First Day of Summer....really??

As I was watering last night...
again, I found myself grumbling about my
"summer
disappoint-
ments." Then I realized, it was not really summer yet. Today is officially the first day of summer. However, for those of us in Texas, it seems like the middle of summer. Our temperatures have already reached 100..more than once, and in my area we haven't had rain in over a month. But, back to the subject at hand-summer disappointments. Here is my biggest one (other than worms in my coneflowers!)--the flower bed around the new tree in the backyard.

Do you remember how pretty the bluebonnets were in the spring? After I pulled them up I planted 7 types of zinnias seeds. I was going to have a bed full of beautiful, colorful zinnias, and I was going to cut them and have vases full of flowers all summer. Well..it didn't happen!
Out of all those seeds I planted, there is one little group that germinated and looks like it is about to bloom. I was so frustrated last weekend, I went to the garden center and bought some red verbena, white angelonia, and some type of little yellow flower. I needed some color in that bed! What in the world happened to all those seeds? I used Burpee seeds. Hubby thinks that is the problem. He had trouble with Burpee seeds germinating in his vegetable garden a few years ago. I'm not sure what happened, but next year I am going to develop a new plan for this bed after I pull the bluebonnets.

The view from the patio is not too bad..
but when you get closer, the bed is just bare. I miss all those flowers I was going to have!
Oh well, the new tree looks pretty good. And, although you can't see them in the pictures, the bluebonnets have re-seeded and I have cute little plants starting to pop up all over that bed!
As I continued to grumble and water, I turned around and saw the bed under the breakfast room window. The window boxes are certainly not as pretty as last year--they can't handle all the west sun we are getting now--but look at the purple heart. This picture doesn't do them justice. They are really spectacular, and they have not complained one time about the heat! Summer will be hot and dry I am afraid, and plants will suffer. And as a gardener I will have disappointments, but also as a gardener I know I need to find the beauty in the summer heat. I know it's there--I just need to look.

"If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere."
Vincent Van Gogh

My Favorite New Plant

Remember when I bought the hanging basket at Lowe's for the old chair I got in Fredericksburg over spring break? I thought it was perfect for this old chair and it had that wild look that I love. Shortly after I bought this plant, I started to notice a really sweet smell in the backyard. I thought it was hyacinths or the violas, but after they stopped blooming I was still smelling that sweet scent. After careful inspection by my nose, I realized it was the little yellow flowers in this basket that I was smelling. I didn't know what the flowers were (no tag in the basket), but I knew I wanted to find out, and I wanted another basket of these!
This is Yellow Bidens (ferulifolia). Yellow Bidens is a beautiful, daisy-like, yellow flower that grows to about an inch across. The plant has lacy leaves and spreads to about 18" across and 9" tall. It is drought and heat tolerant. Bidens are members of the Asteraceae family and a cousin to cosmos. They are suppose to bloom until frost, but need to be deadheaded often to encourage new blooms. They are very pretty, and that sweet honey-like smell is devine! When the sun shines on mine, the whole yard smells good.
So back to Lowe's I go and buy another basket to hang on the arbor. This basket is mostly Yellow Bidens, plus some bacopa and small purple flowers. Don't you just love it? I can see this from my breakfast room window. It brightens all my days and that sweet fragrance makes the backyard smell so good. I am in love with this new plant!
It is a sunny Saturday, but it rained hard over night, so no digging french drains for us today. Hubby and I both are wanting to get this over with, but it will have to be put on hold-- again. So, I need to find something else to do this beautiful day and it's off to the garden centers I go. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and find a new plant that you love.

