Garden Notes January 2026

It is January 1st today.  Sunny and cool.  I walked through all my gardens.  They whisper to me of all the delights that are coming in the spring.

I rooted 6 more Pringle Aster.

Jan week 2.  The coneflower seeds are beginning to sprout that I sowed  a few weeks ago. I pulled up chickweed.  And I began clearing out the Shade Garden.  All the White Snakeroot has finished seeding and turned brown.  I snap the debris off at the soil level.   I began clearing out all the ginger debris as well.

On Friday evening, I met with Jane and Richard at Los Patrones for a NPSOT board meeting. Tim Siegmund will be our next speaker, so I'm looking forward to that.

Saturday, I had 12 yards of mushroom compost delivered ($598 with tax), and I began the process of pulling my roses out of buckets and putting them back in the ground.  A couple of years ago, I dug them all up and planted them in feed buckets.  I was convinced that voles were eating the roots.  Well, that always looked like hell, so ugly.  So I decided to put them back in the ground this winter.  I dug deep holes where the buckets had been, filled them with compost, and planted the roses.  Then I dumped the bucket of soil into my wheelbarrow and wheeled it over to a spot next to the Vegetable Garden.  I am making a big pile of soil which I will find a use for.  And the buckets get relegated to the area near the wood pile.  I will find a use for them as well.  Many of the buckets also had fennel growing in them because I was convinced that the deer didn't like the smell, and it was deterring them from eating my roses.  All the fennel was moved to my Kitchen Herb Garden.  By the way, I'm not sure fennel works as a deer deterrent - when deer are hungry they will eat roses.  But, the fennel is great for butterfly larva, so it is useful regardless.  I cut back all the roses I moved because I'm sure they all went into shock.  I'm not done, but I've made a good start.

I did some leaf raking and dumped the leaves in the Daffodil Border.  I'm almost done with that chore.  Less weeds in the Daffodil Border - that's my goal.

Turned all my compost piles.

I moved some Heartleaf Skullcap in the Rose Garden from the path into the bed.

Sunday, more of the same.  I planted some roses into the ground, dumped the bucket soil into my pile.  I composted everything heavily.

I planted 2 Passalong Pink verbena in the Star Garden.  First, I cleared out chick weed.  It's a very chick-weedy area.  

I planted a Christmas tree-shaped rosemary in the Star Garden that Amy gave me.

Spread compost over the small asparagus bed.

Spread compost around my Cinco de Mayo rose in the Star Garden.

Mid-January.  Bert is re-framing all the raised beds in the Vegetable Garden.  That's a good thing, it hasn't been done since the garden was first built.  A lot of the wood was rotted and most of the beds just have the original outline of a frame.  His timing is perfect because I want to spread compost in all those beds and prep for spring planting.

I had pretty good success with blueberries last year, so I decided to buy some more.  I bought 4 more at The Arbor Gate.  I wanted some of the old classics like Tif Blue or Brightwell, but they didn't have any with names that I recognized.  I bought some anyway without doing any research.  Silver Dollar gets 2-3 feet tall, Climax gets 6-8 feet tall, Powder Blue gets 8-12 feet tall and Hello Darlin' gets 4-5 feet tall - if I can keep them alive and thriving.

It's not the right time to prune my Zepherine Drouhin rose in the Rose Garden, but I did it anyway.  I got rid of peppervine that had wound itself up through the canes, peppervine is the bane of my existence in the Rose Garden.   I put poison on the cuts of some of the really thick vines.  I removed dead canes, cut away crossing branches and removed a few old canes that were still alive but definitely not pretty.

Spread compost here and there.  I planted another rose - Enchantress -into the ground.  One less feed bucket in the Rose Garden.  I had a Tickseed and salvia in a bucket.  I transplanted them over to the wild corner of the Rose Garden.  Composted around it.

