Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
A gardener's week - #7
The early part of my week was spent in College Station absorbing as much information as I could from my Landscape Design course. This is a four part study course and this week's session was the first of the four, but the parts can be taken in any order.
The course was absolutely packed with information which just made me realize how ignorant I am on the subject. There were lectures on the historical roots of landscape design and on public landscape architecture and design. And there was a highly entertaining and thought-provoking lecture by Dr. David Creech of SFA and Mast Arboretum in Nacogdoches about his work in China. Apparently, the Chinese are very advanced in their horticultural techniques.
But the greater part of the course dealt with planning and designing the private home garden and, of course, that is what I was there for.
Dr. William Welch of Texas A&M, Dr. Neil Odenwald of L.S.U., and Alan King, ASLA, a professional landscape designer in private practice in the Brazos Valley all spoke to us about and showed us examples of home landscape design.
I learned from Dr. Odenwald that certain design principles are basic to the creation of a landscape:
1. Proportion and scale: Proportion refers to the general relationship among parts. Scale refers to size as related to the human figure.
2. Balance: Gives design stability - actual and visual.
3. Dominance: A dominant idea helps create focus and unity in a design.
4. Rhythm: Relates to movement or perceived movement.
5. Contrast: The addition of components that are in opposition to one another adds vitality to a landscape.
In addition, these design elements are the building blocks of our designs:
1. Line: The edge of form. It provides definition and direction to a design.
2. Form: Physical mass. It is three-dimensional while line is two-dimensional.
3. Texture: The surface qualities and relationship among sizes. Texture is comprised of both tactile and visual sensations.
4. Color: Results from how light is either being absorbed or reflected.
Dr. Oldenwald showed us many visual examples of these principles and elements and invited us to visit his website, OnlinePlantGuide.com to see more than 15,000 illustrative images.
Well, as you can imagine, by the end of the course, I was reeling with all the facts and ideas I had tried to absorb, and I headed home to try to apply them all.
Have you ever noticed that regardless of the weather conditions, weeds are going to thrive? I'll bet you have and so have I, but I was again reminded of the fact when I got home. No rain, but the weeds had completely taken over and I had one big mess! So I've spent the rest of the week trying to repair that mess.
I did find one happy surprise when I got home. My fellow blogger, UrsulaAndres, had sent me some white Texas Star hibiscus seed. It's a plant I've been wishing for and now, thanks to Ursula, maybe I'll have some of those lovely white blooms in 2011. Or maybe 2012.
One disappointment I felt as I was pulling weeds this week was that there just don't seem to be as many butterflies in my yard as I'm used to seeing at this time of year. There are a few Gulf Fritillaries around and some of their larvae are munching on my passion vine now and, occasionally, I see a swallowtail of one kind or another. But overall, the population - except for Sulphurs - seems down. Also, I've yet to see a Monarch butterfly in my yard since early summer. If ever they do turn up here, thanks to another blogger friend, Butterhummer, I have plenty of butterfly weed to offer them. I am longing to see those orange and black beauties in my yard once again.
We can now count on the fingers of one hand the number of days until autumn, that favorite season of the year for many of us, begins. Just a month ago, it seemed this time would never arrive.
The Southern magnolia seeds are ripening and changing color. That means that autumn is almost here!
The course was absolutely packed with information which just made me realize how ignorant I am on the subject. There were lectures on the historical roots of landscape design and on public landscape architecture and design. And there was a highly entertaining and thought-provoking lecture by Dr. David Creech of SFA and Mast Arboretum in Nacogdoches about his work in China. Apparently, the Chinese are very advanced in their horticultural techniques.
But the greater part of the course dealt with planning and designing the private home garden and, of course, that is what I was there for.
Dr. William Welch of Texas A&M, Dr. Neil Odenwald of L.S.U., and Alan King, ASLA, a professional landscape designer in private practice in the Brazos Valley all spoke to us about and showed us examples of home landscape design.
