Groundhog Day garden happenings
Yes, I do in fact have a water lily blooming at the moment. January was mild, and it remains beautiful in Austin this week, with sunny days and highs in the 70s, and the ‘Colorado’ water lily in the stock-tank pond has responded with a pale apricot version of its usual salmon-pink flower. Which only reminds me that I need to get in there soon and muck out the bottom of the tank and divide the lilies and other pond plants.
Back at the castle…and regally unchanged by the seasons, Queen Victoria agave (Agave victoriae-reginae) looks handsome in her deep-green robes with white piping.
And the succulents in the cinderblock wall-planter are still looking pretty good, unfazed by the several freezes we’ve had. I do throw a sheet over them when a freeze is predicted, and they enjoy the shelter of a live oak canopy and close proximity to the house.
So, is spring coming early to your garden, or does winter still have a firm grip?
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Your garden looks good and the blooming lily is a pretty color. Do you drain the tank when you muck it out? I’ll check your archives. Still on the fence about a pond.
Winter hasn’t hit most plants in my garden so it’s looking pretty good this year. A late freeze would be hard on them now.
No, I don’t drain the tank. It’s just 2 feet deep, so I get a net and simply dredge out the muck at the bottom. Then I pull out the plants and use an axe (yes, an axe!) to divide them. If you need any divisions of pond plants, send me an email. —Pam
We had an inground pond at our old place. Mr P used a pond vacuum every spring, to clean it out. The gunk went into beds or onto the lawn. Fish guano?
I sometimes miss the pond. We have too many critters here for fish, though. Even there, in suburbia, a Blue Heron came along and ate our fish that we’d had for about seven years.
Well, we’ve got about 3″ of fresh snow on the ground, so I’d say it is still winter. Plus yesterday it was generally below 10 degrees, though in the 20s today. On the other hand, it got up to the 60s less than a week ago so who the heck knows?
So lovely and yes please on the divisions. Which reminds me I need to get my tank finished and filled. Don’t like the idea of the mucking out bit- another garden task in the long list. I was wondering how the plants in your wall survived after the winter even though it was mild. I heard them mention a cold spell in 10 days time but I sure am enjoying our beautiful days.
There is snow on the ground here but there is some daffodil foliage sticking up out of the ground. Not very spring-like though. Looking forward to some wonderful warmer days.
We skipped the mucking out last year, so it is at the top of this year’s list…but it will have to get a lot warmer here before we take on that chore. An axe! Why did I not think of that?
Still have snow…but things are starting to change. Slightly higher temps. mean we are starting to melt! Seeing a few fat buds here and there and even a few brave daffodiles have broken through in protected areas downtown at lower elevations.