I began the process of reducing the beds in the Star Garden (in order to make way for the mower - no more spraying).  I dug up all my Indigo Spires salvia, pulled up the cedar edging, raked and tried to smooth out the dirt as best I could.  That area is now empty.  I cleared out chickweed and wildflower seedlings in the long bed of the Star Garden, and I planted 5 big clumps of Indigo Spires.  I planted 4 clumps in the Black and Blue Sage bed.  That took about 3 hours, it was hard work but worth it because, if I had tried to buy plants that big it would have been very expensive.  I composted everything and watered it well.

I filled two of the beds that Bert built.  I mixed several truck loads of compost into the beds with the existing soil until they were about 2 feet deep.  I planted Yukon Gold potatoes in one and onions in the other. 

I dug a Henry Duelberg salvia out of the front bed.  It was interfering with my gold iris.  I spread a thin layer of compost around my iris.  I spread compost around all the iris in the Rose Garden as well.  It's not good to cover iris with a lot of soil ofr any kind because they like their backbone exposed.  I will push it away once winter is over.

Planted the four blueberry shrubs in the Orchard and covered them with compost.

I began cutting down the Southern Wood Fern in the Dining Room Bed.  I have some Louisiana iris growing amongst the ferns, and I want them exposed for spring.  That bed is the only spot I have that stays pretty wet because the sprinkler is messed up and doesn't shoot very far.  So I plant wet-loving plants there:  Ferns, Buttonbush and Louisiana iris.

I began picking up all my debris piles and doing some raking.

Spread compost around my Debutante camellia and watered it really well.  It's very dry, and a big cold snap is coming.  I just felt like it needed a little pick me up.  I spread compost around a couple of roses in the Rose Garden - Caldwell Pink and one of my Belinda's Dream roses.  I raked in there for a while.

We had a pretty good rain and a cold snap towards the end of January.  The temperature stayed below freezing for several days.  I didn't bother protecting anything here because 1, that's too much work and 2, because 30 degrees is really not that cold.  Only the most frost sensitive plants are unable to survive that temperature.  Hibiscus, camellias, and gingers can easily make it through 30 degree weather.  Brussels sprouts, no problem as well. 

I see 6 large Engelmann daisy seedlings in an area where I threw down seed a couple of years ago.  I gathered the seed from a patch on Sandtown Rd.  Nothing showed up last year, but this year I have 6 plants growing.  My patience is rewarded!

I finished cutting down all the Southern Wood Fern debris in the Dining Room bed so that the Louisiana iris aren't smothered.  That partnership is not sustainable.  I guess I will have to move something at some point.  

Today is January 31st.  Very cold and sunny.  I finished clearing out white Snakeroot debris from the Shade Garden.  There is still some here and there, but mostly gone.  I also cut away yaupon and greenbriar and poisoned the cuts.  Spread compost around the camellia, the Arkansas Oak, the Firespike, and dumped a wheelbarrow-ful of compost in a spot where I need to plant something.  I don't know what I'm going to plant, but it's a big blank spot, so I will consider my options. 

Next, I worked in the Vegetable Garden.  I pulled weeds, cleaned up paths, and filled several raised beds with compost.

I pruned my pink Vitex.  That job is a booger each year because all the branches are so thick.  I use loppers and a small electric saw and a ladder.  It is not a small chore.  Last year I didn't even bother with it, but it blooms better with a pruning.  

I cut down some yaupons in the small cleared area on the neighbors property next to the Rose Garden.  I poisoned the cuts.  I don't want yaupon taking over in there since it's right next to us, plus that area has a beautiful stand of Red Gaillardia, and I don't want that to disappear.

My last bit of good news in January is that I noted my John Fannick phlox in the Water Garden is not dead.  I really allowed it to suffer last summer, so much so that I thought it had died.  But I see a good stand of it just popping up.  That made me smile. 

 

Garden Notes December 2025

Early December - the leaves on the oaks still have not fallen.  There are some on the ground, but the big drop still hasn't happened.  I have a lot of places where I want to lay down leaves, particularly in the Daffodil Border.  It got pretty weedy last summer.  I finally had Bert mow everything down in order to get it under control.  A thick layer of leaves this winter will help.