I learned from Dr. Odenwald that certain design principles are basic to the creation of a landscape:
1. Proportion and scale: Proportion refers to the general relationship among parts. Scale refers to size as related to the human figure.
2. Balance: Gives design stability - actual and visual.
3. Dominance: A dominant idea helps create focus and unity in a design.
4. Rhythm: Relates to movement or perceived movement.
5. Contrast: The addition of components that are in opposition to one another adds vitality to a landscape.
In addition, these design elements are the building blocks of our designs:
1. Line: The edge of form. It provides definition and direction to a design.
2. Form: Physical mass. It is three-dimensional while line is two-dimensional.
3. Texture: The surface qualities and relationship among sizes. Texture is comprised of both tactile and visual sensations.
4. Color: Results from how light is either being absorbed or reflected.
Dr. Oldenwald showed us many visual examples of these principles and elements and invited us to visit his website, OnlinePlantGuide.com to see more than 15,000 illustrative images.
Well, as you can imagine, by the end of the course, I was reeling with all the facts and ideas I had tried to absorb, and I headed home to try to apply them all.
Have you ever noticed that regardless of the weather conditions, weeds are going to thrive? I'll bet you have and so have I, but I was again reminded of the fact when I got home. No rain, but the weeds had completely taken over and I had one big mess! So I've spent the rest of the week trying to repair that mess.
I did find one happy surprise when I got home. My fellow blogger, UrsulaAndres, had sent me some white Texas Star hibiscus seed. It's a plant I've been wishing for and now, thanks to Ursula, maybe I'll have some of those lovely white blooms in 2011. Or maybe 2012.
One disappointment I felt as I was pulling weeds this week was that there just don't seem to be as many butterflies in my yard as I'm used to seeing at this time of year. There are a few Gulf Fritillaries around and some of their larvae are munching on my passion vine now and, occasionally, I see a swallowtail of one kind or another. But overall, the population - except for Sulphurs - seems down. Also, I've yet to see a Monarch butterfly in my yard since early summer. If ever they do turn up here, thanks to another blogger friend, Butterhummer, I have plenty of butterfly weed to offer them. I am longing to see those orange and black beauties in my yard once again.
We can now count on the fingers of one hand the number of days until autumn, that favorite season of the year for many of us, begins. Just a month ago, it seemed this time would never arrive.
The Southern magnolia seeds are ripening and changing color. That means that autumn is almost here!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - September, 2010
I was away from my garden for a few days and came home to find that not much had changed - except for a couple of nice surprises that I'll show you later.
The garden, like the weather, is still hot, humid, and dry. We did actually get a couple of inches of rain last week which helped immensely, but the earth was so dry that within two or three days you could hardly tell it had rained. You can start those autumn rains any time now, Mother Nature!
It seems only yesterday that I was showing you my blooms on August Bloom Day and, quite honestly, I don't have much that is different to show you this month, but come along and I'll give you an abbreviated tour.
At this time of year, in my garden it is all about...
...the hummingbirds who are at the peak of their fall migration, and...
...the butterflies who are at the peak of their population numbers.
The Hamelia patens shrubs are in full bloom now, just in time to welcome those hungry hummers.
And so are all the flame acanthus shrubs, the hummers' favorite. (The bottle tree blooming in the background doesn't feed anything except my soul.)
The cypress vine on the veggie garden fence is full of its tiny red blooms. These are favorites of butterflies, especially the little skippers.
The porterweed still offers a few blossoms to passing hummers and butterflies as well.
I don't have as many Tithonia, Mexican sunflower, blossoms as I do in most years, but the few that are still blooming are butterfly magnets. Hummingbirds like them, too.
Several varieties of blue salvias bloom throughout the garden. This one is next to a Dutchman's pipe vine that was planted this year, but isn't in bloom just now.
The old Mexican bush sage is putting on its annual show.
The purple of this 'Montrose Purple' vitex hardly even makes an impact against the brilliant blue of the September sky, but the butterflies still manage to find it.
