The Shovel-Ready Garden

About that other bird...

2013-05-12T13:39:00.002-05:00

Owly was last seen the morning of April 3, taking shelter on an unseasonably cold, windy, wet morning. Owly hung out most of the day, then left. I knew it was the same owl because of the missing tufts above the right ear. I've read owls use these houses for nesting only - no love connection, no need to hang around! I'm thrilled Owly paid us several visits, and maybe next year there will be owlets. I'll be sure to make sure the house is clean and ready for Owly's return next spring.

Words and photos © 2009-2013 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

How to raise a mockingbird

2013-05-11T18:50:00.000-05:00

In a nondescript boxwood hedge under our kitchen window,

deep within its leaves,

lies a little nest of twigs lined with all manner of natural and manmade textiles.

We thought the nest had been abandoned, but last Saturday, all four eggs hatched,

and the proud parents made themselves quite visibly and audibly known. They stand watch day and night,

and make multiple visits to the nest every hour to feed the babies.

Today the babies are a week old.

Mother and father are even more protective now,

and swoop over my head when I get too close.

The big baby in the middle is much larger than his nestmates.

He's really good at begging to be fed!

Words and photos © 2009-2013 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Garden Bloggers' Tax Day - I mean Bloom Day

2013-04-15T00:01:00.000-05:00

Sunday started out like this, on my back patio,

Taxes, boo

and ended like this, on the East Austin Urban Farm Tour.

Springdale Farm

Boggy Creek Farm

In between, I caught these pretties blooming in my garden. It's warming up (high of 87 on Sunday!) after a cool, damp spring, and the tropicals are starting to take off.

Esperanza

Plumbago

Duranta

The early-blooming roses are past their peak while the late bloomers have yet to get going.

'Old Blush'

'Buff Beauty'

'Mutabilis'

Native wildflowers are in full swing -

Columbine

Pink evening primrose

Zexmenia (non-native gopher plant in the foreground)

- as well as some not-so-wildflowers. Somehow, the birds and squirrels have managed to cultivate sunflowers in the shade. Come to think of it - that's pretty wild!

Shady sunflowers

Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day from Austin, Texas! Visit May Dreams Gardens to see what's springing up in gardens all over the world.

Words and photos © 2009-2013 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

I love bees

2013-03-22T00:24:00.000-05:00

I got stung by a bee on Sunday. I can't remember the last time I got stung by a bee. My childhood bee memories are hazy. I remember my sister getting stung by a wasp - my parents called it a 'yellow jacket'. And I remember my sister getting bitten by fire ants. My dad tried blasting the ants off her legs with a garden hose; when that didn't work, he brushed the ants off with his hands.

I remember bumblebees buzzing lazily around a flowering Texas mountain laurel bush on the corner where the neighborhood kids congregated to wait for the snow cone truck every Saturday afternoon. I probably was stung, as a child, although the event isn't suspended in the amber of my mind, encapsulated, crystallized, like it is in Jack's.

Sunday's bee sting episode was really random. Our garden attracts lots of bees - yay! - and we've had the doors wide open while working on remodeling our kitchen, because the weather's been so nice. Bees outside, open doors - what could possibly go wrong? Well, early Sunday afternoon, I found a bee crawling on the kitchen floor, and I stepped on it. It was instinctive. Spot a bug near shoe - stomp. I regretted it as soon as I did it. I wiped the bee off the sole of my shoe with a paper towel, and put it in the trash. I didn't tell Jack about the bee. He doesn't like bees.

At some point in the day, a second bee flew in the house and into our kitchen sink, and crawled under a wet dishtowel. When I went to rinse out the dishtowel at the end of our 10-hour marathon DIY session, the bee gave her life, in valor, as she sank her sword into my palm. My hand hurt super bad, all of a sudden, and I didn't know what had happened. When I spotted the microscopically-tiny venom sack in my hand, I instinctively scraped it off, while wondering "Wow! - and OW! - Is that the world's smallest venomous spider or what?"

Then I saw the bee, crawling slowly in the sink, its life force fading away, and I knew what had happened. Jack didn't even have to see the bee; he knew I'd been stung, just from my reaction. He seemed amused by this course of events, teasing me by saying, "I thought you were the 'bee whisperer.'" I wiped the bee's lifeless body out of the sink with a paper towel and put it in the trash. My hand hurt a lot for a few minutes - ok, a few hours - got slightly red and swollen, then returned to normal in a day or so. I felt worse for the bee, though.

