Mellow Yellow Hibiscus - September 17, 2012

 Mellow Yellow Hibiscus is a very low-growing/ground-hugging plant.  I saw many plants once lining a sunny path that was about 20 feet long.  It looked really stunning.  It has been very winter hardy for me.  I brought this from my home in Houston and planted it in Brenham before the really harsh winter several years ago when temperatures stayed below freezing for three days.  That winter knocked the stuffing out of it, yes, but here it is going strong now.  The flowers are very similar to okra blooms with the yellow flowers and maroon centers.  This hibiscus sets seed, but I don't know if the plant will come true from seed.  Frankly, I don't know if the plant in this picture is the same mother plant I planted several years ago or if this plant is a seedling plant.  Probably the former. 

Candida Rain Lilies September - September 17, 2012

These rain lilies are blooming in flower beds on either side of the front door.  Talk about easy!  I never do anything for them, but they bloom reliably in the spring and the fall.  And they multiply like crazy.  I have dug many bulbs up from this original patch of bulbs and planted them in the Infinity Garden, the Rose Garden, the Circle Drive, and next to the Vegetable Garden.

The first picture is in the early morning before the flowers have opened.  The next pictures were taken in the afternoon.   

 

 

A Day at the Farm September 8, 2012

This is Star of the Republic rose.  In my opinion it is not a star.  It is a dud.  It grows these long ungainly canes with a few flowers on the ends.  Awkward and doesn't bloom much.  The flowers smell great, though.  I don't recommend it, I consider it a waste of space.  I feel really bad yanking up a rose and letting it die, but I'm considering it.

Went to Burton for one day.  Arrived Thursday evening and left on Saturday morning early to meet my sisters, my mom and my daughter at the Houstonian for massages.  My father got us all gift certificates for our birthdays - last year! We are only just now using them!  Went to dinner with my son Saturday evening - Oxheart - named one of the 10 best new restaurants in the country.  It's a little hole in the wall right next to The Last Concert. Interesting menu.

• Pulled up more overgrown zinnias, spread more zinnia seeds.
• Pulled weeds in the Orchard. 
• Watered my newly planted Peggy Martin rose, American Beauty rose, and Banana Shrub.
• Watered and fertilized my shrubs. 
• Deadheaded zinnias.
• My okra are starting to bloom.
• The Candida Rain Lilies are blooming very prettily.
• Watered the neglected Ballerina rose that is barely hanging on, poor girl.
• Napped.
• Trimmed the wisteria on the big arbor. 
• Too hot to do much of anything.  The weather turned gorgeous over the weekend, but I missed it, I was already back in Houston.  

Iceberg Rose - September 8, 2012

Iceberg, introduced in 1958, is a floribunda rose.  Iceberg has pure white flowers.  It is small shrub rose, mine is only about 4 feet tall.  Iceberg is probably the most popular white rose of all time because it is not susceptible to black spot and it is floriferous.  It is the perfect plant for a white garden or a night garden.

Growing Up - Arbors and Trellises

I love arbors and trellises.  They are particularly useful if you have a small garden because you can take advantage of all the space above the ground.  Here are a few of my arbors and trellises:

 My husband built this arbor in time for me to plant some morning glories last spring.  This fall I plan to transplant a Sombreuil rose from a bed next to the Orchard and train it up this arbor.  The morning glories in the picture below are called Carnival di Venezia.

The arbor below is just a long strip of goat wire that has been doubled over and wedged between two cedar logs of adjacent flower beds.  It couldn't get any easier than that!  This arbor is also covered with morning glories.  These are called Dacapo Blue.  A goat wire arbor is also really neat in a vegetable garden for growing cucumbers, zucchini, and other vining vegetables.  When the vegetable plants have died and turned brown, don't bother painstakingly pulling them off the arbor, just set fire to them.  The dead dry plant material will go up in smoke and be gone in a minute.  Super easy!

Dacapo Blue Morning Glory.

 

The two pictures below are of a new trellis erected with an old chain link gate held up by two pieces of rebar on either side of the gate.  I planted a Peggy Martin climbing rose in front of it just last week, so it have time to get established before winter.

 



The photograph below is a trellis with pea vine growing on it.  This was erected by drilling two holes in the cedar log that outlines the flower bed.  The trellis feet were stuck in the holes.  It didn't take more than five minutes to erect this trellis.

 



 

 The trellis in the photograph below is an old conveyor belt that my husband's son found in his backyard when he moved into his house.  I recognized it immediately as a treasure!  Last week I planted a climbing American Beauty rose next to it so that it will have the fall months to get established before winter.  It will be beautiful trained around this trellis.  My husband erected this trellis in a hole filled with cement, so it was a little more labor intensive than the others.  

