August 01, 2009 The floating flowers of ‘Helvola’ Nymphaea shine like pale yellow stars with buttery centers. A constellation of them have opened recently. A hardy dwarf water lily, ‘Helvola’ is the perfect size for small container ponds. Its diminutive flowers are about 2 inches across, and the cloven leaves, …

July 31, 2009 ‘Senorita Rosalita’, a cleome I rhapsodized about just a few days ago, which was so full and fluffy despite our ongoing drought… …split in half like a wimpy Bradford pear under the weight of a brief burst of rain yesterday. Gee, Senorita, I know you’d hardly ever …

July 31, 2009 Two weeks after installing my new 717-gallon stock-tank pond, the water has cleared to a soft green, which I actually quite like. I can see the fish clearly, but the water is not so crystalline that the underwater pots and cinderblocks stand out. If I’d waited another …

July 30, 2009 Many xeric, or drought-tolerant, plants have tiny, spiny, or prickly foliage. But our native Turk’s cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii ) is the exception with lush, large leaves, plus red flowers that go all summer and attract hummingbirds. This Turk’s cap, silhouetted in morning light against the …

July 30, 2009 Many xeric, or drought-tolerant, plants have tiny, spiny, or prickly foliage. But our native Turk’s cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii ) is the exception with lush, large leaves, plus red flowers that go all summer and attract hummingbirds. This Turk’s cap, silhouetted in morning light against the …

July 29, 2009 Unfortunately, it’s a squatter. This squirrel moved in a couple of weeks ago, we think, and has taken to hanging her head out the door for long periods, trying to stay cool, I imagine. Or, seeing as she overlooks the new stock-tank pond from that vantage point, …

July 28, 2009 Of all the Proven Winners plants I’m trialing, ‘Senorita Rosalita’ cleome has impressed me the most. I’d never grown a cleome before, and I understand they can be rather prickly, smelly, and invasive. Not so with ‘Senorita Rosalita.’ She is thornless, non-stinky, and sterile. I’m actually disappointed …

July 27, 2009 Living in a drought for three years, now classified as “exceptional,” a gardener can get a little soul-weary. A still pond, I’m finding, has healing powers. The surface may be starred with the most beautiful of flowers, the water lily. This one is ‘Colorado.’ Orange and red …

July 23, 2009 It’s been just over a week since I installed my stock-tank pond, and the water has, predictably, turned mossy green from algae. No worries though. It’ll clear up pretty soon. The triple offense of submerged, oxygenating plants, algae-eating fish, and surface-covering water lilies will work their magic …

July 15, 2009 How do you attract dragonflies to your garden? Simple. Build a pond and put a vertical plant in it. This red dragonfly, which I spotted on a strappy leaf of the pond lily, skittishly flew away when I approached. But after buzzing back and forth across the …

July 15, 2009 This newly blooming Gaillardia ‘Goblin’ represents my garden this July Bloom Day—hot! I love plants like this blanketflower, which shrugs off our unremitting heat wave and dry conditions. It may not cool things down visually, but it seems more honest that way. After all, it’s summer in …

July 14, 2009Over the years of blogging about my stock-tank ponds (a 100-gallon container pond in my former garden, and this new 717-gallon one), I’ve been asked many times how I constructed them. I finished the new pond yesterday evening, so I’ll explain how I did it, from start to …

July 13, 2009 While in Houston last weekend, we visited the marvelous Cockrell Butterfly Center at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. We enjoyed a fun, interactive exhibit about insects (not just butterflies), looked at displays of preserved specimens and live creepy-crawlies, and gazed through a protective, see-through case to …

July 12, 2009 Our summer vacation this year is happening a lot closer to home than the Magical History Tour of last summer. Specifically, the back-yard pool. But while in Houston this weekend, visiting my sister and her family, we took a day trip to Galveston to give the kids …