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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

Hill country garden charm in the heart of San Antonio…

The last stop on our visit to San Antonio gardens was another xeric garden, filled with drought-tolerant plants, both soft and sculptural. You can come along on the first two gardens of tour with me to see Melody’s and Heather’s gardens here.

Then we toured the garden of Shirley, who blogs at Rock, Oak, Deer. I ‘d seen Shirley’s garden through her camera lens many times, yet when we arrived, I was surprised to find that she wasn’t gardening in the country, but in a suburban neighborhood. Her style and plant choices created an oasis that made the rest of the world seem far away.

Well-placed plants serve to let the grasses and yuccas and perennials all shine.

Shirley uses repetition in her garden to create a dramatic effect.

Definition draws the eye through the space.

In the back yard, the focus is on perennials and grasses. Her rustic shed with its cedar posts and porch make you feel like you’ve stepped back in time. The arbor on the right is the entry for a deer-proof fence, protecting delicate plants and vegetables from the curious and hungry deer.

Leading to the shed, this circle garden is filled to the brim with flowing perennials and grasses.

Her unique rock garden design is home to a lovely collection of yuccas, cacti and agaves.

Rustic art and pots are scattered about to add interest throughout the garden.

The river rock path guides you around the plant-filled stock tank and circle garden to the shed.

Garden art on a rustic table is tucked away in the shade.

Whimsical elements make true garden art from a simple grapevine.

A collection of sweet somethings brighten up the front of the shed.

Because deer are frequent guests to the back yard, extra protection for new or special plants is a must. This rough cedar fence fits right into the landscape.

Up on the the large, shady deck, succulent planters adorn the windowsills.

All around the deck, pots and paraphernalia bring color to the shady spots.

Even the outdoor fireplace boasts a collection of perky little pots.

Since we’ve toured Austin gardens often with Shirley, it was a special treat to wander through her garden with her. The entire garden was intentional and peaceful. She’s clearly mastered the art of gardening with the rocks, oaks and deer that she writes about. Special thanks to Shirley and her husband for hosting us in your garden.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:04-06:00October 26th, 2014|Agave, arbor, barrel cactus, Blog, cacti, deer, garden art, garden decor, grasses, paths, pots, Sharing Nature's Garden, succulents, xeric, yucca|0 Comments

Another beautiful San Antonio garden to share…

The second stop on our recent visit to San Antonio was Heather’s garden from Xeric style. Her style is certainly xeric, yet with many soft grasses, draping perennials and ground cover, it has a delicate feel. You can see my post about the first garden here.

Purple fountain grass frames a collection of other grasses and yuccas.

The sun was blazing hot that day, so taking photos was a real challenge. These yuccas were enveloped in a blanket of pretty purple trailing lantana, but it’s hard to see that here.

In this his view of the front of the house you can see that her landscape is well matched to her contemporary style house.

The pots scattered around were also full of drought tolerant native and adapted plants like this cactus, grass and silver ponyfoot.

Another special touch greets visitors at the front door. The sleek orange planter echoes the color of the front door.

This beautiful grass and its inflorescence shine against a backdrop of cacti paddles.

Retro/modern chairs next to the orange door and planted on the front porch complete the look as you enter the house.

Another beautiful agave, a grey weberi, I think, softened by a fuchsia salvia. Two plants that can really handle the heat.

In the shade of the back yard, we were treated to a show by her chickens, who were intrigued by the visitors to the garden.

Also nestled under the tree – a wonderful hammock for lazing about and pondering garden projects.

I was taken with this bed that included drought tolerant plants like the bulbine, with a lovely cairn painstakingly placed in the middle.

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Don’t forget the whimsy. This bright seating area was decorated with several plants in unique pots — plastic tub trugs!

I always celebrate Dia de los Muertos since I worked once a week for a year in my company’s Mexico city office. I learned to understand and came to love this unique celebration of the lives of lost loved ones. Needless to say, these beautiful ceramic plates caught my eye.

