Diana C. Kirby, Author at Diana's Designs Austin

About Diana C. Kirby

Diana Kirby is a lifelong gardener and longtime Austinite, who loves the Central Texas climate for the almost year-round opportunities it offers for active gardening and seasonal splendor. Known as an impassioned and successful gardener, Diana began by helping friends design and implement their landscapes. Soon, she was contracted as a professional designer by a popular local landscaping installation firm, where she designed landscapes for residential and commercial clients for several years. In 2007, her new passion blossomed with the launch of her own firm, Diana’s Designs. ... Diana is a member of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers, the Garden Writers Association of America, and she writes a monthly gardening column for the Austin American-Statesman. Diana teaches the Landscape Design classes for several county Texas Agrilife Extension Service Master Gardener certification programs and speaks about gardening and design for garden centers and other groups. Learn more about presentation topics, availability and speaking fees.

Plant bare-root roses now for spring blooms

Even though it hit 83 degrees in Austin this week, it is now officially winter and that means it’s time to think about planting bare root roses for your spring garden. “Bare root” refers to the way the plants are shipped while they are dormant and doesn’t have anything to do with the different types of roses. Planting these roses now gives them time to develop a strong root system before they begin putting on foliage in the spring and prepare for the hot summer that surely lies ahead.

Getting started

If you don’t already have a rose bed started, it’s important to remember that roses need 6 full hours of sunlight to bloom well and thrive. A little bit of late afternoon shade would also be ok in our sweltering summers.

To ensure a good growing environment a raised bed is optimal so you can build up the bed with quality soil. Roses do best in a loose, loamy soil with good drainage. If you have hard or compacted clay soil, you can add sand or compost to the bed to loosen the soil. They don’t like to have wet feet. They are also susceptible to fungal diseases like black spot disease or powdery mildew, so it’s best to water them in the morning instead of at night and make sure they are planted where they have good air circulation.

Bare root roses are simple to prepare for planting. As soon as you bring them home, you should trim off any dead roots or stems. Then put them in a bucket of water for several hours to revive the roots. If you are not going to plant them in their permanent place, plant them temporarily in another part of the garden until their plot is ready. The roots should not be allowed to dry out.

The wax coating on the root tips is put on by the growers – don’t worry about it – it will wear off once you plant the rose.

Be sure to consider the size and growth habit of roses before you buy them. Many varieties can get quite large. My Maggie roses, for example, are significantly taller than I expected them to be at full maturity. But I bought them for their amazing scent and now there are just more roses to scent the air. Personally, I only buy very fragrant roses – it is the feature I love most about roses. Other traits to fall in love with include size, shape, growth habit color…the list goes on and on.

There are many different types of roses – floribunda, grandiflora, climber, shrub and landscape, hybrid tea and miniature.

Floribunda
Developed in the last century, Floribundas are bushy shrubs with showy blossoms and they set clusters of blooms (from three to as many as 15) on a stem.

Hybrid Tea
These are the most popular roses – tall, long-stemmed beauties perfect for cutting. They usually have only one flower to a stem. They are often focal points in landscape design and many varieties are fragrant.

Grandiflora
A cross between a floribunda and a hybrid tea, grandifloras are tall and regal and they bloom over and over throughout the season. The have clusters like hybrid teas.

Shrub & Landscape
Shrub roses have a natural disease resistance, grow in a wide variety of climates and require less care and pruning thanks to their compact growth habit. They flower prolifically over a long period of time.

Climber
Climbing roses produce long, arching canes with flowers all along the cane. They can be trained to grow up a fence, trellis or any other kind of structure.

Antique Roses
Antique roses are generally considered roses that were introduced before 1867 and the development of the first modern hybrid tea roses. Antique rose rustlers and collectors consider most roses more than 75 years old to be antique – with the shared characteristics of beautiful fragrance, ease of cultivation and disease resistant. Many of these roses were gleaned from old cemeteries or abandoned estates where they thrived with little or no care for years and years. Hybrid tea roses often lack the fragrance of antique roses, but on the other hand modern hybrid tea roses come in a vast array of stunning colors, while antique colors are more subtle.

How to plant bare root roses

Bare root roses are made up of the rootstock and the flowering canes. Where those two parts join is called the graft union, and should be planted just above ground level here in Central Texas. Dig the hole just deep enough so the graft union will be at the correct level and wide enough to let the roots extend without bending. Partially refill the hole with the soil you removed and make an inverted cone of soil over which to spread the roots. Holding the rose at the right height, fill the hole with soil. When it’s almost full, water all around to allow the soil to settle. Then finish filling the hole, making a well around the rose and water again. Be sure to apply a nice layer of mulch all around the rose, but keep it a few inches away from the canes so that you don’t cover up the graft union.