The White By The Gate camellias along the Boardwalk are loaded with buds.  They are so beautiful, and very cold tolerant.  I highly recommend the variety.  They are sited within a few feet of each other, but one of them is almost twice the size of the other.  I have always found that to be a curious thing, that such a similar environment  could produce such different results.  Is it their environment, or are they weaker in some way that prevents them from flourishing?  

My paperwhite Italicus are popping up in Mom's Garden.  Their late winter floral display is, unfortunately, always hit and miss because they are vulnerable to late, hard freezes. But when they bloom, it's a thrill.  I look forward with anticipation every year to see if I will get blooms.

Little Jonah was born on December 3rd.  He is a beautiful little boy.

I dug up a clump of white butterfly ginger down by the Orchard that had spread right up next to the boardwalk.  I re-planted it a few feet away.

I weeded in that same area, then spread pine needles over it.  It got pretty weedy last summer, so I had to put something down that will really suppress the weeds.

I planted 4 of my coneflower seedlings in Mom's garden.  I was going to wait until late winter to plant them, but I got excited.  Then I sowed some more seed in those pots.

In the Rose Garden, I dug out some clumps of Duehlberg in one of the beds.  I planted a tiny Anacua tree in that bed a couple of weekends ago.  And I've never thought that little bed looked good.  Once the salvia was gone, I planted 6 or so of my conefower seedlings.  And I spread some Ox Eye seeds.  If I had bought those coneflowers in a nursery, I would have spent $50.  Plants have gotten so expensive.  So!  good on me.

I re-seeded the pots that I emptied when I planted my conefowers.  I sowed coneflower and Ox Eyes in the empty pots.

Bert and I moved the lemon tree and the Ruby Red grapefruit out of the Vegetable Garden over to the front porch.  It's going to get cold next week, although not cold enough to harm them.  But really cold weather is coming, and they can easily be moved from the porch into the bedroom when it happens.

I spread fragrant white mistflower seeds in lots of places, wherever I felt like I needed something to grow in a large bare spot.

I cut back giant blue mistflower  in the Star Garden.  I don't want that to go to seed.

Pulled weeds in the front beds.  I see lots of Red Gaillardia seedlings have popped up.  Beautiful and kind of rare, they are nevertheless lanky and bossy.  I will have to pull some out eventually.

Mid December - I have been counting my Heartleaf Skullcap seedlings.  They are popping up in two places, a bed in the Rose Garden and a bed in the Star Garden.  What I have learned so far from this plant, is that you can make an amazing display forever if you just plant one flat in your garden - one - time.  That's how well this plant reseeds. I saw a lovely display at a garden tour in Brenham with the NPSOT folks.  It was very prettily blooming as a solid ground cover with the silvery cast of the foliage and the pale purple of the flowers. 

It was another day of peering at the soil in the most absorbed way, seeing each seedling as a tiny baby that I will nurse through the winter.

The leaves have finally turned colors - to the extent that central Texas gets fall color, this is the time.  Yellows and oranges.  It won't be long before the big leaf drop.  

I worked for a couple hours in the Rose Garden.  I pulled up turnera, cut away dead rose branches, cut the purple trailing lantana away from the path, weeded.  I finally dug out a dead althea and got rid of that.  I dug up a clump of Duehlberg because there was one daylily in the middle of the clump trying to stay alive. I planted it away from anything that would crowd it.  I expect a flower in the spring now that it is no longer struggling.   I raked the whole garden.  It looks much neater in there.  I even got a compliment from Bert.

I worked in the Orchard for several hours.  I cut down all the goldenrod stalks.  I had already harvested all the seeds from them.  I cut back the Texas Orange Lantana to the ground.  If I have a lot of a certain plant, I will cut it back right away because I don't want to look at it all winter.  But if I only have a few, I will let the dead debris stay in place until spring.  It helps insulate the plant from cold and provides insects with protection.  I pulled up 30 or so tall blue mistflower seedlings that were popping up everywhere in paths.  Weeded.  I am determined to eradicate the chickweed in that bed.