This evening, Jack spotted a third bee, buzzing against the window over the kitchen sink, behind the open mini-blinds, like a housefly. The thought of the bee sting on Sunday crossed my mind, briefly. Then I grabbed a small cup - a bright orange-colored plastic juice cup - and some take-out menus. I went back to the windowsill and watched the bee for a few seconds, placing the menus on the countertop next to the sink. The bee seemed really scared, fluttering above the lower sash, buzzing loudly. I raised the mini-blinds, slowly. Jack watched, reminding me that I got stung on Sunday - remember? - in a concerned tone of voice.

I trapped the bee by pressing the cup against the window, over her. I still had the mini-blind drawcord in my left hand, because I couldn't raise the cord over my head far enough to the right to lock the blinds in place. Oh, but she was mad, so mad, buzzing mad. I held the cup against the glass, patiently, until she stopped buzzing. Jack asked if I wanted a step stool to stand on, watching me as I leaned over the counter, cup in right hand placed high against the window, drawcord in the left hand. I nodded as I said, "Yes, and could you grab this cord and lock the blinds?"

Blinds locked in place and bee quiet, I grabbed a couple of menus and slid them under the cup, while pressing the cup firmly against the windowpane. The bee started buzzing again, although not as aggressively. I could see two of the bee's feet wriggling outside the cup's rim. I let up the pressure on the cup, ever so slightly, until the bee's feet disappeared, then pressed down again. I hoped I hadn't squished any of the bee's toes. (Do bees have toes?)

Slowly, gingerly, I slid my hand between the menus and the window, pressing the folded paper ever more firmly against the cup. The paper seemed awfully thin and flimsy. I stepped off the step stool, held the cup up to my face and peered at the cup's rim. I saw a small gap between cup and paper, and took a breath. I knew if the bee got out of the cup, she would sting me. I pressed the menus down harder against the cup with the palm of my left hand - the same hand that was stung on Sunday - and asked Jack if he could please open the back door for me.

Arms outstretched, I stepped outside and headed for the bolted fall garden as briskly as I could. I dropped the cup on the ground under the flowering arugula and stepped back. The menus fell aside and the bee flew out of the cup, quickly, hovering above the cup until --

I don't know what happened next with the bee. I didn't hang around to see. I ran back in the house and slammed the door - slammed all the doors. Then I went up to the window and looked out on the front garden. The garden was buzzing with bees, sweet little bees, bumbles and honeys, drinking nectar from all the flowers.

