May 12 0 comments
Garden Clippings

In Grandmother’s Garden

In Garndmother’s garden the hollyhocks

Row upon row lifted wreathed stalks

With bloom of purple, of pearly white,

Of close-frilled yellow, of crimson bright.

In Grandmother’s garden the roses red

Grew in a long, straight garden bed,

By yellow roses with small close leaves;

Any yuccas – we called them Adams and Eves!

Threaded with fringes of fairy weaves;

By marigolds in velvet browns,

And heart’s-ease in their splendid gowns;

Primrose, waiting the twilight hours.

Touch-me-nots, and gilliflowers.

Was it October, June or May?

Grandmother’s garden was always gay.

Samantha in Nana's Garden; Hannibal, MO

Samantha in Nana's Garden; Hannibal, MO

-- Weather When Posted --

  • Temperature: 80°F;
  • Humidity: 74%;
  • Heat Index: 83°F;
  • Wind Chill: 80°F;
  • Pressure: 29.92 in.;

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May 12 3 comments
Crafts, Critters

Our Bird Feeding Station

Samantha's project

Samantha's project

We came up with a scathingly brilliant idea!  We made a bird feeding station!

Our bird feeding station has three sections on top.  One section has jar lids screwed down on it to hold jelly for birds like orioles, mockingbirds and others with a sweet tooth.  The second section is just an open space that has whole grain crackers in it right now but we can put crushed egg shells, bird seed, or any other number of things in that space. The third area on top has nails sticking up to skewer fresh fruit on.

We put cup hooks underneath at the four corners to hang various things.  Right now, we have a hummingbird feeder hanging from one corner and a finch block from another.  In the winter, we can hang suet feeders and pine cones with peanut butter and birdseed from the hooks.   We also nailed a large nail onto the post to hang bagels on with another nail underneath that’s for  birds to perch on to eat.  Sam bought some millet sprigs that we will eventually replace the bagel with.

We are anxiously waiting for the birds to come and discover their brand new diner!

Top of Feeder

Top of Feeder

-- Weather When Posted --

  • Temperature: 85°F;
  • Humidity: 57%;
  • Heat Index: 87°F;
  • Wind Chill: 85°F;
  • Pressure: 29.89 in.;

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May 12 0 comments
Trees

Bald Cypress

Bald Cypress

Bald Cypress

I love this tree.  Do I say that about everything?  I mean it about the Bald Cypress.  I think it is gorgeous.  It has the shape of an evergreen with lacy leaves, but it’s not.  It turns a beautiful reddish-brown color in the fall before losing all it’s leaves for the winter.  It is always such a thrill to see the bright green new growth in the spring.

The entire reason we planted the bald cypress was to try to drain a very swampy area of our backyard.  The bald cypress is the same tree that you will find in the swamps of Louisiana.  It is the tree that will develop what are called “knees” (roots that come up above the soil surface) if it is growing in high water areas.  It is, however, surprisingly drought tolerant once it’s established.  We rarely actually water this area of the yard even in the height of the summer. It does have a susceptibility to bag worms, but we pick off the ones we can reach and dunk them in soapy water and the others we leave to attract beneficial wasps, birds and other predatory insects.

An added bonus is that the Bald Cypress is a Texas native.  Ours is about 5 years old now and began as a 2 foot whip.  It is now approximately 30 feet tall!  we actually have two Bald Cypress… just after we planted one, Travis came home from school with one that he started from seed.  That one is now about 6 feet tall.  Both of these are still small for a cypress though.  They will grow to about 80 feet tall.

-- Weather When Posted --

  • Temperature: 71°F;
  • Humidity: 83%;
  • Heat Index: 71°F;
  • Wind Chill: 71°F;
  • Pressure: 29.98 in.;

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May 11 0 comments
Texas Native

Coral Honeysuckle

Coral Honeysuckle

Coral Honeysuckle

Coral Honeysuckle is a wonderful Texas native and the hummingbirds love it!  It is an evergreen vine and blooms from spring until fall.  It is also drought tolerant.

It should be planted in full sun.  I have one that is in partial shade and seems to be doing fine, but the side that gets more sun has more blooms.

