A Storm, and Some New Plants

It rained Sunday morning. The way the news fussed about it, you'd think it was
going to rain frogs and kill everyone in the state. It was pretty epic, but it was also
really nice to wake up and enjoy my coffee to the sounds of a thunderstorm.

My front garden is under water!  Note the big, empty spot in the center
there where a kind squirrel has been good enough to relieve me of all of
the  Caladiums that I planted there in February.

Flooded yard.  Apparently people all over the Austin area got just
pounded by this storm - there was a lot of straight-line wind damage,
and even reports of a funnel cloud in west Austin. 
All I got was a lot of water. 

Like, a LOT.  Bye-bye, mulch.

After the storm cleared, it was a GORGEOUS day, which I
used for a quick trip to It's About Thyme to shop for pretty
things to pot up for the patio. There's a blue Plumbago here, with
a Pink Jasmine, and a Fernleaf Lavender.

Veggies and herbs on this side, along with the columbines in the EarthBox
 from the front yard.  Yellow Pear tomatoes, a "Patio Tomato", Serrano pepper,
onion chives,  a dentata lavender, Lime Mint - and you can't tell in this picture,
but the  potted rosemary from the front yard is now planted in the ground,
just off  the corner of the slab.

Daisy assisted, and then we both sat on the patio and rested for a while.
She watched the birds. 

Another Big Backyard Gardening Day

Today, I have

1. Finished raking up the yard clippings from yesterday
2. Pruned all the trees in the backyard
3. Cut down the Esperanza bush in the yard so it can grow afresh from the roots (which it does every year). 
4. Finished Raven's Garden in the northeast corner by the back porch
5. Dug out and new veggie garden in the same old veggie garden spot, and planted it
6. Dug out half the remaining stones from the old patio and moved them to create a short wall around the new veggie bed
7. Visited The Natural Gardener with friends, and brought home (only a few) new plants, and a bunch of seed packets. 

To wit: 

Backyard, east:  Chaste Tree (Vitex), compost bin and yarrow
in the corner (I put sunflower seeds all around it today), some
pallets just sitting around collecting dirt, and a small landing
of flat stones filled in with dirt and mulch (part of a long path
that will eventually run from the porch to the compost bin)

Backyard, west:  newly-pruned Mexcian Orchid
Tree (Bauhinia) just barely leaving out, Daisy and
huge Mulberry tree in the background, with free-
range bbq pit and lawnmower corpse. 

Backyard, northwest: the new veggie garden,
in the old spot, surrounded by short wall made
with old patio stones.  Chives and Daffodils
visible now (left over from the old veggie garden);
this morning I also planted Yellow Pear and
Roma tomatoes, and Tam Mild and Mucho
Nacho jalapenos, as well as Kentucky Wonder
and Scarlet-something kidney beanson the trellis
 panels. 

L-R: Remnants of the old patio under the Mexican Orchid (with
Shelly), then removed, then stacked around the veggie bed. And
yes, I was singing "I Fought the Law" the whole time I was doing
this ("Breaking rocks in the /hot sun...")

Orange Mint (top) and Pineapple Mint (side)
in the old strawberry jar on the back porch. 

Raven's Garden: only the blue fencing around
the outside will stay; the panels stuck randomly
in the ground behind it are to keep the other dogs
from jumping in there and digging up the fresh
soil.  There's yarrow around back, and a mound
with strawberry plants in the center under the extra
fencing.  I also spread seed for "Bright Lights"
and "Sensation" Cosmos, as well as blue and white
Morning Glories and red Cypress Vine around the
fence.  (And the baling wire panel fencing wrapped
around the post, for my 'Romantika' Clematis) 

A very silly concept sketch of what the garden
will look like later this summer, made with Ribbet

Helpers! 

And I STILL have two lavenders and a Columbine to put in the ground (where??), and an Angel's Trumpet, a cilantro, and some comfrey to pot up and stow on the porch...as soon as I clean up the back porch, which is kinda still a dumping ground (I've been working on it slowly, right now it's mostly full of tools, abandoned yard shoes, and a junk table that needs to go out on the curb for bulk trash day - although for now it's coming in really handy as a makeshift potting bench!) 