No photos, as I'm sure you'll understand.

~~~

I think this excerpt from the Utah Education Network's bee page would make a great illustrated children's book. As I read it, I imagined every sentence on a separate page with an illustration by Maurice Sendak or Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

Each hive can have only one queen bee. When a hive gets too large with too many bees in it, the queen bee instinctively lays some special eggs in long cells. These will hatch into new queen bees. The queen then sends out scouts to find a new place for a hive. When a suitable site is found, she leaves the old hive. When she leaves, she is followed by many of the worker bees. This big mass of flying bees is called a swarm. Meanwhile, the new queen bees are hatching out in the old hive. Since each hive can only have one queen, the strongest new queen bee kills the other queens. She then flies out of the hive and is followed by all of the drones whose job it is to mate with her. This is the only time that she will mate, and this one important flight lays the foundation for all the eggs that she will ever lay in her lifetime.

Words and photos © 2009-2013 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Neglected

2013-03-16T21:44:00.000-05:00

As the dandelions can attest,

my garden's been terribly neglected lately.

(And my blog has been, as well.)

My fall garden has bolted, and I haven't had a chance to clean it up.

Not that the bees mind.

I read somewhere that flowering winter vegetables are a critical food source for bees at winter's end, before spring's flowers arrive.

However, the spring flowers are out now, so it wouldn't hurt the bees to pull these out.

But I'm in the midst of a DIY kitchen remodel, and at the end of each day, I feel rather like this flopped-over iris -

- and so the garden will have to wait.

They call these "cemetery irises" because they're often found in cemeteries, thriving on neglect. Well, that's what they're getting in my garden - a whole lot of neglect.

In the garden in front of the house, I managed to get the boxwood house "mustache" trimmed, but I didn't get this lanky lantana cut back before it burst into bloom.

(Aaugh, is that a sprig of Bermuda I see?)

I got the salvias cut back, including this 'Cherry Sage',

but not the globe mallow, because it insisted on blooming all winter, like a freak.

I didn't get the leaves raked up before the blackfoot daisies sprung up,

and I didn't get the gopher plant cut back, either.

Well, it's too late now. Daytime temps have hit the 80's this week, and this Caesalpinia mexicana thinks it's in the tropics.

Looks like it's going to be a short, dry spring and a long, hot summer.

Happy (belated) Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day! Visit May Dreams Gardens to see what's blooming in gardens all over the world.

Words and photos © 2009-2013 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Our very first Owl Shack tenant has arrived!

2013-02-24T10:45:00.001-06:00

Last Tuesday, alone in the garden, I lamented the lack of wildlife in the habitat boxes we installed a few years ago. Alas, I thought to myself, no bats in the bat house…

…and, Big Noisy Sigh, no owls in the owl shack.

Um… wait, what?

Well, hello! We have an owl! First owl we've seen in the Owl Shack since we put it up in 2010. I'm guessing it's a she, but just in case, I've given it an unisex name - Owly.

Owly seemed as surprised to see me as I was to see Owly. Neither one of us was quite ready for photos at this time of day, but we did our best to document the occasion.

Jack installed the Owl Shack up on one of the posts of our backyard gazebo, as we didn't have any trees that met the criteria listed for optimum placement. The eaves are about 10 feet up off the ground, but standing on the deck, I can touch the bottom of the owl box - it's that close. Owls are remarkably tolerant of humans, particularly in urban areas, and have been known to lay eggs in things like windowboxes, well within reach of people.

Owly made lengthy appearances on Tuesday and Wednesday, then seemingly disappeared. However, I heard rustling sounds from within the box, so I'm hopeful there's owl brooding going on in there (and not birds or squirrels nesting). I hesitate to peek in the box to see what's up. Plus, those talons!

So for now, I'll have to console myself with the videos on Chris' Eastern Screech Owl Nest Box Cam website. Chris Johnson, who lives in Austin, has an incredibly high-tech owl house complete with owl cam and temperature gauge. Unlike me, Chris has no qualms about climbing up and reaching into his owl box, not just for a peek, but to remove, count, weigh and measure eggs and even owlets (while momma owl is out of the box, that is). His owl webcam site and its accompanying blog, Partial Perspective Vortex, provide a wealth of information about the mating and breeding habits of the Eastern Screech Owl in Central Texas.

It's likely Mr. and Mrs. Owly have been checking out and visiting my Owl Shack since December, and may have even temporarily stored food there (like leftovers in the fridge, says Chris) - the owls oblivious to me and vice versa. And his momma owl has already laid her clutch of eggs, a month earlier than typical years. Perhaps my Owly has, too; or perhaps she and Mr. Owly are still in pre-nesting mode, making intermittent visits like a prospective home-buying couple.

