Superstars, outside and for your Indoor Plant Decor

May 16th, 2013 Posted in Summer plants, Texas A&M, annuals, books, butterflies, garden bloggers, garden design, garden designers, habitat, perennials | 4 Comments »

There’s a lot to be said for summer annuals.

I’ve always adored globe amaranths, but this ‘Fireworks’ in Lucinda Hutson’s garden sparked a new love affair. Beyond, Duranta pops in some wowza color, too.

Here’s why Daphne makes globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa) her Pick of the Week: It’s a Texas Superstar, which means it’s been tested around the state for worthiness in our gardens. You can find them in many colors and sizes, even for containers.

They bloom all summer, standing up to searing heat and drought, as in Daphne’s own trials with new varieties in the infamous 2011 torture. But did you know they attract butterflies, too?  They’re so prolific that you can spare a few as long-lasting cut flowers that dry like a dream. Wonderful in a wreath!

Recently, on a mini vacation, I fulfilled a dream to visit Texas Superstar’s Brent Pemberton at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Overton.

I’ll have more about Superstar in a later post. For now, it was a thrill to stroll the greenhouses where trial seeds and plugs start out.

Isn’t this Calliope geranium a gem? I can’t wait to see if it makes Superstar status!

Once they’re ready, they head to the fields for the ultimate test of endurance and performance.

My garden is a perpetual test ground. One superstar for me is bamboo muhly (Muhlenbergia dumosa), a grass that surprised me this spring with its first delicate seed heads.

Gulf penstemon found its own test grounds in a bed of Texas sedge (Carex texensis). Both rate **** for me.

Salvia microphylla ‘La Trinidad Pink’ survives the test of just not quite enough sun. A little floppy sometimes, it’s doing fine in morning sun.  It could stand to have a gardener that prunes it more often, you know?

But, I’ll admit: I’m so not adventurous indoors. That’s about to change, thanks to Indoor Plant Décor, authored by friends Jenny Peterson and Kylee Baumle.

Kylee was holding down Ohio, so Jenny joins Tom to pep up your house and office to take the humdrum out of houseplants with THE design style book that connects to your muse, budget and imagination.

In their book, Kylee and Jenny include plant lists and DIY tips in friendly style that prompts “oh, I didn’t know this/I’ve got to try THAT” on every page. Every stunning chapter plugs a new spin into your imagination and creativity, inside.

Back outside, are you seeing this on your trees or other plants?

Before you freak out about horrendous disease or insects, Daphne has the answer: our bizarre late frost. In full disclosure, Daphne puts herself on the line. To pump up her young Monterrey oak, she admits that she fertilized a little too early.  Hey, raise your hands if you’ve done that too!

Normally, it would have been okay that her tree responded by putting out new leaves. EXCEPT. In her microclimate, it got cold enough to damage the new growth. Get her complete answer on how to tell the difference in temporary freeze damage or something evil. By the way, her tree recovered just fine, and so will yours.

So, have you just about had it with flies, fleas, fire ants, and plum curculios? John Dromgoole explains how to tackle them naturally underground with beneficial nematodes.

On tour, visit the diverse gardens at Mueller, the ultimate “testing ground” in its restoration of wildlife habitat over former runways and parking lots.

Thanks for stopping by! Until next week, reach for the stars, indoors and out. Linda

Where botany meets horticulture|Monticello|Peckerwood

May 9th, 2013 Posted in Late spring flowers, destinations, native plants, perennials, recipes | 4 Comments »

Thanks to insects, human foragers, experimenters, dreamers, and plants’ own spin on things, our gardens are deeply enriched. My Salvia farinacea ‘Henry Duelberg’, discovered by Greg Grant in a cemetery—and named for the nearby headstone—makes a perfect companion to white Salvia greggii.

I’m so glad that Austin horticulturist Art Petley found this salvia, now named ‘Silke’s Dream’.

His cuttings wended their way through two horticulturists to end up in nurseries. Beyond, you’ll see my sweet apricot pink globe mallow, which was supposed to be orange. Still, I bought it knowing it could be ANYTHING! Works for me.

I remember when Mexican feathergrass was the new cool plant in Austin (and hard to find).

It was called Stipa tenuissima. I’d recite the botanical name over and over because I liked the sound of it. Now, botanists have changed the taxonomy to Nassella tenuissima. Still the same springtime seed heads on feathery leaves, plus a fancy name to roll off the tongue. And now so available.

Pineapple guava (Feijoa sellowiana) is actually not a guava at all, though many love its flowers in spring and ripe fruits in fall. I’ve heard that the sweetest fruit is when you let them actually fall to the ground.

