I apologize for no pictures but I was too tired to go out and photograph!
Worked for about four hours in the garden today. This doesn't seem like a lot, and in fact it isn't, but I'm considerably weaker than I used to be. I cleared out the side garden (which apparently was home to about twenty tiny aspiring trees...too small to be called saplings --except one honker-- but still hard to get out!) and I'm so glad that it has good soil in it, it was so much easier to get things out than dealing with the clay soil in other parts of the yard. Yay for all the work Mom and I did six years ago!
Also pulled out as much ivy as possible for me from the other side of the house. I'm very short and could only reach so high...and then of course it is pretty well attached to the walls and very determinedly clinging to the ground.
I also raked out a bunch of leaves everywhere in the corners and discovered that, indeed, there are carrots growing all over the front lawn. Not the garden, the lawn. The only way I can explain that is that six years ago we had a vegetable garden and the carrots proved disappointing (my fault, I didn't thin them out properly). I was irresponsible and just uprooted them and left them on the grass. Well...they went to seed and now we have carrots running rampant. Which is a good thing, I guess.
I also made friends with a few beneficial allies: I found two garter/garden snakes (nondescript harmless grey ones that I think eat bugs...because they're often found in gardens) and relocated them while I was using the rake and hoe in that area, and then probably the biggest earthworm I've ever found at our property (a good 5-6 inches) who I also relocated. Hopefully they'll repay my kindness by eating bugs and giving me better soil, respectively. And heck...if a Lion and the Mouse scenario came to play, that'd be cool, too.
Pictures soon. Now to soak in warm water.
Oh! Also, I'm going to a workshop at
Weston Gardens (really bad at updating their website) on the first weekend in March that focuses on vegetables, fruit, and nuts that grow well in Texas and how to grow them, etc. I think there will be some container gardening as well (I can learn how to make my spinach dream happen!). Will update about that!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Invasive plants
I was going through my previous post making little *Edit* signs, but I figured this is enough to warrant its own post.
Remember this?
My garden guru friend Trey says that this is a Bamboo Nandina. I did some research and it is also called "Heavenly Bamboo." Nandina is not a bamboo, but you know how we all like to name things that look like but have no relation to other things. It is native to Korea and was most likely brought in as an ornamental (good gracious if we could just think....it's kudzu all over again). The berries can be toxic to cats (strike one) and it is listed as an invasive plant in Texas (as far as I am concerned, that's like fifteen strikes). Birds and other animals eat the berries from the plants in the gardens and then fly off to their homes into the forest. Then they pass the seeds, which can hold off on germinating for ages and grow as much as 8 feet tall. Not only do they seed, but they set out runners underground, pushing other native plants out of the way. This is going to be a nightmare to get rid of, but I'd rather have the headache of getting rid of it than anything akin to the kudzu epidemic over here. Stupid kudzu.
The Variegated Privet is ALSO invasive and non-native. I read a forum thread with many people talking about how they constantly have to pull it out of their yard because it's in their neighbors' garden. A person in Atlanta said that on a nature hike he realized that nearly all the shrubs were now privet. Out it goes. I'm afraid to even mulch these things!
English Ivy is definitely nonnative (hence the "English" part). I have a friend whose father, a carpenter, says ivy really messes up the mortar in bricks. This ivy pushes other plants out, keeps the native plants from thriving, etc. Out it goes. I am considering replacing it with cross vine if we MUST have a vine. Anything that creeps and twists and climbs kind of makes me nervous though. I'll try to get it while the upper parts are brown.
On a happier note, I started work on the side garden today and found soil! It wasn't very hard to get the majority of the grass out (the trick is to do it while it's brittle and brown) and I'm leaving the calla lilies alone for now until we decide if we really truly need them. I need to sharpen the blade on the hoe though because it's not cutting too well. I'm thinking in type.
Go Native. Go Texan (unless you live in another state).
Kate
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Garden Project 2009: before
**I know I said I'd write a post on choosing native Texas plants next, but I want to do some more research first! **
Today was warm enough for me to take “before” pictures of my project space. Deep breaths. I am getting a bit intimidated.
Currently: I don’t know what this shrub is on the far left. It has little red berries and the leaves come to a point.
Trey? Do you know what this is?
I’m trying to decide what to do with it. It’s pretty, sure, but it’s all by itself in the very middle of the area. It may end up being transplanted to the other side of the house if it will live.