And yet another special touch — cacti planted in a pipe suspended on the fence.

Okay, so you’ve seen these in gardens, right? These are made from bamboo given to Heather by her neighbor and she spray painted them orange, her theme color. How clever. Now if only I knew someone with extra bamboo!

I was taken with this simple, elegant pot in front of the garage. I don’t know which I liked more — the beautiful pot or the cascading firecracker fern.

And here’s our friend, Lori, of Gardener of Good and Evil, who has found the perfect spot from which to survey the garden.

Heather professes that she’s stingy with water and is always on the lookout for plants and methods that conserve our precious water. Her garden was the perfect example of the beauty of a truly xeric garden.

Thanks, Heather, for sharing your beautiful garden with us!

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:04-06:00October 24th, 2014|Agave, Blog, cairn, garden art, garden tour, garden tour 2014, grasses, pots, San Antonio, Sharing Nature's Garden, sun, xeric, yucca|0 Comments

Dramatic Danger Garden makes a point to welcome visitors from Portland Garden Bloggers Fling

The Portland Garden Bloggers Fling this summer delivered on every level. I love visiting gardens all around the country and getting to know so many of the garden bloggers that I follow online.

Learning about new plants from different zones is sometimes a double-edged sword. After falling love with them, I realize they are not appropriate for my garden, and I’m forced to walk away from them at local nurseries because they don’t make the survivability cut for my suitcase.

But not so in Danger Garden‘s amazing landscape. Filled with agaves and yuccas and cacti that will not only grow but thrive in my Central Texas garden, it was dangerous indeed. The danger – that I will come home inspired to search for many of the fascinating plants in her garden.

Garden bloggers prepare for the big tour – cameras at the ready!

Succulents like these like plenty of drainage — pea gravel and decomposed granite make excellent growing mediums for them.

We were welcomed to the garden with refreshing cold drinks and snacks. A blistering hot day (for Portland and an outdoor garden tour) seemed appropriate as we ooohed and aaahed over Danger Garden’s heat-loving plants.

With space at a premium in this garden, container vegetables lined the driveway.

Pavers and bricks and patio stones created unique design angles to lead visitors through the garden and provide contrast to neighboring plants.

Leaving no area empty, trendy and perky hanging planters were scattered throughout the garden.

A riot of color and form, many non-succulent plants provided a softer foil to the more dangerous elements in the garden.

A small square of grass provides a place for the eye to rest while feasting on all the delightful plant specimens that surround it.

Agaves, yuccas and … hostas? Yep – these water and shade-loving plants work side-by-side in this garden.

So many unique succulents to see.

Tucked in the back is a Zen-like covered patio area for relaxing.

These shiny metal planters give height and interest to the sea of succulents.

And pots — pots everywhere. Each and every one different.

With clean lines and a contemporary feel, the patio offers a peaceful respite from the sun.

No empty spaces, here, either…

A unique horizontal fence is flanked in the back corner of the garden by tall plants of every conceivable kind.

Even within a bed, containers showcase specimen plants.

Little pops of color make me smile.

This bed looks like a miniature forest of tiny succulents.

The biggest danger in this garden? Falling in love with the wonderful plants and the delightful design.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:06-06:00August 3rd, 2014|agaves, Blog, color, container gardening, containers, garden decor, hanging basket, planters, pots, pottery, Sharing Nature's Garden, succulents, yucca|0 Comments

Beautiful Austin gardens on Wildflower Center tour inspire with details and structure…

One of my annual Mother’s Day treats — the day before Mother’s Day — is to spend the day on the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s annual garden tour with my garden blogging friends.

This year’s tour included exceptional gardens that were previously featured during past tours. Since I had previously seen three of the gardens, it was a great opportunity to see how they had evolved over time.

Our first stop was an early invite to catch the morning sun in Tait Moring’s garden before the crowds arrived. Situated on a hilltop with an amazing canyon view, this garden is always a treat to visit. It includes classic elements and eclectic focal points — finely-honed view corridors and magnificent vistas. Several water features and a range of plants from xeric to native to tropical fill garden rooms with unique appeal.

