Whirling Butterflies…

May 22, 2012

6a00d834533b6a69e2016766ade23c970b-800wiLooking for a super hardy drought tolerant Texas native that is also beautiful and blooms FOREVER?? Ok, maybe not forever, but let's say April through fall. That's a pretty long time. Plus, it attracts butterflies. If that sounds up your alley, then Gaura lindheimeri needs to be on your garden shopping list. 'Whirling Butterflies' is a favorite white-flowered varieties, but it also comes in pink...'Ballerina Rose'...lovely


Smart Gardeners Save Arugula and Dill Seeds

May 20, 2012

Save Seeds is a Smart Way to Save

Were you a smart gardener this spring? Did you let some of your cool season herbs and veggies to flower (which is always lovely) so you could collect seed? If so, then you'd have been collecting seed over the last few weeks. Arugula and Dill are two species that are particularly giving with their seed (most of my dill plants are actually volunteers from last year) and nows the time to collect seed from both.

ArugulaseedArugula seed. I've been harvesting this past week.

DillseedDill seedheads...so pretty! I'll be harvesting seeds today.

Both Arugula and Dill are two edibles that make fantastic ornamentals, so it just makes sense to let them go to flower and then seed in your garden. Now, this only works with open-pollinated varieties, not hybid cultivars. For example, 'Celebrity' tomatoes are an F1 hybrid...the seed you save from that plant won't come true to type (you'll get seedlings with a lot of different variants that express characteristics of the original parent plants). But with 'Green Zebra' tomato, an open-pollinated heirloom, you can save the seed and get another generation of 'Green Zebra' tomatoes. So for plain old Arugula and Dill, you can save the seed.

Old 35mm film containers with the lids make great storage for seeds. Or use any container that will keep your seeds completely dry. Make sure to label the container with the plant and date. Some folks keep them in the fridge to preserve viability. I'll be starting these Arugula and Dill seeds outdoors in September for the cool season!


Fragrant Echinacea

May 19, 2012

I'm still in love with all the new Echinacea varieties out on the market these days. It's prime conflower season right now with them all coming into full bloom. Most are highly fragrant, which you don't get from the standard E. purpurea. A few that are blooming in my garden right now are 'Mama Mia', 'Sundown', 'Summer Sky' and 'Tangerine Dream'. Sooooo lovely! What's blooming in your garden?

Echinacea_sundownEchinacea 'Sundown'



Diorama-O-Rama: Leslie of the Amazon!

May 12, 2012

So I agreed, last minute and under persuasion of some friends, to do a Diorama to donate to today's Diorama-O-Rama Event benefiting Cafe Momentum. The event is in Dallas today from 4pm-8pm. It's a great cause and you'll get to bid on some very fun art.

Leslie of the Amazon and her Grasshopper's Garden
This would be me in the Amazon in Peru, with some of my photographs and my insect/flower illustrations. And my pink locust tending his own little garden, lol. It's some silly fun...Swing by the event if you can. It's a $5 donation to get in the door, then you can bid on a plethora if dioramas, both in silent auction and live auction. Good times!


New Dallas Watering Restrictions

April 27, 2012

For those of you living in the City of Dallas, new permanent watering restrictions have gone into effect as of April 23rd, 2012.

But don't worry...you can still get all your gardening on! The new ordinance allows for you to fulfill all your typical watering needs for established landscapes and new plantings. The twice per week restriction only applies to automated sprinkler systems or above ground sprinklers. You may run these sprinklers twice per week on your assigned days (addresses ending in even numbers can water Thursday and Sunday, addresses ending in odd numbers may water on Wednesdays and Saturdays.) You should not run your sprinkler systems between10am-6pm. A deep watering once per week, or twice per week in the heat of the summer, is all you need to properly care for established lawns, trees and foundation plantings.

The restrictions on additional hand watering, soaker hoses and drip irrigation that were in place under the previous Stage 1 ordinance have been lifted under the new ordinance! You may now provide any needed supplemental watering via hand watering (hose end, watering can, bucket, rain barrels, etc.), soaker hoses, drip irrigation, TreeGator bags, on any day of the week. That means you'll have no problem establishing and maintaining your new plantings of trees, foundation plantings, vegetable gardens, containers; all of which are crucial to our urban environment.

