Beauty Plum Tree in Bloom February 24, 2013

This is a Beauty Plum tree.  Pretty flowers!  The flowers have a faintly sweet smell.  The bees were very busy around this tree.  The other plum tree is blooming, but not nearly so prettily as this one.  A few years ago some critter broke off almost all the branches trying to get to the plums - raccoons?  deer?  Not sure.  But whatever it was, they really did a number on the tree.  There is only one branch left on that poor plum tree.  I suppose I should dig it up, pull it out, and start over with a new one.  I don't have the heart.  

The First Bearded Iris of the Season February 24, 2013

I 'rescued' these clumps of irises last fall.  I assumed they were the old Cemetary Whites when I dug them up, but to my surprise they are blooming purple.  What a great surprise.  Bearded iris blooms are so fragile-looking. I love them.

Perennial Violets February 24, 2013

These sweet little violets make a great groundcover.  They are evergreen, they bloom these sweet little edible flowers (dip them in egg wash, dip them in sugar to decorate a cake), and they spread very quickly via trailing runners that take root.  They like protection from the sun.  I have grown them in shade and in morning sun.  The do very well in either condition.  I will transplant some of them to other flowerbeds once they have spread a bit more.  I planted 4 little containers of them last fall, and they are already creeping freely around this flowerbed. 

Work in the Vegetable Garden

I spent most of Saturday cleaning up the Vegetable Garden.  I raked the leaves from the oak trees that get trapped inside the fence.  I removed some old clay pots that were crumbling apart.  I transplanted over to the Medicine Garden some Tansy that had seeded in the paths .  Tansy is an herb.  The roots make a yellow dye.  I added lots and lots of organic fertilizer and then turned over all the beds except for one bed that is full of dill, and the two beds that are full of asparagus.   I planted 3 flats of French Marigolds - goodbye nematodes!  I sowed a row of Bright Lights Swiss Chard,  I planted 3 boxes with red potatoes. I sowed some Hyacinth bean vines along the fence (just because they are pretty).  I sowed some Edamame beans in the compost enclosure that is now empty (I've used up all the compost) - the soil should be incredibly rich in that spot. And I planted some Contender bush beans.  Finally I planted some Armenian Burpless Cucumber seeds along the chicken wire trellis.  If it freezes most of what I did will be killed - the potatoes and the Swiss Chard will be ok.  Being overly enthusiastice is risky.  I want more cold weather so my apple trees will break dormancy, and I want less cold weather so my marigolds won't die.  I'm conflicted.  Lastly, I sprayed the paths with herbicide to kill all the weeds.

Views of the Star Garden in Late February 2013

And Stay Out!

My Cairn Terrier chased him out of the yard.

He squashed some of my precious plants just beginning to emerge.  Go home, Ferdinand.

My husband repaired the barbed wire fence where he escaped.  I hope it holds!  Bulls really are like bulls in a china closet.

Bull, Don't Drink All The Water In My Rain Barrel

Bull, You Need to Leave

Bulls are heavy.  They aren't very good for flowerbeds.

Hey Bull, What Are You Doing On My Front Porch?

Ferdinand escaped his enclosure.  I was quite surprised to happen upon this bull as you can imagine.

A Weekend at the Farm Feb 23-24, 2013

These pretty white flowers are blooms on my Pearlbush.  Pearlbush blooms in early spring.

• Worked most of Saturday in the Vegetable Garden.  I didn't grow anything at all in the Vegetable Garden this winter, so it was in pretty bad shape.  I raked leaves.  I turned all the beds, pulled out all the weeds.  I sprayed the paths with herbicide.  Finally, I planted 72 Durango Bolero French Marigolds.  The French marigolds are the ones that deter / eliminate nematodes.  If we have another freeze they will be done for, I'm afraid.  That will be my punishment for being too eager.
• Also risky:  I sowed some seeds in the Vegetable Garden:  Edame in the compost enclosure, Contender bush green beans, Bright Lights Swiss Chard, Armenian Burpless Cucumbers, Hyacinth Beans along the fence in front to the compost pile, Mesclun, and red potatoes.  If it freezes I might have to start over with some of it.  It's a gamble since the last average freeze in Brenham is the second week of March.
• Saw the first Giant Swallowtail of the season today.  And I saw the Tiger Swallowtail again.  So pretty!
• Painted the picket fence around the air conditioning units.  It was looking a little shabby.  Green paint.  Didn't quite finish because I ran out of paint.
• Mulched some roses, the Limelight Hydrangea, various beds in the Star Garden, around the Sangria Crinums, around the Buddleia I moved, the blue althea.
• Dug up a Buddleia and moved it to a better spot in the Long Border.  It had grown from a random seed.  
• Cut back the White Profusion Buddleia.  
• Raked the Long Border.  It always gets covered in Pine Straw in the winter.  I dumped all the pine straw around the camellia in the Circle Drive.  Pine straw is acidic and camellias love acid.
• Cut back the Mexican salvia and the Bat Face Cuphea and the miniature Barbado Cherry.
• Filled the bed around the La Marne roses with soil and planted the Ox Blood Lilies that I rescued.  
• Planted the alliums that I rescued.  I planted them in the Rose Garden.  Anything oniony or garlicky deters aphids.  
• Planted the bearded irises that I rescued in the bed I worked on last weekend next to the dining room.  
• And I divided the clump of Campernelles that I rescued and planted them in various places.  
• Watered various plants - the irises that Janine Snapp gave me, my new roses, the baby altheas I rooted (some of them have leafed out - success!), the Southern Crabapple, the new Mayhaw.
• Sprayed herbicide in the Vegetable Garden, the driveway, and the Rose Garden.
• Fertilized all the fruit trees in the Orchard.
• Weeded, weeded, weeded - always.
• Cleaned out the round bed with the African Hostas.  I will mulch next weekend. 
• Trimmed back the Catmint in the Long Border and the Star Garden.
• Absolutely everything is waking up.  It will be so beautiful this spring!     

