mystery Archives | Diana's Designs Austin

Mystery wildflower

My neighbor has a beautiful field full of wildflowers — some that came to her with the property and some that she has lovingly sown over the last few years.

And out in the middle of the field is this one, tall plant.

I have no idea what it is, and a flip through my book of Texas wildflowers didn’t turn up anything that I thought fit quite right.

Do you know what it is?

It’s growing in rock and has little to no water since we are in a drought and the field has no irrigation of any sort.

She’d really like to know — can you help Maria name this plant?

On a side note:

My garden and my weeds are overgrowing and I’ve neglected my blogging for a while because my Mom’s been in the hospital twice in the last few weeks and I’ve been there with her. We got a good post-surgical prognosis today, so she’s going to be on the mend soon.

And I’ll be back in due time.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:45-06:00May 8th, 2009|Blog, mystery, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

Oh, just flog me…

Time to flog this blogger. You’d think I’d learn. But, no….

So I bought this beauty at Barton Springs Nursery on Friday when all the activity was going on in my gardens and I needed to add the filler plants too the new bed. The owner recommended this as a great plant for partial shade and said the deer leave hers alone so I scooped it right up.

And threw away the pot, and with it, the NAME!

Sigh.

So — anyone recognize this? It was mislabeled as a vine, and she said, that this wasn’t the vine, it’s the shrub of the same name. Whatever name that is….

Sigh!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:52-06:00September 28th, 2008|Blog, mystery, Sharing Nature's Garden|16 Comments

Beans, beans … you know the rest!

What a delight. I spent yesterday harvesting in the veggie garden. I got a giant bowl of green beans, collard greens, spinach and the last 3 radishes.

The green beans were delicious, as were the collards. Radishes and spinach will go in tonight’s salad.

We have many tomatoes – but they are still very green. It’s already getting hot here, so I’m worried about whether the blooms will continue to set very well. (I admit I bought some bloom set spray. I’m not sure if that works, but I REALLY want tomatoes!)

I found some more blooms on the strawberries, too, so we might have another small helping of those soon.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Vanillalotus at New Sprout for solving my mysteries from the last post. She tells me:

The lily is called a Jacobean Lily, or Aztec Lily. It’s latin name is Sprekelia formosissima. Here is a website with more information at Daves Garden.

The cool-looking moth is a giant/great leopard moth.

What a wonderful thing – to have you gardening friends as a resource for tips and troubles and to indentify those mysteries that pop up in our gardens periodically.

Thanks for all your ideas and help!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:54-06:00May 19th, 2008|Blog, green beans, lily, moth, mystery, Sharing Nature's Garden, vegetable garden|9 Comments

Mystery Challenge!

Ok, garden experts! I need help. This lily (I am assuming it is a lily of sorts) is stunningly beautiful. But I have no idea what it is. The entire stem is bright red, unlike the daylilies I know. Do you know what it might be?

I’ve done some google searches and come up empty. I’d love to have your ideas to search through. It lives in dappled shade, gets good water and the soil is probably mostly black clay so I think it’s pretty hearty in that sense.

I planted them at our previous house and loved them so much that I divided them and brought these with me. I’d love to have more, but that would require a name!

Any ideas?

Ok – mystery #2 of the day! I found this amazing moth in our outdoor kitchen, where he/she hung out all day long in this spot. Must have been cozy! It looks like something you’d draw when you were doodling. Any idea what it might be?
And these are not mysterious at all, just pretty! Had to share a shot of my morning glories in their full morning glory! Don’t they look happy?

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:45:14-05:00May 17th, 2008|Blog, lily, Morning Glory, moth, mystery, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

Bulbs, bulbs, bulbs…

Call me crazy! I have bulbs coming up, right on schedule, like they’re supposed to here in Austin, Texas. BUT, I also still have bulbs sitting in their bags because I was only able to get 1/2 of them in the ground when I was supposed to be planting them. [Here, that’s about Thanksgiving time]

So, I’m trying an experiment. If I don’t plant them, they won’t come up, so I have little to lose other than my time and effort. I put them in the ground this week. Daffodils, irises and allium. This will turn into a beautiful clump of daffodils next Spring — if I’m lucky! [I focus on the daffodils because the deer have left them alone] The irises and allium are a test. I’m assuming the scent of the allium might protect them — we’ll see.
How hideous is this? Know what it is?

We have a pomegranate tree in the front bed and I simply can’t get the fruit to ripen properly, or I’m not picking them properly. They seem to be very under-ripe and then, WHAM — they explode. This looks like a scary Halloween mask to me!

Mystery Plant Revealed!

I received lots of good guesses about this vine — but no correct answers. So, drumroll, please! Here it is….my fabulous, young WISTERIA, on the back fence, starting to take on some color and getting ready for beautiful spring blooms.

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:47:54-05:00February 10th, 2008|Blog, bulbs, mystery, Sharing Nature's Garden, trees, wisteria|5 Comments

mystery

Mystery wildflower

Oh, just flog me…

Beans, beans … you know the rest!

Mystery Challenge!

Bulbs, bulbs, bulbs…

Escape in the garden