Backyard Progress In Pictures

Some stuff:

Most of the backyard, as seen from the west side behind the Mulberry tree

Morning Glory seedlings, yay!  I don't remember if they're blue or purple.

I love Yarrow, as long as it isn't the Yarrow taking over the front garden. 

Another view of the whole (mostly) yard from the other side of the tree, from the SW corner. I stood in dog shit to take this. 

The Mexican Orchid Tree, with a pair of little lavenders flanking it. 

The Chaste Tree, with a wee columbine in front of it, Yarrow and compost bin behind. 

The first flowers on my Citronella geranium, potted, on the back porch. 

Cosmos and Cypress Vine seedlings! Squee! 

new leaves on the Chaste Tree (Vitex agnus castus)

One of the wee lavenders near the Orchid Tree (Lavandula dentata)

More soon.

News From the Front Yard

Texas Bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis) in the front yard

Slightly less exciting when you see them from a distance,
LOL.  But the patch is growing!  

Magenta African Daisies (Osteospermum) and red Cyclamen in the front bed

My yellow roses, now five years old; and my purple irises, some of which have grown under-
neath the rose bush and mingle with it. :) 

Leafminers on my culinary sage. 

More African Daisies.  Have I mentioned that I LOVE the camera on my new phone? Wow. 

The whole front yard scene - again, less exciting in its entirety.  I'm working on it. :) 

That big bush by the electrical box (and let me tell you how utterly overjoyed I've been about its
presence for eleven years...) is the only plant that I still have from the original builder's plantings
in front of the front porch.  I think the very first thing I did after I moved into the house in 2004
was to remove ALL of the builders' plantings, five each Nandina (which I detest) and these
things.  I potted them all up and put them on the curb with a sign that said "FREE PLANTS"

 - all except for this guy.  And in eleven years, this is all the growing it's done.  It has little dirty-looking white flowers in the spring and early summer, smells like oven clearner and gym socks, and I can NEVER remember its name.  I tried googling for it, but nothing comes up when I search for "fugly generic bushes nobody actually plants intentionally."  Except for the four people who took the FREE PLANTS within like two hours after I put them on the curb. Suckers! 

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Spring Doesn't Start 'Til I Do

I've finally gotten started on the backyard for the year!  I did a bit of work a few weeks ago before I left for my big SCA trip in Mississippi, but the BIG work is all in the backyard.

Since the Martian Death Fungus of Aught-Ten and the horrific drought of '11 and '12, I've kind of let the yard go.  It needed time to recover.  The few things that survived (my Mulberry, Vitex, and Bauhinia trees,  my 'Romantika' Clematis, a couple of Daffodils, and a whole bunch of Garlic Chives and Yarrow) have been doing well on their own, but they're all badly in need of pruning and shaping.  Last November I spent a couple of weekends crawling around on the ground pulling what felt like millions of Hemlock and Ragweed plants out of the ground one at a time (to make sure I got the taproots; controlling them with mowing wasn't helping at all, even though it works great for annual weeds).  Since then I haven't mowed the grass once.  The Bermuda grass the house came with in '04 has finally all been replaced with wild, native grasses and groundcovers that do MUCH better in the heat and sun, and I let them go wild for a few months to establish a good hold on the earth and reseed themselves as they saw fit.

This morning I spent about three hours out there mowing half the yard, then raking up all the trimmings and tossing them into the compost bin, layered with half-composted mulch I picked up from the city recycling center yesterday for free.  I cleaned off the back porch (which had, I'm embarrassed to say, become sort of a dumping ground for things I took out into the yard, mostly tools and things, and never brought back into the house), and then I grabbed a roll of baling wire fencing from the garage and wrapped them around the post on the back porch for that Clematis to climb up onto this year.

A New Kind of Dog Garden

I'm heartbroken to say, my eldest dog, Raven, died last week on the 19th.  He was fifteen years old, and riddled with all manner of Old Man Problems.  He collapsed while I was in Mississippi on my trip, and my roommate, bless her, took him to the emergency vet while I drove back the next day as fast I could.  I met him at the hospital as soon as I got back into town, where I got to spend a few final hours snuggling him and brushing his fur, and then we said our last goodbye.

I had had a feeling that he was nearly at the end of his time before I left for my trip - and I almost didn't go.  I think we all hope it will happen peacefully in their sleep.  Knowing that that might happen, I made arrangements for some friends to come and help my roommate out if it happened while I was out of state, and before I left, I dug a plot for him in the backyard, in his favorite napping spot by the back porch.  Instead, he ended up at the vet, and they took care of him for me there.

