cool-season Archives | Diana's Designs Austin

Plants that shine in the winter garden…

After a few days and nights at 21 degrees, my Central Texas garden took a serious hit last month. But, we were due. Last year it didn’t freeze at all in my garden, so you can imagine how huge some of our perennials were by the end of 8 seasons of growth!

Our typical winter includes a few freezes, but the temperature dips to around freezing for a few hours and then climbs right back up during the day. Not so this year.

I’m leaving the last of the fall leaves in the beds to help protect the plants and provide habitat for bees, so you are going to see the good, the bad and the very ugly. It’s an all-exposed tour. Viewer discretion is advised — you may need to avert your eyes in some parts!

While the ferns and the bletilla striata are dormant, he dry creek pathway is lined with hellebores, a few sedges, a few cephalotaxus prostrata. Mostly out of view on the left are two leatherleaf mahonias.

The brilliant yellow berries on the mahonias add great color to the garden on gray winter days.

In drought years, the foliage of the hellebores disappears in the summer garden, and reappears in fall and through the spring. I have a collection of different varieties. Below is a winter photo of my favorite – ‘Phoebe,’ from several years ago when we had snow.

Isn’t that a gorgeous bloom?

Where the path diverges, a few more sedges and a standard Japanese aralia and a variegated Japanese aralia add a pop of green. The squid agave in the Artemis statue head was unfazed by the cold. Farther back, a small clump of cast iron plant draws the eye.

I’ve had this aralia for a long time. It’s been through drought and covered in ice in bad winters, but nothing seems to slow it down.

This fall I planted another aralia variety – a variegated one. I was a little concerned that it might be more tender than the other, but it has held up beautifully.

In the front bed, the one we jokingly call the hideous bed, natives and other well-adapted plants are hanging on. Catmint, skullcap, Mexican feather grass, a whale’s tongue agave, salvias, Mexican sabal palms and a Spanish dagger yucca are all going strong.

Across the driveway, more xeric plants are showing off, like the Jerusalem sage, a Texas sotol, a sago palm, and some salvia Greggii.

You’ll find Jerusalem sage in many parts of my garden. It’s unusual color makes an intriguing contrast — and its fuzzy leaves make it completely deer-resistant.

Another variegated fatsia Japonica is keeping a squid agave and a mountain Laurel company. Sadly, the dianella in the background looks like it’s toast. I’m hopping it was established enough to come back from the roots quickly, once spring arrives.

A bright edge yucca, several more hellebores and a few almost hidden heucherellas are peaking out of the carpet of leaves.

Bright edge definitely earns its name!

I added a few new compact shrubs to the front beds last year. These ‘Flirt’ nandinas make a beautiful middle-layer, evergreen addition and their added burgundy tips coordinate well with the larger loropetalum.

One of my favorite plants for winter/spring interest is Japanese quince. It’s sculptural and almost-bare branches are sporting a flush of gorgeous, salmony-pink blooms.

The butterflies are so thankful that at least something is blooming out there!

And no matter what the plants are doing in the garden, we can always count on at least a few cardinals on our many feeders in the wooded area.

While these aren’t the prettiest pictures of my garden, they allow me to see the true bones of the landscape, and evaluate the beds to determine what projects I’ll want to undertake in the spring.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:26:54-06:00January 24th, 2017|aralia, birds, Blog, bones, bright edge yucca, evergreen color, freeze, Hellebore, Japanese aralia, japanese quince, leatherleaf mahonia, Nandina, Sharing Nature's Garden|5 Comments

Prune now for second set of garden blooms

Prune-Now-Blooms

With this spring’s unprecedented (some might say relentless) rainfall, most garden perennials have flourished. Ample water followed by summer sun has ensured plentiful blooms in our gardens. But as the heat rises, many root-hardy, woody perennials are reaching the end of their bloom cycles.

Unlike cooler climates, we are fortunate to have two bloom periods between the beginning of spring and the end of fall. Because our fall weather is so temperate, we have plenty of time for another bloom cycle before the first frost.

When the scorching heat begins to abate in September, we begin to see cooler temperatures at night. This respite fosters renewed plant growth. Plants produce flowers as the precursor to seed production that begins the life cycle all over again. When we prune plants after they’ve finished their summer bloom cycle, we stimulate new growth and production of blooms.

