Progress On My Small Acreage Prairie Restoration December 17, 2017

A lot has happened since the first post I did several months ago all excited about the dozen or so species popping up in my freshly bulldozed acreage. 
We cleared the land some time in late May / early June.  Not good timing, but one does these things when the people are available to do the work. 
Immediately, crab grass began growing.  I was uncertain what to do about that - was crab grass better than nothing in terms of protecting the soil from the sun burning up all the microbial activity?  I ended up doing nothing.  The crab grass seeded and there you go, billions of crab grass seeds were released. In hind sight, it seems obvious that I should have at least mowed the area to keep the crab grass seed from maturing and setting seed.  But the other thing that was going on was that 1) it was 100 degrees outside and I was not real anxious to go outside and walk around and think about next steps that involved a lot of work in 100 degree weather and 2) I was reluctant to mow down the native plants that were taking root.  I had hoped that I was going to see growth from a seed bank that held billions of native seeds resting in the soil just waiting for sun and space.  But no, crab grass.
The next thing we did is mow the top half of the clearing and spread two round bales of native grass hay across the area.  This was an effort to stifle crab grass growth, compost the soil, and mulch the soil.  By this time we were coming in to fall, in fact this was around the end of October. 
November passed with little activity beyond me spreading hay over the top half of the clearing  over a couple of weekends.  After the hay was spread, about two weeks after that, I raked away the hay forming circles of space, and I seeded the areas with Tickseed and Standing Cypress. I did this in maybe ten spots in the top half of the cleared area.  The seedlings have taken off - the weather has been very cooperative.  I did not seed the lower areas for several reasons.  We had those massive rains with Hurricane Harvey, and all the seeds that I spread in early fall (resulting from seed-gathering forays with Amy) were surely washed down the hill  (I expect to see some interesting growth in the spring (if the crab grass doesn't stifle it) due to seeds pouring downhill) and also because - one thing at a time!  I can't take on all these challenges at once.  After all, I have about 2 acres of gardens I'm already contending with.
During December I dug up bunch-grass plugs from around the property and transplanted them into the clearing.  Most of my efforts were in digging up what I believe are Little (big?) Blue Stem plugs.  So far I have dug up 42 plugs of native grasses.  I think most of them are Blue Stem, but there are other varieties as well.  All of them send up tall seed heads (some of the grasses I found on the property have adorable seed heads - real treasures).  They should be very pretty, they are certainly pretty when I drive around the place and look at them.  I think I will have better luck with the grasses taking off if they are moved in the winter while they are dormant.
I plan to try seeding grasses in the spring as well, but this winter effort is just to sort of get me going and get something established. So, when I plant these plugs, I am raking away the hay that I spread as mulch and compost, digging holes and planting my plugs.  Then I sort of "scooch" the hay back around them to protect them from drying out and also so that the hay can continue to decompose and fertilize.
I transplanted some verbena plugs from the back part of the property over to the clearing, I did that today, actually.  This is perennial evergreen native verbena. I have a lot of it in the back of the property.  I transplanted five plugs.  Hopefully it will thrive.  I'd love for it to take hold here.
I see a lot of mature tickseed in the clearing.  This is not from my seeding efforts, this is from the bull dozer work.  It's fairly near the Vegetable Garden, so clearly it is resulting from my throwing seed heads in the compost pile and then the bull dozer dragging it across the area immediately adjacent to the Vegetable Garden.  Whatever works!  I'll get some pretty flowers in the late spring from that.
One thing I really need to do is walk around and pick up all the patty squash lying on the ground.  That's another thing the dozer work did - spread squash seed all over the place.  I had 50 or so squash plants pop up after the dozer work.  The plants have since died off but the patty squash they produced are lying all over the ground near the Vegetable Garden.  I don't want them to re-seed again next spring.  I need to gather them up and throw them in the fire!
So, there we are with the state of things in my small acre prairie. 
 

Weekend at the Farm December 15 - 17, 2017

This is White By The Gate Camellia.  The whitest of the white camellias.

The company gave us Friday off in preparation for driving to Marble Falls for our 2 day marathon Christmas party.  Bert and I drove to the farm to spend the night on Thursday.  Bert took the dogs in to Brenham for boarding on Friday morning.  We drove to Horseshoe Bay on Friday afternoon and returned to the farm on Sunday morning.

• Friday morning I watered in the Rose Garden.  I have all the water turned off at the source because in cold weather sometimes the timers will pop off and the water will just run until we discover the problem.
• I cut several castor bean plants down to the ground level that had flopped over due to the cold.
• Bert spotted some horse droppings on the trail that the neighbors' horses had left behind.  We drove around, and I collected them and mulched the roses in the Orchard.
• I plucked lots of seed heads off my Fireworks Gomphrena and spread them around in the Orchard and Star Garden.
• Cut the drying, seed-loaded branches off my Swamp Sunflower in the Orchard and threw them in the soggy part of the meadow.  Maybe some seed will take root. 
• Bathed poor Buddy before Bert took them to the vet to board them.
• Cleaned toilets and sinks.
• On Sunday when we returned, the first thing I did was drive around the farm and dig up grasses.  I planted 10 grass plugs in my meadow, and I also planted 4 plugs of the wild perennial verbena that grows on the far side of our property.  If that would take off here in the meadow, I would be very pleased.
• I spent an hour or so raking up pine needles in various places on the property where pine trees grow, loading them on the cadet (two big truckloads) and mulching the Bulb Bed.  The Bulb Bed backs up to the shed.  My Pearlbush and a Spicebush grow in that bed , the rest of the bed is covered in pink rain lilies, a few amaryllis, some iris, and those little red flowered bulbs that I can never remember the name of.  It can get a little weedy.  I didn't bother to weave the pine needles through the green growth of the bulbs, I just piled it on top.
• Made a stew to contribute to the Christmas family gatherings.
• Drove in to work on Monday morning.

