Window on a Texas Wildscape

Wildflower Center free admission January

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:58:00 +0000


Beautiful thoughts by Lady Bird Johnson...

Mexican feathergrass

Warmish temperatures and fairly clear skies created the perfect day for a field trip to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin. Plus, ADMISSION IS FREE UNTIL JANUARY 31! So off we went, James, me, my mother Marcelle Smith and Blanco neighbor Jeri B. I especially wanted to look at native grasses, which I want to plant more of in our Wildscape, and also water features.

Big muhly

Sotol

Pine muhly

Thorn-crested agave

Crossvine ... We have one growing on our chain-link fence. James is worried now.

Gulf muhly

A galvanized trough turned into a water feature!

Lace cactus

Another trough but smaller. We're thinking of adding of these to our Wildscape....

Big muhly

Switchgrass

Bushy bluestem

Indian grass

A pond "in the wild"

Wax myrtle

Elbow bush

Yaupon holly and bushy bluestem

Common bee-bush

Mexican feathergrass....so beautiful!

A Blanco crab apple tree!

Betony-leaf mistflower

Woolly stemodia, a groundcover

Damianita

Mom, me and Jeri

James!

We had a Great Day Out!

After I returned James' camera to him, he shot photos, too....

I liked this rather artistic shot by James Hearn.

Lost Ladybug Project

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:33:00 +0000

Ashy gray lady beetle (Olla v-nigrum)

Even supper time can turn up surprises. This evening, over shrimp Alfredo and fresh roasted asparagus (prepared by chef James), a lady beetle appeared! James spotted it on the ceramic candle holder on the lazy Susan that sits on our dining table. Time for the camera!

I submitted these two images to the Lost Ladybug Project, a citizen scientist project underway at Cornell University. If you visit there, you'll find ladybug photos submitted by me and other volunteers across the country. I've got several pages of contributions: one, two, three.

UPDATE: See yesterday's ladybug contribution here!

Tracks and transplants

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:10:00 +0000

This afternoon, I was on the phone, talking with expert tracker Jonah Evans when I happened to glance out my office window. "THERE GOES THREE DEER!" I exclaimed as they trotted across our Meadow and then ambled north to a neighbors' yard. "Hey, James, come see!"

I apologized to Jonah for yelling in his ear, and he laughed. "Oh, it's OK," he said, "but go out there and check for tracks! They left some, that's for sure." So after we hung up, I did go out later with my camera. The prints weren't that great, but I took one photograph. Then I walked over and took a picture of the four little bluebonnet plants that I transplanted last Monday from another neighbor's yard. They were growing nearly in the street, and Jeri said, yes, I could have them. Here's hoping I can keep them alive and maybe get a patch started in the meadow.

I also saw one of the antelope horn seeds that I anchored across the meadow Monday.

Bluebonnet babies

Antelope horn seed

A tree disease near Boerne

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:02:00 +0000

This week, my mother had several Spanish oaks (Quercus texana) cut down because they were infected with hypoxylon canker (Hypoxylon sp.). She sent photos of the fungus.

According to the Texas Plant Disease Handbook, hypoxylon canker spreads through spores, which enter through injured areas on limbs or the trunk. "Trees which have been damaged by excessive fill soil are often attacked by this organism," states the handbook. "It is also suspected to be a fungus that can invade on oak wilt-infected trees. Control is achieved by maintaining the trees in a healthy condition. Avoid injury to the trunk and limbs and never apply fill soil around the trees. Chemical treatments would not be effective because the fungus is located within the tree."

According to Texas AgriLife Extension Service's East Texas Gardening, "hypoxylon canker has been noted in the death of many oaks in the East Texas area over the last several years. This disease is not rare, but due to the stressful droughts of the last several summers, a large number of trees are being affected."

The Texas Forest Service has more information on hypoxylon canker, too. So does AgriLife Extension.

Mom told me that surviving trees nearby were fertilized, and now she's giving the trees soaking drinks of water for several weeks. Hope they survive!

January 2012 in our Wildscape

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:42:00 +0000

Recent rains continue to brighten and green up our Wildscape. As mentioned before, we've got a LOT of henbit. It's outran the horseherb!