The beginning of August is the perfect time to take your pruners in hand and give your perennials a good haircut. Unlike deadheading spent flower heads, which can be done all season long, perennials should be sheared — cut back all over – by one third to one half. Don’t worry if you cut off some existing blooms, a new flush of blooms can appear in as little as a few weeks.

After pruning, your salvia should look like this.

Not only will shearing help ensure a second bloom cycle; it will also help to keep the plants from becoming leggy.

Short-handled pruners or long-handled loppers are the best tools for shearing. Power hedge shearers are not as easily used on woody perennials – they are best used on large hedges. Manual pruners provide a clean cut and allow for more control. Be sure to sterilize your tools with rubbing alcohol between plants to prevent any possible spread of disease, and remove all plant clippings from around the plant.

Root-hardy woody perennials that can be sheared for a second bloom cycle include plants like lantana, salvia, esperanza, Turk’s cap, rock rose, Pride of Barbados and other perennials that die back to the ground during the winter, coming back from their roots in the spring.

Local Landscape Designer and Garden Coach Diana Kirby provides landscaping tips at http:/www.dianasdesignsaustin.com and writes a garden blog at https://www.dianasdesignsaustin.com

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:01-06:00July 25th, 2015|Articles|Comments Off

Add color via contrasting foliage

txaas_masthead

Contrasting Foliage

What do I see as I drive around town these days? Green. Not green-with-envy-green, but rather the everyone’s-garden-is-green, too, green. It’s a beautiful sight.

Recent rains have enriched our gardens and encouraged plants to bloom and to leaf out, drawing my eye to all the contrasting new foliage making a statement in the garden.

Most gardeners are drawn to blooms when planning their landscapes – bright, tubular blooms that attract hummingbirds, butterflies and bees, the proper formality of traditional roses, or the wispy ephemeral blooms of plants like Mexican bird of paradise or desert willow.

Neglected and left sitting on the sidelines, foliage is too often an afterthought in gardening, pushed aside by the drive for endless flowers.

But foliage – with its myriad contributions that enhance, brighten, and add movement and structure to the landscape – should play a starring role in designing a garden. It is the fundamental element that brings the design together.

When blooms fade in winter or in the death throes of a scorching summer, foliage maintains the unity in the garden – creating harmony in the landscape. And seasonal foliage color can transform a fall and winter garden when traditionally green leaves turn brilliant hues of gold and red.

Foliage adds its own color year-round as well. Endless hues of green – forest green, grass green, blue green, gray green, lime green, partner with black, purple and silvery leaves to make vibrant pallets.

Variegated and color-splattered leaves like Aztec grass, coleus and caladiums put on their own show.

From the brilliant burgundy of loropetalum or purple heart to golden Japanese maples to the delicate lime green of many ferns – the contrast of foliage in the garden adds interest and sophistication to the landscape. In shady beds, light colors and variegated foliage brighten dark areas with a pop of light.

Foliage with different or unusual textures also provides dimension to the garden. Beds with rows of shrubs with roughly the same leaf color, size and texture is one-dimensional and uninteresting. It all looks the same. Imagine such an area with contrasting foliage, some with glossy green leaves, some with fuzzy, sage-colored leaves and some variegated grasses. Each element allows the other to shine through and stand out. Add a special plant with very structural foliage and you now have a focal point.

The smooth, structural simplicity of a franzosini agaves provides a contrasting backdrop that enhances the display of the plant in front of it.

The shapes and textures of plant foliage also provide the blueprint for crafting a variety of garden styles.

Pairing a broad range of plant textures creates contrast. Coarse textures with large irregular leaves, thick veins, rough bark, medium textures with mid-size leaves, smoother shape and simple lines, and fine textures with small or thin, strappy leaves like grasses, wispy and lacy foliage can all make striking combinations.

To emulate a tropical garden style, for example, choose foliage with large, glossy leaves, contrasting lime, yellow and burgundy colors and very course, textured plants. Examples would include palms, gingers, cannas, sagos, esperanzas, and potato vine — plants we can grow here in Central Texas.

Conversely, a cottage garden typically includes smaller, more delicate leaves and wispy forms of foliage like lacy lavender, flowing Artemesia, delicate columbine and the fine tufts of dianthus.

Foliage also adds rhythm to the garden. Soft grasses and billowing foliage create the illusion of movement. They draw the eye into the landscape to see what lies beyond their beckoning leaves.

Plants with strong structural foliage beg to be focal points in the garden – providing interest, a place for the eye to rest, and definition in landscape. Agaves, acanthus and aralia all bring dynamic form to design.

