out here!

Plan B--bring out rock bar. Plan C--"Do you think we can
rent a jack-hammer?" We would have, but it was Sunday!

While Matt picked and dug at the soil, I stood by with my camera to get a picture of the action! Pictures are a part of the assignment, too. I helped some by removing rock from the soil he would replace in the hole. This took about 2 to 3 hours.

"Yeah....I think I hit bottom!!!" says Matt.

Finally, Matt asked me to take a few specific pictures to send to the professor. At that point he was only about 18" deep and had decidedly gone as far as he could without a jack hammer. Yep, the rock wasn't budging. And as Matt chipped away at it, there was even more white chalk underneath.

Monday morning Matt was delighted to hear that his professor could see "3 horizons" so he had actually dug deep enough. Yes!!!

Spring Blooms & Butterflies

2011-03-13T15:32:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous Pansies--2011

Yellow Swallowtail on Bradford Pear--2011

Another view of the Yellow Swallowtail--2011

What a lazy Sunday afternoon! I have had a great time chasing butterflies and watching my poor son dig through rock to complete an assignment for his soils class. I'll post that later, but for now...I hope you enjoy the pictures!!

Spring Blooms--Bradford Pear

2011-03-12T06:41:00.000-08:00

Our Spring Beauty

Bug on Bradford Pear Blooms--2011

When you buy an established home, you never know what you are getting! These beautiful blooms are from our Bradford Pear tree. After doing a little research, I'm finding out that the tree is not very hardy, plus there are problems associated with the variety. First a little about the beautiful tree.

Sky view--2011

The Bradford Pear comes from Korea and China and was grown commercially in the 60s. In the springtime it is our first bloomer along with the native Redbud tree, and is covered in lovely white blossoms. In the fall there is no lovelier turn of a leaf than our Bradford. The leaves turn from green to deep maroon with a splash of orange. The fall colors never dissapoint. In the summertime the shade is always welcomed, and the tree in the backyard is actually helping to keep my kitchen comfortable.

Now for a few problems:

According to some of the posts in surf-land, the Bradford pear is a fast-growing tree that puts off suckers, has a shallow root system and is prone to splitting during heavy freezes. So far, we do not have any of those issues, but the posts go on to say that the Bradford pear has a short lifespan of about 20 years.

So lovely in the springtime!

The trees in our yard are at least 13 to 15 years old. We have not seen any limb damage, any suckers, or any splitting of the trunk. All I can say about our previous homeowners is that they did consult a local nurseryman for all of their purchases, and for the most part, researched what was planted fairly well.

This tree does not produce any fruit at all, rather the "fruit" are about the size of a snow pea and as the season progresses spoils with little orangy spikes coming out of it. For years I kept waiting for the fruit to get larger, until one day Pat squashed that fantasy with the actual identification of the tree. All along I thought we had a Bartlett Pear tree. Ugh!

Composting: A Gift to Your Garden

2011-03-10T03:36:00.000-08:00

Pat and I have been composting on and off for over 15 years now. It truly isn't complicated, but to be successful, dedication is key. I am currently reading two books: Fertilizers for Free: Updated and Revised (1999) by Charles Siegchrist, Storey Publishing; and Don't Waste Your Wastes--Compost'em: The Homeowner's Guide to Recycling Yard Wastes (1991) by Bert Whitehead, Sunnyvale Press. Yes, both publications may be considered "old" however, since nature is the ultimate composter--I dare say nothing much has developed in the last 10 to 20 years!

2-Stage Compost Bin. Bin on the left is the "working" bin. Bin on the
right is currently the "holding" bin, but it needs to be cleaned out
to be used as the "finished" bin. We had a third bin, but the
cinder blocks were used for the new onion bed!

There are a few basics to composting, and because Pat and I are still perfecting what nature does so well on her own, I consider this topic to be a journey as well. One new thing I did learn from Don't Waste Your Wastes is I was under the impression that a cold compost would not work. In otherwords, compost piles aren't working unless they're hot. I'm proving this to be false since the composting I've done during the winter has been "cold." According to Whitehead, there are 3 microorganisms that work under certain conditions: psychrophile works under "cold" conditions; mesophile works under warm conditions; and thermophile works under hot conditions. Whitehead does say that hotter compost piles are more efficient, and I know this to be true. However, what I am seeing in my "cold" pile right now is working--I do have humus--not much--but I do have humus! My ultimate goal is to get this compost pile "cooking" so that I can produce a hefty amount of organic matter this planting season. This weekend I plan to remove some of the lovely dirt to my "resting" area so it can rest and cure.

In the meantime, here is a simple recipe to get started:

Build a simple structure to house your compost that allows air to flow in. It isn't necessary to purchase a composting bin, however, they are nice! We've used cinder blocks, pallets, chicken wire, or a simple pile of stuff behind the back fence--completely open. Since we live in the country, it is essential we secure our pile so our "green" isn't eaten overnight by dogs and vermen!
Make sure the pile is turned every 3 to 5 days and add some water if it dries out. Ours dries out a lot during the summer months.
Use 75% brown matter to 25% green matter [City of Waco Recycling Division Composting Wheel]. Anything that looks brown, probably is brown. Anything that looks green, probably is green. Freshly mown grass is green. Dried out grass is brown.
I like to layer brown matter and green matter like a lasagne to start with. Top off with a little more brown each time you add green. I find that adding leaves that have started to decompose, or mold, works well and helps the pile compost.
If it isn't time to turn the pile yet, be certain to bury green matter within the pile. Bury it so that vermen do not smell it and to help it decomposes faster and more efficiently...and to reduce fly larve.

In later posts I'll talk about my adventures in composting this year, the problems and challenges I have and how I correct them. I'll also have a list of great greens and browns to add to the compost and ways to collect compost from unsuspecting neighbors!!

Gardening Goals 2011--March Update

2011-03-08T17:06:00.000-08:00

Since March is pretty much a great month to get out and get the hands dirty, I thought I'd update you on our Gardening Goals progress!!

Goal #1: Make a large vegetable garden in the front yard where there is full sun

Go, Pat! Go!! March 2011

I must say, things are coming along nicely for Goal #1, especially since Pat purchased a used Troy-Bilt Pro Line CRT 160 Roto-Tiller! We have been wanting one for a long time, but held off because mainly because we thought it'd be next to impossible to till a garden with our rocky terrain. Boy were we wrong! Just look at Pat!! Go, Pat, Go!!!

And look at this dirt! It drains, it crumbles, and it clumps nicely then crumbles again! A vegetable gardener's dream!

Awesome Dirt--we'll send a sample to Texas A&M Soil
Lab for analysis

As for the vegetable garden we're working on, we do have quite a bit of rock to remove. Pat wants to plant Cereal Rye this year to get a good start on our "green" portion of composting the soil. I've already raked up about 25 wheelbarrow loads of leaves that Pat has tilled under. Right now the size of the garden is 17' x 35' or 595 square feet. I do hope I can convince Pat to plant a few things like cucumbers and squash and cantaloupe and watermelon and gourds [cuz I want to paint them and make birdhouses], etc. It seems a shame not to just dive in. However, I do see his point about taking our time and making the garden just so and amending the soil carefully so that our efforts produce a good crop of food.

Not only has Pat been busy tilling a vegetable garden, but he took our cinder blocks and made an onion bed out front as well. We had planted onions in the same spot for several years in the herb garden, and they turned out nicely until the last couple of years. Either they were not planted at the right time, or we failed to amend the soil properly. Whatever the reason, our onion crop has been scant to say the least.

New onion bed

Other goals that are in progress, include:

2. Cut down at least 4 trees and reorganize wood pile: We've cut down one tree that fell during the snow and re-organized the woodpile.

3. Tidy all bulb gardens: Why bother what was blooming just fine? We'll probably nix this one!

4. Cindy wants to re-work Turk's Cap garden: I've gotten a good start, but have a long way to go. I've dug up as many Parrot Lilies as possible, and more are growing as we speak. A sort of Parrot Lilies' revenge most likely. I need to rake out the leaves, trim the salvias some more as I was waiting for them to leaf out some before making drastic cuts, and purchase more plants!

5. Replace and add more salvias: Goes with #4, but there are many other areas in the yard we could use some salvias. The cost of plants is most likely what will keep this lofty goal in check.

6. Add more lovely herbs to the herb garden: Pat has added some lettuces so far. There haven't been many herbs out in pots to buy. We definitely want to buy some Lemon Balm. Pat did buy some Yarrow, but that is planted out front in full sun.

