December—still planting time in Austin
When December rolls around and the home-improvement stores fill up with cut Christmas trees and you can’t find anything but pansies on the garden tables, Austinites can still get their gardening fix at several wonderful independent nurseries around town. Since the ground never freezes (we haven’t even had a hard frost yet), winter is a great time to get those woody perennials and shrubs in the ground, where they can start growing a good root system to get them through next summer.
And yet, the nursery aisles remain strangely empty this time of year. Are gardeners simply too busy with holiday preparations to plant? Last weekend, on a perfect digging day, I stopped by Barton Springs Nursery to see what I could find to replace some underperforming plants in my garden. I settled on an American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana ), three spring-blooming winecups (Callirhoe involucrata ), a Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’, two bamboo muhlies (Muhlenbergia dumosa ) to continue my muhly hedge, and—the prize—the purple vitex (Vitex trifolia atropurpurea ) I posted about earlier. Hmm, I sense a violet/purple theme here.
Today I got them in the ground, starting with the beautyberry. Since MSS is always interested in dirt, I took a photo for her. See? Not quite as fluffy as the front garden, but actually not too bad. This bed used to be solid black, sticky clay. Adding compost and decomposed granite to clay really does work over time.
By the way, I had to rip out several native coralberry plants (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus ) in the shade garden, where they were freely sending out runners and taking over. After this experiment, I now consider coralberry fairly invasive and would only recommend it for a contained area. Has anyone else had a problem with it?
You got some beautiful plants, Pam! I’m envying you Austin gardeners already…we’ve had our first few light snows already, and the temp hasn’t been over 30 in days. I already miss my garden!
Glad to hear you got another Vitex. I remember you saying that you loved your old one when it was in bloom.
Just come on over for a warm(er) weather break whenever you like, Colleen. 🙂 —Pam
It’s good to know that about coralberry. That’s on my list of coveted plants. I saw one in its full splendor at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and I was enamored. I wonder if it would work in a container.
That’s a good question, Rachel. It might be worth a try. Coralberry is thickety, or at least that’s how it always appeared in my garden. It never looked good here, but in my last garden it paired well with shrimp plant. I didn’t stay there long enough to see whether it took over though. —Pam
Pam I think you are lucky to be able to plant now. We are having ice again tonight. It hasn’t stuck yet but it is yucky. it melts off every morning, so far.
I’m glad the ice hasn’t lasted long. That always creates so many accidents on the roads. But yes, I am grateful for the generally balmy fall and winter weather we get here in Austin. It makes up for our brutal summers. —Pam
This post right here is what is great about garden blogging. It’s nice to know that planting and gardening are still going on in some places. Your soil looks good!
Carol at May Dreams Gardens (with snow on the ground and dead pansies in the window box planter)
Your tag line made me smile, Carol. Those poor, dead pansies! Ah well. I bet you’ll fill those boxes with boughs of evergreens, and it’ll look lovely for Christmas, especially with a dusting of snow. —Pam
I saw that vitex and Bamboo Muelhly last week at BSN, Pam, and oohed and ahhed over them. Maybe after I get this new bed done…
I love bamboo muhly. I’ve grown it loose and untrimmed in the back for a while, but out front I’m keeping it pruned like a feathery hedge and think it looks great. You should definitely try some. And the vitex too, although you might want to wait and see how it does over here first. If it flops you might save your money. —Pam
You’re still digging? We have frozen ground here! I am a bit jealous but my nails look fabulous! Still, I wish I were digging!
I named my blog Digging for a good reason, Layanee. We can dig for a long time here in Austin. But dang, my nails are definitely not fabulous. —Pam
We can garden here but there is nothing to buy, even at independent nurseries the pickin’s are slim. Most of these businesses close after Christmas or some even before because they cannot compete with the big box stores for pansies, a plant that is best planted here in late fall. The perennials are dormant and the deciduous shrubs are bare, not enticing for enough non hard core gardening types to stay open. Mail order helps ease the withdrawal of plant-purchase-itis, but most don’t ship now either. Time to shop in my own garden to divide and replant from existing populations. It’s free, anyway.
Frances
That must be frustrating, Frances—to be able to plant but not have any willing nurseries. You’d think people would still want to plant evergreens at least. At least you have lots of plants you can divide and transplant. That’s a rewarding activity that Southerners can take advantage of all winter. —Pam
I’ve spent all week planting, too. I’ve been transplanting larkspur, bluebonnets, cornflowers, irises, and baby blue eyes. They’ve self-sown too thickly in some places and not at all in others. And I’ve finally replanted some Narcissus tazetta bulbs which I’d dug up last year. I’m quite late getting them in as some of the other clumps in the yard are almost ready to flower.Thanks for the dirt shot! Very appropriate for a blog named “Digging”.
You’re welcome! —Pam