2nd garden–2011

February 14, 2011 Ever optimistic about trying a cool new plant, even after the drubbing my garden recently received from Old Man Winter, I planted this Valentine shrub (Eremophila maculata ‘Valentine’) in one of my stock tanks this morning. This mounding desert plant is evergreen, hardy to 15 F, and ...

February 11, 2011 Have you ever seen a sadder agave? Freeze damage has occurred to my potted variegated American agave before, but never this bad. Here’s the same plant last May, recovering from lower-limb amputations after the worst winter we’d seen in 20 years. By October of last year, it ...

February 09, 2011 On a freezing cold day, a wise screech owl tucks itself into a cozy owl box… …fluffs out its feathers to stay warm… …and wonders what the crazy human is doing outside without a coat or shoes. All material © 2006-2011 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized ...

February 05, 2011 An inch of beautiful, powdery snow—the most snow Austin has received since 2004, the Statesman reported today—greeted us when we awoke on Friday. Three days of below-freezing weather (since Tuesday!) had made the ground cold enough for it to stick. School was cancelled, and our kids took ...

February 05, 2011 An inch of beautiful, powdery snow—the most snow Austin has received since 2004, the Statesman reported today—greeted us when we awoke on Friday. Three days of below-freezing weather (since Tuesday!) had made the ground cold enough for it to stick. School was cancelled, and our kids took ...

February 04, 2011 It snowed! We got about an inch overnight, and we’re all excited. Snow is so rare in Austin. The schools are closed, and we’re going out to throw snowballs with the kids, so here’s just a quick picture. I’ll have more later. OK, so cold weather’s not ...

February 03, 2011 The monster winter storm of the upper Midwest has extended its icy claws all the way down to Austin, giving us a taste of real winter (send it back!) and making a miniature ice-skating rink of the stock-tank pond. Some of my evergreens are beginning to resemble ...

February 01, 2011 Austin’s winter weather is like the punchline of the old joke: Chili today, hot tamale (chilly today, hot tomorrow). Or, in this case, the reverse. It was warm on Sunday and Monday, with highs in the upper 70s (25 C). But during the wee hours this morning, ...

January 29, 2011 Mild temperatures this week lured me to the nurseries, where I told myself I was merely browsing. But two beautiful agaves tempted me, and I ended up bringing them home. I hope they will prove winter-hardy here (online info indicates they will), but just to be safe ...

January 27, 2011 Progress may be slow, but progress is still progress! About two years ago we replaced a sagging eyesore of a fence, which also wrapped around the pool pump. I had the bright idea to build a faux garden house around the pump, and after getting a couple ...

January 21, 2011 Winter-blooming ‘Marilyn’s Choice’ abutilon is dangling her red-and-yellow bells under evergreen “maple” leaves. Since trying ‘Marilyn’s Choice’ as my first abutilon a couple of years ago, I’ve added prostrate ‘Candy Corn’ and a no-name pink that flourishes even in dry shade. I just picked up a 4-inch ...

January 21, 2011 Winter-blooming ‘Marilyn’s Choice’ abutilon is dangling her red-and-yellow bells under evergreen “maple” leaves. Since trying ‘Marilyn’s Choice’ as my first abutilon a couple of years ago, I’ve added prostrate ‘Candy Corn’ and a no-name pink that flourishes even in dry shade. I just picked up a 4-inch ...

January 18, 2011 The sun came out and I went out, out into the garden to explore after several dreary days spent indoors. Delightfully spongy earth, fungi on the coir doormats, and a revitalized winter garden attested to our recent rainfall—who knows how much, as I had turned my gauge ...

January 18, 2011 The sun came out and I went out, out into the garden to explore after several dreary days spent indoors. Delightfully spongy earth, fungi on the coir doormats, and a revitalized winter garden attested to our recent rainfall—who knows how much, as I had turned my gauge ...

January 13, 2011 I’ve been away from the garden lately, fortunate to be busy with design work just now, and feeling disinclined to venture into the cold, gray weather of the past week. Here’s where I’m spending much of my time, at my drafting table, next to my shelves of ...

January 07, 2011 The ‘Black Pearl’ ornamental pepper finally bit the dust after a couple of hard freezes. Although the withered plant is bent and droopy, I still like the bright-red berries and will leave it uncut for the time being. Maybe the birds will eat them. Maybe I’ll even ...