7. Read Herb Gardening book and use herbs for soaps, oils, and such: I've started this somewhat.

8. Get a few Guineas: Waiting for our son Matt to graduate from SFA and move back home to help out with this project since he is---The Chicken Man!!

February 2011 Forecast Prediction -- Follow Up!

2011-03-07T04:25:00.000-08:00

Snow Day--February 4, 2011

Admittedly, this post is a little overdue. However, life is getting busy with the testing season upon students and teachers. Nevertheless, February was a roller coaster month with frigid temperatures, rolling blackouts to conserve energy, snow, and balmy days suitable for tanning and Bermuda shorts!

Actual Prediction for February 2011

It is my prayer and hope that if we do not get much rain in January, that we have a good chance of rain in February since the humidity was higher today, and there were some clouds--although white and fluffy. Well, it looks like prayer and hope will be needed since there was absolutely no rain in the month of February 2010! Yikes. The average high [2010] was 57° and the average low was 37°.

February, oh February, month of love--be kind to us. Be mild and rain just enough to keep the grass and plants happy!!

February 2011 Actual

High: 64° to 82°
Low 14° to 23°
Rainfall 0.94"
Wind 16 to 32 mph

Hypothesis Proved/Disproved

I cannot say since I never really committed to an actual prediction. I believe I can interpret my intention as thinking February would be mild. Well, it was to a certain degree if discounting the absolutely frigid days and the unexpected snow holiday!! I prayed for rain, and we did get that! Based upon the experiment, though, there was no way to predict the cold weather, so I shall err on the side of my hypothesis being disproved.

Bees--The Gardener's Friend

2011-02-28T05:10:00.000-08:00

Bee with Aster taken 2009

I have probably used this photo before, but it is one of my favorites. It's a favorite because of the hot topic of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) regarding our friend the bee. Pat picked up the March/April 2011 edition of Texas Gardner and inside there is an article about bees and what we as gardeners can do to help out. I will hit the highlights with this post, but if you're interested in finding out more, click on the link.

No doubt we do have a problem in preserving our pollinator, the bee. It has been widely reported that scientists do have several hypothesis regarding CCD. However, those of us who do not have hives can still change certain habits that may very well help our friend survive this battle.

According to the article we need to be proactive and provide a safe place for bees to feed, work and live:

Allow plants to look a little unsightly. In wintertime, bees and other insects live in our dried out stems and stalks. Who knew? Leaving them until the last minute in springtime allows our friends to have shelter during the cold months. Pat and I can check this one off!!
Do not use bug zappers. Apparently they kill more beneficials than undesirables. Check...never have owned one.
Manage pests without pesticides. Most of the time we do this, but Pat will use 7 Dust from time to time.
Have areas with small rocks so the bees can "bask." Check.
Have a bee-friendly water source...a shallow water dish with rocks so the bees can drink without drowning. Easily accomplished.
Provide diverse nectar sources with lots of color and various blooming periods. Check.
And my favorite: leave bare patches of ground so ground-nesting bees and mud daubers can make their habitat. With as many trees and shade as we have on our place, we have tons of areas that fit this requirement. Check and check.
I am adding this one: Plant as many native and heirloom plants as possible. Some suggested plants are: Almond verbena; Anise hyssop; Basil; Beebalm; Borage; Chives; Lavender; Mint; Rosemary; Roses; Sage.

The article has many more suggestions on how to help our friends, and gives a detailed account on why the bee is in trouble. It is also good to note that there are 100s of varieties of bees in Texas. So take a look at your landscape. If it's a little barren consider planting some nice natives this spring to help out!

Plant Smart--Avoiding Invasives

2011-02-23T16:15:00.000-08:00

Tubers from Parrot Lily

One of the things I say too often is, "I shoulda listened." The year my mother-in-law decided to help us plant a bodacious Iris bed with prize-winning Irises, she took me to an Iris specialist--Mrs. Hydie. While Mrs. Hydie dug up Iris rhizomes-a-plenty, I spotted some other plants I wanted to add to our yard. One was Turk's Cap and the other was Parrot Lilies.

Mrs. Hydie said, "Oh, you don't want those." Some people in my family claim I'm hard-headed. Maybe it's more along the lines of selectively deaf. Either way, I came home with Irises and Turk's Cap and Parrot Lilies. The Irises and Turk's Cap have done quite well and I am very happy with those. However, not so much with the Parrot Lilies. I do think Parrot Lilies are a lovely plant. The problem is, as Mrs. Hydie warned, they are invasive in Texas. I wanted them to stay in one certain spot in my "circle" garden out front. But they had plans of their own. They spread themselves in, through, about, and underneath my salvias, daisies, and other little tidbit plants I have there, and they didn't even have the nerve to bloom appropriately! The only thing they did was sprout their green foliage and stay compact. They behaved more like a ground cover than a lily. I most likely do not have them planted in the right spot. As I type this post, I'm thinking of another spot in the yard they could go. But I'm still afraid that they'll make a run for it and get out of control.

So a couple of weekends ago, prior to the big freeze, I got out there and dug up all I could. I didn't even put them in the compost! I wanted to make certain those babies were gone for good. Now Pat, on the other hand, couldn't stand to see all those tubers go into the trash can. So he saved a few and stuck them in a pot. We'll see if they bloom or not!

Below is a picture of what a Parrot Lily should look like. The picture comes from the website Strange Wonderful Things. Click on the link for a history of the Parrot Lilies. You know...I think the next time someone says, "You don't want those...." Nah, I probably won't listen!

Picture from Strange Wonderful Things

Homestead Heritage & Organic Plus Haul!

2011-02-20T06:48:00.000-08:00

Homestead Heritage Haul & Plants from Organic Plus

About a week ago, Pat noticed that Homestead Heritage was offering "free" seminars on gardening. In case you are not familiar with Homestead Heritage, they are a self-sustaining, Christian community who farm and live off the land. They have built quite an empire by making and selling a variety of homemade items from furniture to quilts to preserves to pottery and more.

When we moved back to Waco in 1994, Homestead Heritage seemed to be just getting started. Taking a look at the website, their business plan is taking off greatly, as they now have the General Store, The Barn--where they sell their wares, and a deli on site. On Labor Day weekend and Thanksgiving, you can visit this unique place and take a step back in time. Other times during the year they offer self-guided walking tours, classes on how to be self-sustaining in your own corner of the world, organized tours for schools, and an opportunity to shop! The community is located in the Elm Mott area off FM 933.

Back to the purpose of our Saturday trip--the free seminar. The ad in the paper did not specify anything other than "Free Seminars--Saturdays--10:00 a.m." The topics include: Gardening, Poultry, Bees, and Rain Collection. Since the information was a little scant, I asked Pat if we could just drive out there to check it out! Well, the seminars actually start next weekend--February 26th, and I will provide a listing of full classes at the end of this post. However, as you can see, the trip was not wasted. We only went to the General Store this time and fell in love with all they have there. The tools they sell are of the highest quality and high-priced, but worth it. Buy a pitchfork there and you'll never have bent tines again--unless you try to bust rock! I now have a lovely gardening hat and some suet for the songbirds. I did find the copper fungicide I was talking about in the black spot post. In addition, they have seeds, stone bakeware, fertilizer, feed, books on gardening and just about anything else of gardening interest.

Homestead Heritage Gardening Full Classes for 2011--Run about $90 each.
February 26th & March 19th: Bees--Introduction
April 23rd & May 7th: Bees--Advanced
April 16th & August 27th: Backyard Gardening
April 16th & September 17th: Growing Culinary Herbs
June 25th & September 3rd: Raising Poultry

The free seminars follow almost the same schedule as above, and are offered most every weekend beginning next week. Call 254-754-9663 for more information.

Organic Plus

After spending quite a lot of money at the General Store we went to another favorite place, Organic Plus. They are located in Speegleville off of Highway 6 & 185 at 10568 N. River Crossing (254-848-2103). They have herbs and native plants--but usually not a lot of those. Their main focus is bulk compost, blended soil and mulch. That is what we usually purchase from them, but today we settled in on some arugula, tomato plants, romaine lettuce, and a few other herbs. If you are wanting to amend your gardening soil, a trip to Organic Plus will make your garden happy!!!

