Austin Garden Bloggers Take a Trip

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Meredith

What do you get when a bunch of Austin Garden Bloggers get together?

Beautiful plants to ogle
Introductions to species you’d never seen or heard of
Visits to nurseries and gardens you’d never been to
Lots of chatting with new friends you have so much in common with
Cameras. Need I say more?
Celebrations of colors, textures, garden design, hardscape, art, and all things nature
Stories of plants (identified by scientific name), trips, tours, kids, spouses, gardens, chicken coops, plant-swapping, buggy pests, and decaying dead urban wildlife at lunchtime (oops)
Cars filled to the brim with newly-purchased plants
Good times and good food and sometimes a little confusion

Yesterday many Austin Garden Bloggers gathered for a day trip to Madrone Nursery in San Marcos, San Antonio Botanical Garden, and Antique Rose Emporium.

Blogs represented were Digging, Sharing Nature’s Garden, Go Away, I’m Gardening!, In Bloom, Great Stems, Shovel-Ready Garden, Garden of E, Rock Rose, Gardener of Good and Evil, Round Rock Morning Glories, Some Like it Hot, and Zanthan Gardens. We were quite the eager plant-loving caravan!

Our first stop was Madrone Nursery, owned by Dan Hosage, Jr. A native plant specialist, he was both enthusiastic and energetic in sharing his love of plants. Many of us bought plants, and I know I’ll need to go back again soon with list in hand for others I’m interested in.

At the San Antonio Botanical Garden, we were greeted by towering century plant blooms.

The lime-colored leaves of Duranta “Gold Mound” provided a colorful contrast to the surrounding plants.

Note regarding many of these plant photos from SABot: I wrote down the names of as many plants as I could, and now I can’t seem to find the sheet of paper I had. Perhaps I left it in Pam’s car? If I can locate the paper, I’ll update this blog with more plant IDs.

Bird of Paradise

Bee in Datura

Black Beautyberry

Barbados Cherry, loaded with fruit

Pacific Chrysanthemums (the lovely white trim on these leaves inspired a few people to take this plant home from Antique Rose Emporium later in the day)

Papyrus

On display throughout the gardens were Dave Rogers’ Big Bugs statues. Apparently these were at the Wildflower in Austin a year or two ago, but as I had never seen them before, I decided to run around to get pictures of all of them. They included a praying mantis, a dragonfly, a line of ants, an assassin bug, a ladybug, a grasshopper, a damselfly, and a giant spider on a web. Hmmm, it’s hard to pick a favorite. It’s hard to resist the spider, though. Guess that makes me a fly.

Of course, there was other beautiful art all over, as well. This statue represented different things to different people: a star, a child, a seastar, a Thumbkin, a dancer, and more.

There were hundreds of Monarchs, especially around the pentas. I found it interesting that all the ones I studied were females. Where were the males?

Oddly, the Monarch species dominated most of the gardens. Occasionally I’d see another species, like this Ceraunus Blue (Hemiargus ceraunus).

This Bordered Patch butterfly (Chlosyne lacinia), along with a companion, enjoyed a treat of Gregg’s Mistflower nectar by the Auld House.

I fell in love with the Children’s Vegetable Garden. These organic plots are maintained by children, and as you can see, they are quite productive. I couldn’t help but admire the very creative scarecrows and other decorations throughout the mini-farm.

The Japanese Garden seemed a little sad because of its missing tranquil waters. The drought-caused water restrictions in San Antonio forced the shutting off of water features throughout the park.

I was wowed by the simple design but elaborate effect of the fence surrounding the Japanese garden.

In addition to special exotic areas of SABot, the gardens also had areas focused on different Texas regions, such as South Texas, Hill Country, and this scenic lake setting representative of the East Texas Pineywoods. The reflections on the water were occasionally disturbed by a falling maple leaf or a duck creating a “V” while swimming across the still water.

I am always fascinated by the protective spines found on cactus and various succulents.

Ocotillo

This Dr. Suess-like agave bloom is from a Butterfly Agave.

A close-up, and the plant is still delightful.

The Sensory Garden was an abundance of textures and scents. Here silver ponyfoot drapes off the sides of a raised garden.

In the same garden, it might be tempting to touch this bumpy plant, but a closer look shows that each bump ends in a tiny and very painful spine. I wondered whether it really should be in a Sensory Garden, then realized that it was just barely kept out of eager hands’ reach. I guess an attempt was made to correct the mistake, if it was one.

