tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85319891865872471292025-11-13T21:54:18.972-05:00Suburban Wildlife GardenMy humble attempts at transforming a small, relatively barren suburban lot into a more wildlife-friendly garden.Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-89061997964336725762023-03-13T16:52:00.000-05:002023-03-13T16:55:13.920-05:00Biodiversity and Native Plants in Suburban GardensNative plants provide habitat and food for local wildlife, including birds, butterflies, bees, and other beneficial insects. By planting native species, you are helping to support the local ecosystem and promote biodiversity. Our native Crossvine, Bignonia capreolata, attracts birds, butterflies, and bees while adding beauty to the garden. Honeybees sip nectar as they pollinate the Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-70772029546154150072018-02-17T20:31:00.001-05:002018-02-17T20:37:56.457-05:00DIY Birdseed WreathWhile we still have some cool weather here, I decided to try making my own birdseed wreath.
First I gathered the ingredients:
3 cups birdseed
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3 cups hot water
6 packets gelatin
cooking spray
bundt pan
Wide ribbon
Mix the gelatin into the water, then pour it into the bowl of birdseed and mix well. Spray bundt pan with cooking spray and add the birdseed/water mixDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-89261374350561458222018-02-17T20:03:00.000-05:002018-02-17T20:42:23.589-05:00Thanks Central Texas Gardener
Thank you, Central Texas Gardener, for including my Plant Marker Project in this week's program.
Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-90672780831505285382017-02-09T01:29:00.000-05:002018-02-17T17:48:49.816-05:00Plant Marker Project
I finally finished a batch of herb markers that look half-way decent. I used rubber stamp letters on over-baked clay. They are not perfect, but they're cute enough for my container herb garden this spring.
The process was pretty easy. I used a terra-cotta color of 'Sculpey' oven-bake clay and some little wood stamps to crete the letter impressions.
Rolled 1-1/4 inch ballsDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-63678805887504667982017-02-01T22:41:00.000-05:002018-02-17T18:13:45.419-05:00I'm Back and Busy with BeesHello Garden Friends!
It's been a long time since I last posted here. Some health issues have taking my time away from both gardening and blogging. Fortunately, I've found a spinal pain doc and PT who are helping me get back into the garden.
My latest garden project was to hang my new solitary bee houses.
These houses are for native mason bees that do not swarm, sting or burrow in wood. So, Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-74456855261197909982010-11-04T08:46:00.011-06:002010-11-11T13:04:15.831-06:00Welcome to TexasCopyright @ 2007 - 2010. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved. After a long, six-month process, my parents and sister have moved from Missouri to a sweet neighborhood in Georgetown, Texas. Their house is a 40 minute drive from mine, which is a big improvement from 13 hours. I hope they will enjoy living Deep in the Heart of Texas. Of course, one of the first things we must do is plant a Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-70878041534832820842010-08-03T11:38:00.022-05:002015-06-01T12:48:28.035-05:00Galveston Sans Oil
Copyright @ 2007 - 2010. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved.
It's been a busy summer so far. We just returned from another lovely vacation on Galveston Island. Luckily the oil from the Gulf Oil Disaster did not meet us there, though we did find some tar balls on the beach, courtesy of BP. Grrr...
We had an new view of the beach this year from a house we'd never Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-82869977110637580012010-05-17T10:17:00.019-05:002010-05-19T13:57:47.155-05:00Back Among the LivingCopyright @ 2007 - 2010. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved.It's the 3rd year this orchid has bloomed for me...I hope all the garden bloggers are enjoying spring. Austin experienced some truly beautiful wildflower scenes this year along the roadways, thanks to Lady Bird Johnson. Some of the bloom-filled fields took my breath away...A lot has happened since my last entry in March. FirstDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-34455523059662100492010-03-09T02:38:00.022-06:002010-11-11T13:13:43.653-06:00Diva Getaway to FredericksburgCopyright @ 2007 - 2010. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved.My book club, The Literary Divas, went on our annual weekend retreat; this time to Fredericksburg, by way of the Texas Hill Country Wineries. Of course the Divas had a great time tasting the wine. But our final goal was actually a Bed and Breakfast we'd rented together for the weekend in Fredericksburg, Texas. If you've neverDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-74503650268199123162010-02-28T22:08:00.014-06:002010-03-09T01:14:13.451-06:00Snow in AustinCopyright @ 2007 - 2010. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved.It snowed here in Austin on Feb 24th. Big fat beautiful flakes!The snow stuck to the trees and grass.When I arrived at my doctor's office I saw large fluffy snowballs coming out of the sky. They looked like big cotton balls:You can see how large the flakes are in this photo...By the time I drove back home from the school with Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-40125882218234120052010-02-17T22:05:00.012-06:002010-02-22T22:17:07.996-06:00Lunch on Lady Bird LakeCopyright @ 2007-2010. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved.We had a nice Valentine's Day here in Austin, Texas last weekend. The weather was mild enough on the 14th that we went to the Hyatt for lunch then took a little stroll on Lady Bird Lake. My son was impressed by the views from the hotel's restaurant. He enjoyed watching the swans swimming by the docks...The cabbages and kale gaveDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-20398553464567212642009-12-30T10:36:00.015-06:002010-01-14T00:37:23.620-06:00Auld Lang SyneCopyright © 2007-2010. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved.
Happy New Year, Fellow Bloggers! I hope you are enjoying your holiday thus far.
Unfortunately my son's Grandfather and his wife were not able to travel down from Missouri after Christmas due to bad weather at that time. We definitely missed them.