Signs of Life

2011-02-19T15:31:00.000-08:00

Daffodils--Narcissus--2011

The few flowering bulbs in our garden never cease to amaze me. They come back each and every year without so much as a thought. This is the first spring in a very long time that I didn't stroll through the garden to be totally shocked that something was growing!! I know that is due to going out a little more often than in recent years past. Because these bulbs were already planted when we purchased our home some 13 years ago, I do not know for certain what variety they are. A little research leads me to believe these Daffodils, or Narcissus, are a butterfly type since there is a ruffled appearance to the petals. The link takes you to a website that explains several varieties of Daffodils.

We do have some Hyacinths beginning to emerge as well as some Snowflake Lilies. The Paperwhites, another form of Narcissus, are still trying to recoup from the recent snow and ice. I'm certain that as the weather warms up they'll make their annual showy appearance.

Potted Tulips

One thing to look forward to next year will be these lovely yellow Tulips. They were my Valentine's gift from the #1 gardener in the house, Pat. He didn't know it at the time, but I've always wanted Tulips growing in our garden. But like everything else we plant around here, they will either sink or swim on their own!!

Current State: Spring Fever!

2011-02-13T16:03:00.000-08:00

Current State: Pat and I are ready for spring, but spring isn't quite here yet! That doesn't mean we can't get ready for it!!

For Valentine's Day, Pat and I decided to take a trip out to Bonnie's Greenhouse to pick up a few plants. Unfortunately the nursery looked a lot like our yard. Full of promise, but not much to see just yet. She does have a lot of shade plants that I cannot wait to experiment with! In the video you'll see where I'd like to start a shade garden.

Since plant shopping was a bust, Pat and I decided to buy a smaller grill for weekend grilling when it is just the two of us. This turned out to be the ticket and we did have a great steak dinner. In addition to testing out a new grill, the video highlights a few of the yard activities Pat and I did to get ready for spring blooms! Enjoy!!

Sweet Bay Laurel--Herb

2011-02-10T05:19:00.000-08:00

Sweet Bay Laurel

Mention bay leaf to me and I immediately think of soup, stew, beans, pot roast, and barbecue! Thanks to Pat and our lovely Sweet Bay Laurel tree, I'll never have to buy dried bay leaves again. What a luxury it is to step outside anytime of the year and pluck a leaf or two to add to the pot simmering on the stove!

Care

This tree grew to its current height of about 7' within about 2 or 3 years. The only care required is pruning to keep it shaped and compact. It will send off shoots from the trunk, but those are easily pruned as well. You can tell by the pruning paint on the trunk that Pat did take off a few branches to keep the tree in a topiary form.

The tree can be successfully grown in containers and placed either inside or outside. It is an evergreen and extremely hardy. The past couple of winter freezes have had no affect on the tree, and it has withstood Texas heat and drought.

Buds on the Sweet Bay Laurel will bloom in spring

Interesting Facts and Other Uses

The bay tree was apparently sacred to the Greek god of prophecy--Apollo. His temple at Delphi had its roof made of bay leaves so he would be protected from disease. The Laurel is associated with the Greeks as they fashioned the waxy green leaves into wreaths to adorn their heads. Later the image of the leaves were transformed into architectural moldings. Romans associated the bay leaf with wisdom and glory. The term laureate means "crowned with laurels" and is associated with poet laureate and baccalaureate.

There are other uses for the herb. This is perhaps the best news I've had in a long time: place a bay leaf in flour to deter weevils. Bay leaves can be used to flavor vinegar. Martha Stewart likes to spray the leaves gold to make wreaths at Christmastime. The cuttings after pruning can be used to accent herb wreaths as well. And I would almost bet that a twig or two of bay leaves would add a nice accent to a floral arrangement.

Irises--A Family Favorite

2011-02-08T17:58:00.000-08:00

Prize-winning Iris

In an earlier post, I mentioned how my grandma loved Irises. The variety she grew, I believe, had to be native to North America because they were so hardy and multiplied so rapidly, she couldn't dig them up fast enough and give them away. We inherited a few of these lovely soft purple Irises and are having the same problem. The only trouble is, if they aren't divided and given away often enough, they tend to overcrowd and do not bloom as much.

Growing Season

The main reason for writing this post is Irises will be blooming soon in Texas. Some parts of the state will have the showy flowers bloom in February. In my area, they tend to bloom in March and April. My mother-in-law found out about the flower from me, and as usual when she planted her Iris bed, she had a show that lasted for a good month or more. I have not been so lucky.

This is probably due to the fact that Pat and I both are somewhat Darwinian when it comes to gardening. It's the survival of the fittest around here. A plant in our garden has to live on the rainfall and intermittent watering they receive from Pat. Fertilizer? What's Fertilizer?
I digress. The point is the Iris blooming season is upon us, and if they have been neglected during the winter, never fear. There are a few things that can be done now to ensure lovely spring blooms.

Grandma's Iris

Care

Begin now watering established rhizoms once per week. If it rains or snows, skip the weekly watering. Be careful not to overwater. Overwatering can cause some of the rhizomes to rot.

DO NOT cut the leaves at all right now. In fact, we do not ever cut the leaves unless they turn brown. The rhizomes use the photosynthesis process to store sugar once blooms are spent. This allows for lovely blooms during the next growing season.

Fertilize with regular NPK---nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium 5-10-10--once per month during the growing season. Pat sprinkled an organic cotton-hull compost around our Irises. He did this back in the fall and the compost has hopefully been activated with each rain and watering.

Once Irises begin to bloom, wait until the blooms and stems dry up before removing them. Again, the rhizomes use the bloom and stem to store sugar for the next blooming season.

Pests

The only pests I've noticed on the Irises are snails. To help out this growing season I will be ready with the beer to entice the slimy slugs to their happy demise.

Container Gardening--Part 2: Soil

2011-02-05T07:02:00.000-08:00

Last week I had a post featuring an oustanding container garden with so many plants growing it seemed impossible. Perhaps the secret to a great container garden is the foundation--the soil! Pat and I are great at the one-plant-per-pot style of container gardening. But as much as I've tried, I cannot seem to get several plants going at the same time in one container.

This is the basic potting soil recipe I found on Fine Gardening:

1 part peat moss
1 part perlite
1 part compost
1 part good garden soil

Optional:
A handful each of:
Garden lime
Soybean meal
Rock phosphate
Kelp meal

Moisten the ingredients to make mixing easier. Place a ½-inch mesh screen over a garden cart or other large container, and sift all ingredients to remove any large particles. Mix thoroughly.

The handfuls of garden lime, soybean meal, rock phosphate, and kelp meal (any of which can be omitted) provide extra nutrients that enable this mix to feed plants for a year or two without additional fertilization.

Go to this link, and there are several styles of potting mix for specific plants such as cacti and annuals.

Another favorite gardener of mine is The Patient Gardener who lives in England. She has a post on a simple container garden that can probably be planted right now!

Snow Day!

2011-02-04T09:11:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of our snow in Central Texas. My prediction for February weather is a little off, but at least this is only the 4th day! It still could turn out to be fairly mild. I hope our Spineless Cactus makes it. I'm not sure if it can take another freeze.

Spineless Cactus in the snow--2011

Our dead oak tree fell over when the north winds blew in earlier this week. Luckily it found the perfect spot to fall...right between the Oleander and Texas Sage!

Finally, a nice splash of color among the stark white background!

Happy February everyone!

Brrrrr--That's All Folks!

2011-01-31T16:11:00.001-08:00

After my post on how January was a mild month wintry-weather-wise, the local weatherman warned us to get ready. Apparently a cold front of blizzard proportions is headed our way. We're not expected to get any snow, but we are expected to have frigid temperatures over the next couple of days.

Protecting the plants for the next couple of days

Tomorrow, Tuesday, the temperature is to start dropping around midnight. It will continue to fall to a lovely 15° overnight. Wednesday, it warms to a frigid 28° and drops to 12°. Thursday we can expect a balmy freezing temperature dropping to only 23°. Keep in mind this is today's forecast. It all could change by 6 a.m. So what was that February 2011 prediction?

"Be mild and rain just enough to keep the grass and plants happy!!"

Perhaps I need to amend that to: "Be kind and don't kill off all the plants with the frigid temperatures!" Actually, the 2nd day of January was "normal" so I did not see this one coming!! Stay tuned.....

January 2011 Forecast Prediction--Follow up

2011-01-30T06:28:00.000-08:00

A picture of a frosty morning would be very appropriate for an actual update for January 2011, but the truth is our winter has been pretty mild so far. Yes, I've had to scrape the windshield a couple of days; however, I have not worn my red wool coat at all this season.