I’m as fond of blooms as any gardener, but the next time you head to your local independent nursery, take stock of your shrubs, foundation plants and flowers and go find yourself some fabulous foliage to bring new life to your garden.

A Landscape Designer and Garden Coach, Diana Kirby provides landscaping tips at http:/www.dianasdesignsaustin.com and writes a garden blog at https://www.dianasdesignsaustin.com

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:14-06:00May 25th, 2013|Articles|0 Comments

Austin’s temperate climate yields year-round vegetables

It’s hard to believe that we can still plant a last round of winter vegetables right now.

But instead of protecting our vegetables from freezes like we would in a ‘normal’ winter, we might be shading them from the hot sun. While vegetables like chard, baby beets or newly sown carrots can be susceptible to a strong frost; lettuce and sweet peas can wilt or bolt with too much heat.

The unseasonably warm weather we’ve been having has confused both plants and people alike.

But then, that’s what gardening is all about, isn’t it?

Second-guessing Mother Nature.

For the next few weeks, (we assume that winter will eventually make another appearance) there is a window of planting time left for some more wonderful winter vegetables.

Now is the time to plant seeds and transplants of these vegetables:

Onion sets (the width of a pencil or smaller)
Shallots
Cabbage transplants
Cauliflower transplants
Turnips
Broccoli transplants
Swiss chard
Collard transplants
Beets
Spinach
Lettuce
Potatoes
Asparagus crowns
Kale transplants
Leek transplants
Radishes
Cool season English peas

In addition to late winter vegetables, now is also a good time to plant strawberries, bare-root fruit trees, berries and grapes. For more specific information on planting fruits and berries, check with your local independent nursery.

Now is also prime time to plant cool-season herbs like chives, cilantro, parsley, dill and fennel. Watch for cold weather, though, dill and fennel will need to be covered if it freezes.

To succeed with your vegetable planting there are different strategies for growing different kinds of seeds. Seed packets have specific information for planting – be sure to follow the directions for how deep and how far apart to plant the seeds. But there are some other planting and growing tips you might not find on the back of the envelope.

Lettuce and spinach seeds should be planted gently and should not be planted deeply. They need light to germinate, so sprinkle them and keep them misted daily until they sprout. Soak beans, peas and carrots overnight to help them get started. This helps speed up the growing process

On particularly warm days, consider setting up a little shade cloth to help keep your lettuce and greens from bolting. If you don’t have shade cloth, something as simple as an umbrella set on its side can help give them some cover from the warm afternoon sun. And be sure to keep the lettuce seeds moist during the approximately 10-day germination period.

English peas will need a trellis to climb. If planted now, peas should produce by early March.

With our clay and caliche soils, it’s best to loosen the soil to about a foot deep before planting carrot seeds. The seeds should only be planted about 1/8 to ¼ inch deep, but this will prevent you from harvesting stunted or deformed carrots because they couldn’t force their way down through the hard soil.

Beets produce seed clusters that contain several seeds rather than seeds that produce one plant. When the seedlings come up, thin them to one plant per group for the largest beets. You can also eat the micro greens that you thinned out.

Once any seedlings appear, you do have to thin them out. I know, they’ve come up, they’re alive, why not leave them all there to grow? It’s more to eat, right? Well, no. (It’s painful for me to thin, too. Live plants are, after all, live plants.) But, if you thin them out, you give the remaining seedlings room to grow more vigorously and you don’t crowd their roots or make them fight for water or nutrients.

For many plants, like lettuce, broccoli and cabbage, stagger your planting time by putting in a few plants each week for the next 3 weeks so your vegetables aren’t all ready to eat at once.

While we enjoyed a little rain to end 2011, it’s been dry again since the first of the year. Climatologists are continuing to forecast to warmer and drier than average weather into the summer, so don’t forget to water your vegetable garden regularly to keep tender new plants growing and strong.

Growing your own vegetables is fun and rewarding. There is something energizing about being outside in the sunshine, harvesting your vegetables and then enjoying a fresh, tasty dinner. And luckily, Central Texas gardeners can enjoy the pleasures of vegetable gardening year round.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:19-06:00January 2nd, 2012|Articles|0 Comments

cool-season

Plants that shine in the winter garden…

Prune now for second set of garden blooms

Add color via contrasting foliage

Austin’s temperate climate yields year-round vegetables

Escape in the garden