If you want your own Owl Shack, you can get one like mine from Texas ornithologist Cliff Shackelford, author of Hummingbirds of Texas. Cliff builds Owl Shacks to order from recycled and new cedar fence wood. The Owl Shack website has tips on how to place the houses to best attract owls. Or, look for owl house plans online and build your own.

I also stumbled across this Cornell webpage on owl anatomy and behavior while looking for information on owl ear tufts, as Owly seems to be missing some feathers above her right ear. I learned that owl ears are asymmetrical, and that owls use their ear tufts to communicate.

Updates to follow as they become available!

It's official -

2012-12-16T12:19:00.000-06:00

I’m a Master Gardener!

Words and photos © 2009-2012 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Autumn's end - gone to seed

2012-12-15T21:06:00.000-06:00

As autumn winds down, the colorful flowers of my Austin garden turn in for a brief winter's slumber under a cozy brown blanket.

All the perennials and summer annuals have gone to seed.

Salvia greggii

Zexmenia

Blackfoot daisy

Damianita

Tithonia

Gregg’s mistflower

Fall aster

As I wonder, "Where are the blooms for Bloom Day?", a fluttering movement leads my eye to a handful of blue plumbago flowers – and the Giant Swallowtail feeding on them.

The butterfly leads me to another late bloomer – flame acanthus – before flying off.

The only other blooms I could find were on the Pacific chrysanthemum,

and the ‘Silver Arrow’ cactus.

Happy fall, happy holidays, happy week before winter solstice! What's blooming or gone to seed in your garden? Fill me in - then visit May Dreams Gardens and share your end-of-fall tales with gardeners from all over the globe.

A posy for a friend

2012-10-28T22:44:00.002-05:00

This is a little posy I put together for a friend's memorial celebration a few weeks ago, with flowers from my garden.

She was a Master Gardener (among many other things) and all the flowers at the memorial were brought in from her friends' gardens.

It was really something to see - the wide variety of bouquets with flowers and foliage of all shapes, sizes and colors, each arranged with love and remembrance - much more personal than something from the florist.

It was a fitting tribute to a very special woman that touched many lives and hearts through her grace under pressure, her wonderful sense of humor, her commitment to equality and social justice, and her many passions: gardening, skiing, travel, photography, politics.

Almost any flower will work as a cut flower, with perhaps the exception of a Mutabilis rose or a Mexican petunia. Herbs and evergreens work, too. I tucked in a few sprigs of boxwood, but I'd wish I'd added a few herbs.

Arranging flowers is a nice way to remember a friend. Too many friends lost this year...

Words and photos © 2009-2012 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Is this spring or fall?

2012-10-28T22:20:00.000-05:00

Here's what's been blooming in my garden for the past two weeks. It seems more like spring than fall. The weather's been fluctuating between hot and cold, wet and dry. The plants are really confused. The bur oak is leafing out and putting out catkins, the lime tree is setting fruit, and both fall asters and sunflowers are blooming. If you would like to know the names of any of theese plants, click on the photo to go to its Flickr page.

Words and photos © 2009-2012 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Preview! 2012 Inside Austin Gardens Tour

2012-10-14T12:27:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday, I joined a dozen Austin garden bloggers for a preview of the Inside Austin Gardens tour which is happening this Saturday, October 20 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This year's theme is "The Edible Garden." All the gardens feature water-wise gardening techniques and wildlife habitats, and demonstrations and educational sessions will be held at each garden. Here's just a tiny taste - get it? taste? edible? - of what's in store. You can see all seven gardens for $15 with advance purchase via PayPal ($20 after October 17) or see a single garden for $5.

Hill Country Heritage Garden: Carolyn and Michael Williams
10205 Aqua Verde Court, 78753

This garden is gorgeous, inviting and incredibly well-researched; nearly every plant has a connection to Texas history or to the Williams family heritage - or both! I love this circular herb garden with its antique rose arbor. Many of the native plants are "passalong" plants from relatives and friends.

This garden also features the most adorable German-style stone cottage. You simply must see what's inside - it's a Texas gardener's dream! Master Gardener Vicki Blachman will give a seminar on herbs and herb vinegars at 10 a.m., and Master Gardener Velia Sanchez will speak on Native American medicinal herbs at 1 p.m.

Hill Country Rural Home: David and Jennifer Phillips
6316 Thomas Springs Road, 78736

This garden greets you with a riot of native and adaptive plants near a stone-and-wrought-iron entrance gate, then guides you down a country road lined with prickly pear, broomweed and blackfoot daisies toward a striking and modern LEED-certified home.

Don't miss the dried juniper-and-artichoke accent in the stock-tank vegetable garden, the GINORMOUS rainwater collection tank, the metal dog and bird sculptures, or the lush vining plantings near the front porch. Among the educational sessions offered at this garden will be a 1:00 p.m. talk by Master Gardeners Ratna and Venkappa Gani on how to grow a fruit forest in your Central Texas garden.

Neighboring Gardens: Ann and Robin Matthews, and Donnis Doyle
6303/6305 Berkeley Cove, 78745