This beautiful iron gate – which matches several others around the property, is the gateway to the beautiful view.

Strategically placed pottery and other objects serve as focal points around the garden.

Pots decorate patios, too.

I remembered the wonderful sculptural pruning of this pittosporum and after several more years of growth – it was even more beautiful than before.

More simple, understated pots with lush plants made a perfect match with the clean lines of the house.

Along the side of the house, these dramatic pots planted with yellow hesperaloe grab your attention.

In another vignette – this hardscaping elevates these pots with oversized agaves, both in height and in interest.

This ornate gate mirrors the other iron work on the property.

This wall was created with stones from Moring’s childhood rock collection and other memorabilia and art.

Pieces of glass are interspersed with the rocks in the wall, and a trio of pots adds more color to the display.

We couldn’t decide if this carving was Aztec or Southeast Asian in origin — but it was very cool.

And a field of native plants and wildflowers cascades down the hill.

Wonder what my tour mates are laughing about? I know!

This fence was definitely not meant to keep these beautiful blooms on one side of the fence or the other.

Pops of spring color.

I’m not sure this guy paid for a tour ticket!

This hammock, hidden down in the woods, called to my blogging buddy.

Intricate raised stone beds in the potager were filled with vegetables and flowers.

Artichokes on tour.

A small pocket of sun in a secret sitting area in the woods illuminates a blooming cactus.

After a long trek down the hillside and through the woods (no river), we found a beautiful Texas madrone tree. The Texas madrone is known for is its distinctive exfoliating bark. When the older layers come off, the new bark is smooth and can be white – like this one – or orange or even red. The madrone needs a xeric climate and very good drainage.

Another addition since our last visit – a beautifuldark-bottomed swimming pool. Subtle and simple, it fades into the backdrop of the garden.

A collection of tropical plants lines the stone wall and wood fence that serve as the backdrop for the pool.

This made me feel like I was in the Yucatan!

A delightful and fascinating garden, I left feeling peaceful and inspired.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:07-06:00May 13th, 2014|Austin bloggers, Austin gardens, bark, Blog, focal point, garden decor, garden tour 2014, pots, pruning, Sharing Nature's Garden, stone work, Tait Moring, trees, tropicals, Wildflower center tour, wrought iron|0 Comments

Time for garden container planting…

New soil, mulch and plants in last week’s post means it’s time to move on to the other things on my garden to-do list. At the top of the list? Pots.

Every year, I vow not to plant so many pots. The heat makes taking care of them unbelievably time consuming. But they add so much to our patio space.

So this year, I’ve thrown caution to the wind and actually gone out searching for more large pots to buy. Crazy, I know.

In the meantime, this is what my patio looks like — a war zone!

More pots!

Untersetzers. This is one of several words that I just think of in my native German. I don’t even know what you call them in English!

Online plant orders!

This is my favorite pot so far — a dracena, potato vine, diamond frost euphorbia in the background and a hot pink variegated bougainvillea.

This pot with only the amaryllis was given to me by a friend when she moved. I added the plumeria (stick on the right – just now putting on a leaf) and a succulent, potato vine and in the back a burgundy curly-leafed basil.

The two giant pots back by the pool have mystic spires, Mexican honeysuckle (not showing yet), homestead verbena, sun coleus and a lemon ball succulent.

Have you planted your pots yet?

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:39:25-05:00May 5th, 2014|Blog, container gardening, containers, dracena, planters, Potato vine, pots, potting, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

pots

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

Hill country garden charm in the heart of San Antonio…

Another beautiful San Antonio garden to share…

Dramatic Danger Garden makes a point to welcome visitors from Portland Garden Bloggers Fling

Beautiful Austin gardens on Wildflower Center tour inspire with details and structure…

Time for garden container planting…

Escape in the garden