growLively

Chinese Garden in Portland, Oregon.

Just thought I'd post this shot of the Chinese Garden in Portland, Oregon. If you're traveling this Memorial Day weekend and you happen to be in Portland, be sure to stop by this garden. It's lovely and you can also enjoy their tea house. Gorgeous!

Have you harvested your garlic?

Texans..it's about that time to harvest your garlic, if you haven't done so already. Click HERE to read more about garlic!

Whirling Butterflies...

Looking for a super hardy drought tolerant Texas native that is also beautiful and blooms FOREVER?? Ok, maybe not forever, but let's say April through fall. That's a pretty long time. Plus, it attracts butterflies. If that sounds up your alley, then Gaura lindheimeri needs to be on your garden shopping list. 'Whirling Butterflies' is a favorite white-flowered varieties, but it also comes in pink...'Ballerina Rose'...lovely!

Saving Arugula and Dill Seeds...

Were you a smart gardener this spring? Did you let some of your cool season herbs and veggies to flower (which is always lovely) so you could collect seed? If so, then you'd have been collecting seed over the last few weeks. Arugula and Dill are two species that are particularly giving with their seed (most of my dill plants are actually volunteers from last year) and nows the time to collect seed from both.

Arugula seed. I've been harvesting this past week.

Dill seedheads...so pretty! I'll be harvesting seeds today.

Both Arugula and Dill are two edibles that make fantastic ornamentals, so it just makes sense to let them go to flower and then seed in your garden. Now, this only works with open-pollinated varieties, not hybid cultivars. For example, 'Celebrity' tomatoes are an F1 hybrid...the seed you save from that plant won't come true to type (you'll get seedlings with a lot of different variants that express characteristics of the original parent plants). But with 'Green Zebra' tomato, an open-pollinated heirloom, you can save the seed and get another generation of 'Green Zebra' tomatoes. So for plain old Arugula and Dill, you can save the seed.

Old 35mm film containers with the lids make great storage for seeds. Or use any container that will keep your seeds completely dry. Make sure to label the container with the plant and date. Some folks keep them in the fridge to preserve viability. I'll be starting these Arugula and Dill seeds outdoors in September for the cool season!

New Dallas Watering Restrictions

For those of you living in the City of Dallas, new permanent watering restrictions have gone into effect as of April 23rd, 2012.

But don't worry...you can still get all your gardening on! The new ordinance allows for you to fulfill all your typical watering needs for established landscapes and new plantings. The twice per week restriction only applies to automated sprinkler systems or above ground sprinklers. You may run these sprinklers twice per week on your assigned days (addresses ending in even numbers can water Thursday and Sunday, addresses ending in odd numbers may water on Wednesdays and Saturdays.) You should not run your sprinkler systems between10am-6pm. A deep watering once per week, or twice per week in the heat of the summer, is all you need to properly care for established lawns, trees and foundation plantings.

The restrictions on additional hand watering, soaker hoses and drip irrigation that were in place under the previous Stage 1 ordinance have been lifted under the new ordinance! You may now provide any needed supplemental watering via hand watering (hose end, watering can, bucket, rain barrels, etc.), soaker hoses, drip irrigation, TreeGator bags, on any day of the week.  That means you'll have no problem establishing and maintaining your new plantings of trees, foundation plantings, vegetable gardens, containers; all of which are crucial to our urban environment.

Note: if you are using rainwater, well water or grey water (non-potable water) you are not required to follow any restrictions or watering schedule. Great news!

 

Easter Gardening Radio Chat...Rabbits, Seeds and more!

Happy Monday morning to you. So I stopped by CBS Radio/103.7 Lite FM to chat with Paige Mccoy Smith from Channel 8 (who also has her own online radio show with her best friend). They wanted to chat about the spring garden and rabbits...and such. I think I start at the 11 minute mark. Listen in for some Monday morning entertainment!

 

You can also check out their web page and Paige's blog

 

A few of my spring bloomers...

Just a few of the blooming beauties in my garden as of last week. This front garden is a big work in progress, so more photos to come. I hit the garden early this morning planted a bunch of hardy perennials, native salvias, roses and tomatoes. Always good gardening policy to plant before a rain so you don't have to water!  I'll post some photos of the new arrivals tomorrow.

Ah spring...