These neighboring gardens offer dozens of enchanting vignettes along inviting paths, accented with brightly colored garden art and seating areas nestled among native and adaptive perennials.

I love this circular herb garden in the Matthews' back yard with its cobalt blue arbor, the lighted bottle tree centerpiece, the hewn wood benches, and the garden shed adorned with a red rooster weather vane. Must-sees are the pictograph wall, the raised vegetable garden beds, and the multiple rainwater collection barrels throughout the garden.

Next door, Donnis Doyle's modern patio is both open and private, thanks to its corrugated steel privacy fence. (Check out the back of the fence when you tour- it's cool, too!)

Follow this Zen-like front path into the colorful front garden, then check out the stock-tank veggie garden in back and the giant aloe on the back stoop - even the carport is tons of fun!

A most unusual and entertaining demonstration is scheduled at this garden at 11:30 a.m.: Unconventional Landscape Snacks - Collecting and Cooking Insects with Texas Agrilife Extension entomologist Wizzie Brown. At 1:30 p.m., hear all about edible landscape planning from Master Gardener Sheryl Williams, who was on the tour last year.

Eat My Sidewalk: Renee Studebaker
912 E. 39th Street, 78751

I'll admit it. The garden of this former Austin American-Statesman staff writer was my favorite of the day. Don't you just adore her Victorian-style front porch? I love everything about it: the high beadboard ceiling, the green-and-cream-colored paint scheme, the copper-colored porch bench, the sun wall art above the front doors, the curlicues on the screen doors, the potted ficus and foxtail ferns, the natural wood floor - swoon.

Renee's garden is a veritable food forest, with apples and grapes and pears and figs and herbs and vegetables galore. Flowering plants and a garden pond attract birds, bees and butterflies. She's got an exceptional talent for giving new life to recycled materials and found items as garden borders, yard art and structural accents. Don't miss the recycled brick path, the steel rainwater cistern, the backyard performance stage, the white garden, the passionvine trellis, the stone firepit, and most importantly, the two sessions she's giving at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Growing Your Own Garden Party Appetizers - the woman makes a mean ratatouille, loaded with eggplant, tomatoes and herbs she grows herself.

The Inside Austin Gardens Tour is organized by the Travis County Master Gardeners Association in association with Texas Agrilife Extension Service, and is sponsored by many local businesses and nurseries you know and love. As many of you know, I'm finishing up my internship to become a certified Master Gardener, and toward that end, I'll be collecting tickets at Renee Studebaker's garden on Saturday afternoon between noon and 4 p.m., proudly sporting my "Intern" name badge for probably the last time - so come on out and say Howdy! You can find more tour information at the Inside Austin Gardens Tour website, including the two gardens not previewed here, a list of all the demonstrations and talks at each garden, and a map.

Words and photos © 2009-2012 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Fall bulbs in bloom

2012-10-07T23:57:00.000-05:00

There's lots of fall flowers in my garden right now, but fall bulbs in bloom are a special treat.

My little patch of fall crocus (Sternbergia lutea) is blooming splendidly.

Earlier in the month, my three-year-old patch of oxblood lilies (Rhodophiala bifida) bloomed for the first time.

And with the rain a couple of weeks ago, I enjoyed a handful of rain lily blooms (Zephyranthes).

I don't have many rain lilies, but they're forming nice plump seed pods, so I'm hoping to have more of them soon!

What blooming bulbs herald fall's arrival in your garden?

Words and photos © 2009-2012 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Autumn really is coming...

2012-09-10T07:58:00.000-05:00

...and I have the proof!

I just ran around the house and threw all the windows and doors open! Now I'm thinking about making vegetable soup and wondering if my sweaters need laundering.

What's got you thinking about fall this morning?

Words and photos © 2009-2012 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Joys of a late summer cool front

2012-09-09T20:54:00.002-05:00

A dry cool front came through this weekend, and knocked our 100+ degree temps down about 10 degrees. It actually feels pleasant outside, and the mosquito population appears to have dropped, too. Since oak wilt beetle activity is past its peak, I pruned the little red oak tree in the back yard, and finally decided on a spot to plant the American beautyberry bush I won at the Trowel and Error gardening seminar two springs ago.

Here's what caught my eye as I puttered around in the garden, this weekend and last.

Blackfoot daisies

Horseherb and oxalis

Cenizo (Texas sage)

Dwarf ruellia

~~'Coral Nymph'~~ 'Teresa' salvia greggii

Mealy blue sage

Esperanza

Flame acanthus

'Bright Edge' yucca and 'Pot o' Gold' lantana

What's catching your eye in your late summer garden? I'd love to hear about it!

Words and photos © 2009-2012 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Hello, y'all, and hello, fall!

2012-09-04T21:41:00.000-05:00

Hello, gardening friends! Since my last (brief, photoless) post, I've been vacationing in the South Texas desert. We stayed at the Big Bend Getaway,

hiked the Grapevine Hills Trail to the Balanced Rock in Big Bend National Park,

and went swimming at Balmorhea State Park.