Amongst the plants I purchased today were "Sensation" (pink and red) and "Bright Lights" (orange) Cosmos flowers.  I started growing Cosmos around the fence line in the backyard in '07, and ever since then, Raven loved to burrow into them, dig himself a little dirt bowl, mat down some of the stalks, and make himself a little nest in there.  He also LOVED strawberries - so much so that although I always grew lots of them, I never got to eat any, hehe.

The first new garden I'm going to build in the backyard, then, will be a garden for Raven.  His collar will go into the place I dug for him a couple of weeks ago, and the whole area will be filled with his favorite flower, and his favorite fruit, in his favorite place to nap.  :')

<3 

Veggie Gardens Yay! 

Next up will be the creation of a new vegetable and herb garden.  The veggie garden will be in the same space as the old ones - why mess with a good thing, right?  The soil there is still in fantastic shape, and the grass hasn't even taken over the space fully yet, so it'll be easy to clear it out again and top it off with compost from the bin.

Today's haul from It's About Thyme includes (from left to right, above): 

• "Yellow Pear", Roma, and "German Johnson" tomatoes
• "Tam Mild" and "Mucho Nacho" Jalapenos
• "Texas Gold" Columbines (Aquilegia chrysantha)
• Citronella Geranium (Pelargonium 'Citrosum')
• "Goodwin Creek" Lavender (Lavandula 'Goodwin Creek Gray')
• French Lavender (Lavandula dentata)
• Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
• Catnip (Nepeta cataria)
• Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum)
• Orange Mint (Mentha citrata)

Most of this will be going into the "vegetable" plot this year.  Once I figure out what to do with the old patio area (once covered in cobblestones, now covered in grass), and where to put a new, dedicated herb garden, I'll expand it, but I'm trying not to make too much work for myself all at once.  I've missed gardening the way I used to, but the SCA keeps me extremely busy these days, so I don't want to overload myself by biting off more than I can chew. 

The Orange Mint and geraniums will be going into pots on the back porch;  the catnip will live in a hanging basket (to keep neighborhood cats and possums out of it.  Possums looooove catnip!)  I also purchased an Asparagus Fern for the house.  

And now, I'm headed back out to the yard to make some gardens!   I'm hoping as I finish mowing the yard, I'll find my long-handled loppers, so that I can start pruning my trees.  Where the heck have those things gone??  

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An Update On the Front Garden

Yes! The weather is finally cool enough at night and in the mornings that I can really start working in the yard again. Let's hear it for an early fall, folks!

☆。★。☆。★ 。☆ 。☆。☆ ★。＼｜／。★ CHEERS ★。／｜＼。★ 。☆。。☆ ☆。 ★。 ☆ ★


In case anyone thought I was dead or for some other reason wasn't interested in gardening anymore (if anyone is, in fact, actually reading this blog and also giving a crap), here are a couple of pics

Before:

SEPTEMBER 2013

APRIL 2014

Last September, I cleared out most of the Yarrow that persists in taking over the entire front garden.  As you can see, only seven months later, it was already filling in - and four months after that (i.e. yesterday) it had grown into what looked like the corner of an abandoned lot. 

I'm sick of doing that every year. 

Seriously, you guys, from here on out, as far as Texas goes,* I'm all about little-to-no maintenance. 

And so:  

Yesterday evening, just before sunset (when the temperature was a balmy and cool...um...92º), I ripped out ALL OF THE YARROW.  Things to know: 

• I'm planning to put another rose bush on the east (left, in the picture) side of the garden to balance out the big white/yellow one on the west (right) side
• This time I'm going to keep after the damned garden with the hoe and make sure the effing Yarrow doesn't get a foothold again.  
• The statue belongs to my recent roomate, who has moved out of state, and left it here until such time as she can figure out how to ship it to herself without it costing an arm and a leg.  Meanwhile, many thanks to my neighbor's boyfriend, who saw me struggling to get the thing onto a dolly last night and very kindly wheeled it to the garden and propped it up in place for me with his man muscles. 
• Bermuda grass actually goes semi-dormant in the summers here, because of the heat.  It'll green up again when fall truly hits. 
• Did you know Irises could talk? They say OH MY GOD WOMAN DIVIDE US ALREADY!!

* Um...nothing.  

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CRAAAAAP.

Well, the lavender plant that I put into my front bed has grown big and strong - it's like two feet high now, and three feet wide. Yay!

