Hope Renewed #3: More Signs of Life

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
...a time to plant and a time to uproot,
...a time to tear down and a time to build,
...a time to keep and a time to throw away....  
                                                                                                 Ecclesiastes Chapter 6

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Every day there are new signs of life which is so encouraging.  There are many reasons to celebrate!

Pat has been busy removing dead trees, including an old Redbud tree in our front yard.  There are no fewer than six Iris blooms, and many more to come.  The grape vines are sprouting new growth.  The sunflowers will make a comeback.  Our Desert Willow (bottom left) suffered a setback, but it is leafing out.  We have several small Redbuds that are showing their color.  The Rock Rose (center) and the Knockout Rose are strong as ever.  There is a 70% chance for rain on Monday, and we need it!  Finally, instead of tossing out the Dad Boney's old grill, Pat has re-purposed it as a planter.  I'm hoping to add to the collage soon!

New planter out of Dad Boney's grill.

Hope Renewed: Weeds and Such

Healthy Dandelion

Who would think that the onslaught of weeds would be a great thing in the spring?  I suppose that during a drought, anything green is a welcomed sight!

Some might say that weeds are a nuisance; however, the definition of a weed according to the folks at Homestead Heritage is: any plant that man hasn't found a good use for yet.  One main benefit of having a few weeds around is biodiversity. The early yellow flowers of dandelions are the first flowers bees go to when gathering pollen in the spring.  Varying types of weeds bring in varying types of life which can enrich the soil and keep the ecosystem healthy.

Yet there comes a time when looking at a scraggly weed is tiresome.  Yes, we've pulled quite a few out of the flowerbeds, but we have left the majority of weeds in the yard as a temporary erosion control measure.  The drought all but obliterated our Bermuda grass, and anything that will grow in the sparse areas to help hold the soil together is a welcomed sight.  As the Bermuda fills in, it will choke out the weeds like it always does.

Clover!

We have a healthy crop of clover this year, which also brings the hope that all is well with our tiny part of the earth!  Every year, I notice that our clover will hang on in some spots and die out in others.  I so enjoy seeing it rebound every year, though!  This year the ground cover seems to be especially healthy.  If I thought we could keep it growing through the hot summer, I'd definitely have clover over grass.

Herb Garden

Pat cleaned out the herb garden, but the important thing about the herb garden this year is it seems to be revived.  The flavors of the herbs are more intense.  The thyme is so tender and aromatic.  The oregano is lush and green.  The tarragon is under control right now.  My kitchen garden is such a joy!

Hope Renewed

After not posting for over several months, the logical way to start this post is with an apology for not blogging.  However, with the worst drought in history, the only news to report since my last post was a tiring...still no rain.

Hope renewed--patches of Bermuda  grass appear.

The worst drought in Texas history occurred in 2011 and in some parts of Texas, the drought actually began well before last year.  According to the drought update, my location is still under a severe drought stage, while most of Central Texas has improved to the moderate stage.  Click on this link for statistics on the worst drought in Texas:  2011 Texas Drought Statistics.

Yes, we have had losses: mainly our trees.  I have taken many pictures of my Bradford Pear tree (below) and even devoted a post to it.  We lost it, and my heart is breaking over it.  During the drought, we were told to water our trees.  But living on 5 acres with the majority of the acreage covered with trees, that wasn't feasible.  In addition, our water comes from Lake Belton and the prediction was dire for our water supply, so conserving water was the only logical option.  Below is a current picture of our Bradford Pear with a link to my previous post.

She will come down and will be a post for a birdbath soon!

So far this year we have enjoyed over 9" of rain.  According to the 2011 Texas Drought Statistics we need at least 15" of rain to recover from the drought.  However, I'm thinking we actually need that plus our regular average rainfall to completely recover.  We are well on our way, but we cannot afford for the rain to stop anytime soon.  

Our other Bradford Pear survived the drought because
it was near the garden.  We watered the garden as
much as possible last year.   The rest of the property was
in survival mode.

Future posts will be devoted to how the land has survived the drought and all the good things I've seen around our place...including a garden!

Picture This Photo Contest – October 2011

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

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!

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

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!!