See how thick the henbit is growing?

I'm not sure (yet) what this "weed" is, but it feels soft and acts like a groundcover.

Wish list

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 23:05:00 +0000

Hey, I know it's not Christmas any more. But I've been wanting to start a "native plants wish list" for our Wildscape. Wish list meaning both tried-and-true species that we've got growing and also new-to-us plants. I've dug up and potted little turk's caps and rock roses that we can plant in the spring. Some inland sea oats, too. I've ordered a copy of Jill Nokes' copy of How to Grow Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest coming so I can learn how to propagate native grasses and plants from transplants and seeds.

Here goes...this is a post in progress, naturally.

I'd like more:

Chile pequins

Butterfly weed

Cowpen daisy

Goldenrod

Texas betony

Wedilia

New:

Pine muhly

Worms, worms, worms

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:24:00 +0000

Last year, my son gave "worm farming" a shot in his Waco apartment. Suffice it to say that the farm went south. But it's such a cool idea–growing and encouraging worms in your yard. On that note, I just read "Worming his way out of ugly lawn," Roy Bragg's column in Wednesday's San Antonio Express-News, which featured Kyle Harrell and his backyard worm farm. Naturally, Harrell's got a blog: Texas Red Worms. Very interesting venture!

Spring pretend

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:20:00 +0000

With days like yesterday and today, it's easy to wish even more than spring was TOMORROW! Even a pair of frisky red admirals (above) were flitting about this afternoon. With the recent rains, volunteer henbit and other nuisance natives (and nonnatives) are flourishing. Yesterday afternoon, I got out and pulled henbit from our front beds. For now, it can grow elsewhere for the benefit of bees, butterflies and other insects. When she visited Tuesday, my mother asked about henbit. Time to get out the books!

Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) is the common name for a cool season weed, originally from Europe. It's also called dead nettle and is a member of the mint family (Lamiaceae). Howard Garrett in Howard Garrett's Plants for Texas says he likes the plant, "but if you don't, mow it down." According to Delena Tull's Wildflowers, Trees and Shrubs of Texas, "the young tender plants of both species [Lamium purpureum, East Texas species] are edible raw or cooked; unlike most mints, these do not have aromatic leaves."

And with yet another new year already here, I've decided to wage war against invasives in our Wildscape. The lantana (pictured above) was here before I moved into the Pink House in 2002. It struggled to survive last summer's drought and wasn't as hearty as usual. Though not listed at Texas Invasives, many biologists, native enthusiasts and other experts frown on Lantana camara and consider it to be highly invasive. So out it goes.

Purple martin friend

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:48:00 +0000

Good morning! I just read on Facebook (thanks Louise Chambers!) about martin enthusiast Gardner Sumner in Austin. During last summer's horrific drought and heat, he spent hours, feeding birds and cooling houses at the Virginia Avenue Purple Martin Sanctuary in Travis County. For his dedication, the Austin American-Statesman recognized him as one of their Volunteers of the Year.

It won't be long before the scouts start returning!

Seeds for the new year

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 22:19:00 +0000

This afternoon, I took lunch out to James, who's working on our land northwest of town. After our peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, I ventured off alone and hiked some deer trails. Along the way, I picked three species of grass seed. I would LOVE to establish some native stands in our Wildscape. I also picked up some possumhaw berries in hopes of planting some of those, too. I tried last year with no luck. So I'm just gonna try again!

I've got my copy of Grasses of the Texas Hill Country in my lap (by Brian and Shirley Loflin), trying to ID the three species. I'm guessing the two "sideways" seedheads are a grama species (blue or tall). The long single seedhead may be Lindheimer muhly (Muhlenbergia lindheimeri). Hope so! The delicate, wispy seedheads came from seep muhly (Muhlenbergia reverchonii).

On that note, last weekend I clipped a newspaper article, "150,000 seed balls bound for Bastrop," written by reporter Claire Osborn with the Austin American-Statesman.

"The seeds are from more than 50 varieties of plants found in the Bastrop area, such as little bluestem, black-eyed Susan and Indian blanket. Each ball has nine or 10 seeds and should grow with a little water," the article states. "They will be available to Bastrop residents whose land was damaged by the fires."

