Carex phyllocephala ‘Sparkler’ brightens the shade with creamy, striped foliage and a starburst shape reminiscent of a child’s sparkler firework. I brought a large clump of sparkler sedge with me when I moved and spaded it into three divisions, which I planted under live oaks near the circle garden. Since then, they’ve filled in nicely and really light up the shady space.

I’m very pleased with how they’ve performed even with our dry conditions and extreme heat. Mind you, I do water them, but no more than anything else in the new garden, and planted as they are on top of oak roots, I expect they’re tolerating fairly dry soil. They do not receive any direct sun, which I think is key.

In this combo from my old garden, I found that the cool red of Texas betony (Stachys coccinea ) stood out beautifully in front of sparkler sedge, and they both enjoyed the shady conditions provided by a cedar elm. I need to go raid some betony from my old garden, now that I think about it.

Image courtesy of morgueFile

Speaking of sparklers…

Happy Independence Day, America! I hope everyone has a fun 4th of July holiday with family and friends.

All material © 2006-2009 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The rain lilies ( Zephryanthes ‘Labuffarosea’) immediately responded to the rain this morning by blooming.

Hand-watering the garden this morning, I ignored a continuous rumble of thunder. I’m immune to such teases after two weeks of 100+ temperatures and ongoing drought. Suddenly a flash and a loud crack convinced me it would be wise to turn off the hose and go inside, where I dubiously looked out the window.

And then, to my surprise, it began to rain.

The light rain lasted a blessedly cool couple of hours. In the end, we got only a quarter-inch, but the garden and I are grateful. I spotted this rain lily bud early this morning, before the rain. When I went out again in mid-afternoon, it was in full bloom, and several more flowers stood nearby. How quickly they react to natural moisture!

Annie in Austin passed these rain lilies along to me earlier this year, and I planted them on April 1. They were from divisions of bulbs she’d ordered from Plant Delights, she told me. I’m charmed by their sweet, pale-pink blossoms that love the rain as I do.

For all you warm-climate gardeners (zones 7-9), this is a good bulb to try. According to the Plant Delights online catalog and San Marcos Growers, this “incredibly prolific flowering rain lily” from Mexico is “nearly pest proof” and “doesn’t seem picky about the soil.”

All that, plus it’s as sweet-looking as a much-needed rainfall.

All material © 2006-2009 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Three months ago I received a rainbow assortment of plants to trial from Proven Winners, and I posted my first update on the PW plants in early May. Since then, two very hot and dry months have taken their toll. I’ve watered by hand at least once a week and by sprinkler system (on my city-designated watering day) once a week. Some of the plants have fared beautifully under these conditions. Others, not so much. I’ll compare each plant two months ago with how it looks today, starting with my favorite performers of the bunch.

Here is Carex ‘Toffee Twist’, one of Proven Winners’ Graceful Grasses™ series, in early May.

And here it is today, looking lovelier than ever. Don’t be fooled—it’s supposed to be brown. This sedge enjoys the shade of live oaks all day. If it performs like this for the rest of the summer, I’ll be buying many more for planting this fall.

Cyperus papyrus King Tut® in early May.

And King Tut today, taller and more imposing. This one has really surprised me. I thought a papyrus would need to be planted at water’s edge to do well in our hot Zone 8b, but King Tut is growing in the same conditions as the ‘Toffee Twist’ sedge—planted in the dirt, in shade—and doing great.

One of the two Senorita Rosalita® Cleome in early May.

And the cleomes today. This image is blurry, but the cleomes are tall and bushy in morning and midday sun and blooming their heads off. I love them!

Diamond Frost® Euphorbia in early May.

And the euphorbia today, taller, less flowery, and a bit wilted, but otherwise doing well in late afternoon sun, a challenging condition for any plant. I plan to give it a trim and hope it will rejuvenate flowering.

Chrysocephalum apiculatum Flambé® Yellow, commonly known as strawflower, in early May.

And the Flambé® Yellow strawflower today, sprawling its wonderful silver leaves and button-like flowers in morning and midday sun. I like this plant so much that I bought two more to go with it.

Chrysocephalum apiculatum Flambé® Orange in early May.

And the Flambé® Orange strawflower today, not as robust as the yellow one. Planted on the sunnier end of the same bed, perhaps the extra sun is not to its liking.

Juncus effusus Quartz Creek in early May.

And the Quartz Creek rush today, looking good.

Cuphea llavea Totally Tempted® in early May.

And today. Of the two plants I received, the one in morning and midday sun is doing great.

But the one I planted in afternoon sun is fried and dead. I pulled it out after taking this photo. Rest in peace, cuphea.

Ageratum Artist® Purple, or flossflower, in early May.

And today, a bit worse for wear. This plant gets morning and midday sun, and I think that’s OK, but it seems to have suffered roly-poly damage or something.

Ageratum Artist® Blue Violet, same plant, different color, in early May.

And today, looking good, growing in morning sun and afternoon shade under a pink crepe myrtle (hence the pink petals).

Now for the torenias, whose praises I sang in early May as a shade-flowering alternative to ubiquitous impatiens. Alas, the heat and drought have not been kind to them.

Summer Wave® Amethyst torenia in early May.