Since I've been back, I've been getting the raised beds ready for the fall garden, and today I got the first round of transplants and seeds planted, yay!

I planted arugula, artichoke, dill, beets, broccoli, carrots, chard, cilantro, cucumbers, green beans, lettuces, mustard, parsley, radish, sage, spinach, and tomatoes. Yeah, it's a bit late for those summery ones, but hey, it was 101 today. We'll have very warm days for another six to eight weeks, and daytime temperatures above 70 for at least a month after that.

Are you ready for fall?

Words and photos © 2009-2012 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Checking in

2012-08-04T12:45:00.002-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted, and it'll be a while longer! I'm hard at work, getting ready to plant the fall garden, which involves digging eight inches of Bermuda grass roots out of every raised bed. In addition to gardening and my full-time job, I'm also finishing up my 50 volunteer hours toward becoming a Travis County Master Gardener. In a few weeks, I'll be running away to two of my most favorite places in the universe, Big Bend National Park and Balmorhea State Park. Hope you're having a great summer and I'll fill you in, in a few weeks!

Words and photos © 2009-2012 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

This week in the garden

2012-06-17T22:32:00.001-05:00

Compared to last year, the weather in Central Texas has been cooler and wetter. As we approach summer's official start on June 20, temps are in the mid-to-upper 90s, with only one day above 100 so far, and 17 inches of rain for the year. The meteorologists are predicting rain again this week, hooray -- with the best chance (40%) on Wednesday. (Last year, we'd had ten 100-plus days by this point, and only 8 inches of rain for the year.)

This week in the vegetable garden, I spotted several good-sized tomatoes (finally!), but they aren't turning red. I did plant three green tomatoes this year ('Green Zebra', 'Cherokee Green', 'Aunt Ruby's German Green') but they are as hard as rocks.

This is unusual for my Austin garden, where normally the tomatoes would be ready for harvest by May. I planted a lot of varieties I haven't tried before, and perhaps these varieties mature later, or simply aren't the best choices for Central Texas. But even the reliable 'Juliet and 'Sun Gold cherry tomatoes are still green, so I'm suspecting a cultural issue.

So far the bugs have left the tomatoes alone, but I did find this single tomato hornworm on one plant. I plucked off the leaf it was nibbling on, shot this photo, then tossed it under the red oak for the birds to snack on.

In the Three Sisters garden bed, I have one -- count 'em -- one 'Country Gentleman' corn stalk that is producing a single small ear. I've harvested about half a pound of 'Trionfo Violetto' green beans, but not a single 'Scarlet Runner' bean. The 'Tatume' squash is still producing a few squash, but the vines are winding down.

The Persian lime tree is hanging on to about 4 dozen fruits. Jack checks on them every day and thinks they aren't getting any bigger. I reminded him our last good harvest (two years ago) took place in August, so the fruit needs more time to grow. (Patience isn't our strong suit.)

In the flower garden, my baby hedgehog cactus has been blooming for two or three weeks. The flowers only last a day.

The flame acanthus is in full bloom and is irresistible to bumblebees and hummingbirds.

Are you ready for summer? Because here we go!

Words and photos © 2009-2012 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Front yard overhaul, three years later

2012-05-29T22:08:00.001-05:00

Against my better judgment, I'm posting long shots of the garden in front of my house. I've had several requests to do so, and I've been putting it off. It's actually looking pretty darn good right now, and that's the problem -- in three long, hard, hot, dry years, this is the absolute very best it's looked. Dear readers, I share with you now the good, the bad and the ugly, and throw myself upon the mercy of the gardener's court.

Exhibit One: photos of my yard before and during the overhaul.

Exhibits Two through Eleven: the garden as it exists today. Doesn't look half bad from a distance. But don't look too closely at the home's 'boxwood mustache' -- it got an extra-close shave in January and hasn't fully recovered. (In fact, don't look too closely at anything.) We've done nothing with the hell strip. (Good thing, too: the city dug up our neighborhood's easements in 2010 and 2011 before resurfacing the streets with fresh asphalt.) The large tree in this photo is a Texas Red Oak and the smaller tree is a Bur Oak. (Yeah, I know Bur Oaks get huge. That'll be someone else's problem, long after I'm gone.) Our neighbor's Arizona Ash is hanging over the driveway.

A little closer look from a slightly different angle. Everything in front is blooming except the large mound of Lantana montevidensis 'Pot O'Gold' on the corner. (It's got buds, though.) The 'Whale's Tongue' (Agave ovatifolia) on the right is barely visible from this vantage point.

Northwest side of the garden. Bermuda grass is growing all throughout the perennials, and nutsedge surrounds the bur oak, Big Noisy Sigh. (Your Honor, please refer to Exhibit One to see how thoroughly we removed the weeds before planting and installing the flagstone path...)