The long leaves you see are the irises. These things are everywhere. Literally everywhere. And we don’t get rid of these irises. They were given to my mom from my grandmother’s neighbor, and some of these are antique bulbs. The peach flower irises cannot be purchased in stores anymore. They’ll be transplanted somewhere…but I don’t know where. The thing about irises is that you have to completely cut them down to the ground and let them grow back again, so we have to find something to plant with them for when they’re in their ugly phase.
We’ll clear out the rest of the brush. There are some plants I’ll encourage that others call weeds, though.
There’s one of our trees. I am going to try to get those brown leaves off so maybe we’ll get more green leaves this spring.
The millions of bare shrubs are althaea, the Rose of Sharon variety. They’re beautiful but out of control. I will probably thin them out a bit, prune them back a little so they won’t scrape our faces when we walk to the sidewalk. The branches are just tall enough to meet the other trees’ branches in the yard, so in the summer we have a nice bower going on that makes me happy. It’s a good place to read if the nosy neighbor doesn’t come.
I’m also going to plant a groundcover and a few taller shade-loving plants among the Rose of Sharon because it looks so bare.
The hose is all crazy right now but I’m going to find a way to fix it. There is a little bit of ivy climbing the corner, but not too much. I’ll probably cut it down so it doesn’t ruin the mortar. I’ll also try to scrub the green stuff off of the wall. The gutter leaks so that every time it rains the wall gets wet.
More irises and a stray Rose of Sharon plant. Maybe I can sell them to neighbors. Ha.
This is actually where I hope to plant the cutting garden. I think if I can control the irises I can grow them in the back, and then plant some dahlias, maybe some coneflowers, some zinnias, and I really really want to plant balloon flowers. The buds puff up like balloons and then burst open into star-shaped blooms. The pictures I’ve seen make me laugh. There are so many flowers I want to plant.
This is ground ivy. It grows pretty prominently in the yard and is considered a weed. However it is one of my favorite little wildflowers and sprouts the cutest little trumpet shaped purple flowers in the spring and smells good when it’s mowed over. I’m thinking of transplanting it to go under the Rose of Sharon, because neither one of them will push each other around. They’re tough. And cultivating a “weed” in my garden will drive my nosy neighbor (who is pretty much the male incarnation of Mrs. Cravitz from Bewitched) absolutely bonkers.
The other side of the bay window with a huge chunk of irises. They’re everywhere!
This is the garden in front of the porch. The shrub is called Variegated Privet. I’m going to prune it down so it isn’t above the porch railing. I think I’ll plant some flowers in front of them, in two levels. Maybe some herbs. Who knows. There are irises here, too.
Persistent weeds. They even filled up containers.
More stinking irises on the other side of the porch.
Okay, now this is the part that kind of makes me want to cry.
This used to be my vegetable garden.
Here’s more:
It used to have cucumbers and tomatoes and carrots and basil…
The piled up brown leaves you see are calla lilies (given to my mom from a lady who owned a bed and breakfast..I don't really like them. They're messy.). I’m going to cut off all the brown stuff and mulch it. They’ll come back.
The window by the porch will have the big shrub so Mom won’t have to sit in the sunlight. I haven’t decided which yet. I think the window by the fence will maybe have herbs…or some sun loving flowers…or another shrub for some symmetry. I just hate covering up windows.
More ground ivy (Hey! It’s evergreen!)
This used to have plants in it. They don’t do well because of that hideous weed cover. That will change. I probably will do something about those bricks, too. My shadow looks weird because I’m wearing sweatpants that are way too big for them.
These trees bloom really well and cover the whole yard in shade. My parents planted every single one, fighting against the clay.
This little part of our driveway has a car-scraping crepe myrtle and used to contain river rocks. They’re there somewhere under all that confounded grass. The myrtle will be trimmed and maybe some flowers planted right there.
This had to end with happiness: The ornamental pear with buds just waiting to burst. They bloom for a few weeks and then there’s always a humongous rainstorm with wind so hard that it blows all the white petals on the ground and makes it look like someone had a confetti party in our front yard. The leaves are this beautiful waxy dark green and sound so very strange when they blow in the wind.
As you can see, this will need a lot a lot of work. Again I welcome any information people have, from native Texas plants to gardening in Zone 8 to gardening in clay soil. Any encouragement or commiserating is good, too.
Sorry for the long post. Thanks for sticking with me if you did!
Kate
Today was warm enough for me to take “before” pictures of my project space. Deep breaths. I am getting a bit intimidated.
Currently: I don’t know what this shrub is on the far left. It has little red berries and the leaves come to a point.
Trey? Do you know what this is?