And today, still green but wilted and hardly blooming, even in day-long dappled shade.

Summer Wave® Torenia Blue…

…and Summer Wave® Torenia Large Violet in early May.

The Blue (back) and Large Violet (front) torenias today, looking a little peaked.

Catalina® Torenia Pink in early May.

And Catalina® Torenia Pink today, hanging in there but not exactly knocking my socks off.

Catalina® Torenia Midnight Blue in early May.

And today, not so good.

Catalina® Torenia Gilded Grape in early May, colorful and fun.

And Gilded Grape today, unfortunately weed-whacked by my husband who was after oak sprouts. Hmm. Hard to say how it was doing at this point. Let’s move on.

Catalina® Torenia Linen White in early May, fresh and lovely.

And today, understandably tired. Poor torenia. I feel the same way in this heat.

So there you have the winners and losers for extreme drought and heat conditions in zone 8b in alkaline soil. All of the plants but one have survived so far in a difficult first season. Some have out-right thrived under difficult conditions. Still, there’s a lot more summer to go before relief arrives in October. I’ll post my next update in late August or early September, the most trying period in the typical Austin garden.

All material © 2006-2009 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Queen Victoria agave ( Agave victoriae-reginae)

The only Austinites not complaining about the heat and drought right now are the woody lilies, i.e., the agaves, yuccas, sotols, manfredas, and hesperaloes. Yesterday we endured a high of 107 F (41.6 C) after a long string of 100+ degree days. Central Texas is suffering from an extreme drought going on three years. Why, one might ask, are there so many enthusiastic gardeners in such an extreme climate?

Whenever I ask myself this despairing summer question, I stop. I remember that summer is our difficult season, like late winter for northern gardeners. And I appreciate all the more the wonderful plants that drink up the heat and shrug off drought. I aspire to be more like them, the wonderful woody lilies.

Agave-lover Loree at Danger Garden—basking, I’m sure, in mild Portland temperatures—dedicated a recent post to her agaves, a tribute to her hot-zone envy. I have cool-zone envy at the moment, but following her lead—and celebrating the plants that I don’t have to baby during our annual trial-by-fire—I decided to post about my woody lilies too.

Slow-growing Queen Victoria agave (Agave victoriae-reginae ). I’ve had this plant for about 8 years, and in all that time it’s grown only about 4 or 5 inches wider and a little taller. Even at maturity, this agave will remain small and retain its tight, symmetrical form. Mine is in the raised bed where I can more easily enjoy it.

This ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave (A. ovatifolia ) played the starring role in my old garden. Unable to leave it behind when we moved last fall, I wrestled it out of its hole and brought it with me to the new-baby garden, where it is settling in nicely in one of the raised beds off the upper patio. This agave is medium-sized—about four feet across.

Texas sotol (Dasylirion texanum ) is a beauty at maturity. Mine is still small, plus I’ve moved it a few times, so it hasn’t achieved the spherical, fiber-optic look yet. I can’t wait until it does.

I bought this little Agave parryi var. truncata recently at the Great Outdoors. I plan to put it in a stock-tank planter eventually. Like the Queen Victoria, its form will be a tight rosette.

This is a small Agave desmettiana ‘Variegata’, which I’ve admired so often in Jenny Stocker’s garden. It’s cold tender, but I’m taking my chances with it in the ground in a warm pocket in my garden. I will have to cover it when we get a freeze.

I don’t know what kind of agave this is. I planted it as a small pup in my chip-and-dip planter a few years ago, and it has really outgrown its place there.

The Mangave ‘Macho Mocha’ sent up its first bloom stalk a few months ago. The flowers are long gone, but the bloom stalk remains, a little withered and yellowed. Numerous pups (baby mangaves) are popping up underneath the mama plant’s leaves.

Squid agave (A. bracteosa ), a shade-tolerant variety. This one is growing under the crepe myrtle, which is why it’s surrounded by garish pink petals.

And here’s a squid agave pup that I moved to a new spot. Isn’t it cute?

Yucca rostrata ‘Sapphire Skies’ is one to test my patience, according to the plant tag. It’s very slow-growing but will eventually form a 4-foot trunk. Its shimmery silvery leaves look wonderful with other silver plants, and I’ve added orange flowers for contrast.

I brought this large softleaf yucca (Y. recurvifolia ) over from the old garden.

A passalong agave pup from Philip at East-Side-Patch. I can’t remember if he ever ID’d this one.

And here’s another agave transplanted from my old garden—A. americana ‘Variegata’. The mother plant was passed along to me by MSS at Zanthan Gardens. This one grows quickly to a very large size. I love the writhing, striped arms.

All woody lilies are vulnerable to attack by the agave snout-nosed weevil, which has recently become a nuisance in central Texas. I lost a ‘Macho Mocha’ mangave to the weevil in my old garden and have been on the lookout for it in the new garden. I’ve heard from several readers in Arizona lately that the weevil is killing agaves there too.

Aside from weevil depredations the woody lilies are quite hardy and ask only for a sunny, well-drained site, though many will also tolerate some shade. I use them as evergreen (or ever-silver) focal points and to inject excitement and contrast amid fine-leaved, drought-tolerant plants.

All material © 2006-2009 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.