True, it's a little more difficult to have a Merry Christmas with so few people Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-49882519584427339972009-12-10T18:10:00.004-06:002010-01-03T16:54:00.180-06:00Seton Hospital's Healing GardenCopyright © 2007-2009. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved.Hello Garden Bloggers,I hope you’re enjoying the holidays. It’s getting quite chilly here in Austin, Texas. I’ve had to break out my winter coat. My goldfish appreciate the heater that keeps their water from freezing at night. I've included some photos of Seton NorthWest Hospital's Healing Garden throughout this entry as I Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-73653776777771224312009-10-07T14:30:00.002-05:002009-10-08T10:39:24.775-05:00Spring in OctoberCopyright © 2007-2009. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved.The rains have started falling and the drought may be slightly on the wane here in Austin, but as Robin at Getting Grounded explains in her entry Recapping the Summer from Hell 2009, it will take a whole lot of heavy showers before our lakes are full again. Still, my garden is finally happy after a long torturous summer. The Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-63711940553404839662009-09-30T21:13:00.007-05:002009-10-07T11:31:35.710-05:00Sweet September Get-TogetherCopyright © 2007-2009. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved.I'd like to say "Thank you!" to Diana of Sharing Nature's Garden and Robin of Getting Grounded for hosting a lovely get-together on September 26th for the Austin Garden Bloggers. What a beautiful garden you have, Diana. It was a pleasure to meet our new Ag Extension Agent, Daphne Richards and visit with so many garden bloggers Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-5599549858959489352009-09-08T13:35:00.019-05:002009-09-15T19:12:08.691-05:00Galveston: Recovering and Ready for VisitorsCopyright © 2007-2009. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved.Our vacation in Galveston seems like a pleasant dream now that we're back home in drought besieged Austin again. The beach certainly was lovely this summer. We were relieved to see the island recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Ike. My son enjoyed the beach this year; this time without any surgery worries. What a Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-76578362894099888092009-06-25T23:05:00.009-05:002009-06-26T00:21:15.855-05:00Off to Galveston and an UpdateCopyright © 2007-2009. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved.First an update on my cat, Mariah: She is much improved; having almost finished with her antibiotics and is eating on her own. I'm extremely relieved since it was a bit touch and go there for a while. She and Lily will stay at the vet clinic for boarding as we travel to Galveston. We are renting the same beach house as last yearDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-50096978492455874752009-06-18T14:30:00.012-05:002009-07-08T18:02:19.793-05:00MariahCopyright © 2007-2009. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved.I hope all of you are having a pleasant summer. I was planning on sharing some fun images from my & my son's birthdays as well as my mother & sister's visit and our trips to the gardens in the area.Unfortunately, all my plans have been put on hold because I'm taking care of my cat, Mariah, who is extremely ill.When we Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-61390730244243460152009-05-06T22:41:00.001-05:002009-05-07T00:43:01.709-05:00Fantasy Islette or Guppies Gone WildCopyright © 2007-2009. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved.My front garden is filling out nicely, but only one out of three of my red yuccas are blooming in the same bed. It's sort of odd since they all bloomed at once in the past couple of years. If anyone has an idea what might be going on, please let me know.Inside, I finally had my kitchen project finished this week. Whoever built Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-65030933490133979452009-04-22T17:05:00.031-05:002009-04-28T13:50:29.519-05:00Green The Grounds for Earth DayCopyright © 2007-2009. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved.Most gardeners I've met are fairly environmentally conscious. This follows our chosen hobby naturally since we deal so closely with plants, soil, weather patterns and the animals that interact with our gardens. Susan Harris at Garden Rant is one of those special gardeners who cares about the environment; managing to inspire Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-61620533701363840262009-04-15T22:00:00.010-05:002009-09-16T23:11:45.019-05:00The Mirror is Up!Copyright © 2007-2009. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved.Someone finally helped me get my wooden mirror up on the dining room wall today. Thank goodness my cats approve. ;-) Actually, I don't usually allow Mariah and Lily on to the buffet -- nor tables, counters, or any other food-serving surface -- but I wanted to give a sense of proportion to the photo. Plus they pose really well.I Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-1372197905325782772009-04-12T19:26:00.018-05:002009-04-28T14:05:56.842-05:00Easter Lilies and EggsCopyright © 2007-2009. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved.I hope those of you who celebrate Easter had a very happy day. I'm enjoying the fragrance of the Easter Lily (Lilium longiflorum) on our breakfast table this year. I was wondering if I could plant it in my garden, so I checked and saw the MSS at Zanthan Gardens has written a great deal of information about the lily here. Edit: Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-65398580330966294512009-03-31T20:32:00.022-06:002009-04-28T14:06:58.214-05:00Mirror, Mirror on the...FloorCopyright © 2007-2009. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved. I was feeling rather pleased with myself, because I'd finally found a mirror to fit over my dining room buffet. Here it is sitting (heavily) on the dining room floor...And here is my buffet over which I plan to hang said mirror:I started worrying today when I saw that it took two delivery men to carry the mirror into my house. Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-26529036331449074822009-03-28T16:17:00.019-06:002009-04-28T13:59:08.874-05:00All Hail Precipitation!Copyright © 2007-2009. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved. We're experiencing a major drought here in Austin, so I relish most anything that falls from the sky. I would, however, like to draw the line at large chunks of ice that break car & house windows like we had on Wednesday. Most of the hailstones in my garden were about the diameter of a quarter, like this one...Though I've Dawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8531989186587247129.post-14160702665016765492009-03-19T22:52:00.027-06:002009-04-28T14:01:11.194-05:00Useful Garden PotteryCopyright © 2007-2009. Suburban Wildlife Garden. All Rights Reserved. I've been on the lookout for a large pot or urn for my front porch. This week I finally found one at Hill Country Water Gardens. It's always a joy to visit this unique nursery. They seem to have everything I love; from plants... ...to pottery......complete with wildlife like this green anole......and fountains with very specialDawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818111801666078642noreply@blogger.com11