My Prediction:

I predict January 2011 will be cooler than normal for most of the month, although tomorrow and the rest of the week is expected to bring temps around 60°. We'll catch some north winds, but nothing too strong. And, we can hope for a little rain, although today's sky did not hold much of a chance at all for the month. Stay tuned to see if the prediction comes true. I'll update at the end of this month!!

Actual Stats--Averages for the Month:

High: 59° to 76°

Low: 20° to 38°

Rainfall: 3.70" yippee!!

Wind: 7 mph to 32 mph

Results:

My prediction was a little off I suppose as the average high and low temperatures were 56°/33° respectively. These temps fall within the "normal" range for January as I recall; however, I have not found a site yet that states this information. The prediction about the winds came true since our maximum speed was 32 mph. This occurred when the cold fronts were approaching. Other than that, the winds were relatively calm throughout the month. Finally, I do not care if I was off with the rain prediction!! I'll take nearly 4" of rain any day! We actually have today and Monday left in the month, and we do have a chance for more rain. That will be a welcomed sight as our clay soil on top of limestone tends to dry out quickly, even after torrential downpours!

Hypothesis Proved/Disproved:

For January I'd have to say my Grandpa's hypothesis is disproved, since the temperature was normal and the rains came anyway. Everyone say awww! Of course, it could have been the predictor's fault! One never knows!

Cures for Black Spot--Follow-up

2011-01-29T08:14:00.000-08:00

Before Picture

I apologize for not knowing exactly what variety of rose this bush is, but Pat thinks it's an Antique White. Nevertheless, as you can see in the "after" picture, it has succumbed to Black Spot. This rose bush was doing fine until we finally got a little rain back in December. One day the bush was loaded with spent blooms and green leaves, and the next day all the leaves had fallen off the bush--even the thorns had dropped off!!

After Black Spot

Even though the after picture is not very clear, it is easy to see that there are few leaves on the bush! Yes, it is wintertime, but the few remaining leaves show that Black Spot was here. After a little research in my earlier post, I decided to take a few simple action steps. One of the action steps is to simple inspect the rose bushes once per week. My next step was to purchase something that works. Being influenced to be as green of a gardner as possible, I decided to take Grow Green's advice and start with a fungicide that will have very little impact on the environment. Home Depot did not have the fungicide they recommended, but there was one label that caught my eye.

EcoSmart Organic
Garden Fungicide

Green Remedy

EcoSmart Organic Garden Fungicide is a disease control for roses, flowers and shrubs. It states it controls Black Spot, Rust, Powdery Mildew, Petal Blight, and other common plant diseases. It even claims you can "spray and harvest" on the same day. I do believe that because the ingredients are all natural: Rosemary Oil (gives a nice-pleasing aroma), Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, and 99% other ingredients!! This product sells for about $6.00.

I doused the infected rose bush since there are signs of life. The plant is beginning to leaf out very nicely, and I'm certain the thorns will return as well! This product is very easy to use. They suggest spraying the plant every 7 to 10 days or after a rain. Very easy to remember for me, that's for sure. This will be a great time to test this product since I am certain we'll be seeing some rain of the next couple of months (at least I hope we will).

Home Remedy

Here is another very low-cost, home remedy I found today on About.com. The first recommendation is to plant your tomato bushes next to rose bushes as the tomato bushes help reduce Black Spot. However, if you do not want lovely tomatoes next to your lovely roses, they recommend crushing some tomato leaves and mixing that with water and cornstarch. They seem to think it's the cornstarch that does the trick. My only problem is I do not have any tomatoes growing right now, so I'll stick with the EcoSmart for a couple of rounds to see if it will do the trick.

Please leave a comment if you have any "green" tips for controlling Black Spot. I am hoping that with regular care, my "after" picture will become my "before" picture once again!

Container Gardening

2011-01-25T05:03:00.000-08:00

Photo by Michelle Gervais
Containers by Deanne Fortnam

Oh how I wish I could take credit for the lovely container on the right. This is my dream. To plant a container like this one and actually have all the plants growing and blooming at the same time. Every spring I am inspired and every summer I am discouraged! Click on the link below the picture for a listing of all, I mean all the plants in this container. Can you imagine the different kinds of plants growing in this container? Those are cannas in the back for goodness sakes!

I cannot say that Pat and I are not successful with container gardening. For several years in a row, my mother-in-law purchased Dragon Wing Begonias for us. In her garden she would plant 3 or so in a large container and water the fire out of it. They make a lovely container plant. However, I am in love with what Ms. Fortnam has created! I suppose success is largely due to selecting the right types of plants. Unfortunately, her link does not offer any tips, so I will have to do some research and update this post later.

Containers at Fort Worth Botanic
Gardens

The picture, right, is another example of strategically combining plants in a large container with gorgeous results. After going to the Botanic Gardens in Fort Worth, Texas, a couple years ago, I was inspired to try again. I had dismal results. I suppose the thing my mother-in-law figured out a long time ago is if you don't water regularly, there is no point in spending the money. Pat lectures me about this constantly. He tries to help me out, but by the time he's given up on me the plants are not able to be revived. So it's back to the drawing board for the 2011 season. I think Ms. Fortnam's design is too advanced for me. I do like the Fort Worth container a little better. I am thinking that if I read the labels carefully and either go all sunny plants or all shady plants, I should be a little more successful!

Time to Plan

2011-01-22T11:03:00.000-08:00

I was talking to Pat last night about how my ideas for a blog post have seemed to dry up all of a sudden. His reply was, "It's winter." Exactly my point. This is the time to take action!! I was just reading a couple of favorite blogs in Google Reader and this one caught my eye! On About.com/gardening, they had a link to a Kitchen Garden Planner. This planner allows you to set your garden size. You select what you want to plant, and it automatically tells you how many plants you can grow in the selected area and gives you planting instructions. You can then save your garden for future reference. However, I couldn't find some of the typical garden plants such as beets, carrots, and squash. So I searched further.

The planner at Better Homes and Gardens allows you to actually landscape just about anything in your yard, including pathways, garden furniture, planters, etc. But once again, there is a limit to the plants you can click on to design your garden, and there is no support for a vegetable garden that I could find. I suppose this really doesn't matter if just playing around with "the look" is the important thing.

Then I got a little smarter and googled "vegetable garden planner." I stumbled upon a website called Vegetable Garden Planner. This website is more my style. It has an online "journal" which you can sign up for free. Then all throughout the website are tons of articles to get you started. Some features of this planner is you can upload photos, keep a journal of your garden and observations, maintain a garden "to-do" list, record when you plant and harvest crops. Having something like this will be helpful over the years to help keep track of what does well during which season.

Honestly, I think drawing this stuff out online is kind of a waste of time. My mother always got a legal pad, drew a rectangle, drew columns, and labeled what she would plant where. Pat just goes out to the garden and starts digging. I think I would use the Vegetable Garden Planner, but I also think I'd quit using it after a while. Maybe all I need is one of those fancy journals at Barnes and Noble...hmmmm....

For the Birds

2011-01-19T04:22:00.000-08:00

Cardinal eating sunflower seeds. Taken July 2006.

I apologize in advance for the picture quality. I took this with my Canon Elph, and it only has a 3x zoom. Regardless, the Cardinal is the point of this post, not the photograph. Pat and I enjoy sitting outside watching the birds eat from our feeders, if the squirrels have left any food. On this particular day, Pat had just filled our largest bird feeder when this Cardinal dropped by to eat the seeds which fell onto the table.

Birdfeeders and sunflower seeds are not the only things that attract Cardinals and other birds to feed in our yard. We have grape vines and fig trees that help when the fruit ripens. And we have other plants that attract them; such as: Asters, Purple Coneflowers, and Goldenrod. The other day I was reading a post on About.com's blog about plants that attract birds. The three plants I mentioned are in their post, but there are others.

"Plants for Feeding Birds" has a short list of plants which grow well in Texas. Another website Birds n Garden is actually a store in Austin, Texas. This site not only lists plants, but also states the type of bird or butterfly the plant attracts. If your property is prone to deer nibbles, they even tell you which plants are deer resistant along with drought tolerant, etc. Finally, "Plants to Attract Birds" lists several plants that are good food for birds and note those that are native to Texas.

What plants do you have that grow well in your yard and notice birds feeding at? I would love to hear from you, so please leave a comment and include your state or country!