I’m trying to decide what to do with it. It’s pretty, sure, but it’s all by itself in the very middle of the area. It may end up being transplanted to the other side of the house if it will live.
The long leaves you see are the irises. These things are everywhere. Literally everywhere. And we don’t get rid of these irises. They were given to my mom from my grandmother’s neighbor, and some of these are antique bulbs. The peach flower irises cannot be purchased in stores anymore. They’ll be transplanted somewhere…but I don’t know where. The thing about irises is that you have to completely cut them down to the ground and let them grow back again, so we have to find something to plant with them for when they’re in their ugly phase.
We’ll clear out the rest of the brush. There are some plants I’ll encourage that others call weeds, though.
There’s one of our trees. I am going to try to get those brown leaves off so maybe we’ll get more green leaves this spring.
The millions of bare shrubs are althaea, the Rose of Sharon variety. They’re beautiful but out of control. I will probably thin them out a bit, prune them back a little so they won’t scrape our faces when we walk to the sidewalk. The branches are just tall enough to meet the other trees’ branches in the yard, so in the summer we have a nice bower going on that makes me happy. It’s a good place to read if the nosy neighbor doesn’t come.
I’m also going to plant a groundcover and a few taller shade-loving plants among the Rose of Sharon because it looks so bare.
The hose is all crazy right now but I’m going to find a way to fix it. There is a little bit of ivy climbing the corner, but not too much. I’ll probably cut it down so it doesn’t ruin the mortar. I’ll also try to scrub the green stuff off of the wall. The gutter leaks so that every time it rains the wall gets wet.
More irises and a stray Rose of Sharon plant. Maybe I can sell them to neighbors. Ha.
This is actually where I hope to plant the cutting garden. I think if I can control the irises I can grow them in the back, and then plant some dahlias, maybe some coneflowers, some zinnias, and I really really want to plant balloon flowers. The buds puff up like balloons and then burst open into star-shaped blooms. The pictures I’ve seen make me laugh. There are so many flowers I want to plant.
This is ground ivy. It grows pretty prominently in the yard and is considered a weed. However it is one of my favorite little wildflowers and sprouts the cutest little trumpet shaped purple flowers in the spring and smells good when it’s mowed over. I’m thinking of transplanting it to go under the Rose of Sharon, because neither one of them will push each other around. They’re tough. And cultivating a “weed” in my garden will drive my nosy neighbor (who is pretty much the male incarnation of Mrs. Cravitz from Bewitched) absolutely bonkers.
The other side of the bay window with a huge chunk of irises. They’re everywhere!
This is the garden in front of the porch. The shrub is called Variegated Privet. I’m going to prune it down so it isn’t above the porch railing. I think I’ll plant some flowers in front of them, in two levels. Maybe some herbs. Who knows. There are irises here, too.
Persistent weeds. They even filled up containers.
More stinking irises on the other side of the porch.
Okay, now this is the part that kind of makes me want to cry.
This used to be my vegetable garden.
Here’s more:
It used to have cucumbers and tomatoes and carrots and basil…
The piled up brown leaves you see are calla lilies (given to my mom from a lady who owned a bed and breakfast..I don't really like them. They're messy.). I’m going to cut off all the brown stuff and mulch it. They’ll come back.
The window by the porch will have the big shrub so Mom won’t have to sit in the sunlight. I haven’t decided which yet. I think the window by the fence will maybe have herbs…or some sun loving flowers…or another shrub for some symmetry. I just hate covering up windows.
More ground ivy (Hey! It’s evergreen!)
This used to have plants in it. They don’t do well because of that hideous weed cover. That will change. I probably will do something about those bricks, too. My shadow looks weird because I’m wearing sweatpants that are way too big for them.
These trees bloom really well and cover the whole yard in shade. My parents planted every single one, fighting against the clay.
This little part of our driveway has a car-scraping crepe myrtle and used to contain river rocks. They’re there somewhere under all that confounded grass. The myrtle will be trimmed and maybe some flowers planted right there.
This had to end with happiness: The ornamental pear with buds just waiting to burst. They bloom for a few weeks and then there’s always a humongous rainstorm with wind so hard that it blows all the white petals on the ground and makes it look like someone had a confetti party in our front yard. The leaves are this beautiful waxy dark green and sound so very strange when they blow in the wind.
As you can see, this will need a lot a lot of work. Again I welcome any information people have, from native Texas plants to gardening in Zone 8 to gardening in clay soil. Any encouragement or commiserating is good, too.
Sorry for the long post. Thanks for sticking with me if you did!
Kate
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