Off in the glass and cement pavilions of the conservancy, we were introduced to a vast collection of unusual plants from different growing regions across the world.

Karoo Cycad (Encephalartos lehmannii)

A photographer stops at nothing to get that perfect plant shot!

This Christmas plant looks similar to a Poinsettia, but it’s actually a bloom on a large tree.

A big black bee visits a Lucky Nut, or Yellow Oleander.

Life-Saver Plant (Huernia confusa) — it’s pretty obvious where this plant got its name!

Many of the windows of the glass pavilions had been replaced with boards. It turns out that some of these had been damaged by deliberate gunshots from nearby Sam Houston. I’m quite appalled and upset about this. American soldiers and officers should be role models, not thugs.

I had great interest in the Watersaver Lane, a series of houses showing a variety of approaches to yards. Tell me, would you choose the sparse, wildlife-unfriendly, and rather unimaginative traditional American yard? (The hint here is, “Please say no!”)How about a Cottage-Garden style, with reduced lawn and colorful flower beds?

Or a Wildscape Landscape, complete with curvy paths, reduced lawn, and plants selected for their value to birds, butterflies, and other wildlife?

Or do you prefer the style of a Spanish courtyard?

Two other styles were represented, a Manicured Xeriscape Lawn and a yard straight out of the Texas Hill Country. Certainly this look at yard styles and water-saving options gives one a lot to think about in terms of plant selection and design.

On the way back from San Antonio, we stopped at the Antique Rose Emporium near Selma. At first, I expected to be very much out of my element, as I don’t know a thing about roses. However, it’s hard not to take delight in the beauty and fragrance and variety of roses, and there were many native and Texas-adapted species as well, along with fun garden gifts.

This single white flower surrounded by pink buds was a bouquet all by itself.

A white climbing rose in the “Mannerly Climbers” section drapes out of its pot.

I was sorely tempted to go against my grain and choose a water-loving non-native Curly Willow to enjoy at home near my air-conditioner drain. But at the last moment, I resisted. I left with a native Passiflora and two kinds of wonderfully scented Pineapple Sage instead. If I ever have an appropriate bog, however, that Curly Willow might be mine for sheer fun!

A good time had by all. Can you tell that this was the last picture taken of people restless from standing too long for photos? There were a lot of cameras “in line.”

Time to go home. The cars that had room for plants were filled up completely, of course.

What a fulfilling, pleasant, happy day. Thanks, everyone!

The Bulla Wildscape

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Meredith

As a special treat on Halloween, other recent Habitat Steward graduates and I had the honor of visiting the award-winning and very beautiful wildlife habitat of Dale and Pat Bulla here in Austin.

I had heard a lot about their spectacular wildscape, so when our Habitat Steward group was given the opportunity to have a tour, you know I jumped at the chance!

Dale (left) and Pat (center) are also both Habitat Stewards with NWF, and preserving native Texas plant life is exceptionally important to them. They are leaders in conservation efforts in Austin and Texas, and they were a primary force in helping their neighborhood win Austin’s Community Wildlife Habitat challenge in 2008 with the highest number of certified wildlife habitats.

Pat and Dale have lived on their property since 1998, building their home on a rocky limestone slope overlooking the Balcones Canyonland Preserves. Their efforts to create a natural landscape since then have paid off — paths of natural materials such as mulch, rock, and cedar lead visitors through peaceful woods and past pocket seeps.

Many of the plants were placed there by the Bullas, but many more were delivered by birds and other creatures. The result is a wonderland of native Texas species.

Pat told me that the plants on their property are about 95% native, with the remaining being well adapted plants such as rosemary and winter-blooming germander.

It being the end of October, we were able to see many species just beginning their fall fruit or fall color stages.

As we toured the Bulla wildscape, Dale and Pat identified many of their favorite trees, shrubs, and perennials, sometimes sharing stories about certain plants. We tasted the leaves of a Toothache Tree (Zanthoxylum hirsutum), and after a couple of minutes I felt my gums tingle, as if they were going numb. I want one of these trees for the pure fun of it.

The Bullas are fortunate to have many rare or unusual plants, such as the Lindheimer’s Crown-Beard (Verbesina lindheimeri), a plant so rare and special that the Wildflower Center collected seeds from the Bulla plants and sent them to the Millennium Seed Bank in London. Other plants, not necessarily considered rare, can still quite difficult to find in nurseries.

