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I was so hoping for some rain yesterday or today, but it was not meant to be at our house. Makes me kick myself for all my compaining about the rain earlier in the summer. Things are getting kind of dry and I’ve had to resort to watering since I have tender new plants that need a drink.

The Fall plant sale at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center was delightful last week. I bought several things, as much as I could carry since I foolishly forgot my wagon. (and my trunk was also full of plastic pots to donate, anyway.)

My favorite find was a gallon-sized Maximillian sunflower – they are the tall, sturdy stalks with multiple sunflower blooms climbing up them that we’re seeing on the side of the road everywhere right now. There were several gigantic ones at the Center and I just had to have one of my own.

That’s what these 3 sneaky little toads were, making a lovely, dirty and damp home in the slightly open bag of potting soil in my garage. I hauled it out yesterday to plant my new agave and thank goodness I LOOKED in it first, because there was a whole family of 4 toads burrowed down in the soil! At first I could only see their eyes. So, I had to shuffle the bag over to a shady flower bed and jiggle and cajole them out of there. Three adults and 1 baby. Even after I’d checked and double-checked the bag, I was a little leery about sticking my hands down in there — unsure of “who” I might find! They all borrowed down in the mulch together, hiding under some leaves for a while. I hope they found a new home to their liking! The lesson here is clip your bags shut in the garage!

And, sadly, a doe and buck came through our yard last night, knocking over a few pots not yet planted but placed, and I assume they are the ones who also knocked over the bucket with the frog eggs, so we won’t be watching those tadpoles hatch.

Don’t you LOVE this weather? Fall has finally (almost) arrive here in Austin, Texas. It was upper 80s today, but at night it’s been in the mid 60s and just delightful. Makes me want to garden and clean and nest. (Which is a good thing since we’re having a garage sale (ugh) in 8 days.

I’m ecstatic about the long-awaited arrival of these blue, blue morning glories. Months ago, when I planted the Mexican Flame Vine and the fucsia morning glories, I was so excited about putting these bright blue beauties in the ground. They were seeds, though, and the others were gallon plants, so I’ve had to be extremely patient. I even doubted myself for a while, thinking perhaps I’d been mistaken and actually plants pink ones or something!

Meet my newest addition! I was walking my dogs yesterday and stopped to talk gardening, admiring some whale’s tongue agaves, and came home with this gift. Those really are the best kind of plants, aren’t they? Those that are shared. I’m planning a new bed out back — some agaves and wildflowers in the natural area just beyond our wrought iron fence.
But before we can make a “natural” space, I have to take out the natural things that are already there! It’s just weeds and nasty grass right now, I just need to clear it so seeds can reach the ground.

I guess these are my stepchildren this week. I’ve been so focused on the new bed in the front yard that I’ve hardly set foot out back. My esperanza and variegated ginger are so unbelievably happy with this extended warm weather. I can’t imagine that they could get any bigger!
My shade bed gets just enough dappled light to keep growing and blooming. Some day I’d like to plant a Japanese red maple as an understory tree when the oaks grow a little more.
I left a little peat pot with a cypress vine seedling from my Dad sitting next to my tomato plant a few months ago and now these two red beauties are coexisting nicely while climbing up my tomato cage.

BTW, I LOVE these square, folding tomato cages from Gardener’s Supply. All my family members that garden got them for gifts this year! They are sturdy and tall and can support these outrageously overgrown tomato plants.
And we’re about to have a nice crop of big beefy tomatoes. I’m going to leave them on the vine for one more day — I’m afraid the birds or bugs will get them — so I will pick them a little early tomorrow. They’ll be mostly-vine-ripened!

It’s done! The plants are in the “BIG BED” and I gave them a little food just before we got a delightful scant inch of rain yesterday afternoon. I took it to mean that Mother Nature was pleased. (My rationalizing skills are, afterall, exceptional~!) Everyone seems happy — I still need some more hostas around the corner in the shady area, but these are small places to fill with a few special little plants.

And, can you believe it, while I was getting this done I was hit upside the head with another idea and a plan for doing some work outside our back wrought iron fence. It’s wild back there – completely natural – but I’ve always wanted some nice agaves, so this week I’ll start pondering that! I moved four beautiful bi-color iris to just outside the fence because I knew they (unlike the other shrubs that weren’t diseased) would survive a transplanting nicely with just a little nurturing. But now they need friends!

And I got another idea while I was garden-blog surfing last night – posting my to-do list! How’s that for accountability?!! So, look for that soon.

Don’t you just love it when it hits you, and you have an epiphany? I had a delightful stroll through Barton Springs Nursery this afternoon, looking for a few more plants for the “Big Bed”. I wanted to put a Texas Sotol on the left side, but was afraid I didn’t have the space for it. I bought it anyway. I am the queen of squeezing too much into a bed (not a good thing). Then as I was putting the Blackfoot daisies, Wedelia and the Sotol into my trunk, I realized that the Sotol is the perfect solution for a center focal point in front of the window box. I was looking for something lower growing, but because the Sotol is so fine, it won’t obstruct the view and will make a nice specimen plant for the middle where I still had a hole. Blackfoot daisies in front of it, and voila! Ha. I get so smug when I figure something out BEFORE I put it into the wrong spot!!!

(However, I am much LESS smug about the fact that I can’t figure out how to rotate this photo, so for now, you’ll just have to turn your heads because I’m rushing out the door!!!)