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New dry creek project done and ready for rain!

The dry creek remodel is done and I can’t wait for it to rain so I can see how well it works.

I know that the very front of the dry creek already works because I washed all the dried dirt from the driveway puddle area into the creek bed and it just dropped down between the rocks like it’s supposed to, instead to swirling in the dirt and lapping back at me.

The moss rocks are gorgeous. (I know my crew thought I was crazy when I oohed and aahed over the great colors on them!) They’re set for the most part, but I will adjust them some more so that they look random. (I don’t really do random, so it will have to be a very carefully-arranged faux random.)

And, as always, one project begets another. During these two days, I:

created another bed which begs to be filled,
extended the path and opened up more area that needs to be planted,
removed rock from a bed that now needs more of the moss rock and Oklahoma to define it
put two new Oklahoma flagstones where old limestone steps were, so now I need a few more to make it look even nicer,
need to take all of the white/gray flat native stone that used to line the bed and move it to the back of the property to make a path to the shed so we don’t have to walk in the mud back there when it rains.

Then there are the plants. It’s time to move a few things, say good bye to a few things and go nursery trolling for some fabulous new additions to fill holes and begin new experiments.

This week’s lows in Austin range from 44 to 31 and next week’s lowest point only gets down to 39, so I will go ahead and start planting. We can most certainly have another freeze as far out as the next 4 weeks, but isn’t that what gardening is all about? Testing Mother Nature!

After the last two wonderfully warm days, I am eager to get into the garden – and glad to be done with digging and moving rock. Plants are much easier.

What tops your garden to-do list for this spring? Happy Gardening.

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:38:53-05:00February 22nd, 2015|Blog, drainage, dry creek, flagstone, hardscape, landscape project, moss rock, Oklahoma, path, projects, river rock, river rock bed, Sharing Nature's Garden, stepping stones, stone|0 Comments

Winter is perfect for spiffy new hardscaping to satisfy gardening urges

It’s almost planting season here in Central Texas, but to keep me from jumping the gun, I’m starting my winter hardscaping project. Winter is the perfect time to work on the bones of the garden — getting everything ready for the fun to come.

This was the path/dry creek when it was at its best with native stone that we collected from our property. But over the years, the rock has been kicked around, gotten buried with soil and mulch and the side rocks have moved out of place and gotten scraggly looking. So, yesterday my crew came here to start on this year’s main hardscape project.

They moved the existing flagstone and river rock and I outlined the new, curving shape.

Then they dug a deep trench and put in a French drain – perforated pipe with a sock on it to prevent soil from getting inside of it. A flood of rain water comes across our driveway from our neighbor’s house and we have two downspouts that empty onto the driveway. We (that would be the royal we) also buried the one downspout at the entrance of the creek. This will allow the water to rush on down the path and empty into the end of the path in the woods. This is where it normally puddles, because there isn’t much of a slope down the creek, it also backs up onto the edge of the driveway by about 4 feet by 4 feet, leaving a dirty, wet mess when it rains.

I also brought in moss rock to match the two most recent dry creek projects that we’ve updated the last two years. You can see those projects here and here. The big, beautiful rocks along the sides are moss rock – they have great markings and lots of character and color and, yes, some mossy stuff.

At the beginning of the path, the crew had to use a chipping hammer to get out some big rocks to create a large rock basin that will help absorb the leftover water when it’s a light rain or it stops flowing. Now it will be in the creek bed instead of in the dip on our driveway. (Don’t get me started on the architect/builder that created this problem by not adequately assessing the drainage issue!)

Today we’re putting in some more pipe, placing some medium-sized Oklahoma stone and the final 1-3″ river rock and flagstone stepping stones. I’m out digging and placing the decorative rocks, because they have to be just so to give it a more natural look.

So much for having the day off!

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:38:53-05:00February 21st, 2015|Blog, dry creek, flagstone, hardscape, moss rock, Oklahoma, path, river rock, rock, Sharing Nature's Garden, stepping stones, stone|0 Comments

Winter garden blooms – the hellebores are back with a flair…

Balancing precariously on the see-saw of spring weather in Central Texas (yesterday it was 77, today’s high will be 57), this season’s garden bloomers have to be tough.