Winter Beauty

2011-01-17T19:25:00.000-08:00

Pansy--January 2011

One could argue that an annual is not Grow Green friendly. But how can you resist a beautiful Pansy? Pansies are annuals and will not be here once the really hot summer begins, which is usually by the end of May. However, Pansies were one of my Grandma's favorite flowers and it's hard to not to plant a few of them in the winter. Plus, they're so beautiful!

Mine were planted just a little too late to be prolific, but as you can see at least one plant is doing well. With the saturating rains we've had so far, I anticipate them to pop out and grow like crazy in the next couple of weeks.

Since I'm updating the Pansies, I thought I'd let you know that despite puppy digging and clawing the very day I planted beets, carrots, fennel and wildflowers, I am seeing a few seedlings. The picture below is a snapshot of the wildflowers I planted about 2 weeks ago. I think it's way too early for them to be sprouting, but Pat says they're just like weeds. In fact, I could very well have a pleasant crop of weeds

and not know it!! However, looking closely at the sprouts, I'd say I'll have a nice crop of wildflowers soon. Hope we don't get a hard freeze. As for the carrots--no sign yet. But I did see a few beets. And yes, a puppy did come and dig profusely through my garden about 2 hours after I'd planted. I was not a happy camper. I expect to replant this weekend or the following week to be certain of getting a few vegetables!!

Grow Green--Landscaping with Native Plants

2011-01-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

Mountain Laurel--January 2011

I am so excited about this post. One of the things Pat and I look for when we go shopping for plants are plants that can take a ton of rain one month and still look pretty after 3 months of no rain. That is a challenge, but not if you Grow Green. The term Pat and I have used for years is Xeriscaping or Xerogardening. Grow Green, Xeriscaping or Xerogardening refer to landscaping and gardening in ways that reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental water from irrigation. It also means reducing the impact on the environment by reducing the need for fertilizer and pesticides. When this gardening technique is used, plants are so easy to care for. Usually clearing of dead material or pruning once per year is all that is needed to keep the landscape looking marvelous.

Yesterday, Pat and I traveled to Austin, Travis County, to listen to the county horticulturist talk about making gardening practical for this area. One thing she kept stressing is plant purchase. Plants touted by gardeners on cable television may or may not grow well here without a lot of extra work and intervention in the way of fertilizer, soil amendment and water to keep the plant healthy and looking great. While we were there, we picked up the best resource ever to help us continue on our quest for Growing Green. Native and Adapted Landscape Plants: an earthwise guide for Central Texas is a complete resource for the types of trees, shrubs and plants to buy and plant in order to keep the garden an enjoyable place to be. Click on the title to browse the various plants that work for Central Texas.

As I thumbed through the booklet last night, I was so excited and encouraged by the number of plants we have already in our garden. Here is our list so far. As we add more, I'll update this post.

Grow Green Plants in our Garden as of January 2011

Cedar Elm
Texas Red Oak
Possumhaw Holly
Desert Willow
Yaupon Holly
Mountain Laurel--so much prettier than a Wisteria and it's evergreen!! [Note: there are Texas varieties of Wisteria that are pretty and hearty, too!]
Burford Holly
Knockout Roses
Rosemary
Texas Sage
Bulbine--actually we've had these...but our bunnies like to eat them. But I'm determined to try again.
Turks Cap
Chile Pequin
Blackfood Daisy....so pretty and delicate--but hearty!
Fall Aster
Gaura
Lamb's Ear
Indigo Spires' Salvia
Texas Lantana
Bicolor Iris (in a container)
Mexican Marigold Mint
Rock Rose
Purple Coneflower
Cedar Sage
Pink Skullcap
Society Garlic
Russian Sage---needs to be replaced, though---sometimes it's necessary!
Red Yucca
Prickly Pear---but we have the spineless variety and it works very well here.
Softleaf Yucca---we had these, but lost them to a freeze---will replace.
Paleleaf Yucca
Aztec Grass
Monkey Grass
Asian Jasmine
Purple Heart
Oregano
Santolina
Sedum
Burmuda grass

Check out the Native and Adapted Landscape Plant resource and let me know which plants you have that work well for you!

Black Spot--The Plague of Roses

2011-01-15T16:50:00.000-08:00

Rose Bud--2009--Cindy Boney

Beautiful green, healthy leaves are what any gardner would love to have on rose bushes. Unfortunately, Pat and I are struggling with one particular disease: Fungal Leaf Spot or black spot. Black spot thrives in humid areas. Although this blog is a Southwest Gardner's Journal, Pat and I do live in an area that can experience high humidity for a good portion of the year. Not realizing that humidity is the main factor in feeding this fungus has kept us in the dark as to what to do to help keep our rose bushes healthy.

Black Spot on Leaves--Google Image

Black spot can spread quickly. As the spots appear, the fungus begins to attack the leaves turning them yellow and then brown. Leaves eventually fall off and if left unchecked, the entire plant can begin losing leaves at a rapid pace. Proactive inspection of rose bushes is the best cure. In researching this problem, I have come up with some action steps I plan to use to help Pat keep this nasty fungus away from our roses this year.

Apparently, it is necessary to "look closely" at your rose bushes on a regular basis. So, I shall inspect rose bushes weekly for the nasty spots.
Avoid watering rose bushes from the top. If watering from the top is unavoidable, water in the morning. One of our problems is Pat usually waters the lawn and flower beds at 5 in the evening in the summer. When it's hot, one would think the leaves would have time to dry, but perhaps not. It may be that I will have to water the yard and beds in the mornings in the summertime to help prevent black spot.
When spots first appear, apply a sulfur fungicide immediately. Pat and I attended a gardening seminar in Austin, Texas, today, and the handout recommended a sulfur fungicide because it is the least toxic for the environment. Other articles I have consulted suggest using the same thing. (Fertilome Broad Spectrum Liquid Fungicide appears to be the most toxic according to Grow Green.)
Prune rose bushes when they are dry. If the purpose of pruning is to help remove the fungus, remove plant material from the area immediately and disenfect shears with 10% bleach solution. Don't forget to oil shears when finished to prevent rust.
Prune rose bushes so that air is able to circulate around the bushes freely to help keep them dry.

Pat and I have lost one Antique Rose bush to this nasty disease, and although our Knockout Roses are disease resistant, I am fearful that they still may get the nasty plague. Keeping my fingers crossed for 2011!

December 2011 Forecast--Prediction!!

2011-01-13T04:33:00.000-08:00

January 12, 2011--December 2011 Prediction!

Actual Weather

Sunrise--Jan. 12, 2011

High: 35°
Low: 21°
Wind: 7 mph
Humidity: 59%
Precipitation: none
Sky: pretty blue skies

Affect

Today was a nice day for being cold. I had a good amout of ice on the windows that needed scraping and defrosting. Heated seats and a full heater blowing were also in order. As the day went on, the sun helped to keep everything feeling warmer than it probably was.

Prediction for December 2011

Today's temperatures were well below normal for January, so my December 2011 prediction is a cold wintery Holiday season. We'll probably see more ice on our windshields than we did in fall 2010. As far as rainfall is concerned, I am thinking below normal, although we will probably hit our dew point marks since we had ice on the windshield today. That will help some.

This post wraps up the prediction phase of the experiment. Around the 27th of each month I will compare the prediction to the actual. I will most likely rely on historical data, but will do my best to take weekend snapshots of the week's weather to add to the data.

November 2011 Forecast--Prediction!!

2011-01-12T04:04:00.000-08:00

January 11, 2011--November 2011 Prediction!

This bush was a "freebie" from Bonnies Greenhouse.
It started as a twig...glad Pat planted it where
it had room to "grow"!!

 My grandpa said that if you watch the weather the first 12 days of the new year, you will know what the weather will be like for the year. Here is my "official" experiment!

I took the day off in honor of my own birthday yesterday!! And with this post....there is only one more day to record and then the experiment begins! I plan to twist the truth to make my grandpa out to be a genius!! Okay, I already get the feeling that this is probably some sort of wives tale, but one never knows....on to November's prediction!

Actual Weather

High: 34°
Low: 24°
Wind: 10 mph
Humidity: 70%
Precipitation: none
Sky: Beautiful blue again with some cloudiness

Affect

Today was just plain cold. The air felt icy, but the sun was shining and we had another lovely sunrise this morning. The sky did not seem to hold much of a promise for rain today, but the humidity was high.

Prediction for November 2011

I predict November 2011 will be colder than normal. Today's low was 13° colder and the high was 21° colder than normal. Well, that was easy!