The dwarf jatropha gets its share of butterfly traffic, too.
The 'Radsunny' Knockout roses have bloomed non-stop for me since early spring and have done so almost without care and very little extra water. They have been real winners in my garden.
This was one of the pleasant surprises I got in my garden this morning. The 'Rouge Cardinal' clematis, which bloomed profusely and for a long period in the spring, is now blooming again, after resting for most of the summer.
My second happy surprise was the Clerodendrum thomsoniae, 'Glory Bower Bleeding Heart' vine. The blossoms haven't opened to reveal the bright red "bleeding hearts" but I think they are just as lovely at this stage.
Thank you for visiting my garden this month. Don't forget to drop by for a visit with Carol of May Blooms Gardens, our hostess for this monthly blog event.
The garden, like the weather, is still hot, humid, and dry. We did actually get a couple of inches of rain last week which helped immensely, but the earth was so dry that within two or three days you could hardly tell it had rained. You can start those autumn rains any time now, Mother Nature!
It seems only yesterday that I was showing you my blooms on August Bloom Day and, quite honestly, I don't have much that is different to show you this month, but come along and I'll give you an abbreviated tour.
At this time of year, in my garden it is all about...
...the hummingbirds who are at the peak of their fall migration, and...
...the butterflies who are at the peak of their population numbers.
The Hamelia patens shrubs are in full bloom now, just in time to welcome those hungry hummers.
And so are all the flame acanthus shrubs, the hummers' favorite. (The bottle tree blooming in the background doesn't feed anything except my soul.)
The cypress vine on the veggie garden fence is full of its tiny red blooms. These are favorites of butterflies, especially the little skippers.
The porterweed still offers a few blossoms to passing hummers and butterflies as well.
I don't have as many Tithonia, Mexican sunflower, blossoms as I do in most years, but the few that are still blooming are butterfly magnets. Hummingbirds like them, too.
Several varieties of blue salvias bloom throughout the garden. This one is next to a Dutchman's pipe vine that was planted this year, but isn't in bloom just now.
The old Mexican bush sage is putting on its annual show.
The purple of this 'Montrose Purple' vitex hardly even makes an impact against the brilliant blue of the September sky, but the butterflies still manage to find it.
The dwarf jatropha gets its share of butterfly traffic, too.
The 'Radsunny' Knockout roses have bloomed non-stop for me since early spring and have done so almost without care and very little extra water. They have been real winners in my garden.
This was one of the pleasant surprises I got in my garden this morning. The 'Rouge Cardinal' clematis, which bloomed profusely and for a long period in the spring, is now blooming again, after resting for most of the summer.
My second happy surprise was the Clerodendrum thomsoniae, 'Glory Bower Bleeding Heart' vine. The blossoms haven't opened to reveal the bright red "bleeding hearts" but I think they are just as lovely at this stage.
Thank you for visiting my garden this month. Don't forget to drop by for a visit with Carol of May Blooms Gardens, our hostess for this monthly blog event.
Friday, September 10, 2010
A gardener's week - #6
Looking around the garden this week, I see the mellow yellows of September.
Yellow bells are ringing...
...joined by the creamy yellow trumpet of the angels.
Yellow cestrum, an eternal bloomer.
The yellows of 'Butter and Cream' lantana.
A dainty yellow calibrochoa.
Yellow roses, 'Graham Thomas.'
The creamy leaves of the variegated Turk's cap.
The yellow centers of delicate Blackfoot daisy blossoms.
Yellow bulbine.
Sunny yellow hibiscus blossoms.
Yellow butterfly weed.
And yellow butterflies.
The variegated leaves of the 'Bengal Tiger' canna.
And a benevolent yellow sun watching over it all.
Yellow bells are ringing...
...joined by the creamy yellow trumpet of the angels.
Yellow cestrum, an eternal bloomer.
The yellows of 'Butter and Cream' lantana.
A dainty yellow calibrochoa.
Yellow roses, 'Graham Thomas.'