Selecting the right rose will require a little research since there are so many from which to choose. Be sure you know your size requirements or limitations, how much time you have for pruning and care, and what characteristics are most important to you in a rose.

Local independent nurseries can help you select roses that are disease resistant, drought tolerant and prolific bloomers. There are many heirloom roses and “Earth Kind” varieties (tested by A&M and proven to be tough enough to thrive in our Central Texas weather and soil conditions). Big box stores will have large shipments of bare root roses, too, but you’ll have to do your research and be careful to ensure the varieties they offer are appropriate for our climate.

Diana Kirby is a Landscape Designer and Garden Coach. She writes a garden blog at https://www.dianasdesignsaustin.com and can be reached at http:/www.dianasdesignsaustin.com.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:15-06:00January 21st, 2013|Articles|1 Comment

Sweet dreams of seeds to come from gardening catalogs…

We’re having our long winter’s nap here in Central Texas. I can’t really call it cold here, but it is time for a break in the garden.

And that means…seed catalogs.

They’ve started arriving and I’m making a pile for a cold night, curled up in my chair with a cup of hot tea and a roaring fire.

Never mind that I already have a collection of seed packets large enough to start my own seed catalog, there are new varieties out there that are calling my name. Seeds that are faster to germinate, bolt slower, have sweeter fruit, are more drought tolerant, produce more vegetables, flowers, you name it.

If it’s new, a gardener’s gotta have it, right?

Right now, broccoli, cabbage, kale, strawberries, chard, lettuce, leeks, parsley, cilantro, and onions are taking up most of the veggie garden space. But I’ve always got room for bulbs and cutting flowers (I think!).

Room or not, there are seeds in my future — are there seeds in your future?

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:15-06:00January 7th, 2013|Blog, cutting garden, seed catalogs, seeds, Sharing Nature's Garden, winter, winter vegetables|0 Comments

Garden resolutions 2013

I’ve long given up New Year’s Resolutions — but I do make some to-do lists. If I call them to-do lists, I seem to get around to them better!

This year I have a long garden to-do list. Perhaps committing it to eternal, world-wide view on my blog will help me check things off my list!

So, here goes:

1. Plant more trees outside the back fence in front of scrubby cedars. I love this smoke tree and planted one for a client this fall, wishing all the while that I had one to enjoy.

2. Have an a corner arbor build to showcase my tangerine cross vine and my wisteria. The cross vine winds along the fence and then climbs 20 feet up into a tree where I can’t see it. The wisteria spends most of its time hanging out on the opposite side of the fence — hiding from me — to be closer to the morning sun. A tall arbor would give them both plenty of room to keep growing — growing where I can enjoy them!

3. Replace the pride of Barbados that I lost over the last two winters. I love the explosion of color these trees bring in the late summer and I’ve missed mine. I vow to find some great hot spots for them to thrive.

4. I will buy more bigger starter plants this year. I’ve bemoaned the fact that my newer plants struggled to come back from harsh winters and scalding summers. Some years they even came back smaller than when I planted them! When I can, I want to invest in more established plants.

5. With too much on my plate, blogging and scrapbooking have waited in the wings too much this year. I love those creative outlets and want to give myself more opportunities for gathering inspiration from them.

6. Divide, divide, divide. I have irises, bi-color irises and lilies that really need dividing. In fact, they needed dividing this fall. This will be the year of dividing, replanting and sharing.

7. Prune, prune, prune. My cottage garden, cutting garden and hot southwest garden all suffered from overgrown-itis this year. Yes, the plants were all beautiful, but I know that pruned properly they would have complemented each other and showcased their individual characteristics better.

8. This year I will plant my bulbs before January … oh, wait … that means today! Yikes – better go find them and get to planting!

9. I WILL make homemade pesto from my basil “trees” this year. I say that every year when my basil gets out of hand — I mean stunning — but this year I really mean it.

10. And last, well, there never is a last, but I plan to dig up most of this and rebuild the dry creek with moss rock and other, larger stones. The recycled glass will come out and I will raise up the bed to help plants thrive there. With very little soil and a berm to avoid soil on the fence, the plants don’t get enough water and the soil just isn’t deep enough. The solution — protect the fence from rotting by putting hardy board against it and rock in the front to add good soil.

That’s the list — for now. As with everything in gardening – it’s organic and will change a thousand times over the next year. But it’s a good start and I feel good about making decisions to tackle some of my current and perpetual problems.