Did someone say ‘hellbore?’ These prized beauties are the perfect antidote to the cold and windy weather blues.

This blazing beauty is called ‘stained glass.’

I found only one plant blooming last week. Today there are 3 in bloom and 3 more have new buds, eager to open.

This one is ‘winter’s wren.’

Aren’t they wonderful? Also known as Lenten Roses (though they are not related to roses), hellebores are frost-resistant and most are evergreen. In my garden, they sometimes disappear in the heat of summer, but always come back reliably when the real chill of fall arrives. They are known for their drought and neglect tolerance and their exceptionally long bloom period from late winter through spring.

I misidentified this as ‘winter’s wren’ last week. I just went through my plant notebook and now know that this one is ‘green gambler.’ (And then I just spent 30 minutes looking through the notebook and adding plants that I planted last year but didn’t record…rabbit hole!)

These are in a mostly shaded spot and I give them a periodic extra hand-watering with the hose. A few houses down, my neighbor’s are beautiful and she does no supplemental watering. They are fine in dry shade but they do like decent drainage.

It’s sometimes hard to see their downward-facing blooms, but they make me feel like a kid again in the garden. I find myself rushing out to check the plants for new buds and blooms, happily rewarded when I find a shy new flower hiding under the canopy of leaves.

If you’ve got an empty spot or two in your dry shade garden, try a few of these. Different varieties have different zones, so check closely, but they range from zones 4-9. Hellebores, a must-have for your winter/spring garden!

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:38:53-05:00February 12th, 2015|Blog, green gambler hellebore, Hellebore, hellebore stained glass, shade plants, Sharing Nature's Garden, spring bloomers, winter, winter 2014, winter's wren hellebore|0 Comments

Getting a head start on the garden tomatoes

Last year I started tomato seeds in the greenhouse only to have the little seedlings bite the dust — well, actually, the bugs bit them, in spite of little plastic cup collars and my best efforts to protect them.

So, no seeds on heat mats in the greenhouse this year. But, while shopping for a new birdbath fountain pump, I walked by some beautiful tomato plants and they jumped into my cart (funny how that happens).

I’ll keep them in the sunny, toasty warm greenhouse after repotting them into gallon or larger containers. They can hang out for a while, getting bigger and stronger, until the right time to put them into the garden. (Why do I feel like I’m cheating?!)

Then I’m hoping they will look like this…

And then this….

And finally, this….

I can’t wait for tomatoes with REAL flavor again. Are you dreaming of the spring vegetable garden yet?

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:02-06:00February 9th, 2015|Blog, greenhouse, Sharing Nature's Garden, spring vegetables, tomatoes|0 Comments

Signs of spring in the garden…

Like all gardeners, I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of spring. While the calendar won’t declare it spring for some time, here in Central Texas, the signs of spring abound with the recent above-average temperatures.

These aren’t new spring plants popping up, but I love the color in the winter garden.

If you look closely, you can see the buds forming on the Mexican plum tree.

The new bark is emerging on my lacebark elm tree. Beautiful bark is a wonderful sculptural element in the garden.

The bluebonnets are growing quickly now – getting ready to put on a real show in my crushed granite path.

My loropetalum has hundreds if not thousands of teeny tiny buds, waiting to turn into pink fringe flowers.

The hellebores are starting to bloom. I have to go out and lift them up to see these delicious drooping flowers. Even though I can’t see them easily when walking down the path, the lure of these mysterious blooms makes for a fun garden game of hide and seek.

This one’s in full bloom. It’s limey-green petals camouflage this flower even more than the others. Helleborus ‘green gambler,’ is a fast grower and usually has some burgundy spotting, veining, or picotee on each bloom. The picotee is the edge that is a different color than the flower’s main color.

These are very special little specimens — muscari golden fragrance. Unlike most muscari, these are not the tell-tale purple, but rather a soft yellow and they have a wonderful scent. They are very low to the ground – about 5 inches high – so I literally have to get down on the ground to get a whiff of them. But it’s worth it!

The primrose jasmine is about to burst forth beautiful yellow blooms. This one is about 5 feet tall, so it will be brilliant when it’s covered.