Oh, and also, it's dying.  I saw a wilting couple of branches in the back, snipped them off, inspected the rest of the leaves for signs of whatever (found none at all), and then watched it for a few days...more and more of the plant is wilting.  Over half by now, in like two weeks.

Oh, god, I thought, the Martian Death Fungus is STILL IN THE SOIL. I don't think that's it, though.  After thinking about it for a while, googling around, and still failing to find any evidence of pests or diseases on the plant itself, I've come to the conclusion that it's just basically drowning.

Where did I plant it?  On the east corner of the front garden, where there was a great big open space in need of a giant, pretty lavender plant!

Wait, wait - let's try that again, shall we?  Where did I plant it?  Right next to where the gutter downspout drains...the wettest part of the front garden.  What the HELL was I thinking??  ARGH.  NOrmally, I doubt it'd be a problem, but it's been a wet year.  I guess my first clue should probably have been that I *never* have to water the front bed anymore, because we've had such good rains.

WAY TO GO, LAURA.

Plantkiller.

@#$%^&*!!!

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Not that I'm complaining, but...

Does it seem to anyone else like it's been raining for two weeks straight?   I sure haven't gotten anything done in a while, outdoors.  Mowed the grass once or twice, but that's about it.

I still haven't planted the mint or the Mandvilla I brought home two weeks ago;  the vine is fine, but the mint is really not happy in its little plastic pot.

All the rain - not just lately; it's rained at least once a week all year so far! - sure has done wonders for the lawn in the backyard.  The whole thing is green and fluffy, and there's only one bare spot left, and it looks like it's growing in fast.  Yay!

TO-DO:

• plant the mint in the east side yard near the foundation.  
• Plant the Mandevilla in the corner of the front garden so that it can grow up the post and the downspout. 
• Prune ALL the trees, front and back, before it gets too hot.  Not big pruning, which is best done in the Winter while trees are dormant; just removal of a couple of branches that are dragging, and suckers growing up from the base of a couple of them. 

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My Two Favorite Words, Combined

"Clearance Plants"   

99 cents, you guys.

a red Mandevilla vine!  I had one many years ago that died in the 

drought; I've wanted another one ever since. 

A Coleus of some kind (apparently Home Despot doesn't

label its plants anymore), tucked in behind the begonias

in this planter.  I bought two, for the pair of planters in front 

of the front door.  They'll be HUGE in no time. 

Also: a "Moss Rose" succulent plant (Portulaca spp.),
which is native and will naturalize readily if I put it in the
ground.

And a Peppermint plant, which I plan to grow in a big, fluffy
pot...and then separate and plant in the ground along my side
yards.  Don't worry, I can control it with the mower in that
position, and meanwhile, it'll keep the ants out of my house.

(This little rack on the front porch is where new plants go 
until I figure out where to plant them, and get around to it). 

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A Weekend of Gardening: Sunday

More work on the yard and gardens!

Back Yard

• Moved the Sweet Autumn Clematis from the side of the porch (where the wall trellis used to be) to the corner nearby, where there's ain Ikea headboard on the fence as a trellis. :) 
• Set up a teepee over the Clematis Romantika made of tomato spiral stakes, and fenced it in to protect against gallivanting canines
• Planted one of the Rosemary clones from the front into the back along the fence
• mowed the yard
• fed the compost bin with TONS of grass clippings, fresh leaves, dead leaves

Sweet Autumn Clematis, on the Ikea headboard in the corner behind the porch and
"vegetable garden", LOL

Clematis Romantika teepee and enclosure. 

Rosemary clone, leaning against a dead tree branch I'm using as a stake for now.  

A Gaura I found growing at the base of my Mulberry Tree

Daisy hunting lizards in the Mexican Orchid Tree, before pruning and mowing

One more tomorrow - trees! 

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A Weekend of Gardening: Saturday

Holy crud, I did a lot of work in the yard this weekend!

Front Yard and Garden

• Mowed the yard
• Hoed and weeded the front garden bed
• Planted the Fernleaf Lavender in the front bed, that's been in a pot on the porch for weeks
• Found a wee elm tree in the front bed!  Hooray for volunteer trees! 
• Cut down a big, overgrown Gorizia Rosemary in the front yard that was in. The. Way.  In the process, I discovered SIX clones that had layered themselves off the main plant!  I moved one to the back yard, and heeled in the other five to give to friends.  

This was basically a giant Yarrow patch before.  

Fernleaf Lavender (Lavandula multifida)

The first roses and buds of the year. These start out yellow, then ripen to a pretty pale cream. 

Goodbye, Rosemary.  

Rosemary clones heeled in to open space in the front bed, awaiting pickup. 