Day at the Farm December 10, 2017

Saturday I babysat Koy and Cleo at my house so that Josh and Amy could get ready for Lights in the Heights.  Saturday night, party at Josh and Amy's.  Sunday Bert and I drove separately to the farm, and I drove in to work on Monday morning.

• There was clearly a freeze sometime last week although it was more like a dip below freezing and back up because not everything was lost to the freeze, only plants here and there.
• There are three roses that I want to move this winter.  They are not in good places, either too crowded or not enough sun.  I moved the first of the  three roses on Sunday - Martha's Vineyard.  I dug it up out of the shady part of the Long Border and moved it to the spot where Iceberg used to be.  I think I pulled a muscle in my back when I did it, it was a pretty big transplant, and my back is sore today.  Pulled up lots of Coreopsis growing in that space and moved two large plugs of it to the front bed leading into the Rose Garden, the rest I just yanked up. Spread mulch around the rose.
• I cut seeds off one of my white Philippine Violets and threw them on the ground in the Medicine Garden.  Maybe I'll get some seedlings in the spring.
• I cut the tops off my Hojo Santo and threw them in the compost pile.  Hojo Santo makes excellent greens in the compost.  Huge leaves. They were freeze damaged, but no need to let them wither on the plant when they can be of good use in the compost pile.  They say you should not cut back the dead vegetation on plants because it provides them with protection all winter.  But Hojo Santo is so invasive that I don't care to do anything that will help it along.
• I pulled lots of seed heads off my Fireworks Gomphrena and threw them down in the Star Garden and the Orchard.
• Deadheaded roses.  I probably should have left them alone so the hips could turn red, but I didn't. 
• Cut away some gingers that had flopped over on top of my Nikko Blue Hydrangeas.  Threw them in the compost pile.
• Pulled up freeze damaged Mexican Sunflowers in the Rose Garden.  Threw them in the wild area in front of the Rose Garden.  I'll deadhead them later.
• I dug up 12 more large plugs of native grasses and planted them in 4 spots in my meadow.  That's 32 grasses so far that I have dug up from around the property and planted in my meadow.
• Sunday night I came down with a stomach bug, and I was awake all night throwing up.  Yuck, miserable.  Slept in for an extra hour or so and drove in to Houston to work. 

Mexican Sunflower November 25, 2017

Mexican Sunflower is still blooming its heart out in the Star Garden, the Rose Garden, the Meadow, and the Vegetable Garden.  Today I saw one blooming in the woods far from everywhere.

My Scarecrow December 3, 2017

Boo Deer!

More Pictures of Debutante Camellia December 3, 2017

Day at the Farm December 3, 2017

This morning glories are still going strong since the weather is so warm.
Saturday morning at Mom and Dad's going through their furniture etc that they cannot take to their new place.  Saturday night over to Will and Kim's to put the train set together.  Sunday to the farm.  We spent the night, and I drove in to work on Monday morning.

• We put the scarecrow together finally.  The deer are eating my roses in the Orchard.  Maybe it will help.  Thank goodness they do not disturb the roses in the Rose Garden.  The Orchard backs up to the woods so the deer feel safer.
• I dug up 10 more bunch grass plugs and planted them in my meadow.  That's 20 so far, a drop in the bucket, but better than nothing.  I will sow native grass seed in the spring, but this is a little head start.
• I scraped up one wheelbarrow of mulch and spread it over a weedy spot in the Star Garden.
• Rain!  It rained for the remainder of the day.  I did no more work other than pull a weed here and there.
• Turned off all the irrigation.

Wheelbarrow of Lettuces December 3, 2017

This wheelbarrow is just outside the kitchen door, very convenient for picking the little fresh micro-greens for sandwiches and salads.  

December Roses December 3, 2017

Above and below, this is Franzisks Krueger, a great bloomer for me.  I have her growing in the front flowerbed.

Below, this is Marie d'Orleans.  When the bloom is completely open the petals all form points like a star.

Below, old faithful, La Marne.

Below, this is La Vesuve.  She is still a small shrub, I have not had her but for a year (is my recollection), but this is a large shrub rose.  I'm looking forward to seeing her covered in blooms.  I love the shape of the pretty pink flowers.

Below, a pink / pink blend called Antoine Mari.

Below, this is Mutabilis.  The flowers start orange then fade to pink.

Below, Mutabilis again.

Below, Marie Pavie.

Below agin - Mutabilis with several colors of blooms displayed.  It's nickname is the Butterfly Rose.