I started mine from a cutting from another friend and boy did it take off!  I can’t remember, but I don’t think I even used rooting hormone on it.

The vines twine and tollerate pruning very well making it a wonderful choice for a small patio garden.  It will need some kind of support to start climbing on a fence.  I tied mine up with florist tape.

Samantha loves to stop and suck the nectar out of the flowers when ever she passes by.

This is one of my favorite plants.

-- Weather When Posted --

  • Temperature: 61°F;
  • Humidity: 89%;
  • Heat Index: 61°F;
  • Wind Chill: 60°F;
  • Pressure: 30.16 in.;

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May 11 0 comments
fruit

Strawberries

Strawberry Blossom

Strawberry Blossom

Strawberries increase each year by runner and the Dallas Planting Manual recommends eight plants for a good start.    They require rich, well drained soil, but too much nitrogen will make the berries too soft.  You also have to keep the berries from direct contact with the soil by using mulch.  I like straw that I collect from the neighbor’s discarded decoration in the fall, but pine needles are good too.

Our strawberries are just about finished producing, but they have been so wonderful this year.  I only wish we had more.  We will have to remember that for next year and buy more because eight is NOT enough.

I don’t even remember what kind these are, but we got them from Lantana Gardens and they are the most incredible strawberries.  The plants are big and gorgeous and the berries are so sweet!  My only complaint is that the pill bugs love them as much as we do.  In fact, the pill bugs have eaten entire plants in some spots leaving us a little short.

Before they are all gone, we will have to make another batch of Chilled Berry Soup!

-- Weather When Posted --

  • Temperature: 61°F;
  • Humidity: 89%;
  • Heat Index: 61°F;
  • Wind Chill: 60°F;
  • Pressure: 30.16 in.;

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May 11 0 comments
From Garden to Table

Chilled Berry Soup

This is one of the most incredible recipes!  I got it from the Moosewood Cookbook.  We have not tried anything out of this cookbook that has not been incredible.

Chilled Berry Soup

Much more than just a soup, this refreshing tart-sweet preparation can be a summer beverage, a breakfast dish, or even a desert.

Frozen berries work very well in here so you don’t need to wait for perfect fresh ones.  Blue, black-, rasp- and strawberries can all be found in frozen, unsweetened for in the supermarket.  You can also freeze your own during an abundant season.  Frozen berries give off generous amounts of pure berry juice as they defrost, and you can include all of it in the soup.  It creates an indescribably lovely color.

3 cups orange juice (preferably fresh squeezed)

3 cups buttermilk or yogurt (non-fat OK)

1 to 2 Tbs. fresh lemon or lime juice

optional:  1 to 2 Tbs. sugar or honey

2 to 3 cups berries ~ any kind or any combination (Leave smaller berries whole.  Larger ones should be sliced)

optional:  a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg and/or a few sprigs of fresh mint for ganish

1)  Whisk together orange juice and buttermilk or yogurt.  Add lemon or lime juice and optional sugar or honey (or not), to taste.  Cover and chill until serving time.

2) When you’re ready to serve, place about 1/2 cup berries in each bowl.  Ladle the soup on top.  If desired, dust very lightly with cinnamon and/or nutmeg, and garnish with a few small sprigs of mint.

I’m honestly not a buttermilk fan, but this is the most wonderful stuff!  We have been known to just drink it or pour it over vanilla ice cream.  My favorite berries in it are raspberries because the soup fills the well in the berries.  And we use the options of honey and nutmeg and sometimes the mint sprigs.

-- Weather When Posted --

  • Temperature: 61°F;
  • Humidity: 89%;
  • Heat Index: 61°F;
  • Wind Chill: 60°F;
  • Pressure: 30.16 in.;

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May 08 0 comments
Potpourri

What’s blooming today?

Hollyhocks

Hollyhocks

I think I’m going to make this a regular article on Fridays so that I can keep track of what is happening in my garden.

So, for today, pretty much everything that was blooming last week is still going even if some things have slowed down.  The roses had their big flush and now we have just a few blooms on most of them.  The big exceptions are the climbing Fairy rose and the Red Cascade.  Mrs B.R. Cant, the Daybreaker, and the red rose that I took from Mom’s yard in Oklahoma which all still have quite a few blooms.