The creamy leaves of the variegated Turk's cap.
The yellow centers of delicate Blackfoot daisy blossoms.
Yellow bulbine.
Sunny yellow hibiscus blossoms.
Yellow butterfly weed.
And yellow butterflies.
The variegated leaves of the 'Bengal Tiger' canna.
And a benevolent yellow sun watching over it all.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Bittersweet September
My wish that the rains of autumn would begin a bit early this year seems to have been granted, at least for the moment. We got a bit of rain yesterday afternoon and it started again at mid-morning today and is continuing this afternoon. All I can say to that is, "Welcome, welcome rain!" No watering chores for yours truly for a few days!
But there are plenty of other chores to keep the gardener busy this month. September finds us here in Southeast Texas somewhat betwixt and between. Summer is ending and fall is just on the horizon but not quite here yet. We're still going to have to endure lot of hot, humid days before the weather turns more dependably cool. Still, this is a good time of year to pause, take a breath and look around to see what has worked this year in the garden and what hasn't. Moreover, it is a time to make plans to correct those things that didn't work.
Like most gardeners, I think, when I look at my garden, I tend to focus more on the failures than the successes. I tend to see the browning leaves of the Viburnum tinus plants that I planted in the spring, rathering than the flourishing green of Viburnum obovatum (Walter's viburnum) and the constantly wilting and having-to-be-babied Hydrangea macrophylla rather than the sturdy and uncomplaining oak-leaf hydrangea. (Well, those plants that aren't doing well may not be failures exactly. They may just be in the wrong spot - not an uncommon occurrence in my garden.)
Looking back over the year so far, I will grudgingly admit that some things did do well for me. The vegetable garden for the most part was a big success. The only things that really didn't do at all well were the tomatoes, mostly, I think, because I got them planted too late and they just didn't have time to grow sufficiently before they got hit by summer's heat. I also had an abundance of blueberries, a couple of quarts of which are still in my freezer waiting to be made into blueberry muffins, and the strawberries produced well for me, too.
In the backyard, where most of my shrubs and perennials are well established, things have done well. Some of the plants that I had given up for dead after winter, like the 'Pride of Barbados', the bauhinia, and the dwarf jatropha, did come back eventually. Even my old split-leaf philodendron that looked deader than a doornail in late spring eventually woke up and has grown to about two-thirds of its former size. The backyard needs some clean-up and maybe a couple of new planting beds, but it doesn't really concern me so much. No, it's that pesky front yard that gives me heartburn and keeps me awake at night.
The front yard, of course, was my big project last year, and a year ago I was pretty happy with it. It was lush and full of blooms and gave the effect that I had been hoping for. But then winter came along and I realized my big mistake - I hadn't planned for four-season interest, and, when you are talking about the garden that people see from the road as they pass by, you really need four-season interest. The plants I had planted were beautiful in summer and fall, but almost none of them were evergreen, so the beds looked bare and dead in winter.
Back to the drawing board.
In the spring, I moved a lot of the plants that had been in the front yard to the back, and I evaluated what was left. I planted a few new things like the viburnums and some temporary things just to provide color, but I decided to wait until the fall to do any major work. Well, fall is almost here. What now?
On days like today, I spend a lot of time looking over my gardening books. The one I'm studying today is Howard Garrett's Plants for Houston and the Gulf Coast. (Howard wouldn't steer me wrong, would he?)
And next week, I'll be in College Station attending a landscape design course. I hope to come home brimming with new ideas about how to proceed.
September is the time for all this. There are regrets for past mistakes, but also realization that I have learned from them. And there is hope that my gardening efforts will be more successful in the future. Bittersweet September gives me that hope.
But there are plenty of other chores to keep the gardener busy this month. September finds us here in Southeast Texas somewhat betwixt and between. Summer is ending and fall is just on the horizon but not quite here yet. We're still going to have to endure lot of hot, humid days before the weather turns more dependably cool. Still, this is a good time of year to pause, take a breath and look around to see what has worked this year in the garden and what hasn't. Moreover, it is a time to make plans to correct those things that didn't work.