These little daffodils are looking good. Soon it will be time to blow away the blanket of leaves and let the flowers shine.

The deer have been checking things out in the almost-spring garden as well. It’s ok, maybe they pushed down my newly planted bulbs since I know I probably didn’t plant them deep enough. (I don’t really worry about that, though, since they seem to come up and perform regardless of my late and lazy planting!)

My cemetery passalong irises are already blooming. I believe these came from my garden blogger buddy, who blogs here about her garden, which is filled with many kinds of iris.

The loquat tree is sporting new foliage. I love this tree and the lime-colored new growth that contrasts with the glossy, established dark-green leaves.

And, one last bloom – I bought 3 lovely glass daffodils at the nursery last week and put them next to the emerging real ones. I wonder what the growing daffodils will think when they come up to find these imposters in their garden.

What’s coming up in your garden today?

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:02-06:00February 8th, 2015|Blog, bluebonnet, buds, bulbs, daffodils, garden art, green gambler hellebore, Hellebore, loropetalum, Muscari, Sharing Nature's Garden, spring, spring bloomers|0 Comments

Prep for spring garden with this winter to-do list…

Getting more organized rests somewhere in the middle of my lengthy list of New Year’s resolutions. It includes staying on top of my regular gardening chores and getting ahead of each gardening season before it’s upon me.

With spring around the corner, the first step is taking stock of the garden and setting some goals. This is when I put pencil to paper and get tough on my landscape, thinking about both tasks and major projects.

In addition to tackling major items, there are also many simple chores to be done. Here are a few of the things you can do now so you’re ready when it’s time to start planting.

Winter to-do list

Clean out your pots and containers. It’s important to start fresh when you pot up new plants. Old pottery can contain salt deposits or diseases borne by last season’s plants. Physically remove old dirt or debris with a scrub brush. If you can, submerge the pots in a solution of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water. If the pots are too big for that, pour the water all around them. Then be sure to rinse them well and dry them in the sun.

Take stock of your garden tools. Rusty, dirty, dull, or broken tools need to be prepared for the hard work you’ll demand of them when the weather warms up. First, scrub your tools with soapy water and dry them well. You can use steel wool or a wire brush to remove rust. Then smooth out old wooden handles with a little elbow grease and some sandpaper. Sharpen your clean equipment with a metal file, smoothing out nicks or jagged edges. Finally, apply a little lubricating oil to the metal blade and wooden handles and rub it in well so it isn’t slippery. And if your pruners have seen better days, consider buying a new pair. Nothing makes garden work easier than a shiny new pair of pruners.

Check your irrigation system.Whether you have a sprinkler system or you’ve set up your own drip hose system, give it a good inspection, looking for leaks, clogs and areas not receiving adequate coverage. Making sure everything is in good working order will save time and money later, preventing you from having to dig up dead or dying new plants in the spring.

Amend your soil. Does clay or limestone make digging impossible in your garden? Did the scorching summer heat turn the soil in your beds rock-hard? Use this time to amend the soil in your beds. A good soil blend, with some form of compost, granite sand and gypsum can help to lighten up our poor soil. There are many good independent local sources for soil – both in bulk and bagged – that work well in Central Texas.

Clean your birdhouses. In March, make sure your birdhouses are ready for their new inhabitants. If the house is vacant, open the roof or the back door to the house and empty out the nest. Wipe down the box with a bleach solution like that used for cleaning your pots. Then hang it back up with a welcome sign for a new brood of baby birds.

While winter is a slower season in the garden, it doesn’t last long here in Central Texas. The time for putting your feet up and perusing seed catalogs is quickly coming to an end.

Make sure you’re ready when the garden calls again. What’s on your to-do list?

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:38:54-05:00February 3rd, 2015|bird house, Blog, pots, prep, Sharing Nature's Garden, to do, tools, winter chores|0 Comments

Blog

New dry creek project done and ready for rain!

Winter is perfect for spiffy new hardscaping to satisfy gardening urges

Winter garden blooms – the hellebores are back with a flair…

Getting a head start on the garden tomatoes

Signs of spring in the garden…

Prep for spring garden with this winter to-do list…

Escape in the garden