October 2011 Forecast--Prediction!!

2011-01-10T17:17:00.000-08:00

January 10th, 2011--October 2011 Prediction!

My grandpa said that if you watch the weather the first 12 days of the new year, you will know what the weather will be like for the year. Here is my "official" experiment!

Actual Weather

Bee feeding on Asters--2009

High: 37°
Low: 33°
Wind: 5 mph
Humidity: 84%
Precipitation: none
Sky: Dark and Cloudy

Affect

It was c-c-c-cold today. The low was nearly freezing and it only warmed about 4° today. Even though the high was close to 40° there was nothing pleasant about the day. The skies were dreary--a complete opposite from this time last week. The sun was too scared to even peek through the clouds, and a lot of us educators didn't wear warm enough clothing.

Prediction for October 2011

This one's easy. October will be colder than normal. With the high almost 20° below normal, the overcast skies, and the icy windchill, I predict we will have a fall. Get ready for football with heavy blankets, etc., etc. Now watch us have the hottest late summer on record! Wish I could slice it both ways, but I'll be true---chilly it is for October with normal rainfall.

September 2011 Forecast--Prediction!!

2011-01-09T16:39:00.000-08:00

January 9, 2011--September 2011 Prediction!

My grandpa said that if you watch the weather the first 12 days of the new year, you will know what the weather will be like for the year. Here is my "official" experiment!

Actual Weather

Watering can and Begonias--2009

High: 48°
Low: 37°
Wind: 9 mph up to 32 mph
Humidity: 93%
Precipitation: wet stuff--rain! Officially 2.11"
Sky: Cloudy and Overcast!

Affect

Today was fantastic day to stay indoors, under a blanket, reading a book, or any other favorite rainy-day activities. It's been so long since we've had a long soaking rain. So to recap--it was very unlike the photo I chose to represent September!

Prediction for September 2011

I predict September 2011 will be a little abnormal temperature-wise and maybe normal rain-wise. We actually got a lot more rain at the house...almost 3.50". Also, the temperatures surprise me somewhat because it certainly felt colder when I would open the door to peek outside. So perhaps the month of September will have nice temperatures but will still feel more like football weather! It will be interesting to see.

August 2011 Forecast--Prediction!!

2011-01-08T17:30:00.000-08:00

January 8, 2011--August 2011 Prediction!!

My grandpa said that if you watch the weather the first 12 days of the new year, you will know what the weather will be like for the year. Here is my "official" experiment!

Actual Weather

Jan. 8th, 2011--Beautiful Sky!

High: 57°
Low: 33°
Wind: 6 mph to 14 mph
Humidity: 28% to 75%
Precipitation: none
Sky: blue with increasing cloudiness holding moisture

Affect

I was thinking today was just about as warm as the other days, but actually---it was cooler!! I got out to shop a while and grab some groceries. I was able to take my jacket off during most of the day, so I thought it was just as warm as the previous day this month, but not so according to the temps. I even got out with my camera to snap a few pictures, but I did put my jacket on for a little warmth. The picture I snapped today is a lovely representation of how the skies have been the entire month of January. The skies were bright, blue and lovely. At first, I thought the task of recording what each day would bring would be daunting--but I am now appreciating the fact that I am having to focus and observe each and every day. Truly, I am loving this!!!

Prediction for August 2011

Technically, hurricane season begins sometime late May to June...but in Texas, hurricane season begins in August. I noticed the clouds building from the south in the late afternoon, which makes me think that we will have a normal hurricane season. In 2010, we were supposed to have the worst hurricane season on record, but it did not happen. For 2011, I predict we will have hurricanes. I'd love to think they'll bring us rain, but due to our 8th day of no precipitation, I am not going out on a limb now!! I'll call for normal August temps, perhaps a little cooler than normal. I'll also call for a lot of southern moisture, but not an abundance. However, as I am editing this post...it is finally--finally raining!!!!

Update--January 9, 2011: It rained all night long!! What a blessing. At 8:10 a.m. there is a chance of snow today with 90% chance of precipitation. KWTX is calling for rain/snow mix--but that is for September 2011, not August 2011! The rainfall so far is between 2 and 3 inches unofficially, as none of my sites are updated. Their rain guages must be broken!! Now I will bravely add rain to the August prediction!

July 2011 Forecast--Prediction!!

2011-01-08T06:59:00.000-08:00

January 7th, 2011--July 2011 Prediction!!

My grandpa said that if you watch the weather the first 12 days of the new year, you will know what the weather will be like for the year. Here is my "official" experiment!

Actual Weather

Potted plants enjoy shade--July 2006

High: 71°
Low: 33°
Wind: 5 mph to 9 mph
Humidity: 19% to 70%
Precipitation: none
Sky: blue with whisps of clouds

Affect

So far, January has been a beautiful month with perfect blue skies and lovely clouds rolling in. There have only been a couple of days when it looked as though it could rain, but didn't. This makes me a little nervous for the precipitation aspect of the year. The morning was cool, almost icy and it stayed rather cool until late afternoon. Pat and I actually got out in the evening to go to dinner and a movie, and it was pleasant. But I still had a light jacket--because it's January, right?

Prediction for July 2011

I predict July 2011 will have mostly pleasant mornings (slightly below normal temperatures) and warm to above-normal highs in the afternoon. The chance of rain will be slim to none, however, it may be muggy at times due to the 70% humidity we had during part of our day on January 7th. It's looking like a normal July for 2011 to me!!

June 2011 Forecast--Prediction!!

2011-01-07T04:16:00.000-08:00

January 6th, 2011--June 2011 Prediction!!

My grandpa said that if you watch the weather the first 12 days of the new year, you will know what the weather will be like for the year. Here is my "official" experiment!

More Sunflowers--they just love June!

Actual Weather

High: 64°

Low: 30°

Wind: 5--10 mph

Humidity: 26% to 70%

Precipitation: none

Sky: Beautiful and blue. Gorgeous sunrise: turquoise sky with electric orange clouds/hue.

Affect

The morning was a little cooler than the previous mornings and stayed chilly until around noon. I had to turn on the heater and heated seats to be royally comfortable for the drive in this morning. The eastern sky kept my attention even though I was travelling around 74 mph down the highway! I was wishing again that I had my camera. In discussing the sunrise with a friend of mine, I quickly realized how many days of the school year is dark and how many days the sun has already risen. This realization makes me glad I am focusing in on the most important things in life right now--those things which are most treasured are usually free!

Prediction for June 2011

It seems we will have a cool June. The high was only 8° above normal, but the low was 7° below normal. The sky did not hold much promise for rain today, so we will need to get our rain in the springtime as we usually do. The next few day's posts should be interesting as a cold front is moving in. We're expecting frigid temps and highs well below normal. Maybe we'll save on the electricity bill this summer!! Stay tuned!!

Point of View--A Unique Look

2011-01-06T16:40:00.000-08:00

Pictures of birdbath through Crepe Myrtles--January 2011

I do not know if I have said this recently, but I am loving my new camera! Above you see 3 shots of our birdbath with different points of view. If there is one thing I am quickly discovering about taking pictures of the same spaces in our yard is that if you move just so, or scoot to the right, or step in ever so closer, you gain a different point of view. Some views are obscure, such as looking at our birdbath through our Crepe Myrtles. Yet, if I do say so myself, the beauty of the Crepe Myrtles is appreciated more when used as a frame for our beloved birdbath.

The birdbath in the picture is almost 30 years old. It has been stained with pesticide and fertilizer. Its base has cracked due to hard freezes and the rebar that holds it steady is exposed. Yet it remains as one of our most beloved focal points of the garden. It is loved and appreciated by the birds every so often, but is loved by the dogs in the heat of summer for a cool sip of water even more. It adorns the beautiful blooms of our prized Irises when they are in bloom, and becomes the centerpiece when they recede.

Once again, I will urge you to step out into your garden, even now, and look for those wonderful points of view that are your favorites and snap a picture. Post a comment on this post with a link so others can enjoy the beauty of your landscape, too!

May 2011 Forecast--Prediction!!

2011-01-05T18:13:00.000-08:00

January 5th, 2011---May 2011 Prediction

My grandpa said that if you watch the weather the first 12 days of the new year, you will know what the weather will be like for the year. Here is my "official" experiment!

Pot of Impatients, some sort of white flower, and a Geranium
hiding under a fern leaf--taken May 2007

Actual Weather

High: 66°
Low: 42°
Wind: 5 mph
Humidity: 22% to 92%
Precipitation: none
Sky: Overcast in the morning while starting to clear off in late afternoon. Beautiful sunrise this morning, but I was at school--no camera--boo!

