Drought didn’t make it to my spring party

March 8th, 2012 Posted in drought, native plants, roses, shade plants

Ready or not, here I come with the pruners!  It’s safe now to prune evergreens, Texas sage (cenizo), thryallis, and shrimp plants like these.

I’ll cut them down to a foot or so to encourage fluffy growth.  Since the thryallis didn’t freeze completely, I’ll chop it back a few feet, and simply tip my cenizo.

Eventually, I’ll prune these Gomphrena ‘Grapes’ against the Swiss chard. I’ll wait a bit, since it’s quite unusual to see them blooming this time of year.

It’s hard to focus, though, since I flit from one little (or big) discovery to the next. The first Freesia laxa showed up against soft leaf yucca (Yucca recurvifolia).

First poppies!

They are HUGE. I’ve actually been pulling some out before they strangled everyone underneath.

I’ve always wanted native perennial Widow’s tears (Commelina erecta). Not sure how I came by these, but now I’ve got their charm.

They do spread like nuts, so things are getting a tad covered there, too. It’s hard to pull things up, though, since it’s such a luxury to see such abundance.

Native spiderworts (Tradescantia gigantea) are in gear, too, here with candytuft (Iberis sempervirens), a non-native, but very drought tough in the right spot.

Spiraea may be an old-fashioned shrub, but despite the drought, I think this is the best performance yet.

Climbing Cecile Brunner defied drought, too.

The ultimate drought winner is Lady Banks rose, out of range for me to drag the hose, since I’m so lazy.

Viewer picture of the week: Jeff Goodwin’s young redbud (Cercis canadensis var. texensis ‘Oklahoma’) that defied the drought, too! Of course, we all know that young trees need to be watered, and Jeff did a good job.

I sure hope that 2012 isn’t a repeat of the past two years, but if so, my garden is tougher than my spirit when the hot, dry days drag on and on. I tip my garden hat to them with respect, admiration, and fondness for new and old friends.

Until next week, Linda