New Roses

One cold sunny day in the middle of February the UPS driver knocked on my door with a wonderful surprise. My roses had arrived! I was so excited. They came in this big box and I thought were packaged well. I could not wait to open it and see what they looked like. I was expecting 2 wrapped up stems..or something like that.
But to my surprise I opened the box and found 2 nice size little rose bushes with leaves on them! I was so impressed with the caution the Rose Emporium took when they packed these. I think those people must really have a passion for what they do to take such care with traveling roses.
The instructions said to unpack them as soon as you get them, and to plant them as soon as you can. However it also said if you can't plant right away, make sure you keep them watered and give them sun. Since it was still getting into the 20's at night, I decided I better keep them in the containers for a few more weeks. I added a little more soil to the containers and for the last few weeks they have been watered, moved to the sunny patio during the day, and tucked into the garage at night.
I talked to them (I know you talk to your plants too, right?) and explained why they were being moved around so much and assured them they would be placed in their new home as soon as it warmed up a bit. They both seemed to understand the situation and were very happy for those sunny days on the patio.
Spring has not arrived of course, but the nights have warmed up and I felt like the roses needed to get in the ground, so yesterday was the day for them to arrive to their new home. If the temps take a nose dive, I will be sure and cover them. This rose is Nacogdoches, my "Yellow Rose of Texas."


And this small leafed rose is Odee Pink. Remember, it's the rose they say your grand-
mother may have picked to pin on her dress for the sweet fragrance. I don't know what kind of roses my Grandmother had, but I know she loved them and had quite a few that smelled wonderful; so this little bush is dedicated to that memory.
I hope my new roses love their new home, and produce many colorful and fragrant blooms. Antique roses are suppose to be easy to care for. The instructions that came with them gave me good information and I will try and follow all the guidelines. I did not have a lot of luck in the past with roses, but I feel myself falling in love with these. I'll wait and see how they do, but I already have a couple of others in mind to order next year. Today we have mild temps and drizzly rain. Perfect weather for the roses in their new home.



"There is simply the rose; it is perfect in every moment of it's existence."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

A few new things for Fall

I know-it's not exactly the right time of the year to buy new plants, but when you go to a garden center to buy mulch, you just can't resist picking up a few things!
I don't have any asters, and knew this cute little "Pixie Dark" aster would just fit in a spot by the pond. And it's a perennial, so maybe next year I will see Pixie's cute little flowers again!
I have been trying to think of a way to camouflage these stakes around the pond. Until I do, I thought I might try a dwarf grass. So, I picked up a "Little Bunny" fountain grass. I read about these before I went to the garden center, so this is one plant I was watching for. It will only get about 18 inches tall and wide-perfect for this space!
The wheel-
barrow full of coleus and sweet potato vine is so pretty right now, but I needed something tall for the back. I thought this ornamental pepper plant would work great. It is a very, very dark purple and called "Black Pearl." Should look great against the reds and greens in the wheelbarrow.
I wasn't planning on buying any sweet alysum, but they had some pretty little bedding plants, and I thought I would get a few for the flagstone walkway and enjoy their sweet fragrance this fall.
And of course, who could leave without buying a few pumpkins...

Even though it's in the 90's here today...

It's Fall Y'all!!!

Labor Day, Peppers and Birdfeeders

Happy Labor Day everyone! I know it's not fall-and the temper-
ature today will certainly not feel like fall, but I am ready for fall!

I haven't been to a garden center in months, but Saturday was the day to go. We needed so many things, and of course, you can't go to a garden center without looking at the plants!
I always like to buy ornamental peppers this time of year. I found these at the garden center I go to for mulch. They are Sangria Peppers. I have two glazed pottery containers I bought in Santa Fe a few years ago that are perfect for these peppers. One is blue..
...the other one is gold. The peppers can take this Texas heat that will stay around for a while as long as I keep them watered. They are a great plant to start fall!
My other treasure came from Lowe's. You know how I love to feed the birds, and hung bird feeders from our Bradford Pear Tree. Losing that tree has changed my little backyard in so many ways. The birds were very confused when their home and supper table was removed. We have tried to figure out a way to hang feeders and found the perfect solution. This is just what we had in mind. It's like a shepherd's hook, but it is specifically designed for 3 bird feeders. One attaches to the top, and you can hang 2 others. This feeder is a "gazebo" feeder that was sitting right beside the pole.

I think it makes a nice addition to the garden, plus it gives my bird friends a little bit of protection as they eat. Hubby and I each took a guess on what type of bird would find the feeder first. I guessed a cardinal--and I won!!


Have a wonderful day everyone. Fall will be here before we know it!