Affect

The day began with a beautiful sunrise. Unfortunately, I was at school without my camera, so I was not able to get a shot of it. The day started out bright and sunny, but the overcast clouds brought periods of dreariness with periods of bright, pretty sunshine. By the afternoon, most of the clouds had rolled away and the sun was shining fully again. There was a lot of humidity, but it must have been during early morning, as the air did not feel heavy to me. The temperature was mild enough, that although I put a jacket on, I really didn't need it.

Prediction for May 2011

This is tricky. The clouds early in the morning looked like they were holding rain for a while. Then the clouds got a little heavier during the day, only to lighten up again. So, I'll say we will have some showers in May, but probably only normal precipitation for the month. We'll also have gorgeous springtime days with warm temperatures. Our high today was about 10° higher than normal. The wind will be mostly calm as wind gusts were up to 20 mph, but during the day, it wasn't windy at all. So folks, I think we're in for a pretty normal May 2011!!

April 2011 Forecast--Prediction!!

2011-01-04T16:54:00.000-08:00

January 4, 2011---April 2011 Prediction!

Bearded Iris from Iris Bed--April 2007--Elph

My grandpa said that if you watch the weather the first 12 days of the new year, you will know what the weather will be like for the year. Here is my "official" experiment!

Actual Weather

High: 64°
Low: 50°
Wind: 6--9 mph
Humidity: 65% to 82%
Precipitation: none
Sky: overcast with gray clouds

Affect:

It was a very mild day. I did not need a jacket at all. As the day progressed, more and more clouds and moisture rolled in, giving me great hope for at least normal rainfall for April with normal temperatures.

Prediction for April 2011

Be looking forward to some May flowers in 2011 is my official prediciton because I am expecting our annual April showers! I posted a picture of one of my prized Irises because they usually sneak up on me and bloom in April. Sometimes I wonder if I am not stretching it a bit...but if you looked at the sky today, it should have rained buckets. Optimism prevails again in this prediciton!!

March 2011 Forecast--Prediction!!

2011-01-03T17:57:00.000-08:00

Nice, thick clouds at sunset-Jan. 3rd, 2011

March 2011 Prediction!

My grandpa said that if you watch the weather the first 12 days of the new year, you will know what the weather will be like for the year. Here is my "official" experiment!

Actual Weather

High: 60°

Low: 37°

Wind: 4 mph

Humidity: 35% to 60%

Precipitation: none

Sky: Cloudy! Almost all day long--and not white wispy clouds, clouds holding moisture!!

Affect

Today was tolerable in every way. The morning was cold, but I was able to go in and out of the house at 6:30 a.m. without a jacket. My windshields were clear--no frost whatsoever. Driving into work the sun came up and it was a lovely sunrise. There were a few clouds in the morning, but more clouds in the afternoon around 4:00 to 5:00. When I got home I snapped a few pictures of the clouds. Now, if they held a little more moisture, I do believe it would rain. So, for March I am predicting rain for sure.

Prediction for March2011

Given the cloud cover and mild temperatures, I predict March will usher in Spring for Central Texas. We will have mild temperatures in the day and cool nights. There will at the very least, be normal rainfall regardless of the fact that there was no rain on today's date. March is known as the windy month, but winds were calm today. So, we will come in like the lamb and go out like the lion for March 2011. It might be that April will be our windy month.

As the Irish Blessing goes--may March hold these blessings for us all:

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

February 2011 Forecast--Prediction!!

2011-01-03T03:57:00.000-08:00

Variegated Lantana

January 2nd--February 2011 Prediction!

My grandpa said that if you watch the weather the first 12 days of the new year, you will know what the weather will be like for the year. Here is my "official" experiment!

Actual Weather

High: 51°

Low: 22°

Wind: mild--5 mph up to 12 mph

Humidity: 31% up to 67%

Precipitation: none

Sky: Beautiful blue with perfect white clouds

Affect

Although I did not get out much today, I did stroll around the yard a couple of times today. The sun was bright for another gorgeous day. The air was not quite as icy as it was yesterday, and I was comfortable outside with jeans and a sweatshirt. Early this morning, we did have a hard freeze with frost on the windshield.

Prediction for February 2011

It is my prayer and hope that if we do not get much rain in January, that we have a good chance of rain in February since the humidity was higher today, and there were some clouds--although white and fluffy. Well, it looks like prayer and hope will be needed since there was absolutely no rain in the month of February 2010! Yikes. The average high was 57° and the average low was 37°. Yes, I keep all this data stored in my head. Okay, no I don't! I am getting help from a website called Weather Underground. So, I do need to let you know this is their data and not official stats from NOAA. Nevertheless, it serves it's purpose for this experiment.

February, oh February, month of love--be kind to us. Be mild and rain just enough to keep the grass and plants happy!!

January 2011 Weather Forecast--Prediction!!

2011-01-02T05:22:00.000-08:00

A beautiful New Year's Day morning
January 1, 2011

January 1, 2011=January 2011 Prediction!

My grandpa said that if you watch the weather the first 12 days of the new year, you will know what the weather will be like for the year. Here is my "official" experiment!
Actual Weather:

High: 49°
Low: 26°
Wind: 10 mph
Humidity: 36%
Precipitation: none
Sky: Clear blue sky with wisps of clouds

Affect:

It was truly a gorgeous day today. The air felt icy on my cheek and I did need a light jacket. The normal temperature for January is 57°, so today's temperature was a little cooler than that. Last year January almost had 6" of rain which was about 4" more than usual. But if today is any indication of rain chances, then I'd have to predict that our January 2011 will be either normal or below normal in rainfall. I'm holding out that the humidity will bring a promise of rain this month.

Prediction for January 2011:

I predict January 2011 will be cooler than normal for most of the month, although tomorrow and the rest of the week is expected to bring temps around 60°. We'll catch some north winds, but nothing too strong. And, we can hope for a little rain, although today's sky did not hold much of a chance at all for the month. Stay tuned to see if the prediciton comes true. I'll update at the end of this month!!

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T05:31:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone

Welcome 2011!!!

Geraniums--picture taken in 2006 with the Elph

A happy New Year! Grant that I

May bring no tear to any eye

When this New Year in time shall end

Let it be said I've played the friend,

Have lived and loved and labored here,

And made of it a happy year.

~Edgar Guest

-----------------------------------------------

I hope everyone's New Year will be the best ever! For the next 12 posts I am going to experiment with something my Grandpa Lester used to always say (if I remember this correctly). He said that for the first 12 days of January you can predict the weather for the rest of the year. It works like this--whatever the weather is like on January 1, that is what the weather will be like for the month of January. January 2nd will predict February, and so on. So, I'm off to get this all set up so it will go smoothly. At the end of each month, I will compare my prediction to the reality. This is something I have always wanted to test since I was a child. But life happened and I never really had a system of remembering what the first 12 days were like. I hope to be successful with my trial this year! I am dying to find out once and for all if this really works :-).

Looking Ahead--Gardening Goals

2010-12-31T05:45:00.000-08:00

Dec 2010--Birdbath through Crepe Myrtles--Elph

I would look back over 2010 like most other bloggists, but I am an optimist at heart. What has happened has happened, and I have probably already learned several lessons from it. As for the great things of 2010--they are stored in my heart. So now I press onto the future.

Here are a few goals Pat and I have talked about for the yard/garden this coming year. Of course, one thing I will endeavor to do is help out more. This means that all of my house cleaning, hobbies, and interestes will need to be managed much better in order to help Pat outside in the yard. I think I am finally in a place in my life where I know I can do what I want, when I want to do it!!

So, that was a little sappy. Onwards to the point of this post: Looking Ahead. A few goals for the yard for 2011 are--

Frosty Morning--Dec 2010--Taken w/Nikon D3100!!

Make a large vegetable garden in the front yard where there is full sun
Cut down at least 4 trees and reorganize wood pile
Tidy all bulb gardens
Cindy wants to re-work Turk's Cap garden
Replace and add more salvias
Add more lovely herbs to the herb garden
Read Herb Gardening book and use herbs for soaps, oils, and such
Get a few Guineas

In sharing the list with Pat, his only comment was: That's a lot. Well, yes it is. But in my mind if I don't set several goals, nothing will get accomplished. If I have a banquet of goals, surely one or two will be tackled in 2011! See--I am an optimist--a very cunning one!