A German botanist named this fruiting small tree/shrub after Don da Silva Feijoa, a botanist in Spain. Its species name acknowledges F. Sellow, a German who collected specimens in the province of Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil. Mine hasn’t bloomed yet, though I love the silvery undersides of the leaves in a semi-shaded spot. My friend with this blooming one uses it in a natural screen between her driveway and the neighbor’s.

Down her street, this Yucca rostrata sends it flowers to the sky. These days, thanks to tissue culture, there are cultivars like ‘Sapphire Skies’.

Thanks to enterprising folks, my native Penstemon cobaea, Mediterranean Byzantine gladiolus, and larkspurs made it into nurseries and into my melting pot garden.

So, how do horticulture and botany intersect? Daphne deciphers it for us this week.

One of the most quintessential explorations was President Thomas Jefferson’s gardens at Monticello. This week, Peter J. Hatch, Retired Director of Gardens and Grounds at Monticello, joins Tom to connect Jefferson’s revolutionary garden and organic practices to our cultivation today.

In Peter’s beautifully written and illustrated book, A Rich Spot of Earth, settle down to rich stories of Jefferson’s botanical journeys, detailed diaries, the origins of plants, horticultural tips and recipes from the period. See how Peter restored Jefferson’s vegetable vision and excites us to do the same.

Here’s one of the countless surprises (to me): Jefferson used the leaves of Yucca filamentosa to tie up and stake grapevines. Have you ever thought of that with cultivars like ‘Bright Edge’ or ‘Color Guard’? I’ll have to wait a few years for my passalong ‘Color Guard’!

Oh yes, if you can’t get to Monticello, online you can buy historic seeds for food and ornamentals, like Hyacinth bean that I’ve seeded to cover a part of my chain link fence.  And do check out their events, too, for a family trip into history, wonder, and rejuvenation of good, healthy taste.

Daphne’s pick of the week is Chile pequin/Chiletepin/Chili pequin, etc. At Monticello, Thomas Jefferson grew chiletepin, the “Texas bird pepper,” from Dr. Samuel Brown in Natchez. In 1997, the Texas House named chiletepin the official wild pepper of Texas.

Many sources describe tepin as ovoid and pequin as conical or oblong. However, my plants from local nurseries were labeled “chile pequin,” even though the fruits are rounded, as you can see!

In any case, it’s a true tough Texan, and a wonderful perennial in my semi- shady beds with that psycho blast of sun. It’s totally fun to see where birds seed it.  At Travis Extension, they’re larger and denser in full sun.

If you can nab the fruits before the birds get them, here’s a fabulous salsa recipe from KLRU colleague JJ Weber.

Normally he uses dried tepins, but to celebrate Peter Hatch’s visit, he made three different versions with my fresh chile pequins (tepins?). Whatever, it was gone so fast I almost didn’t get a picture!

Thanks to explorers and nurseries, in recent years gardeners have added specimens and cultivars of cacti and agaves. Since tending them without an “ouch” is new for many of us, Jeff Pavlat from the Austin & Cactus Succulent Society demonstrates his spiky/spiny plant toolkit!

To add to your collection, the Cactus & Succulent Society of America is hosting their national convention in Austin June 15-20. Register to attend incredible workshops, talks and private plant sales. If you can’t swing the whole deal, sales to the public are June 16 from 1:00 – 5:00; Monday June 17, Wednesday June 19 from 7:45 – 5:00; and Thursday June 20 from 7:45 – 4:00.

On tour, we repeat our visit to Peckerwood Garden, where botanical explorer John G. Fairey introduced many of the plants that have made it our own explorations. This weekend, May 11 & 12, is Peckerwood’s last general public open days until fall, so head on out if you can!

Viewer picture of the week: an update from Susan Brock. The cardinal eggs in a hanging basket in her NWF certified Backyard Habitat have hatched! What a wonderful discovery!

Thanks for stopping by. Until next week, happy explorations! Linda

Spring into summer with gusto

May 2nd, 2013 Posted in Late spring flowers, Nurseries, Summer plants, annuals, birds, butterflies, cat cove, companion plants, container gardens, garden art, garden designers, lawn replace, mulch, native plants, organic fertilizers, perennials, shade plants, tropical plants | 8 Comments »

Can you believe this? We’ve had spring (and winter!) longer than 15 minutes. Poppies keep popping up with spuria iris.

I can’t have too many native winecups.

In the cat cove, they team up with Gulf penstemon and Calylophus berlandieri ssp. Pinifolius.

And this time of year is just about my favorite on the patio, when Marie Pavie and star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) double up on perfume whammy.

In a Temple garden we taped recently, I love this combination of Hesperaloe parviflora ‘Yellow’, bluebonnets and sotol.

But it’s about time to shed spring and get those hot weather beauties in the ground.