 

The two photographs below are of a three legged arbor that my husband built.  He also pegged some chicken wire over it so that vines would have something to grab.  I have morning glories, Moon Flower and Aristolochia (Giant Pipevine) growing over it.   

 

 

The picture below was taken from the other side of the arbor. 

 

 

I bought this metal arbor in the photograph below at The Antique Rose Emporium.  White Coral Vine is growing on it.  The flowers are very pretty.  The arbor is heavy enough to stand on its own without anything holding it down.   

 Fall is the bloom season for Coral Vine.  Coral Vine is very drought tolerant because the roots are large bulbous things that look like potatoes. 

 

Finally, this trellis is standing in the Long Border.  A long piece of rebar is holding it in place from toppling over.  My husband just banged the rebar into the ground just inside the trellis.  Very simple.  Cypress Vine that I grew from seed is covering the trellis.  Cypress Vine is a heavy reseeder with stunning greenery.. 

 

Almond Verbena September 3, 2012

I planted my Almond Verbena (the tall plant in the center of the photograph) in early summer.  It was a tiny plant in a small container, so as you can see it grows quickly.  It grows into a small tree, although it can be pruned to be a large shrub.  It is deciduous, and it likes full sun exposure.  It seems to be fairly drought tolerant as well.  I planted Mdm Isaac Pereire rose the same day as the Almond Verbena.  I have had to baby the rose through the heat of the summer, but the Almond Verbena has grow 5 feet without any extra watering.  The flowers are delicate and white, not extremely showy, but pretty.  What makes Almond Verbena so special is the smell.  It is wonderful, even extraordinary!  The flowers smell like almond extract, and the scent hangs on the air and can be smelled 20 feet away.  Really heavenly, a must-have plant if scent is something you value. It is planted near my front porch where I often sit, resting between back breaking chores, and I can enjoy the memorable scent and watch the bees and hummingbirds feast on its nectar. 

A Weekend at the Farm August 31 - Sep 3, 2012

The top picture is my Cairn Terrier, Rocky.  The second picture is my Convenience Store Puppy, Sadie.  I found Sadie in front of a bodega in Austin.  I rescued her.  She is very very sweet.

• My uncle Darrel passed away, and my husband and I drove to Madisonville for the funeral.  He was a sweet man, and his passing leaves a hole in the family.
• Nathan and Jessica came to Burton for the weekend with 5 friends.  They camped in tents at night.  Hot and miserable!  I don't know how they did it.  They swam in the pool all day and cooked elaborate meals all weekend.  They had a good time.
• I went to the Antique Rose Emporium on Saturday.  I bought an American Beauty climbing rose and a Peggy Martin rose.  American Beauty rose is grown in two forms - a shrub and a climber.  I planted the climber in a small bed I dug next to the conveyor belt that my husband mounted in cement in the side yard.  I'm going to train American Beauty to grow up the conveyor belt.  American Beauty has a wonderful, classic rose smell.  Peggy Martin rose is also known as the Hurricane Katrina rose. It is a found rose that was growing in the yard of Peggy Martin.  Ms. Martin's house was 20 feet under salt water after Katrina.  When she was finally able to return to her home after the hurricane, this rose was blooming.  Only this climbing rose and one crinum were still alive in her yard.  Everything else was dead.  Since then cuttings have been taken and the rose has been put into commercial production.   The proceeds go to charitable projects related to the recreation of famous gardens in New Orleans that were destroyed by the hurricane.  By all accounts this rose is quite spectacular.   I planted it in a small bed I dug next to a chain link gate my husband mounted with rebar spikes.  I will train Peggy Martin to climb up the gate.
• Several days ago I found a small Banana Shrub at Buchanan's Nursery.  It was only $10 so I bought it.  I was hesitant because the soil is very alkaline, and Banana Shrub likes acid soil.  Banana Shrub blooms in the spring.  The flowers aren't super spectacular, but they smell very intensely like  ripe banana.  It is an old fashioned southern passalong plant, highly prized for its memorable scent.  I planted mine in one of the beds that leads to the Rose Garden. 
• I pulled up all the zinnias in one of the beds in the Orchard because they were overgrown.  I spread seeds from seed heads that I previously cut and were laying on the ground.  I hope to have a good fall show.
• I pulled up zinnias in the Hollyhock bed also and spread seeds from dried seed heads. 
• I sprayed herbicide in the Vegetable Garden, the Rose Garden, the Orchard, the driveway, and the Long Border.
• Spent a lot of time reflecting on the sad events my family has had to endure over the past several months.