A new plant and LOTS of new seeds!

Knowing how I love to plant seeds, my sweet blogging friend Nola from Alamo North asked me if I would like some pink four o'clock seeds. Well, of course I said YES, please!! I received a little packet in the mail late last week from Nola, and there wasn't just 1 envelope of four o'clock seeds (acutally there were 2!) , there were 4 other envelopes of other kinds of seeds! I cannot tell you how excited I was. (but I know you love gardening like I do, so you know how excited I was!) Nola also sent me Angel's Trumpet, Hummingbird Vine, Bird of Paradise, and Moonflower Vine! Thank you, thank you, thank you Nola for sharing part of your beautiful garden with me!

This is my Gaillardia Indian Blanket, Firewheel. It is a drought hardy plant that we see a lot here in Texas beside the side of the road or out in fields. For some reason, they are very hard to grow in a flower bed. This plant is about 3 years old, and does well in spring, but even though it is drought tolerant, it tends to die back in the summer..when it should be at it's best!

Last summer Jimmy Turner from the Dallas Arboretum recommended a new variety of Gaillardia that does well in flower beds. It looked good at the Arboretum all summer, so I thought this year I would give it a try. This is Gaillardia "Frenzy" or Frenzy Blanket Flower. You plant it in full sun. It is also drought tolerant.
There was only a bud on the Firewheel, so you can't see a picture of the flower, but you can see the difference in the buds. The foliage is also different on the 2 plants. I really liked the flower of the Firewheel better I think, but if this one is happier in flower beds, then it will be a better plant for me. Time will tell...I'll keep you posted!

Happy Gardening everyone!

The first new plant for 2009

Day 2 of the new year and I bought a new plant! I went to Lowe's with hubby this morning, and I just happen to walk into the nursery section (which is pretty void of plants right now) and saw this beautiful Tuscan Blue Rosemary. I knew it was perfect for the flagstone patio.
Because the sun is shinning in this picture, you probably can't tell, but the foliage is a dark, bluish green. The spires are thicker than the other 2 rosemary's I have. I came home and looked this type up on the Internet and this is what I found on the Magnolia site about this type of rosemary:

"Tuscan Blue' is a large evergreen, upright Rosemary with a good flavor making it an excellent culinary herb, or a landscaping shrub. Flowers are larger than other varieties .

Rosmarinus officinalis 'Tuscan Blue' is part of our Plants For Texas® Program, meaning it was Texas Grown, Tested in Texas to perform outstanding for Texas Gardens."
I think this is a keeper..and doesn't it look great beside the old red chair?

I hope you had a wonderful day today!

I bought a new plant!

Yes I know...it's the middle of June..... what was I thinking?? I just couldn't pass up this bushy coreopsis (cream brulee). In fact, I couldn't pass up 3 of them! It's really hard for me to go to a garden center this time of year and see all the mature flowers--no more cute little bedding plants--and not buy one. This pretty plant is suppose to bloom all summer. I have 3 sunny spots that are empty, soooo...I just had to buy it!

I also visited a garden center in East Dallas that I had never been to before. I love sedums, and I did have an empty pot that would be perfect...so, yep, I just had to buy them! This is "dunce cap",

"dragons blood" and "seiskianum spirit."

I also found some great garden incense. It is a mixture of citronella, rosemary, thyme and brazilian andiroba. It smells wonderful and burns for several hours. Hopefully it might deter any mosquito that is thinking of attacking my husband.

I am always dreaming of new beds, more flowers and new plants. And I guess I will always find something new to take home..even if it is the middle of June!

A New Flower

I know..we're not in Colorado, but I just couldn't help myself. I really had to buy this Original Blue Columbine. It was too beautiful to pass up. I have only had Texas Gold Columbines in the past (which are now gone thanks to a new patio!). I know these blue are better suited to Colorado--but that's exactly why I had to buy it! We love the Rockies...and this flower reminds me of our favorite campsite high up in the mountains. Sometimes flowers seem to call us.."take me home"...so this Colorado State Flower has a Texas home now. Hope it knows about our Texas summers!