2nd garden–2010

February 01, 2010 I received a beautiful Agave americana var. mediopicta ‘Alba’ pup from a generous gardener I don’t even know, and I want to give her a shout-out. While reading Kathleen Scott’s Foliage Follow-Up post last month over at Hill Country Mysteries, I admired one of these beautiful, striped ...

February 01, 2010 I received a beautiful Agave americana var. mediopicta ‘Alba’ pup from a generous gardener I don’t even know, and I want to give her a shout-out. While reading Kathleen Scott’s Foliage Follow-Up post last month over at Hill Country Mysteries, I admired one of these beautiful, striped ...

January 31, 2010 Ding-dong, amaryllis calling! OK, it’s official—the neighbors think I’m nuts. But don’t you agree that my new green door is a good backdrop for the red-and-white candy stripes? This is one of my bargain-sale amaryllis from Target, which has turned into a bodacious blooming beauty. Gorgeous color! ...

January 26, 2010 Yesterday I stoically showed pictures of the succulents that came through our cold snap with little to no damage. But other succulents, including some agaves and aloes, plus some of my zone-pushing plants like Australian acacias and Mexican bamboo, were fatally damaged or set back and must ...

January 25, 2010 Walking through the garden with camera in hand, looking to see what would catch my eye this morning, I kept coming back to succulents. Agaves are the big boys around here, and they tend to hog the spotlight. But smaller succulents, like this ‘Blue Elf’ aloe, add ...

January 23, 2010 Before. The original dark-stained door and peachy orange color on the door surround just weren’t my style. Lackluster porch ornaments thrown into place after our recent move weren’t helping either. After. A leafy green paint job on the door brightens the entry, and painting the surround to ...

January 22, 2010 Pitied for trying to grow its way out of a box on the discount shelf at Target, this amaryllis bulb came home with me before Christmas, along with another. The other bloomed at New Year’s, a festive solid red, but I only got two flowers out of ...

January 21, 2010 Like a blue eye, a glass bead stares up from a moss-covered rock—my daughter’s doing. She’s become quite the moss farmer lately, transplanting it, when she finds some, to a shady niche in the Lion King rock. She keeps it watered and enjoys the way it feels ...

January 20, 2010 Beaded with bright-red berries, possumhaw holly (Ilex decidua) really stands out amid the greenish-gray and tan winter landscape of Austin. I’ve driven past several of these native, deciduous hollies in my neighborhood for weeks, and I keep thinking they’re at peak beauty. And then I’ll drive by ...

January 16, 2010 Join me today for Foliage Follow-Up, giving foliage as well as bark, berries, and other non-flowering features a day of celebration on the day after May Dreams Carol’s popular and beloved Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. Winter in Austin is quite green thanks to an abundance of live ...

January 15, 2010 What are the beautiful, hardy “flowers” still blooming in my garden after Austin’s recent foray into the teens and low 20s (F)? Marvelous, multi-colored succulents, that’s what. I believe these are all Echeveria, and only the top two pictured (the ones in planters) were covered during the ...

January 12, 2010 The deep freeze of the South has retreated, and now it’s time to assess the damage done to our plants. Native and well-adapted perennials and shrubs should be just fine, even if they look toasted. The best bet is to leave them alone for now, brown stalks ...

January 09, 2010 The wilted, shriveled, and browned plants were paraded across the screen yesterday for sympathy and our mutual edification on what record cold weather can do to plants on the verge (or far north of) their hardiness zone. With another record low in the teens predicted tonight, let’s ...

January 08, 2010 This water lily leaf, frozen under a half-inch of ice, its cheeks rosy with the cold, seems to be saying, “I heart the cold.” Do I? While this cold snap is certainly keeping things interesting for Austin gardeners and I hope it will kill off a few ...

January 04, 2010 There is such delight in being able to get one’s hands in the dirt no matter the time of year. Mild winters are one of the great pleasures of living in Austin, especially if you’re a gardener. Over the past two weeks of school vacation, I’ve enjoyed ...

January 02, 2010 If your garden is buried under snow and you’re snuggled by the fire with your laptop and seed catalogs, you may be happy to rest for a season until spring arrives. But here in Austin, winter means you can garden most days in comfort with only a ...