Days of Heaven

Wow. In Austin, these have been possibly the two most beautiful days on Planet Earth. Here's an image of crossvine (Bignonia capreolata Dragon Lady). It's a two-tone version of the more common orange—I’m never sure if I like it...
I've been traveling to San Antonio lately and stop in at a wonderful nursery there on Blanco Road that has a great edit of plants and much cheaper prices than Austin. I got a 10-gal pot of Golden Bamboo and a flat of something called Wildfire Verbena that is already my new favorite bedding plant. I put it in the empty holes in my front garden, still limping along due to drought. This verbena has huge blossom heads and is a psychedelic purple. LOVE.
For all garden-travelers check out this link of Great Gardens Around the World. Austin Garden Bloggers, let's make one of these our next field trip!

Leaf ’Em Laughing

This pile cost me $75. That was what I paid to have someone blow all the accumulated leaves from last spring and fall’s historic oak drop (following on the crazy wet summer of ’07 which now seems a dream) into my back-of-the-shed dump.


And now of course, it’s starting all over again. I swept this corner yesterday and this morning a new pile has accumulated. Live oaks. Yes, indeedy.


Doing my part to stimulate the economy, I bought three dripper hoses to deploy in the rose beds. I love dripper hoses; they function well and seem to last forever.


This pretty little verbena, an annual variety, survived the winter and is blooming.


Brug. Charles Grimaldi has emerged unscathed from his winter slumbers. He has a new companion, St. Francis. Do they not make a fine couple?


The loquat topiaries are doing well and if I can just keep...



...him and his brethren from gnawing the bejeezus out of them, all will be well. The loquats, in case you’re wondering, are about 5 years old. They self-sowed from fruit dropped by a tree at my old house. Sledd’s has loquat topiaries that are not as big and not as well shaped for $150. Yowza.


No pictures ever do justice to the Rainbow Knockouts, which honestly, are on many days, the only reason I get out of bed. They bloomed throughout the winter, and were actually more true to their real coral and yellow colors.