Like most gardeners, I think, when I look at my garden, I tend to focus more on the failures than the successes. I tend to see the browning leaves of the Viburnum tinus plants that I planted in the spring, rathering than the flourishing green of Viburnum obovatum (Walter's viburnum) and the constantly wilting and having-to-be-babied Hydrangea macrophylla rather than the sturdy and uncomplaining oak-leaf hydrangea. (Well, those plants that aren't doing well may not be failures exactly. They may just be in the wrong spot - not an uncommon occurrence in my garden.)
Looking back over the year so far, I will grudgingly admit that some things did do well for me. The vegetable garden for the most part was a big success. The only things that really didn't do at all well were the tomatoes, mostly, I think, because I got them planted too late and they just didn't have time to grow sufficiently before they got hit by summer's heat. I also had an abundance of blueberries, a couple of quarts of which are still in my freezer waiting to be made into blueberry muffins, and the strawberries produced well for me, too.
In the backyard, where most of my shrubs and perennials are well established, things have done well. Some of the plants that I had given up for dead after winter, like the 'Pride of Barbados', the bauhinia, and the dwarf jatropha, did come back eventually. Even my old split-leaf philodendron that looked deader than a doornail in late spring eventually woke up and has grown to about two-thirds of its former size. The backyard needs some clean-up and maybe a couple of new planting beds, but it doesn't really concern me so much. No, it's that pesky front yard that gives me heartburn and keeps me awake at night.
The front yard, of course, was my big project last year, and a year ago I was pretty happy with it. It was lush and full of blooms and gave the effect that I had been hoping for. But then winter came along and I realized my big mistake - I hadn't planned for four-season interest, and, when you are talking about the garden that people see from the road as they pass by, you really need four-season interest. The plants I had planted were beautiful in summer and fall, but almost none of them were evergreen, so the beds looked bare and dead in winter.
Back to the drawing board.
In the spring, I moved a lot of the plants that had been in the front yard to the back, and I evaluated what was left. I planted a few new things like the viburnums and some temporary things just to provide color, but I decided to wait until the fall to do any major work. Well, fall is almost here. What now?
On days like today, I spend a lot of time looking over my gardening books. The one I'm studying today is Howard Garrett's Plants for Houston and the Gulf Coast. (Howard wouldn't steer me wrong, would he?)
And next week, I'll be in College Station attending a landscape design course. I hope to come home brimming with new ideas about how to proceed.
September is the time for all this. There are regrets for past mistakes, but also realization that I have learned from them. And there is hope that my gardening efforts will be more successful in the future. Bittersweet September gives me that hope.
Friday, September 3, 2010
A gardener's week - #5
The theme of this week's recap was going to be "another week without rain" but then we got a five-minute shower early this morning, just enough to wet the driveway and spoil my narrative.
'Katie' ruellia after the rain.
I remember that when the weather didn't go to suit him, my dad, a farmer, used to say that we hadn't "paid the preacher enough." That never made much sense to me as a child. What did the preacher have to do with it? Anyway, didn't the Bible say that rain fell on the just and the unjust? For the past several weeks, though, I haven't even gotten my "unjust" portion, so maybe I need to resort to drastic measures and "pay the preacher."
In the meantime, it's been another week of dragging the hoses around. This morning's little shower didn't do much to help, but it did briefly freshen the plants.
This 'Chi Chi' ruellia puts on a pretty pink display in the early morning, but by mid-afternoon the blossoms are gone. It's not one of my favorite plants and I'm not fond of where it is located. I'll probably be moving it...or something...this fall.
The blue plumbago is finally beginning to put on a nice show.
Next to the garage door, the variegated potato vine is still sending out these dainty blooms.
In the side yard, 'Graham Thomas' is reminding me of why he is my favorite yellow rose. If only he weren't such a leggy plant, he'd be perfect.
And, in other parts of the yard this week...