The Bullas study the soil, light, and water conditions of their property in order to best place plants. With a combination of rocky slopes, natural seeps, sun, shade, woods, and open areas all on their property, it seemed to me that they had an advantage in being able to plant a little bit of everything!

Bluebonnet seedlings, Tropical Sage, Little Bluestem, and other plants were interspersed in the Buffalo grass of the Bullas’ front yard mini-prairie.

Amazingly, the habitat is home to six different kinds of native Texas passionflower vines.

The Bullas have a knack for creating functional habitat features that blend in with the natural setting, including a manmade seep-like water source, beebox (with nesting holes for solitary bees), and rock man.

Dale and Pat’s home serves as an example to others about how to minimize their carbon footprint. Not only is their carbon footprint exceptionally low due to natural paths, water collection systems, zero lawn, and minimal water usage, the Bullas also use solar panels that produce enough electricity to actually return some back to the city.

And of course, the wildlife love the Bullas’ habitat, too. Unfortunately for the Bullas, however, this includes destructive feral hogs that visit the property from the BCP during the night, occasionally tearing up pathways and plants while looking for grubs, roots, and tasty vegetation. Deer prevent Dale and Pat from planting certain delectable species and veggies, too. But birds, butterflies, lizards, and other creatures call the Bullas’ habitat home. We enjoyed watching the Queens and Monarchs fluttering about, but I was truly mesmerized by this Buckeye. I have yet to see a Buckeye in my yard!

It’s no wonder the Bullas’ habitat is designated as a Green Garden by the City of Austin. An award well deserved!

Distinguishing Queens, Monarchs, and Others

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Meredith

The butterflies this fall have been utterly delightful. The number of species visiting our garden have been hard to count, but it’s been fun trying. Monarchs, Skippers, Sulphurs, Swallowtails, big, little, striking, camouflaged — you name it, we seem to have it. The Monarchs, always a happy presence, keep skipping off when I bring out the camera, usually because the dogs like to visit the garden when I do. But without a doubt this year the Queen butterflies have put on the biggest show, fluttering about, dancing with each other, visiting all the flowers in the garden, taking a rest, then going at it again.

Queens, Monarchs, Viceroys, Soldiers — these butterflies are very often mistaken for one another in the United States, so how does one tell them apart? The fact that they often follow similar regional migration paths certainly doesn’t help.

The Queen butterfly (Danaus eresimus) and its lookalike cousins, the Monarch (Danaus plexippus) and the Soldier (Danaus eresimus) butterflies, are all from the same genus. They enjoy the same larval food, the poisonous Milkweed, which in turn makes all the butterflies unpleasant to predators, and their resemblance to one another helps protect all of them. The fourth lookalike is the Viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus), from a different genus. At a quick glance, to me, Soldiers and Queens look very much alike, and Monarchs and Viceroys are most similar to each other. But fortunately there are easy ways to distinguish them all.

But first, butterfly terms. It’s important to know these when identifying or describing features on a butterfly. The four areas typically described are upperside, seen when the wings are opened; underside, or “side view” when the wings are upright; forewings (upper pair); and hindwings (lower pair).

So let’s take a closer look at the Queen butterfly. From the underside, the most noticeable marker is the lack of black veins in the forewing; the Queen’s are pale. The Queen also does not have a series of pale spots along the hindwing found in the similar Soldier butterfly (shown in link farther in post).

The upperside is also distinctive for the Queen, with its chestnut color and noticeable lack of black veins found in the other species.

Note in the above two photos that one is a female butterfly and the other is a male. The male Queen butterfly, as in many butterflies, has two scent patches called androconial scales, which distribute the pheromones it uses to attract the females. Here is an underside view of a male Queen.

The familiar Monarch butterfly is typically larger and more orange than the Queen butterfly.

The upperside of a Monarch shows a wide black band along the edge of the forewing. The bold black veins on this Monarch indicate that it is a female; male monarchs have thinner black veins, along with their androconial spots. Monarchs lack a secondary black arc found on the hindwings of Viceroys.

Soldier butterflies are fairly similar to Queens at first glance, but they have black veins on the underside of the forewing and pale spots visible on the underside of the hindwing. The veins of the upperside are also more defined on a Soldier butterfly than on a Queen. Their distribution range is more limited than that of the Queen, typically farther south into Mexico.