Guess we’ll see where I end up this time next year.

What’s on your garden resolution list for 2013?

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:15-06:00December 30th, 2012|2013, basil, Blog, blogging, bulbs, cross vine, dividing, dry creek, pesto, planning, Pride of Barbados, projects, pruning, resolutions, scrapbooking, Sharing Nature's Garden, smoke tree, to do, trees, wisteria|0 Comments

November Tip: Sharp ideas from Tucson’s arid climate

Extended droughts and excessive heat seem to be becoming the norm in Central Texas and many other parts of the country. So gardeners are doing what gardeners do – trying to second-guess the weather conditions to achieve gardening success. I recently traveled to Tucson, where I was eager to learn more about their approach in a hotter climate – their gardening techniques and the plants they use.

By Diana C. Kirby|2012-11-28T18:01:43-06:00November 24th, 2012|Tips|0 Comments

Sharp ideas from Tucson’s arid climate

Extended droughts and excessive heat seem to be becoming the norm in Central Texas and many other parts of the country. This June, more than 170 all-time U.S. heat records were either tied or broken. Cracked earth and wildfires threatened lives and livestock across the nation.

The experts don’t all agree on the causes and the debate rages on about greenhouse gasses and global warming.

Whether these recent weather patterns are a natural and temporary period of heating like the dustbowl, or part of a larger, long-term climate change, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to garden around these parts.

So gardeners are doing what gardeners do – trying to second-guess the weather conditions to achieve gardening success.

I recently traveled to Tucson, where I was eager to learn more about their approach in a hotter climate – their gardening techniques and the plants they use. While Tucson is a desert and extremely arid, there are some similarities to our most recent climate changes.

Against the backdrop of the rugged Santa Catalina Mountains, tough, structural plants dot the landscape of the Sonoran Desert.

Cacti, yuccas, hardy woody perennials and trees thrive in the desert. Lawns are a true rarity – even our resort had only a small token strip at the front entrance. The rest of the property was threaded with crushed granite, mulched paths, boulders and native, drought-tolerant plants.

Only the toughest plants survive there, where the temperatures soar into the 100s throughout most of the summer, yet also dip below freezing in winter. They also have a monsoon season, between June and September, when they can get huge amounts of rainfall in very short periods of time.

The soil in the desert is mostly sand or clay or caliche and is alkaline, much like most of Central Texas. Caliche can be just below the soil and retard plant growth. Even worse, caliche can slow drainage to the point that plant roots suffocate and die.

Like Austin and the surrounding area, fall is an excellent planting time in Tucson because the warm soil and moderate temperatures help roots grow to get plants established after the excessive summer heat.

Most of the shrubs and trees we saw throughout the area had very small leaves – a natural survival characteristic which helps reduce plant water loss in heat and drought. Many of the desert plants also have very long taproots, instead of shallow, horizontal surface roots, allowing them to get as much water as possible from deep in the soil. Others have a thick, waxy layer on their leaves to protect them from the heat and sun. And succulents store water in their stems or leaves.

They grow many of our tried and true favorites like lantanas, salvia, agaves, yuccas, acacias, desert willows, daleas, and gopher plants, to name just a few. hey also grow an entire palette of cacti and agaves that we don’t normally find here. Some might provide new interest and structure for our increasingly warmer gardens. We may or may not be able grow some of them here because our climate isn’t as arid, but I’ll be researching more plant varieties as I’m adapting my garden.

With approximately 2,500 different species of cacti, and about 400 different kinds of aloes, there are plenty from which to choose.

My favorite plant towering in the desert was the saguaro cactus, Carnegiea gigantea.

This is one we really can’t grow here — the saguaro only grows in the Sonoran Desert, and it doesn’t do that very fast. Saguaros only grow between 1 to 1-1/2 inches in their first 8 years, according to information published by the Saguaro National Park.

Saguaro can be as old as 75 years old before they grow their first branch. In drier areas, it can take up to 100 years to grow a branch. They begin to bloom at about 35 and can live to be 175 to 200 years old. They can get 50 feet tall and weigh as much as 6 tons.

During a heavy rain, a saguaro absorbs as much water as it can. To accommodate the large amount of water, saguaro’s pleats expand like an accordion. Conversely, when the desert is dry, the saguaro uses its stored water and the pleats contract.

Gardening in a changing climate is a challenge. Our success as gardeners will depend not only on the adaptability of the plants we use, but also on our own adaptability as we consider a different aesthetic in this new climate.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:15-06:00November 24th, 2012|Articles|0 Comments

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