After last summer, I really thought I'd never garden or post on this blog again. A story in the Statesman real estate section mentioned a woman who was selling her house to move to North Carolina, because she wanted to be able to garden. I hear you, lady.
But let's face it, gardening is an addiction. Five inches of rain and a flush of rosebuds, and I've got that monkey on my back all over again. Pouring hundreds of dollars into antique roses, lambskin pruning gloves, and whatever newfangled soaker hose they've got to sell me.
My yard in Brentwood did not even get a mild freeze; so in combination with the rain, things are looking lush. I have petunias that actually wintered over. It has been interesting to see how my newly-installed backyard garden survived the summer. The clear winners were silver germander, lorapetalum and yellow columbine. The losers were spireas—which all died early in the summer— and the berkeley sedge. It's not dead, but I kind of wish it were.
And on the south fence, all the salvias, plumbago and turk's cap are happily thriving.
In the kidney-bean-shaped bed in the way back, I've put in more germanders since they seem so happy in the shady soil situation back there.
Converting the backyard to gravel is working out well. Zeke has stayed to his paths. I haven't had to water or mow. After the twice-a-year liveoak leaf-drop I have to blow the gravel. I know people hate leafblowers but they are the most practical tool in cleaning up gravel.
Meanwhile in the front yard, the big excitment is the bloom spike on one of the softleaf yuccas. I've had this plant for 10 years now, moving its pups from Rollingwood to my new house. Never has it EVER bloomed.
My neighbor cleared out some of his overgrowth resulting in a new patch of sun on my side yard into which I've introduced a little-leaf cordia. I saw this plant blooming in the middle of last summer's nonstop 100 degree days. It's a kind of scrawny thing with a demented growth habit—all sharp angles and jutting stems—but it has stunning snow white flowers. It has blue-gray foliage and looks alot like its Texas olive cousin.
Blooming now: columbine, roses reve d'or, iceberg, yellow, red, and rainbow knockout, salvia.
3 comments:
I'm eager to know about the failure of your Berkeley sedge. Did you water it, or was it on its own? Is it in shade? I'd thought it was pretty drought-tolerant, but of course every plant has its limits. I recommend this sedge to clients, so I'd love to know any info you can share about it.
One of the landscapers who bid on my project recommended it to me for dry shade; I was unfamiliar with it. I have no idea of what it looks like once established. Right now it could be mistaken for a weed; kind of like a lame monkey grass. It appears to be super slow growing, has not spread like a mondo would either. Basically it has NO plusses in my book. Have you seen it thriving anywhere?
Yes! I saw it on a garden tour last year: http://www.penick.net/digging/?p=11800
And fellow blogger Cyndi has it in her garden and likes it. She recently posted pics on the Austin blogger FB page.
I'm still coveting a large swath for a lawn-removal project in my front yard, which is why I was curious to know the conditions yours is in.
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