November 02, 2018
Woody lilies love the heat
June 26, 2009 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 …
Succulents bloom despite record heat
June 24, 2009 Despite the record heat wave and dreadful drought that continue to take their toll on Austin’s lush green canopy, the trio of little succulents I planted this spring are blooming their flower-like heads off. Just look at ’em go! I thought these were sempervivums, which die after …
Water lily to grace my new pond
June 22, 2009 The first bud on my new ‘Colorado’ water lily opened this morning, the day after I bought it at Hill Country Water Gardens‘ “Night at the Ponds” event and sale (click here for Gardening at Draco’s post about the pond event). Isn’t it a beauty? Now you …
Garden project blues
June 18, 2009 I’ve got the blues. Not this kind. Nor this kind. This kind. The garden-project blues. Why don’t the garden-project fairies come and set up my new stock-tank pond for me? It’d be easy, really. All this project needs is a couple of trunkloads of limestone, carefully stacked …
Echeveria flowers
June 17, 2009 I adore these flower-shaped succulents for their texture, color, and form. But of course they do flower, on long-blooming, fishhook-shaped stalks, and those are interesting too. Unfortunately, sempervivums are monocarpic (they die after blooming), which I didn’t realize when I bought these mature specimens. Fortunately, they have …
Review: Troy-Bilt TB57 string trimmer
June 16, 2009 Troy-Bilt sent me a lithium ion battery-powered string trimmer to review a few months ago. My husband is the lawn-care guy at our house, so I handed it over to him and asked if he’d write the review. Here is his assessment. The Troy-Bilt TB57 12″ string …
Roy G. Biv Bloom Day
June 15, 2009 Red: ‘Apple Tart’ daylily Orange: Narrowleaf zinnia (Zinnia angustifolia ) And more narrowleaf zinnia, plus Yucca rostrata ‘Sapphire Skies’, Gaillardia ‘Goblin’, and Artemesia ‘Powis Castle’ Yellow: ‘Radsunny’ Knock Out rose And yellow strawflower (Proven Winners’ Chrysocephalum apiculatum Flambe Yellow) And Dahlberg daisy (Thymophylla tenuiloba ) Green, Blue: …
Update on plant trials
June 14, 2009 ‘Totally Tempted’ cuphea has garnered the most favorable comments by readers as I’ve reported on the results of the Proven Winners plant trial in my new-baby garden. Here it is again in full early-summer glory. And here is the other one in full crispy-fried misery. For those …
Heat, hail, tornadoes & does
June 13, 2009 Orange narrowleaf zinnia ( Zinnia angustifolia) loves the heat. Ah, summer. The Death Star is back. For the past week Austin has felt the heavy hand of summer pressing down, with sticky humidity and temps near 100 degrees (37.7 C). Summer also means thunderstorms, and on Thursday …
Heat, hail, tornadoes & does
June 13, 2009 Orange narrowleaf zinnia ( Zinnia angustifolia) loves the heat. Ah, summer. The Death Star is back. For the past week Austin has felt the heavy hand of summer pressing down, with sticky humidity and temps near 100 degrees (37.7 C). Summer also means thunderstorms, and on Thursday …
Caldwell Lily Pool, an oasis in Chicago
June 08, 2009 For my last post about Chicago Spring Fling, I’ll revisit a gem of a garden hidden away in a corner of Lincoln Park, not far from the zoo: Caldwell Lily Pool. A sign gives you the back story. Like entering a cave or a slot canyon, you …
Armadillo invasion!
June 07, 2009 So I was talking on the phone with my mom yesterday afternoon, telling her how something had been digging up my new beds for four nights in a row. “New plants pushed out of the ground, the mulch thrown aside, the soil torn up like someone dragged …
Visit to Garfield Park Conservatory
June 06, 2009 I’m going to reveal my innate geekiness by comparing the Fern Room in Chicago’s excellent Garfield Park Conservatory to the lush, edenic world created by Project Genesis in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. Come on, you know you’ve seen it. Don’t you agree? A century old, …
Intimate gardens of Spring Fling
June 05, 2009Mr. McGregor’s Daughter’s garden On Thursday before Chicago Spring Fling, Mr. McGregor’s Daughter invited those she knew were arriving early to visit her garden, Squirrelhaven. Several of us took the train from the hotel that afternoon and were met at the station by an open-armed, excitedly yelling MMD, …