Members of the Capital Area Master Naturalists sponsored the project. According to the Statesman, "150,000 marble-size balls of clay, compost and native plant seeds were put together by about 300 groups of children at schools, churches and youth groups in Williamson, Travis, Hays, Caldwell, Milam and Bell counties."

The group raised $1,800 to buy compost, clay and a special seed mix from my friends, Bill and Jan Neiman, at the Native American Seed Co. in Junction. What a wonderful project!!

December 2011 in our Wildscape

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 23:44:00 +0000

I'm a bit late this month in posting a December visit around our Wildscape. As you can see, the yard is MUCH greener! Thanks to recent rains, the horseherb, assorted dandelion species and other volunteer natives have sprouted everywhere! We are VERY grateful for the moisture. Of course, many of the natives we planted on purpose are starting to freeze back and go dormant. I can't wait for spring!


I couldn't resist snapping a photo of some dandelions and henbit.

Even after a freeze....

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 21:39:00 +0000

......there's still life to be found in our Wildscape!


Our inland sea oats barely went to seed this season....

Most of the purple hearts have frozen back but this shoot survived...

A recent hard freeze didn't faze our 'Purple' spiderwort.....

The coralberry has put on a little fruit....

Ferdinand Lindheimer

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:06:00 +0000

Framed specimens collected by Ferdinand Lindheimer, housed at the Sophienburg Museum

Last month, my friend Shena and I visited New Braunfels while on a magazine assignment. I'd never seen the home of naturalist Ferdinand Lindheimer–the "father of Texas botany"–so it was a treat to stop by. We didn't have an appointment to tour inside the 1852 house, but we did walk through the gardens, which are maintained by the Comal Master Gardeners. Beautiful!

Native plants abound in the gardens

This was my favorite native there–a new one to me.

The rustic garden gate adds a homey feel.

Woolly ironweed, a native I frequently see around the Hill Country.

They love to use rocks as much as we do in our Wildscape.

Bricks make a nice accent border.

Common buckeye

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 19:48:00 +0000

Common buckeye Junonia coenia

Bees back

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:19:00 +0000

Our fragrant mistflower is blooming in the front yard right now. Beautiful!

November 2011 in our Wildscape

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:05:00 +0000

Drought Survival Kit

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 19:01:00 +0000

Folks, this press release from TPW just hit our news desk here at the Pink House:

In an effort to help, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department this week converted its main water resource website to feature an online Drought Survive Kit. The new online resource comes in three sets of web pages.

The Help Wildlife section explains how Texas critters handle drought and advises when and whether to intervene with Mother Nature. For example, it tells how to help birds and butterflies with native plants, and why people should never feed wildlife such as raccoons, deer and opossums.

The Save Your Yard web section recognizes that trying to keep St. Augustine grass and other non-native “water hogs” alive during the drought can be expensive and frustrating. It suggests how, as weather conditions improve, it’s time to think about replacing drought-stricken yards with native “Wildscapes” that are better suited for surviving Texas weather. These are colorful, require little water or care, and attract birds, butterflies and other native wildlife.

The Cut Your Water Bill section covers a few simple ways to save water and money, and links to more information on the Texas Water Development Board’s Water IQ website.

Transplants for next spring

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:18:00 +0000

Yesterday, we got busy and transplanted some volunteer natives into plastic pots. On the right are turk's caps. In the right bin are salvias, one lantana, rock roses and a longwood blue. We've also got two baby mountain laurels (in the pink pot) that a friend of my son's gave us last year. I hope to dig up more volunteers before it gets too cold.

October 2011 in our Wildscape

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:13:00 +0000

It's amazing what a difference that 2 inches of rain can make! Our Wildscape is blooming and greener since our rains October 8 and 9. Thank you, Lord!!

Life in our Wildscape

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:08:00 +0000

Another frillitary child! This one's in the front yard. It's eaten ALL the leaves on this passionflower vine.

Portrait of that hungry Gulf fritillary caterpillar.

The dalea's blooming! We planted it on my birthday last March.

Ants visiting wild petunias.

'Hot Lips' salvia bloom with a fly passing by.

Mexican bush sage bloom

Fly dining on a cowpen daisy.....

