Each year I add more wildflower seeds, and the meadow is really taking off.
Archive for the ‘Spring’ Category
The Wildflower Meadow
Posted in Spring, xeriscape on April 1, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Roses
Posted in backyard, Spring on April 1, 2018| Leave a Comment »
The roses are just starting to bloom, still a week or two out from peak bloom. This year’s first rose was Marie Daly, followed closely by Marie Gonzales. I am still waiting on Sweet Pea and Belinda’s Dream
LIvin’ Easy
Marie Pavie
Marie Gonzales
Cinco de Mayo
Peggy Martin
Unknown
Cecil Bruener
Rise N Shine
Mutabalis
All Bees Welcome
Posted in Chickens, citrus, Flowers, Spring, tulip on March 31, 2015| 2 Comments »
After a very long winter (by Texas standards), Spring has finally arrived!
The bulbs … Tulips, Narcissus and Hyacinths
Irises
Front bed — Betony and Lantana. Nestled up against the house, this lantana bloomed all winter
Bluebonnets — mine are a little late, but coming along
Wisteria
My first Mountain Laurel bloom ever!
Yucca Bloom
The veggies — tomatoes and peppers are planted. A few winter veggies are still going, and I’m letting things bolt for the bees
Citrus
Even the chickens know it is spring. Here are two sitting on eggs. One is using an old rabbit nesting box. We’ll have to keep an eye on her, as she’s about  feet up in the air.
Some Hope for Spring
Posted in front yard, Spring, xeriscape on March 27, 2014| 6 Comments »
As all Austin gardeners know, this has been a really rough spring.
Really cold winter, no rain, late freeze.
I was beginning to doubt whether anything was coming back this year. (I still have my doubts on quite a few plants) I walk around every day looking for some sign of spring, and here’s what’s blooming in my garden.
Bluebonnet
Bluebonnet
Peach
Aromatic Sumac
Coreopsis?
Unknown Native WIldflower
Grape Hyacinth – Finally!
Daffodils
Dewberries
False Garlic
Striped WInecup
Lady Jane Tulip
Cameo Flowering Quince
Cemetary Iris – Probably the only type that will bloom this year
Spring 2012 Veggies – What worked
Posted in Spring, Vegetables on July 2, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Okra and Amaranth Bed
The amaranth is doing really well. Last year I tried growing from see outdoors and they never came up. This year I tried indoors and you can see the results.
Red Okra
Clemson Spineless
Clemson Spineless Okra has done really well. The red variety has not had great production, and does not pickle well since it turns the liquid an eerie red color.
Tomatillo Bed
I’ve never had much luck with tomatillos. I know you need more than one for pollinating. I’ve tried 2, 3 and 4 without huge success. This year I devoted an entire bed to tomatillos, and planted 6. I’ve had my best production ever.
Chocolate Pepper
Ozark Giant
Although peppers love the heat, they don’t love the Texas sun. Last year most of me bell peppers got sun scorched before they full ripened. This year I put up shade cloth on the west side. I have been very successful with the bells and have only lost a few high hanging ones. The emerald giant and ozark giant are huge, great for stuffing.
Chinese Five Color
Filius Blue
As usual, my jalapenos have not produced well. The habanero hasn’t either. The serrano has done pretty well, but the starts of the show have been the Chinese Five Color and the Filius Blue. These have produced way more than I can possibly eat. They are also stunning to look at. I will be planting both of these in my flower beds next year.
Lemon Cucumbers have produced well. The others have not.
Bolita Beans
The Bolita beans are thriving. The romano beans did well early, but have been taken over by spider mites. The rest of the beans have been stunted and non-productive. I’ve got to figure out why I have no luck with beans. I’m thinking it may be the nitrogen. I ran out of rabbit poo before getting to the bean bed.
Dr. Wyche yellow tomato did well early, but doesn’t like this heat. I don’t think the plant will make it through the summer.
Emerald Evergreen
Emerald Evergreen is my new favorite. This tomato has produced better and in my humble opinion tastes superior to my previous favorite, Cherokee Purple. I’ve finally had luck with the Zebra this year. I’m not sure why, but I’m happy!
Riesentraube
The seed company threw in Risentraube free for me to try. It’s a cherry tomato variety and it’s doing really well and is very tasty. It seems to be able to handle the heat, so I’ll be adding this one to the rotation.
Yellow Pear Cherry
The Yellow Pear, Black Cherry, and Isis are still good. The Fox has become really leathery in the heat. We’ll see how it does in the fall. The black cherry is good, but the production is quite a bit lower than the other three.
I didn’t get around to puting tomato cages in one Roma bed. I decided to give them a try since it’s supposed to be optional for them. Not a good idea. One of them snapped in half and the others have been much more susceptible to caterpillars and other critters.
Path near the entry
I still had two unused weed mats. I hadn’t put them down because the ground is too hard to put in staples. The bermuda has become so unruly though that I put the mats down with rocks to keep them in place. Once we get some good rain I’ll try staples again.
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