AND I bought some new houseplants (a parsley-leaf Aralia and a couple of wee succulents) and a Persian Shield (Strobilanthes) to put into the front garden.  Tomorrow I need to run to the dump again for another giant tub of mulch, before I go much further in the yard. 

At the moment, though, I would give my left arm for a hot tub to sit in.  I'm pooped. 

Hair by Mother Nature

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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Oops + Spider

Well, the aforementioned non-smoker's veggie garden has officially died.  That tomato I was so proud of ripened before the plant died - mind you, it was supposed to be as big as my fist but it was the size of a regular cherry tomato - was completely nasty.  So we'll try again in the Fall.

The rest of the yard is going well.  The back is completely overgrown, because I cannot seem to get the dogs to mow the lawn, try as I might.  The front garden is huge and fluffy and green, and I love it!   I haven't been doing any actual projects in the yard of late (mostly been working on house stuff; see other blog), but I do have a couple of photos:

A juvenile Green Lynx Spider on my roses in the front garden

Front porch with new light fixture (what I've been working on this week),
and the aforementioned rose + spider on the left 

☼

Uh...whoops.

Hey, guess what!  I quit smoking!  :D

Of course, the downside, is that I'm not going outside regularly, and therefore not keeping a daily watchful eye on the plants in my backyard.  It also doesn't help that after not gardening for two years, I'm no longer in the habit, it seems, of walking the gardens like I used to, inspecting for insect damage, water and fertilzation needs, fruit and flower progress, etc.

So some things have been a little under-watered, and have suffered for it.  My poor Bougainvillea has nearly uprooted itself reaching for the sun - and you'd think I'd have noticed that, since I pass it every single day on the way in and out of the front door, you know?

Anyhow, things are progressing a bit:

The "vegetable garden", looking not as healthy as it could, due to watering issues - although the two tomatoes and the pepper have just BOOMED as far as size goes.

There's even a tomato!



One!

A few more on the "Juliet" cherry tomato plant.  Like eight or so.

Early on, I dropped something onto the Juliet tomato plant and broke off a branch.  Curious, I planted it oustide the veg garden behind the patio (where I keep all my weeds), and it's actually growing!

And here we have the very wee-est Serrano pepper ever.  It's about the size of my pinky fingernail.

Lastly, a strawberry plant bereft of strawberries - they all dried out and had to be removed from the plant.  Here's hoping it flowers again.

I moved the Bougainvillea from the front, to the back porch here where it'll get more sunlight.  Hopefully this new placement will also prompt me to water it more often.

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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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"Vegetable Garden"

As I said, I won't be able to have a "real" vegetable garden this year - at least not until fall.  But in the meantime, I just had to have some tomatoes.  It's been years since I had an actual container garden, and I'm kind of excited to be starting one up again!

New additions to the back porch:

a Serrano pepper

"Juliet" and "Homestead" tomatoes

Despite the complaints from my lower back, I actually had fun digging out the compost bin to fill these pots.  There was some good stuff under there!

After I potted these veggies up, I swept and washed the patio floor, walls, and windows, and hosed off all the furniture, too.  At first I thought I'd have the strawberry on the wall...then the two tomato plants, which, when grown in, should shade that side of the porch a bit, but without blocking light from the living room windows.

Now I'm thinking I may just create a whole container garden out there!  For the time being, though, I need to deal with the two Clematis vines by the side of the porch that are going to need support very soon.

More later this week!


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Back From My Camping Vacation

And boy, am I tired, sunburnt, sore, and swollen.  But it was a great trip, barring a few hairy moments where some friends of mine were injured.  Since I've been back, I've been puttering around with pots and things, and hitting the post-early-spring sales:

The strawberries from the front porch, now potted in the wall urn on the back porch.  

Two tomatoes ("Juliet" cherry and "Beefmaster") and a
Serrano Pepper bought for a buck each at the grocery store. 

A Battle Gnome in the houseplants

 (the foil is a cat deterrent)

My rain-soaked Mexican Orchid Tree (Bauhinia mexicana) beginning
to bloom before it's even fully leafed out!  

Daffodils still blooming after all these years,
in the long-defunct vegetable garden. 

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