Little Sammy, the baby box turtle that I recently told you about, continues to visit the back porch on a regular basis, looking for handouts. His mama taught him well!
Telling the sex of a box turtle is a chancy thing, but based on the shape of the shell (rather flat on top), I think Little Sammy is a male turtle. No matter - "Sammy" works for male or female.
When I'm not outside watering plants or watching turtles, I'm often in my office/study working at my desk. If I turn my head to the left...
I can look out my window and continue to keep an eye on the action in the yard. This hummingbird feeder hangs just a few feet outside the window and 20 feet or so beyond that is the front yard post bird feeder that always has birds and/or squirrels around it. Plenty of entertainment for me.
Last week, a juvenile male hummingbird was in charge of this feeder, but this week an adult female has taken over. I think the young male, as well as the adult male who battled him for possession of the feeder, have moved on.
She's been able to enjoy her meals without much competition these last few days.
Sometimes when I look toward the hummingbird feeder, it's not a hummingbird that I see.
There are lots of young anoles and frogs and toads in the area of the feeder. Here a young anole climbs the post and...
...then he hops onto the feeder and starts drinking the nectar! I've seen other reports of this happening, but this is the first time I have observed it in my yard. Who says anoles aren't clever?
Although I still can't look forward to much chance of rain for the weekend, at least it looks like the temperatures and the humidity might be bearable. That would make for a nice holiday weekend.
I hope your holiday weekend is relaxing and filled with happy things.
'Katie' ruellia after the rain.
I remember that when the weather didn't go to suit him, my dad, a farmer, used to say that we hadn't "paid the preacher enough." That never made much sense to me as a child. What did the preacher have to do with it? Anyway, didn't the Bible say that rain fell on the just and the unjust? For the past several weeks, though, I haven't even gotten my "unjust" portion, so maybe I need to resort to drastic measures and "pay the preacher."
In the meantime, it's been another week of dragging the hoses around. This morning's little shower didn't do much to help, but it did briefly freshen the plants.
This 'Chi Chi' ruellia puts on a pretty pink display in the early morning, but by mid-afternoon the blossoms are gone. It's not one of my favorite plants and I'm not fond of where it is located. I'll probably be moving it...or something...this fall.
The blue plumbago is finally beginning to put on a nice show.
Next to the garage door, the variegated potato vine is still sending out these dainty blooms.
In the side yard, 'Graham Thomas' is reminding me of why he is my favorite yellow rose. If only he weren't such a leggy plant, he'd be perfect.
And, in other parts of the yard this week...
Little Sammy, the baby box turtle that I recently told you about, continues to visit the back porch on a regular basis, looking for handouts. His mama taught him well!
Telling the sex of a box turtle is a chancy thing, but based on the shape of the shell (rather flat on top), I think Little Sammy is a male turtle. No matter - "Sammy" works for male or female.
When I'm not outside watering plants or watching turtles, I'm often in my office/study working at my desk. If I turn my head to the left...
I can look out my window and continue to keep an eye on the action in the yard. This hummingbird feeder hangs just a few feet outside the window and 20 feet or so beyond that is the front yard post bird feeder that always has birds and/or squirrels around it. Plenty of entertainment for me.
Last week, a juvenile male hummingbird was in charge of this feeder, but this week an adult female has taken over. I think the young male, as well as the adult male who battled him for possession of the feeder, have moved on.
She's been able to enjoy her meals without much competition these last few days.
Sometimes when I look toward the hummingbird feeder, it's not a hummingbird that I see.
There are lots of young anoles and frogs and toads in the area of the feeder. Here a young anole climbs the post and...
...then he hops onto the feeder and starts drinking the nectar! I've seen other reports of this happening, but this is the first time I have observed it in my yard. Who says anoles aren't clever?
Although I still can't look forward to much chance of rain for the weekend, at least it looks like the temperatures and the humidity might be bearable. That would make for a nice holiday weekend.
I hope your holiday weekend is relaxing and filled with happy things.
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