Jeff Yarbrough from Emerald Garden Nursery and Watergardens joins Tom this week to dazzle us with annuals, perennials and shrubs that put the love back into summer!

Get his list for hot weather sizzle, including an intriguing dwarf pomegranate ‘Purple Sunset’ and a new esperanza on the scene.

Oh yes, don’t forget that Jeff’s an expert, locally-oriented plantsman who can help you with anything, including ponds. Emerald Garden also hosts free workshops on every topic under the sun!

Now, about local nurseries: Howard Nursery populated many gardens from 1912 until 2006.

Perhaps you met granddaughter Robin Howard Moore behind the counter where she and brothers Hank and Jim gave hands-on advice. I’ll never forget them as some of my first garden mentors. In fact, Robin always knew when we’d wrapped up another Pledge drive, Auction, or other intense production. I’d drag in on Sunday as my reviving treat. She would say, “So, Linda, guess you just finished a big project. What are you looking for today?”

So, it’s a special honor to present her as our featured gardener on tour. At home with Robin, now working as a landscape designer, she gives us her essential starting points with plants and design. I love our conversation about the changing trends that we’ve witnessed together.

Something I never knew about Robin is her artistic whimsy, like these bird baths she crafted from plates and vases.

This one inspires a trip to the thrift store: a marble-embedded bowling ball, a gift from Anne of the Shady Hollow Garden Club, to brighten up a shady spot.

Robin’s growing Rangoon Creeper in semi-shade, but in San Antonio, Ragna Hersey has this adaptable plant in a few hours of sun. Others have it in full sun.

Daphne gives us the scoop on this drought and freeze-tough tropical that attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.

Our viewer question comes from Pete Vera: how to mulch with our scatter spots of rain?

Wow, is this a great question or what? You know what happens: we get that 1/10” that just sloughs right off. As always, Daphne has the answer.

And, Trisha’s got the perfect answer for all those weeds that love that little bit of rain: put them to work as natural teas to fertilize your plants!

Until next week, visit your local nursery and thank these hard-working folks for helping us grow locally and beautifully. Linda

Native companions

April 24th, 2013 Posted in Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Late spring flowers, Seeds, Tools, Tours, annuals, bees, cat cove, drought, early spring flowers, garden bloggers, garden designers, habitat, lawn replace, native plants | Comments Off

Things are buzzing around here!

Native Gulf penstemons absolutely suck in the bees. I have them everywhere, including the cat cove; not by my design, but by theirs. Like all parents, plants point their progeny in the right direction.

I don’t mind if they crowd the path for now. I’ll cut them back after the parents launch their seeds to the big wide world. It does take a while for the seeds to brown up, so hang on to your patience.

Sometimes I lose my beloved ground-hugging native Calylophus berlandieri that so well favors the hues of penstemons and winecups in spring, and rock roses (Pavonia lasiopetala) through summer. Recently, I added these: Calylophus drummondii var. berlandieri.

On a fence bed, winecups soothe Macho Mocha mangave in its recent snail attack.

Pink evening primrose is an opportunist who moved right into the path we laid last year. They’re overwhelming the frogfruit underneath, but it’s holding its own.

To the right in the bed, Texas blue grass (Poa arachnifera) leans over from its shady spot underneath the mountain laurel to chat with hotspot edge plant blackfoot daisy.

Hunkering in the shadier spots on the other side, columbine and widow’s tears (Commelina erecta) unite.

Another tough native to add to your list is Engelmann’s daisy, Daphne’s Pick of the Week.

Although it wants sun, it can handle a shade break. Its spring-to-frost flowers feed many beneficial insects. Cutting it back now and then encourages more blooms, but do allow some flowers to go to seed for small birds that will swoop in.

Natives join the not-so-native for me. Jenny Stocker’s garden is my dream of the compatible blend. Oh, recently we taped it again, this time in HD, coming your way in early 2014.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s annual Gardens on Tour is the super duper way to pick up design and native plant combinations to try at home. This week, Tom joins Andrea DeLong-Amaya from the Wildflower Center for a sneak preview.

From gardens big and small and plants for sun, shade, rocks or clay, you’ll get lots of ideas on May 11. Find out how to go on tour.

Here’s a closer look at one of the gardens on tour, where Laura and Andrew Stewart restored native plants and wildlife within biking distance of downtown.  Native plant designer David Mahler united with Miró Rivera Architects to tie together house and land.

Although native plants are very tough, this week Daphne answers, “Why are highway wildflowers sparse in some areas this spring?” Drought. At home, we can water the seeds that germinate in fall and winter.

Earlier this year, we answered Jean Warner’s question about caring for her bluebonnet rosettes. She took our advice to give them a little water now and then. Look what happened!

Thanks for stopping by! See you next week, Linda