Week 3 of December.  Bert and I drove up for the day on a Sunday.  He blew leaves into drifts, then I came along after him and raked them up into my wheelbarrow.  I dumped a dozen or more wheelbarrows full of oak leaves into the Daffodil Border.  I covered an area 30 x 15 with a foot deep layer of leaves.  The daffodils will make their way upward, but the weeds struggle.  Once the speed of the weeds is slowed, I have time to get rid of them before they take over.  The daffs are already popping up, and I was walking all over them crushing them unfortunately.  My spring daffodil display is incredible even if I do say so myself.  So pretty.  They are all Sweetness daffodils.  I wanted them all to be the same variety so they would all bloom at the same time in one, fabulous show. 

Filled the fountain in Mom's Garden with water.  I cut away white trailing lantana that was reaching into the path.  I pulled up some with roots and stuck them into some dirt in a pot.  If they make it, that will save me some money because, come spring, I want to plant some in a round, flat pot I have and place the pot on a tree stump in the Star Garden.  I saw a similar, very pretty display of trailing white lantana at the Brenham library entrance.  Drought tolerant and pretty. 

I worked in the Vegetable Garden for an hour or so.  I spread French Marigold seeds in all the beds as I pulled up the plants.  I dug Oxalis out of one of the beds.  I was startled to see how it had taken over.  I see good stands of dill and cilantro that came back from seed.  That's always handy.  I don't find parsley to be very cooperative.  I rarely see it come back.

I made a start of cutting back the small asparagus bed. It really needs fertilizer.  As soon as Christmas is over I'm getting 10 yards of compost and go to work in every garden.   

December 27, I came up without Bert.  He just didn't feel like making the drive.  But this place rejuvenates me, I had to come regardless of being alone.

The irrigation systems have not been on for many weeks. I decided to give the Rose Garden a watering, just to encourage my seedlings. 

I pulled up chickweed in the Orchard.

I poisoned leaf cutter ants in the Star Garden.

Raked leaves and dumped them in the Daffodil Border.  I'm about 2/3 finished 

I finished clearing out the dead debris from the small asparagus bed and the big one.

   

Winter

Sing on sweet thrush, upon the leafless bough,

Sing on sweet bird, I listen to thy strain, 

And aged winter, mid his early reign,

At thy blythe carol, clears his furrowed brow.

  -  Robert Burns

Garden Notes November 2025

Early November.  While I worked in the Orchard, I cut the tops off of all the goldenrod, fuzzy with seeds, and blew them through the air into the Meadow and shook lots down on the ground.  If any goldenrod shows up in the Meadow next year, I will know it's from my efforts!

I cut most of the ripe seedheads off a big Cowpen daisy growing in the Orchard and threw the seeds in the Meadow.

I got about 20 Bur Oak seeds at the NPSOT plant swap (they came from Connie), so I kicked up dirt here and there and partially buried them.  I put some in the Star Garden and some in the Shade Garden and a few in the Greenhouse Gardens.  I plant them in groups of 3 so I will know what they are when they pop up.  If it's three seedlings in a row, they are Bur.

I also got a dozen or so Red Buckeye seeds at the swap that came from the Lammers.  I planted them all in the Star Garden along the fence edge.

Jane brought a couple varieties of asters to the swap, and I chose them on every one of my turns.  One of them is patens, don't know what the other is, I'll have to ask her.  I planted them in the Long Border with the rest of my beautiful aster show.  The aster in the Long Border that was always such a pest to me - for years I pulled it up, this season and last season, I let it grow.  It's the best garden decision I've made in a long time.  It's gorgeous!  I don't know what the variety is unfortunately, but I can find out.  

Heath Aster.  Mystery solved.

11.14 Nighttime.  I strolled the Star Garden in the moonlight looking at everything in the most minute way.  The hummingbird moths were busy on the yellow Anacanthus.