After seeing this photo, I dug out all the Bermuda from around this grouping in a disgusted, sweaty fit. Mark my words, it'll be back in three weeks. Digging it up doesn't kill it, covering it with corrugated cardboard and burying it in three inches of mulch doesn't kill it, covering it with a giant boulder for a year doesn't kill it, and (please don't ask me how I know this) scalping it and painting it with glyphosate doesn't kill it. I'm considering tilling it up and annihilating the roots with an acetylene torch next (not really joking). Front to back: purple trailing lantana, Salvia greggii 'Lipstick', Yucca filamentosa 'Bright Edge', California poppies.

I love this grouping from this angle. Front to back: Mexican feathergrass (Nassella tenuissima), Englemann's daisy (Engelmannia peristenia), a lone 'Wedding Blush' sweet pea, Salvia greggii 'Lipstick', purple trailing lantana, and across the flagstone path, a white Salvia greggii.

I think I'd like this grouping better if the salvia wasn't so woody; I'll whack it back to the ground at the end of next month and it should fill out with soft, new growth before fall. Orange globe mallow (Sphaeralcea munroana) on the left, Salvia greggii 'Velvet Violet' on the right, blackfoot daisy (Melampodium leucanthum) in front.

Looking east to west, you can actually see the agave in the middle of this shot; Bur Oak to the agave's left, the neighbor's Arizona ash in the rear. Front to back: Salvia greggi 'Cherry Sage', four-nerve daisy (Tetraneuris scaposa), 'Indigo Spires' salvia, rock rose (Pavonia lasiopetala), white Salvia greggi, purple trailing lantana, Salvia greggii 'Lipstick', California poppies, Englemann's daisy, Mexican feathergrass.

Northeast side of the garden. Front to back: white Salvia greggii, rock rose, 'Indigo Spires' salvia, dwarf Texas sage (Leucophyllum frutescens). The perennials look full and lush from this angle, but they're really rather spindly (check out the next photo). If you look closely, you'll spot some iris foliage to the right of the 'Indigo Spires'.

This shot was taken from the front door looking to the northeast. Horseherb and weedy grasses are growing amongst the flagstones in the path, making it less of a trip hazard; the grasses are dying in the heat and need to be dug out. Clockwise from the front: pink Salvia ~~coccinea~~ ~~'Coral Nymph'~~ greggii 'Teresa', Dianthus 'Bath's Pink' (very low to the ground, near the egg-shaped rock; not blooming), pink Gaura lindheimeri (not flowering), 'Yellow Bells' esperanza (Tecoma stans), blue Plumbago auriculata, white Salvia greggi, pink rock rose, 'Indigo Spires' salvia, dwarf Texas sage, iris foliage, fall Aster oblongifolius (not flowering). In the center of the garden are two tiny mounds of Salvia farinacea 'Mealy Blue Sage' (not flowering) and a ginormous patch of Bermuda grass. The rock edging and the perennials make it extremely difficult to mow this area (but I did, after taking this shot).

To the right of the fall aster lives this 'Peter's Purple' bee balm (Monarda fistulosa). It was looking a bit peaked a few weeks ago, but a mid-May rainstorm convinced it to bloom. I'll cut it back to the ground after it blooms and see if it recovers from whatever's turning its lower leaves yellow, droopy and spotty. Behind it is a large patch of red 'Cedar Sage' (Salvia roemeriana ).

A close-up of 'Yellow Bells' esperanza (Tecoma stans) and blue Plumbago auriculata amidst the Bermuda.

Our Austin garden blogging group has a monthly get-together where we hash out design ideas for our garden "problem areas". I signed up to host in March 2013, but I don't think I can wait! My "problem areas" are obvious: 1) BERMUDA H. GRASS (the H stands for HADES). If anyone has an idea for taking it out without killing the trees and the perennials (or installing 4' x 4' x 4' concrete planters in my front yard), I'm all ears! 2) Lack of maintenance. I could use a recommendation for an Austin landscape maintenance company with a crew that can tell the difference between nutsedge and wildflower seedlings. 3) Assuming the Bermuda can be eradicated, I may actually have space on the northeast side for a) walking paths, b) additional plantings and/or c) a sitting area -- but can't decide between on what (pea gravel? decomposed granite? more flagstone? something else?).

I'd love to hear what you think! But be gentle...

Words and photos © 2009-2012 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

I think I know where the fairies live

2012-05-28T01:30:00.001-05:00

Carol of May Dreams Gardens has spoken of her garden fairies quite often. Sometimes, Carol's garden fairies even do guest posts on her blog. I didn't think I had any fairies in my garden. That is, until I found these, nestled underneath the santolina, next to a clump of horseherb.

Now I think I might, actually, have garden fairies lurking about. If not fairies, then pixies or elves, maybe. Or perhaps a toad that was once a prince?

Words and photos © 2009-2012 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Gone to seed

2012-05-20T17:01:00.000-05:00

In my garden, the larkspur has gone to seed.

The foliage is browning and the spider mites are moving in. Time to pull 'em up!

The pods are starting to open to scatter the seeds within. Before I pulled up the spent plants, I ran my gloved hand along the stems to collect the pods and seeds.

The seeds are lined up in two neat rows inside each pod. Even the tiniest pod has at least a dozen seeds; the larger pods, three or four dozen.

I then began the task of separating the seeds from the pods. (Those with climate-controlled space and patience can hang the pods in paper or net bags and let the pods open and release the seeds naturally.)

A standard kitchen strainer is helpful in separating the large plant material from the seeds.