More Rescues

My neighbor and I went early Saturday morning to an abandoned house and dug up some treasures.  I collected about 25 Ox Blood Lilies as well as a clump of bearded irises, a clump of Campernelles, and four alliums of some sort.  I am surely going to hell for all the skulking around I'm doing with my shovel.  Last weekend  I actually filled a large baggy with water, went to the Arbor Gate, surreptitiously took a cutting of a Cramoisier Superior, stuck it in the baggy that was hidden in my purse, and slunk off with my treasure.  That's horrible!  And it doesn't matter that no one will love them more than me or take care of them better than me.  It's still wrong.  But I can't stop!  

Above, alliums of some variety

Above, Ox Blood Liliy bulbs.

Above Bearded irises, purple flowers based on others that were blooming nearby

Some Minor Activities Feb 16, 2013

On Sunday I had some time to move a few plants that have long been in my thoughts to shift around.

I made this bed in the Rose Garden a few weeks ago.  I moved two Harlequin Glorybower trees that had suckered off the mother plant over to this bed.  They haven't leafed out yet, which is, of course, the best time to move them.  HBs are pretty little trees / large shrubs.  They have pink flowers in the spring followed by persistent, bright red and blue fruit.  The leaves are very large.  I climbed behind the fence and cut away the yaupon that was growing near the fence.  I'd like to cut a swath along the back of the fence wide enough for my husband to mow.  It will look a lot nicer than having the woods encroach right up to the fence line.  Sounds like a good project!  

I moved 6 plugs of Mexican Sedum from a bed in the Star Garden over to this one.  It is a spreading, evergreen, spring blooming groundcover.  I moved three Strawberry Candy daylilies from underneath the Harlequin Glorybower over to this bed and planted them in the left of the photograph.  In the far left is oregano which flowers in the spring and is much loved by the bees.
Coming up in the middle of the picture are the mystery bulbs (I have stuck a couple of tomato cages in the bed to keep the dogs from trampling them while they are still little and tender.  In the background are two deciduous Kolkwitzia amabilis 'Pink Cloud' that haven't leafed out yet.  Next week I will put a nice layer of mulch over the bed.  By summertime it will be very full and pretty.  The sedum is useful because it will spread and cover up the empty space.  (The bulbs and the daylilies recede once the weather gets warm.)

These are irises that Janine Snapp gave me.  I planted most of them in a bed I just built.  I cut off the long fronds so the plants wouldn't have to waste any energy on keeping them alive while their roots get established.  I planted four of them around the birdbath in the Star Garden.  I'm hoping the fronds grow just to the lip of the birdbath.  That will look pretty.

Face Lift for the Boardwalk Feb 16, 2013

On Saturday afternoon I stained the boardwalk with opaque stain.  It is called Redwood.  It's really orange, unfortunately.  But, in my experience, the outdoor structures fade so quickly that it really isn't a permanent mistake.  And the stain was non-refundable which made the decision to keep painting a pretty easy one.  The Boadwalk is about 150 feet long, maybe longer.  I stained the entire thing in about three hours.
The top of the boardwalk:

The middle of the boardwalk:

The end of the boardwalk - I ran out of stain with two little steps remaining.  My husband added some gasoline to the dregs so I could finish, but I forgot that the man at the hardware store told to add water if I wanted to extend the amount.  So it was ruined, and I couldn't use it to finish.  I'll just stain the two little steps, it really doesn't matter.  We're not competing in any contests.

Weekend at the Farm Feb 16-17, 2013

Everything I use to plant new plants:  a wheelbarrow, some compost, a shovel, the plants (which came in the mail with their root ball wrapped in plastic), fertilizer, and a watering can.  I dig the hole, fill the bottom of the hole with compost, sprinkle organic fertilizer in the hole, fill the hole with water so that the area gets very wet, and then I plant the tree or shrub or plant.