Fall is that time when the Rose Garden is so amazing.  Not for what's happening right now, but for what is beginning for spring.  There are millions of seedlings starting to appear, and I find all the tiny little darlings endlessly fascinating to watch.

11.15  I Cut some little plantlets off of my Pringle Asters, put a little rooting hormone on the sticks, and potted them up.  I had excellent results from this last year, and every one that I planted in the gardens is doing great.  I put 3 in Mom's Garden, 3 in the Star Garden, and two in the Rose Garden.  They all bloomed beautifully, and they are forming their winter rosettes.  I planted one or maybe 2 in the Orchard, but I'm not sure they are fairing as well simply because that garden gets irrigation pretty steadily.

In the Rose Garden, I dug out 4 big clumps of Duelberg growing right at the edge of a bed and moved two of them to the middle of the bed next to the Cramoisier rose.  Then I prepped my new, empty area and sowed Ox Eye Daisies.

Spent some time in the Meadow cutting down yaupon and Sumac.  I don't want all that tall stuff in my meadow.

Spread more goldenrod in the Meadow.

I checked on the 6 Coralbean that I planted last week or so.  They are doing fine, they don't seem to be suffering from lack of irrigation.  

Planted 4 cutleaf coneflower in the Meadow (also known as green top coneflower).   This is new for me, I have never planted plants in the Meadow.  I normally only sow seed or allow the existing natives to develop.  The last couple of weeks I have planted in there.  But, it's fall and about to be winter, so they can get well established before hot weather sets in.  I will not try and keep plants alive out there by pouring water on them once a week.  

I have a half dozen or so roughleaf coneflower seedlings that have popped up in the 5 inch pots, and several of the short goldenrod.  My babies!

I am busy at work cutting all the spent blooms off my Giant Mistflower.  I don't need anymore of that stuff setting seed in my gardens!

I pulled up a bunch of crabgrass underneath my grape vines.  It has all gone to seed, so it will be a nightmare in the spring.  I raked up pine straw and spread a thick layer of it in the place where I weeded.

Week before Thanksgiving.  The craziest thing happened after 15 years.  The bee hive collapsed.  When I opened it up, it was crawling with wax moth larva. Well, we had a good run.  We were actually wondering what we were going to do with the hive when we began construction on our lake.  The lake will be sited right beyond the Orchard, very near the hive.  We were going to have to move the hive.  And bee hives are very, very heavy and full of bees!  I had already called someone about moving it for us, and he was concerned about how old the hive was because it could fall apart when moving it.  Problem solved- they are dead (or gone).  Perhaps we will get another hive some day.  But, it's a lot of work harvesting the honey.  Bert and I have gotten to the point that we will only do it with help from some family. 

I spread fragrant white mistflower seeds over to the bed that runs along the path to the pool.  

I spent several hours potting up more Pringle Aster, a flat of hyssopleaf thoroughwort, a flat of Ox Eye daisy and half a dozen Oakleaf Hydrangea.  For the Oakleaf Hydrangeas, I cut some branches that had no blooms on them, that is important because you won't have success if you use a branch that bloomed in the spring.  Next I scraped along the lower part of the branch to expose the cambium, dipped it in rooting hormone powder and stuck it in very wet soil.  I also put little hoods over them to try and keep in some evaporation moisture.  I used bamboo stakes and plastic grocery bags for the hoods.  Now, they sit in a cool shady spot through the winter.  

I sowed a dozen or so Rudbeckia Goldsturm seeds in pots and fragrant white mistflower (Havanese) in pots.

Spread Cowpen daisy in the Meadow.  I also spread a bunch of Cowpen daisy seed and goldenrod seed in the Rose Edge Border.  

 

Garden Notes October 2025

  

Worked in the Orchard with my wheelbarrow.  I pulled up all the ageratum.  It has finished blooming, but has not started to throw off seed.  I weeded the area and sowed Ox Eye daisy seed and Coneflower seed.  Tied up some flopping goldenrod.  Yanked up Sweet Autumn clematis seedlings.  There are a few bad spots of weeds in there still, but it looks pretty good.  I dumped all the mist flower in the Meadow.  I cutoff stems of Shinners Sunflower seed heads and spread them in the Meadow.  This plant is too unruly for my gardens, but it will be perfect for the Meadow.