'Bonfire' Peach blooms

'Plentifall' Pansy

A bounty of mixed lettuce in one of my veggie boxes

Orange Iceland Poppies

Citrus Mix Tulips just starting to bloom

Scabiosa 'Butterfly Blue'

White Iceland Poppy

 

Gardening Tool Envy...

Some girls have a closet full of shoes. Some girls, like me, have a garden full of plants and a shed full of tools. Shoes shmoos. Sometimes a girl just has to buy herself a nice set of fancy hand-forged iron and wood garden tools...

These beauties are from a line called Iron & Wood Garden Tools from Fisher Blacksmithing in Montana. They have a few other nifty tools as well.

Drool...Now, let's see if I can bring myself to actually get them dirty...lol!

All the grass is gone...

Ok most of it.

So here are some photos of my freshly made beds on the front of the house. They pretty much eliminated all but a bit of lawn up front. I have a few drought tolerant foundation shrubs planted in them to get started, but will be filling them in with all sorts of pretties over the spring.

The beds on the front of the house face North West...it's a tough exposure. Plants against the house get shaded a good part of the day, then get blasted with the hotest of afternoon sun in the summer. For foundation plantings, I went with a Southern Wax Myrtle, Juniper 'Wintergreen' for some height, Texas Sage 'Desperado', Loropetalum 'Ever Red', Nandina 'Obsession', Abelia 'Kaleidoscope'...there is also a grey leaf Cotoneaster on the corner for some accent. In the outer part of the bed I planted a Maple 'Red Sunset' to eventually provide some shade on the corner of the house. These are not huge trees, but should round out at about 40-50', 30' wide. So I planted the wax myrtle, loropetallums and abelias because while they can handle that hot sun,they can also do well in the shade that will eventually be cast on them by the tree. Now, the Texas sage may eventually have to go if it gets to shady, but that's not going to happen for quite a while. On the outer part of the bed I planted a dwarf Peach 'Bonfire'..this is a cool purple leafed peach that only grows to 6'-8', but produces normal sized peaches. There is also a Leucophyllum langmaniae 'Rio Bravo' thrown in there along with an Agave Americana and a Barberry 'Orange Rocket'. There is also an evergreen Wisteria over on the corner of the fence with some  transplanted Iris. I will add a number of different sun perennials and bulbs to this bed. I may even add some dwarf columnar apple trees againt the house.

On the East side of the house I basically mimiced the same foundation plantings, with a few spacing adjustments. This side is a bit more difficult because the part against the house and in the corner plants will receive even more shade..but still get blasted with the hot afternoon summer sun. It's not an idea exposure for sure (not to mention I have that giant concrete driveway that is a conduit for massive amounts of heat..ick. I have dreams of jack hammering it ALL up...lol). There is a Sweet Olive hiding around the corner and a Holly 'Nellie R. Stevens' anchoring down the far corner. I also planted a dwarf Apple tree 'Empire' over in the sunnier part. I plan on tucking in some Hellebores and wood fern in the shadier corner and adding some 'Spring Bouquet' Viburnum and a 'Mutabilis' roses to the far end. Plus any number of sun perennials and bulbs.

We used the leftover stone to edge the front of the crazy driveway bed...

All in all, I have lots of space to garden up front and I'm super excited..it looks pretty empty right now, but all of these shrubs I l planted will fill in to capture a lot of the corners. It will be crazy looking in no time! Check back for more plantings soon...

 

Spring Fever...new beds and seed potatoes!

I usually try to do my bigger landscaping projects and planting during winter. Here in the DFW area, our soils don't freeze so we can plant all year long. It's much easier for larger trees and shrubs to get established fall through winter, which helps get them through our hot, dry summers a bit more easily.

So I finally broke ground on one new foundation bed today...

I'll post more pics along the way. We'll be planting a tree and a few shrubs, but not filling in the entire bed today. I like to get a few foundation shrubs in and then play with smaller perennials and color afterwards...it's part of the gardening fun!

What else am I planting today? SEED POTATOES! Yes, it is that time folks. You have February to get your potatoes, asparagus, rhubarb and horseradish in the ground. Plus, you can plant tons of broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, lettuces and more right now. (you can get this stuff at North Haven Gardens in Dallas)

Alright...I've got to go clean the chicken coop...be back later with more photos!