•  Planted two Late Blooming Bottlebrush Buckeyes (Aesculus Parvifloar var. Serotina) that I bought from Woodlanders.  I planted them in one of the new beds I made a few weeks ago.  It is in a shady spot; these suckering shrubs don't like full sun.
• Planted a Southern Crabapple tree (Malus angustifolia), also purchased from Woodlanders, in the Orchard.
• Planted three Indian Pinks (Spigelia marylandica) from Woodlanders in one of the new beds I built last week.  It is adjacent to the bed where the Bottlebrush Buckeyes were planted.  The plants were packed in plastic bags and looked literally like balls of dirt.  There wasn't even a dead branch attached.  I saw which way the top of the plant was with two of them because there was just a hint of green, but I had to make an educated guess with the third plant.
• Pruned the La Marne roses by cutting them with shrub shears.  I didn't do any careful pruning, I just cut them like a hedge of ligustrums.  These roses are so twiggy with so many eye buds that I figured it wouldn't harm them.
• Watered the Mexican Plum, the two Mayhaws, and the Blueberry I potted up several weeks ago.
• Watered the new roses:  Lady Banks, Veilchenblau, Peggy Martin, and American Beauty.
• I stained the Boardwalk with a color called Redwood.  Very orangey-looking.  But, it's done.  It took me three hours of steady work sitting cross legged on the boardwalk.  I'm glad no one was around to see me walk up the hill when I was finished.  I could barely stand up straight.
• I shredded leaves on Saturday and Sunday.  Bags and bags of shredded leaves.   I mulched the lower section of the Boardwalk gardens, some of the beds in the Shade Garden, some of the beds in the Circle Drive, and I laid down a layer of leaves in the new bed I'm building.  As I was working I recalled Max helping me one weekend fill a flowerbed with soil.  He told me it was hurting his back.  Well, of course it's hurting your back!  That's why they call it work.  Work hurts your back, hence the expression back-breaking work.  If it's not hurting your back it's something else - exercise or a vigorous past time.     
• Planted some irises that Janine Snapp gave me.  I put most of them in my newest bed, and I planted 4 of them around the birdbath in the Star Garden.
•  I dug up 2 Harlequin Glorybowers that had suckered off the mother plant.  I planted them in the Rose Garden in the new bed I made several weeks ago.  They will probably turn into problems because it will be difficult to pass through the path.
• Mulched the Columbine in the Infinity Garden.  
• Fertilized various plants with liquid fertilizer.
• What a beautiful weekend!  I was outside every moment of it.
• My husband and I moved the guest bedroom mattress into the living room in front of the fire place and slept in front of the fire on Saturday night.
• I saw a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly today.  So pretty!  Only the second I have ever seen in Burton.
• Everything is looking so green and ready to spring forth brilliantly.  Spring is just around the corner.
• I dug up four or five shovelfuls of Mexican Sedum and moved them over to the bed next to the dining room window.  I planted them in front of my mystery bulbs.  
• I dug up three groups of Strawberry Candy daylilies that were suffering under the Harlequin Glorybower and moved them to the same bed that I placed the sedum.  Now this bed has a large stand of oregano, two Kolkwitzia flowering shrubs, the mystery bulbs, two Johnson Amaryllis, daylilies, and sedum.  I might grow some morning glories on the picket fence that sits on one side of the flowerbed.           

Excelsior Spanish Bluebells February 8, 2013

There are about 200 Bluebells in this picture growing along the boardwalk.  And there are another 100 or so growing on the other side of the boardwalk further down the hill.  They will bloom in another month or so.  So pretty.  All the plants along the boardwalk are deciduous or partly deciduous, so this is the only green along here in the winter.  Because of that, the green color always looks especially vivid.

Coralberry Beginning to Leaf Out - February 8, 2013

My camera doesn't do these pretty plants justice.  Coralberry is one of the first plants in the Shade Garden, or any of my gardens for that matter, to leaf out.  The leaves are round and bright green.  In the winter they form purple berries along the underside of the branches that the wildlife are very fond of.  Coralberry colonizes by branches that lay down on the ground and take root.

Daffodil Mystery

This daffodil bulb produces solid yellow flower clusters.  I assume it is some sort of Paper White, but I don't know what it is.  I bought 20 Grand Primo bulbs from the Bulb Hunter web site, but unfortunately I got a mix of Ehrlicheers, Grand Primos and this unknown bulb.  Pretty, but I like to know what I'm getting.

Sweet Campernelles Feb 9, 2013

These tiny little daffodils are so cute.  Their official name is Narcissus x odorous (because they have a scent) but they are generally referred to as Campernelles.  They naturalize very successfully in Texas.  Daffodils are such cheerful flowers. 

If you fertilize bulbs just as their greenery begins to pop up out of the ground in the fall, and the fertilize them again just as they are about to bloom, you will get a good floral display.

Pink Melody Dianthus February 8, 2013

For a winter garden, perennial dianthus is perfect.  It blooms all year, but what matters for the winter garden is that dianthus blooms all winter.  One problem with dianthus:  voles love it.  I had flowerbeds full of it, all varieties and colors.  But one by one they die - laying on their side with their roots completely chewed off.  The voles haven't found this flowerbed yet, a matter of time, I'm sure.  Cheerful, cheerful!  And the lonely, cold butterflies that are still around despite the cold weather are finding that these Melody Dianthus are the only flowers around.