And finally, the Viceroy. The Viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus) is not a member of the same genus as the Monarch, Queen, and Soldier butterflies, but it looks remarkably like them, particular Monarchs. If you click on the link, you’ll see in the picture there that the primary distinguishing mark of a Viceroy is a secondary black line arching through the hindwing on both the upperside and the underside — as mentioned above, Monarchs do not have this.

The Viceroy is an example of Müllerian mimicry because its orange and black markings are like that of whichever Danaus species is local to its area, and all are unpalatable. In this way the four species having similar markings and a bad taste provide them all with added protection from would-be predators.

Did you know that there are other butterflies with similar markings, including one called the Common Tiger in India? It’s a beauty — in addition to the orange and black coloring of Monarchs, the Common Tiger has beautiful white stripes on the forewings. Others are found in Africa and elsewhere in Asia. The animal kingdom sure is fascinating.

The New Trend in Pumpkin Carving

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Meredith

Don’t try this at home. Best to do so at your friend’s house, using HIS jigsaw.

The annual party at Stepan and Jennifer’s was a blast, and our three little pumpkins were big in spirit. They were small but mighty!

Sometimes size matters, but apparently not in pumpkins.

Here’s the before.

The small pumpkins had remarkably thick rinds, but scooping out the guts was quick and easy.

And here our little pumpkins are joined by all their pumpkin friends who are all clearly compensating for something.

Here’s where I should point out that Stepan’s pumpkin was the biggest, but that’s just not like me.

The boys like their pumpkins with ham.

I have to show off Stepan’s young garden. Like our family, his family just can’t keep their hands off the sugar snap peas. I noticed there weren’t any available for me to sneakily munch on.

The rampant sugar pumpkin vine attempted to escape to the other side of the fence. See the young pumpkin in the corner? Stepan got to do the hand pollination thing. It’s just so fun.

Thanks for another great party, Stepan and Jen! Oh, to follow up on the pumpkin cheesecake — it was yummy, and we returned home with only a single piece. I took a picture of it, and the next thing I knew it was consumed by one of our naughty dogs. ><

Headless Horseman Strikes the Garden

Posted on October 25, 2009 by Meredith

With Halloween around the corner, we all know that monsters might appear at any time of day or night, but the mere picking of our first orange sugar pumpkin brought to our garden…duhn Duhn DUHN… the Headless Horseman!

There it is, our first orange sugar baby.

I spent the evening creating this Pumpkin Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust using a fantastic recipe I found at The Hungry Mouse. It’s made with cognac. Enough said. Well, not enough — I want to add kudos to Jessie for her detailed photos and instructions on the making of this yummy and divine dessert.

But alas, I confess that I resorted to canned pumpkin to make it. Here’s what happened: When I cut open that little sugar pumpkin that passed all its tests on ripeness, I found that there was a fair amount of green mixed in with the orange inside. I honestly didn’t know whether a little green was okay, but as the pumpkin was already cut open, I went ahead and scooped out the seeds and pulp and baked it. I figured I’d give it a taste test after baking and decide then what to do, all the while feeling pretty much like a pumpkin murderer knowing that there was a good chance I wouldn’t use it.

Well, the baking went fine, but when I tasted it, my first sugar pumpkin, I couldn’t tell whether it tasted the way it was supposed to, so I erred on the side of safety and decided to open a can of pumpkin. Well, it turns out that the canned pumpkin tasted exactly the same, so I could have used my little sugar pumpkin, but it was too late!

But the good news is that I remembered that pumpkin is good in a variety of ways for dogs, so the little orange-greenish pumpkin will not go to waste. I’ve already given some to the dogs, and tomorrow I hope to try my hand at making pumpkin dog treats, perfect for the holidays. I might also try making some muffins or other yummy human treat.

The cheesecake is for today’s annual pumpkin carving party at our friends Stepan and Jennifer’s house. It’s our first year growing our own jack-o-lanterns, which have been behind schedule due to the hot summer and fall rains. But we chose three of our 10 growing pumpkins for early carving. Two are small, and one is still a bit green, but we grew these for carving, so carve them we will! The other seven pumpkins still on the vine will be for carving later in the week or for fall decorating.