Fly not dining on cowpen daisy any more...

While I was outside reading, several titmice, chickadees and wrens started fussing in the elbow bush. I figured "snake" but couldn't find one in the shrubbery. James came out later and spotted it–a young rat snake. Cool!

Another lone turkey

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:05:00 +0000

Seems there's another turkey gal who has taken up residence where she really shouldn't. Check out this story by Roy Bragg in today's San Antonio Express News: Turkey pays no heed to 'birds of a feather.'

Our neighborhood turkey hen? She's still around, only she doesn't drop by our back yard any more. She sticks in one yard across the street so at least we can still see her occasionally. I saw her last night....

So beautiful....

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 21:20:00 +0000

I just had to give this photograph its own post. Since Saturday's rains, the salvias and lantanas have burst into bloom! Last May in honor of Mother's Day, James created this flower bed as a surprise for me. He bought the bird bath and picked out the plants, then planted/arranged everything, all while I was gone, helping with a nature activity at Blanco State Park. I believe it's my favorite spot now in our Wildscape.

I must say that this lovely surprise is one of the nicest things anyone's ever done for me. Thank you, James! I love you!

Praise God for rain!

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 21:13:00 +0000

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below....

Yes, God blessed us with around 2 inches of rain Saturday night! By the next morning, the plants had already responded. The oxblood lilies shot up. The salvias bloomed. So the blue mistflower and lantanas. What a blessing the rains are! Thank you, Lord!

Blue mistflower

Oxblood lilies

'May Night' sage

Our lone Gulf fritillary child

Happy rock roses (in spite of the drought)

Rock rose blooms

'Mystic Spires' salvia

Dwarf goldenrod, barely hanging on

Mountain sage

Cowpen daisy

Cowpen daisy blooms

Maximilian sunflower about to bloom

Maximilian sunflower

Nature photographers

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 19:33:00 +0000

Brian Loflin, author and photographer

Last Saturday, I made a special effort to attend a session of the four-part "Authors' Day" at the Blanco Library. I listened to and enjoyed the tail-end of author Taffy Cannon's presentation (she wrote Blood Matters). Since I'm into nature, I was more interested in hearing Shirley and Brian Loflin, who authored Grasses of the Texas Hill Country: A Field Guide and also Texas Cacti: A Field Guide. Next spring, their newest book, Texas Wildflower Vistas and Hidden Treasures, will be published. Alas, Shirley had to duck out for another commitment. But Brian did just fine on his own.

As authors and photographers, they've logged more than 50,000 miles across Texas since 1999, collecting specimens and taking pictures for their book projects. "We've got 100,000 images in our library," Brian said. "Shirley likes to say that she finds the plants, and I photograph them."

Naturally, we have a copy of their grass field guide, and Brian gladly signed it for us. "Ah, I like to see that our book is being used," he commented when he saw several sprigs of dried grasses poking up between the book's pages.

Check out the Loflins at their website, Nature Connection.

Surprise!

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Smith-Rodgers) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:46:00 +0000

Last year, I remember digging up some baby turk's caps from the back yard and putting them in little plastic pots. I watered them over the winter in our garage. Then I transplanted them this past summer. I put three in the back yard and one out front in our new bed. A week or so ago, I spotted a bloom on the one in our front bed. I leaned over for a closer look and thought Hmm, that's a different pink! In the back yard, we have three varieties of turk's cap: native red, white and 'Pam's Pink.' The pink on our front turk's cap was in between the 'Pam's Pink' and native red. I even told James that the turk's cap in the front had a different shade of pink.

Or so I thought.

This morning, we watered plants, using the washing machine water (a time-consuming project). In the front yard, James hollered, "Hey, Sheryl, look at the rock rose!"

Huh?

"We don't have a rock rose in the front," I replied, feeling very befuddled. Then I took a look. WOW! James was right! It's a rock rose, not a turk's cap! And oh, boy, is it BLOOMING! So last year, I also dug up a baby rock rose from the back yard! (My memory does not recall doing this at all.) It's just stunning, thick and full. Plus, as you can see, the pink blooms are gorgeous. Rock roses are on my drought-tolerant list. Now they're moving up!