Note: if you are using rainwater, well water or grey water (non-potable water) you are not required to follow any restrictions or watering schedule. Great news!


New Strawberry ‘Fragoo’ Series

April 14, 2012

This Strawberry Sports Gorgeous Blooms

Have you checked out the newish series of strawberries called 'Fragoo'? So lovely...so far. The series comes in three colors 'Deep Rose', 'Pink' and 'White'. The pitch on this series is the large ornamental blooms you get on the plants. Plus, they are day-neutral so should be ever-bearing (but most strawberries will still take a break during our hottest months.)

Fragoodeeprose

Here is a photo of 'Frago Deep Rose' in my garden. I'll be testing them out for fruit production in my veg garden. Now, strawberries are perennials so you need to give them a dedicated sunny bed. In our climate, a couple hours of afternoon shade is usually appreciated.

This series is supposed to be particularly suited to containers, because of the showy flower sand 3-ft runners. There is still time to get strawberries planted in the garden in N. Texas, but I'd recommend doing it soon so plants have some time to put down roots before it gets very hot (and garden centers run down on availability). Enjoy!


Passiflora incarnata, Maypop!

April 13, 2012

As my chicken coop and chicken yard continue to evolve in their needs, I've started adding blooming vines to the fence we built to keep them out of the veg garden. I planted three of these Maypops, or Passiflora incarnata, (plus a couple of P. caerulea 'Blue Queen') along the fence to not only provide some shade for the girls, but also to camouflage the fence dress things up a bit with the showy flowers.

Passiflora_incarnata

Passiflora
After an application of recycled chicken litter fertilizer, these beauties have taken off and are starting to throw off a number of blooms. Maypops also produce small orange edible fruits (hence the name), which will make great treats for the chickens!

Butterflies love passion vine so planting one or two is a great way to attract them to your garden. There are many different species and varieties to choose from. In mild winters they may keep most of their foliage...in colder winters they'll die to the ground, then re-emerge in spring. Passion vines are perfect for a sunny location, but they will tolerate some dappled shade or late afternoon shade.


‘Changsha’ Tangerine in Texas

April 12, 2012

When you're a plantgeek like me...there's nothing better than getting a stunning plant specimen for your birthday from one of your bestest plantgeek friends. Wait, maybe there is one thing better...getting TWO stunning specimens for your birthday! Now, my birthday was back in December...and it took a bit to get these two beauties moved to my house, but when they did show up (which was a surprise), I can't tell you how happy I was.

Changsha


These are two giant specimens of 'Changsha' Tangerines, Citrus reticulata, one of the most cold-hardy varieties. Grown from seed by my bestie Jimmy, who so sweetly bestowed them up on me. Now, these pots are giant. And heavy. And I'm sure it was quite the comedy to watch my husband and I move them from the front driveway to the back yard. Not to mention, they are covered in giant thorns. That was fun...but well worth it!

'Chengsha' are prolific producers of seedy but very juicy tangerines. Although the parentage isn't totally confirmed, they could be a cross between C. reticulata and C. ichangensi. The name Chengsha could also be just the name of the place from whence the variety originated and not necessarily the variety name. Can't seem to find consensus on this. But, what is true is that these lovely citrus trees are incredibly cold hardy. Seed grown plants tend to be more cold hardy than vegetatively produced specimens. These two particular plants made it through the winter of 2010...with all that ice and 10-12 degree temperatures, even in containers (hence the giant thorns which tend to come on under stress or cold damage). Plants will grow 10-12 ft, so are perfect for container culture if you don't have space in the garden. Full sun...a bit of afternoon shade appreciated.

Jimmy knows what a huge citrus freak I am. So I'm sure he must know how tickled pink I am have to add these beauties to my citrus collection (Thank you Dahling). I hope with the babying I'm currently giving them I'll see a nice harvest this winter. Tangerine juice here we come!


Back to top

Tips in your inbox

E-Newsletter

Sign up for my monthly E-Newsletter for botanical business news, horticulture courses, and tidbits for plant and gardening lovers!