More tomorrow!


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BRB

I'm heading out for a camping vacation for a week in Mississippi; but first, I wanted to share some pics from my front porch and garden before I go:

The rose in the front garden is getting leafy again.
So are the weeds, but, I'll deal with that when I get back. 

A gardening friend bought me this lovely Bougainvillea yesterday!  

I've moved the buckets from the front door, since the one on the right was getting in the way of the storm door opening
properly.  The Begonias are loving it here, but the ferns...um, apparently not.  Different watering/sunlight needs.
Meanwhile, there's a strawberry still in its nursery pot; and a Fernleaf Lavender that is just taking OFF.  (It's in a real
pot, and you can't even see it, it's grown so fast!) 

Wishing you all lots of green leaves until I get back.  :)


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One Small Step For A Front Porch

There's a lot new going on at home, folks, so this one will be quick and dirty (pardon the pun).

Once Upon A Time: 

Every year, actually with new plants.  This was 2010, with Hostas and Purple Heart. 

Before: 

Empty containers. 

After:  

Begonias and ferns in the silver planters; plus a Fernleaf Lavender
and a strawberry I haven't planted in the front bed yet. :) 

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First Post

Herb Garden, 2007

Hi there.  I'm Laura.  I have two other blogs (costuming and Home/DIY, both linked on the right side of this page).  Many years ago I had a garden, and a garden blog...and then life happened.

I got bored with the blog.  I'd let my readership take me in an advice-column-y direction, and the whole thing ended up sounding pretty preachy.  And I was out of ideas.

The garden itself...well, that's another story entirely.  In the fall of 2010, some strange Martian Death Fungus attacked my herb garden in the back yard.  Now, I'd been gardening for over thirteen years at that point (organically, if you're interested), but all that experience amounted to exactly zilch when faced with the Martian Death Fungus.  I did everything I knew to do, and took to the internet, and other gardeners, for help and information, however, inside of just two weeks, the fungus spread to, and killed, all of my gardens.

All of them.  It started in the herb garden, and after destroying it, it went for the vegetables, the ornamentals, and even popped up in the front yard.  When all was said and done, my fully landscaped back yard was down to about five plants that didn't succumb, and the front was..well, pretty ravaged.

The next year, 2011, central Texas faced the worst drought in recorded history, and that took care of pretty much everything that was left.  Entire towns were running out of water, and things were pretty desperate.  Water my lawn? Are you kidding me?

Anyhow.  That was 2-3 years ago.  I never picked back up and started gardening again.  I gave it a couple of feints, but nothing I ever carried through on.  I was just too saddened by the loss.  And, to be honest, too broke to start fresh.  Instead, I spent the next couple of years making sure my trees, and what few plants the MDF and the drought left behind remained in tip-top shape, and grew strong, and trying to get Bermuda grass to grow under some pretty dumb-ass conditions.  To wit:

• My house faces north.  The back yard faces due south, and with the exception of the parts shaded by a six-year-old Mulberry tree, is in full sun. All day. All year.  
•  Zone 9 (or 8b by the new reckoning)
• average summer temps from 101-110º from May to October. That's right, I said from May to October.  
• Austin, Texas is at the north end of a subtropical zone, which means lots of humidity, and a more intense sunlight than you'll find a few states to the north of here.  "Full sun" on a plant tag here means "partial sun if you want it to actually live."  
• Average winter lows upper 30s-50s, with the odd hard freeze in January, or March if Mama Nature's feeling particularly assholic in a given year. 
• My yard is steeply sloped from the house to the street in the front, and less steeply, but still sloped in the back.  It's "covered" (haha) with small, ratty clumps of Bermuda grass...except where it's not.  I've wanted to completely re-sod for years, with something hardier, but I can't afford it. 
• I also have three 50lb dogs.  They don't live outside, but when they're out there, they run around and scratch up what little grass I have with their claws, poop everywhere, and one of them digs holes to lay in whenever he damned well pleases.  Most of the time they keep outside the garden beds, since I put some work into training them not to cross border fences. 

Now add to that the fact that I haven't done anything on my property except water it for about two years, and you'll see about what I'm facing.  

I'm excited, though.  I know I'm capable of creating and nurturing a beautiful and restful landscape, because I've done it.  In the next few weeks I'll do some highlight-reel stuff on my gardens of the past, while I get to work around the yard on stuff to bring to this blog to show you as I go through the process of restarting a landscape that's been sitting up on blocks for two years.  

Wish me luck. 

Hope is a thing with leaves.