Spring Gardening on a Winter's Day

2010-12-30T17:54:00.000-08:00

Sounds like a song...hmmm. In order to get a jump start on the New Year's Resolution/Goal I went crazy and bought plants that probably should have been planted at least a month or more ago! In my recent post, I commented that I would tackle the flowerbed next to the house. Well, not so much today. That spot, turns out, doesn't get the amount of light I thought it did. In fact, it gets no sunlight at all. So back to the drawing board on that flowerbed. Perhaps in the spring we'll try some hostas or columbine. For now it'll lay dormant.

Today was a wonderful day to be outside gardening. It was cloudy and a little breezy. The temperature was 70 degrees and there were no bugs to deal with! Below is a picture movie of all the day's events.

The Mountain Laurel you see towards the end of the clip has been in the ground for about 7 or 8 years now. Mountain Laurels are native to Texas and are a beautiful evergreen tree. Pat has pruned it a couple of times, but today it is breathtaking! Toward the end of March, the bees will be buzzing around the luscious purple blooms which resemble Wisteria blossoms, but are more intense in color. If you don't have a Mountain Laurel in your garden, I highly recommend this plant. Because it is native to Texas, heat and drought have no effect upon it. During the freezes of 2010, it was completely unfazed. The only drawback is it is slow to grow, but it is well worth the wait.

Regarding the Cyclamen, a local gardening show I was watching recommended planting the beauty during the winter, citing that the plant loves the cold. But reading the tag made me wonder if I had the right variety, as it isn't very happy below 40 degrees. Since we can still get cold around here, I opted to pot it, hoping that some plastic will protect it if it gets a little colder. Otherwise, the gorgeous blooms should be a lovely bright spot in the dead of winter!

Current State: Hope for Winter

2010-12-28T07:03:00.000-08:00

Lots of Green and Leaf Litter

Current State: Winter Ho Hum!

Some people say you learn a lot by reading, and that is certainly true. But I am the type of person that learns best by watching. A new favorite gardening show of ours is Central Texas Gardner which airs on Saturdays on KNCT (our local PBS station). The current segment they have up is a show that aired in the fall regarding winter color. In snapping a few photos today, it is clear to see that we have a lot of green for the dead of winter, which is good. But we do not have a lot of color. In watching the segment this morning, I have been inspired to begin work on my New Year's Resolution (which is to help Pat more in the garden) by going out and buying a lot of plants!

Some of the winter color plants they suggested surprised me. They suggest many plants beyond dianthus and pansies. Kale, alyssum, cyclamen and dusty miller, all favorites of mine, are among the plants mentioned. Two plants surprise me. One is cyclamen, because I always think of it as being a house plant. And if I recall correctly they can be expensive, especially if it is treated as an annual. I am not sure I'll be planting cyclamen this time. Another surprise is alyssum. I always thought that was a spring flower, but they say it is definitely a cold flowering plant. On P. Allen Smith's blog, he commented that alyssum will flower, die and even come back in some cases. That sounds like a good one for me!

Where I will experiment!

In looking around the garden I found where my experiment will take place. Because I am a lazy--uh, I mean--an inexperienced gardener, I have selected the bed near the house--uh, closest to the water source--to plant my winter color. This is a good bed to select because we haven't really found anything that grows well here other than monkey grass. Plus it is a small space and will likely catch my eye for attention.

So, what shall I plant? Well, for starters it will largely depend upon what is available at the local greenhouses. A trip to Bonnie's is in store for me this week for sure! I am hoping to find some dusty miller, kale, and alyssum. I am not thinking that planting seeds right now is a wise choice, so whatever I plant will need to be already started. A bag of compost will be necessary, too. Ugh. Sounds like work already!

Winter Mulch

In viewing the segment currently on CTG's website, they talk about the importance of mulching in the wintertime. Mulch is expensive, and Pat has experimented with a lot of different types of mulches, but one thing he does well is he doesn't rake the leaves. Or, if he does, he puts all the leaf litter in our flower beds. What I didn't realize, and probably should have, is this provides protection for all those beneficial garden types such as lizards and garden snakes. In looking at the bed I will experiment in, I will be sure to carefully remove the leaves and put them back once all the plants are in. At least that won't cost us any money!!

Frosty Morning

2010-12-27T04:33:00.000-08:00

The Spineless seems okay! Dec 2010

As promised, here are a few pictures with my new Nikon D3100. Sunday morning brought a light dusting of frost outside which was nice for a different look at our waning winter garden.

St. Francis looking out for our Roses!

St. Francis looks a little colder than usual, and our Knockout Roses are sending sugar to the roots for protection!

It didn't take long for me to head back into the house. It was just a little chilly the day after Christmas....a perfect day to rest and relax!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T06:08:00.000-08:00

Peace on Earth--Luke 2:8--14 NIV

For unto us a child is born...

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace to men on

whom his favor rests."

Merry Christmas everyone....

my prayer is that you have Peace and Joy this Holiday season and throughout the New Year!

One More Night Shot

2010-12-23T06:06:00.000-08:00

Full Moon and Crepe Myrtle--Dec 2010

Uploading this photo to my computer, all I saw was a white speck in the middle of total blackness. Thanks again to Picasa 3, when I added some light I saw our Crepe Myrtle in the foreground. Yes, I totally planned the shot that way!

Night Shots

2010-12-22T06:33:00.000-08:00

Bradford Pear branch at sunset--Dec. 2010

I apologize in advance for some of these photos. My best photos are taken under perfect conditions! However, in preparing for using my new camera, I bought a magazine Getting Started in Digital SLR Photography: Improve your photo skills and take better pictures. I have been reading their articles which are very well organized and somewhat easy to understand. It is opening my eyes to how my trial and error approach to photography was not too far off base. However, a little well-timed knowledge makes all the difference!

Our tree behind grapevines--Dec. 2010

One article I was reading in another magazine said to take photos of Christmas lights at twilight. Well, I did try with my little Elph, but apparently an ISO of 400 isn't the right setting to get good night shots with my little camera. As you can see in this photo of our tree through our "foggy" windows, it just isn't quite right. I'll get to experiment when I officially receive my new camera later this month! By the way, if you are prone to camera tilt like I am, Picasa Web 3 has an amazing "straightening" tool. If I hadn't had that tool, your head would be tilted slightly to the left trying to view the above picture correctly!

Ring of Trees at Sunset--Dec. 2010

This was the sunset the night of the rare lunar eclipse. I wonder if the upcoming event had anything to do with the gorgeous colors! Thanks for stopping by!

Retiring the Elph?

2010-12-21T04:59:00.000-08:00

Water Boy, above. Antique Rose, left

The photos for all of my posts have been taken with my dear old friend, the Cannon Power Shot Digital Elph SD 450. The zoom is to 3x, has 5.0 mega pixels, and 5.8-17.4 mm--whatever that means. When I revived the blog, Pat knew what he wanted to get me for Christmas. I have it already, but it is tucked away in my closet. I'm too afraid to open the box. But I'll tell you what it is: it is a real camera. For some of you who are already amateur to pros at taking pictures, you might giggle at my next step taking pictures with a Nikon D3100. But for me it feels like I'm 18 months old driving a car! The new camera has a real lens that comes off for crying out loud! And you have to know what you are doing. Scary. But luckily for me, it has an auto feature which I will be using a lot until I get some lessons! So until December 25th my photos will be taken with my dear old friend. On Christmas Day I intend to initiate my new friend. The Elph will not die or go away. I have a feeling he'll come out every once-in-a-while until I get used to my new friend!

Boney's Almanac--Fall 2010

2010-12-20T05:18:00.000-08:00

Water Valve Yard Art

I hope this piece of yard art isn't an omen to how our winter will go. So far our Fall for 2010 has been very dry. Pat said he read in the paper that this October to December stretch is the driest on record since the 50's. My water bill confirms this trend as it has not had the usual drop in usage.

In fact, our growing season is just now starting to slow down. The Cannas have frozen, the Knock Out Roses are dropping a few leaves, and most of our trees have lost all their leaves. The weather planner at KWTX has mostly sunny skies and mild temperatures for the coming Christmas week so the trend continues.

A quick peek at the Farmer's Almanac online suggests we will see pockets of stormy weather throughout the winter season in Texas with chances of wintry mix. However, our local KWTX weather blog has a slightly different outlook: warmer and drier than usual due to the La Nina weather pattern. Boo. This means I can expect higher than usual water bills!