The end result is a nice collection of larkspur seeds to keep for planting next year, or passing along to friends (that's how I got my seeds!)

Words and photos © 2009-2012 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

"Ya win some, ya lose some"

2012-05-19T10:43:00.002-05:00

I'm calling it -- 2012 is definitely my garden's best squash year ever. I've never managed to get more than a couple of squash out of my spring garden, so the fact that I've harvested four 'Tatume' squash this week puts this year's crop in first place.

'Tatume' squash are quite firm, even when harvested small -- which is quite a challenge, because they produce so prolifically and the leaves are so huge! (This one is roughly baseball sized.) Huge bonus - zero sign of squash vine borers. The stems of 'Tatume' are solid, so they're considered more resistant to borer damage.

Jack just asked me, "Um...so, what are we going to do with all these squash?" Why, eat them, of course! There's oodles of recipes in my Victory Garden cookbook for squash -- stuffed, sauteed, fried, stewed, roasted, grilled, and baked. Of course you can also grate them and bake them into breads and cakes.

Sadly, I can also say this is so far my worst tomato year ever. The plants look healthy and are blooming, but I've got really poor fruit set; the flowers just fall off. All I have to show so far are these two small 'Green Zebra' tomatoes (and a 'Sun Gold' that didn't make it into the house for photos). These tomatoes are about the size of those Campari® tomatoes from the grocery store.

Oh well - ya win some, ya lose some. Not that I've given up on the tomatoes altogether, but things aren't looking promising. I didn't plant Cherokee Purples this year, and now I'm regretting it. So, how is your veggie garden doing? I'd love to know!

Words and photos © 2009-2012 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - May 2012

2012-05-15T21:02:00.000-05:00

I haven't had the time to photograph my garden for a proper Bloom Day post, so I'll have to keep it short and sweet this month. As this budding yellow rain lily testifies, we've had a lot of rain this year - seventeen inches in my garden so far. This means we've had more rain in 4 1/2 months than we had in all of 2011. I thereby proclaim 2012 to be the Year of the Rain Lily!

¡Viva Zephyranthes!

Thanks to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Visit her blog to see what flowers the world's gardeners are celebrating this month.

p.s. y'all are sweet to ignore my glaring typo! Naturally I meant in "all of 2011" (not "all of 2012") -- correction made!

Words and photos © 2009-2012 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Christmas in May?

2012-05-14T00:01:00.000-05:00

This serrano pepper plant seems to think so. Planted last spring, it survived last summer's drought, bloomed and fruited last fall, successfully overwintered, burst into bloom again a few weeks ago, and set oodles of peppers I never used or harvested.

Suddenly I have a hankering for a Kung-Pao-style chicken. Who's got good recipes for ripe serrano peppers?

Words and photos © 2009-2012 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Minty goodness

2012-05-12T16:00:00.000-05:00

You know the old saying, "When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade?" Well, I don't have any lemons (yet -- fingers crossed the potted Meyer comes through) but I've got mint. Spearmint, to be exact. It's growing like gangbusters, thanks to our wet winter and spring. (Putting it on drip irrigation last fall didn't hurt.)

It's getting lanky and starting to go to seed, so I decided to harvest a bunch and whip up a batch of mojitos.

Here's my current recipe:

6 mint leaves
3 sugar cubes
The juice of one large, fresh Persian lime (1 1/2 - 2 oz)
Ice
2 oz. Treaty Oak rum
4 oz Topo Chico sparkling water

Place the mint in the bottom of a Collins glass. Add the sugar cubes and lime juice and muddle. Fill the glass with ice; add rum and sparkling water and stir. Serves one.

What home-grown goodness is garnishing your beverages this spring?

Words and photos © 2009-2012 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

The race is on

2012-05-10T00:01:00.000-05:00

In the Three Sisters garden, 'Tatume' squash are running strong in first with pole beans ('Trionfo Violetto' and 'Scarlet Runner') a close second and 'Country Gentleman' sweet corn bringing up the rear.

No sign of the 'Sugar Pie' pumpkins I planted, but I've got several baby 'Tatume' squash. 'Tatume' vines are solid and less prone to the evil squash vine borer. When harvested young, 'Tatume' is similar to a summer squash; when allowed to mature on the vine, it's more akin to a winter squash.

As warm as this past winter was, I expected to be harvesting tomatoes by now. Normally the Sungold and Juliet cherry tomatoes would be ramping up production and the larger tomatoes setting most of their fruit. But as I snapped photos this weekend, these two smallish Green Zebra tomatoes were all I had so far. Maybe it's been too warm?

A late cool front has brought with it more than two inches of rain this week and slightly cooler temperatures. The tomato plants themselves have seemingly doubled in size and are flowering, so perhaps I'll see a few more tomatoes set this week.

It's gonna be a great year for limes. I've got at least three dozen baby Persian limes and they're getting bigger by the day.

What's going strong in your garden race and what's lagging behind? Tell me about it!

Words and photos © 2009-2012 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.