My yard is going to look so empty after I have to remove all these pumpkin vines…

Inside Austin Gardens Tour 2009

Posted on October 25, 2009 by Meredith

Yesterday, my boys and I did a whirlwind tour of the beautiful yards of this year’s Inside Austin Gardens Tour. There was something special about each and every home, and we thank the homeowners for opening their yards to the community. Each yard was a certified wildlife habitat, and we even got to see some wildlife at a few of them!

We zoomed through so very fast due to our overbooked afternoon schedule. But even in our few minutes of touring, we found inspiration. From mixed yard/habitat homes to luscious looming tropics to sheer vastness in variety of plant species to pure folly, we saw it all.

As is typical of me, I was drawn to the use of native plants and whimsy in the garden, as you can see in these select photos. But without a doubt, I saw some very unique and beautiful plants at all the homes. I greatly appreciate the lists of plants available at every location! And there was such creativity in layout and design and decor.

These little glimpses don’t give much in the way of overview, I know. I regret that I’m posting so few pictures, but I encourage
you to visit Pam’s blog at Digging, MSS at Zanthan Gardens, Jenny at Rock Rose , and Linda at Patchwork Garden for exceptional details and photos of the tour (so many of our pictures are of the same plants and garden wows, and I shamelessly admit that I’m taking advantage of the fact that they beat me to the blogging punch). I’ve got so many projects looming over me at the moment, but if I don’t get something out, I’ll get nothing out, if that makes sense. Life just isn’t stopping still and letting me catch up! What’s up with that?

First Official Harvest

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Meredith

Tonight my family enjoyed our first ever salad from our garden. I didn’t pick enough, but I treaded through mud and rain with a flashlight to get what I did. Tonight we enjoyed mixed lettuce, two kinds of baby spinach, and sugar snap peas. Everything was delicious, but by far my favorites are the sugar snap peas. I look forward to more garden variety as the other veggies grow.

Allright, I confess. I’ve already been munching on the snap peas. Perhaps I should have called this the “first official harvest photograph.” But it is true that tonight was the first time the rest of my family tried them. It counts, right?

It’s Texas Native Plants Week! Oct 19-23

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Meredith

I’m still sorting through my photos of my San Miguel trip, but in the meantime, all you Texans start whooping and hollering, because it’s Texas Native Plants Week! Get out there and give special happy attention to your native plants, or go get your garden a new Texas-native flower, tree, shrub, vine, or grass just to celebrate! In my garden, lots of Monarchs and Queen butterflies are loving on my blooming natives right now, so I’m having double the fun visiting the garden this week.

Want to learn more? Read the Statesman’s article, visit the Wildflower Center, or check out Austin’s TX Native Plants Week page for listings of this week’s special events, great native plant sources, or other information.

Yay, native!

Hola and Hi

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Meredith

I’ve been in Mexico enjoying several days of celebration, culminating in my sister’s beautiful wedding outside of San Miguel. And today I begin the process of working my way through all the pictures I took, so hopefully I’ll have a few good ones to share. Aye, las flores y otras plantas de México son muy magníficas.

Thank you for all the comments you’ve sent in my absence. I have a lot of catching up to do!

Reflections on the First Year

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Meredith

Has it really only been a year? So much progress has been made in our first year of gardening that it’s hard to believe it happened in a mere 365-ish days. Hey, I only about destroyed my back and my husband had to have knee surgery, but what does that matter when our yard is such a pleasant place to be now? (Ok, my husband just pointed out that we can’t really blame gardening for our failing bodies, but it sounded good.)

What started it all? The felling of one very dead hackberry that was dangerously leaning over our house.

When that tree fell, I had no idea that I was about to embark on a gardening endeavour of massive proportions. But I looked around my yard and hated what I saw. It was time, after 13 years of doing nothing, to do something. Even if I had no clue whatsoever about what to do.

But apparently I figured a few things out. The rest will come when I figure those out.

Here are a few tidbits of how our outdoor world has changed. Now be warned, the overgrown state has to do with all the rain we’ve finally been getting — I haven’t been able to clean anything up. At least things look more green…

The backyard, before and after:

The pond, before and after:

The back porch, before and after:

The front garden bed, before and after:

There’s a lot more to our yard than what you see here, and I invite you to see more. We have a long way to go, but it’s fun to take a look at how far we’ve come. You can also hear more about the story that got us on our gardening journey.