I pulled up the ageratum in the iris bed in the Star Garden, also before it set seed.  I dug out some giant blue mistflower and potted it up for the plant swap that will be in a couple weeks.  I don't want the tall mistflower in the iris bed.  It is an aggressive seeder.  I also dug up a clump of Southern Wood Fern for the swap.

I continued pulling up ageratum in the Star Garden.  It has an incredibly extensive root system, so I do not need that stuff to throw off seed.  I weeded as I went.  I pulled up all the Mexican sunflower plants that had fallen over.  I don't know why I love those plants so much, they are unruly.  They get 10 feet tall and topple over.  Often they will continue to look good despite that because the roots are still in the ground.  If that is the case, I will let them live because they bloom their hearts out in the fall and are much-loved by the butterflies.

I sowed seed, about 50 5 inch pots of the short goldenrod that I got from Ann Thames, coneflower, roughleaf coneflower, eupatorium rotundifolia, and Heliopsis.  Right now I have so many gallon plants in the Vegetable Garden, a dozen Passalong Pink, lots of John Fanick phlox, elderberry, native passionvine, Coral Bean, and some I can't remember as I sit here writing notes.  I will rid myself of some of them at the plant swap.

I planted a shrubby blue sage (that I got at the spring plant swap from Swee Leng) and 6 or so salvia azurea (from the fall plant sale) and Ashy Sunflower (from Buchanan's) in the Rose Garden.  

We finally got a good rain - the first half of October and September were very droughty.  I sowed Black Eyed Susans, Clasping Coneflower, Indian Grass, Prairie Parsley, and Cow Pen daisy along the trails just before the evening gully wash. Job well done.

I dug up a good-sized Giant Coneflower and potted it up for the swap.

Weeded in the Vegetable Garden, too late unfortunately, because all the weeds had dropped their seed.

I prepped beds and sowed lots of Ox Eye Daisy seed in the Rose Garden.  I also collected seed from my Hyssop Leaved Thoroughwort.

I spent quite a bit of time dividing day lily clumps that did not bloom well last summer.  Finding places for all the day lilies is a challenge. I started digging up salvia and planting the daylilies in those spots.  I have more than enough salvia. 

I prepped a bed in the Vegetable Garden with leaf mold compost and planted 6 Brussels sprouts plants.

I moved 2 mature Texas Orange Lantana in the Orchard.  I put them in the same beds, but I moved them from the edge of the beds to the middle of the beds.

I potted up a flat each of Hyssop Leaf Thoroughwort and Ivy Leaf Mistflower.

Cleaned up in the Shade Garden.  I raked the paths, all debris goes into the beds.  Cut away or pushed back plants that were leaning into the paths.  I cut some branches away.  Pulled up Snakeroot growing in paths.  The Snake root is blooming right now.  And I can see my darling, reliable little Fleabane seedlings coming up.  They make a charming stand of white flowers every spring.  And they like that shady little spot.  My toad lily is blooming.  It is not as full as it was in the past, but it still shows up every year, long may it last.

I dug up some double orange daylilies that had spread into the paths.  I stuck it in one of the rain barrels until I decide what to do with it.

 

Swamp Sunflower October 20, 2024

I planted a handful of plants in the Meadow several years ago.  And now there is a big patch of them.  The are pretty floppy, so this is the perfect spot for them.  I have them growing in 2 other places where they are not nearly so welcome - until now!  I learned that I can prune them and make a flowering plant that is only 4 feet tall at its tallest.  Game changer!  I can't wait to try it out next summer.  I won't mess with the ones in my Meadow, but in my 2 gardens, I will give it a try.  If I can keep them from leaning over, they will be soooo pretty in the fall.

 

Red Firespike October 23, 2024

 In full bloom right now, so pretty.