The strawberries have slowed down on the bloom, but the plants are growing to be huge with all the rain.  The Louisiana Iris seem to be close to finished also.  The snapdragons seem to be loving things, though.

The new things blooming are the daylilies (the smaller yellow ones), St. John’s Wort, the ‘Australian Skies’ anise sage, hollyhocks, ‘Sweet Kate’ spiderwort, the newly planted white impatiens and white pentas, and what I think is a Kamchatka stonecrop (or some other yellow flowering sedum).

So, what is blooming in your garden?

-- Weather When Posted --

  • Temperature: 69°F;
  • Humidity: 77%;
  • Heat Index: 69°F;
  • Wind Chill: 69°F;
  • Pressure: 29.97 in.;

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May 08 0 comments
Trowel and Error

Wet Soils – Don’t go there!

With all the rain we have been having, it’s important to remember a few things about working in wet soils.  The number one thing is, well, just don’t do it

Rain!

Rain!

When soils are wet,  they are much more readily compacted.  Soil particles get pressed together and the air gets forced out of the soil.  Compaction can cause drainage problems, run-off, erosion, and stunt plant growth.

If you must walk on wet soil, try to stick to permanent paths or strap on some of those aerating sandals.  And don’t push a heavy mower across it.  Cutting the grass when it is wet is just an invitation to fungal problems anyway.

If you have bought a lot of pretty new plants that are anxious to get to their new homes, try to hold off.  We do get moments between the rains, like today, that you will be able to plant.  That is exactly what I have been doing all day today.  That and weeding.  One good thing about all the rain is that it makes weeding MUCH easier.

To help soils that are already compacted, keep adding mulch.  We already have such a problem with soil compaction in North Texas that we certainly don’t need to add to the problem.

Oh, and one last word… turn off the sprinklers.  Your yard really doesn’t need any more right now and there is more rain on it’s way this weekend!

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May 08 0 comments
Events Around Town (and farther)

Happy National Public Gardens Day 2009!

APGA | National Public Gardens Day 2009!.

May 8, 2009, National Public Gardens Day is a national day of celebration to raise awareness of America’s public gardens and their important role in promoting environmental stewardship and awareness, plant and water conservation, and education in communities nationwide. Click to visit the NPGD Facebook page and become a fan today! Click to download materials and artwork to promote NPGD at your garden.

The Mission: Presented by the non-profit American Public Gardens Association (APGA) in partnership with Rain Bird, both are committed to celebrating the environmental stewardship of North America’s public gardens and their local, regional and national leadership in resourcing the nation’s conservation and environmental education needs.

Scope: National Public Gardens Day celebrates all public gardens, botanical gardens, educational gardens, specialty gardens, entertainment gardens, arboreta, farm gardens, historical landscapes, and zoos and each institution participates in their own unique way.

Many of the nation’s public gardens will mark the day with special events and activities for schools, families and thousands of visitors to explore and discover their local public garden, while learning about each garden’s commitment to education, research and environmental stewardship.

Timing: National Public Gardens Day takes place annually on Mother’s Day weekend, an unofficial start of spring and a time when the environment is top of mind for most consumers.

Benefit: Public gardens are a fun activity for families, couples, and enthusiasts, providing a low-cost, entertaining, and beautiful community outing while providing important resources, education and research on environmental stewardship and conservation.

Rain Bird Corporation: As the leading manufacturer of irrigation products and services, Rain Bird’s support of National Public Gardens Day represents their strong commitment to the Intelligent Use of Water™ and the importance they instill in environmental preservation and landscape water conservation.

American Public Gardens Association: Founded in 1940 and with a growing list of over 500 garden members in all 50 states and eight other countries, the APGA is devoted to increasing garden cooperation and resourcing and raising public awareness of their environmental education, research, plant conservation, ecosystem management, species preservation and the efficient use of water.

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May 07 0 comments
Garden Clippings

A Community

We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.  – Aldo Leopold

Fetch the Wild Cat

Fetch the Wild Cat

Aldo Leopold

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