Garden, Yard Talk

[Huntn]

Came home from swimming about 12:30pm, a cold day for Houston about 33 degrees. Did somethings at the house, came out at 4 to fetch dinner and I was shocked that my car was covered with bird droppings. I did not get a picture, but it was like 10% covered, not only that, but the driveway, walkway, and bench were also covered. I ended up getting the hose out and scrubbing both of our cars.

We have a mulberry tree out front and in the early summer after the fruits ripen, flocks of birds subject our cars parked on the driveway to rains of bird dropping as they swarm this tree. I can only assume because of the cold streak, they came there seeking dried up berries.

 

[Huntn]

Feb 1 and one lone Amaryllis among about 20 decided to bloom...still relatively chilly here in Houston, lows at night high 30’s, days 50-60F Lately.

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[Apple fanboy]

Dug some holes today ready for planting. Had some supervision from this pair.

Fence pictured is the one side of the property I’ve not had to replace! The other three are nearly done. Guy started on the 11th and has been digging out the fence posts by hand.

 

[ejb190]

Feb 1 and one lone Amaryllis among about 20 decided to bloom...still relatively chilly here in Houston, lows at night high 30’s, days 50-60F Lately.

Be still my heart. I'm dying to get something growing. It was 9F last night and we have a foot of snow on the ground. The good news is I started the hydroponic system last night so we should have some fresh lettuce in a couple weeks.

Fence pictured is the one side of the property I’ve not had to replace! The other three are nearly done. Guy started on the 11th and has been digging out the fence posts by hand.

That's a lot of wintercreaper! I've always found it to be kind of destructive on buildings and structures. Indiana put it on an invasive species list last year.

 

[Huntn]

The Southern Weather disaster seems to have concluded and I’m looking at my once proud:

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Alocasi

Reduced to:

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Described as hearty in zones 9-11 (we are 9), it remains to be seen if this will rise like the Phoenix or have to be replaced... 😢

These are tubers. Next time, I’ll know to cut it back in advance and cover it up.

 

[Huntn]

Rescued 2 anoles from the house during the last cold snap. Found them both sunbathing in the kitchen window. They tend to get dehydrated in the house Before turning into mummies. I gave them some water before turning them loose yesterday. It was sunny and 70...

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[ejb190]

The hydroponic greens are coming along. Had some really bad germination this time. After a few rounds of reseeding, we finally got every slot growing, but the crop is going to be staggered.

My wife started some greens for the garden, but I’m afraid she started way too early.

 

[Huntn]

The Southern Weather disaster seems to have concluded and I’m looking at my once proud:

View attachment 1732822

Alocasia​

Reduced to:

View attachment 1732821​

Described as hearty in zones 9-11 (we are 9), it remains to be seen if this will rise like the Phoenix or have to be replaced... 😢

These are tubers. Next time, I’ll know to cut it back in advance and cover it up.

Hark. It’s Ah-liieevveee!

Can you see them?​

 

[jeyf]

could the roots are still active?

 

[Huntn]

For anyone who likes gardening, I have to recommend Gardener’s World from the UK starring Monty Don. It’s very Zen like. It’s a great show with a large variety of guests and their gardens and is available for viewing in the US on Acorn, Britbox, Amazon Prime, BBC2? and Dailymotion videos. My wife is a fanatic and it’s gotten her back out in the yard.

Gardeners' World (2020)

All new season of this perennially popular gardening program returns with an all-new season budding with inspiring ideas and down-to-earth advice. [BritBox

www.amazon.com

could the roots are still active?

Yes, this is a tuber and the tubers/roots seem to be alive. More to come.

 

[Apple fanboy]

For anyone who likes gardening, I have to recommend Gardener’s World from the UK starring Monty Don. It’s very Zen like. It’s a great show with a large variety of guests and their gardens and is available for viewing in the US on Acorn, Britbox, Amazon Prime, BBC2? and Dailymotion videos. My wife is a fanatic and it’s gotten her back out in the yard.

View attachment 1741037​

Gardeners' World (2020)

All new season of this perennially popular gardening program returns with an all-new season budding with inspiring ideas and down-to-earth advice. [BritBox

www.amazon.com

Yes, this is a tuber and the tubers/roots seem to be alive. More to come.

Been watching on and off for years.

 

[Huntn]

28 March 2021
Besides the lone wolf amaryllis that bloomed in early Feb, all the rest are about to pop. Here’s one, front yard:

​

The elephant ear continues to make progress:

6 plant shoots in this photo​

And we have decided to allow a little bird to have it’s nest under our gazebo. She’s not all that happy when we are hanging out back there, but it comes with the territiry she chose. I’ve not yet identified it, but it’s small with brownish red coloring, maybe a wren of some kind. Right now my guess is a House Wren or Carolina Wren.

something like​

 

[satcomer]

28 March 2021
Besides the lone wolf amaryllis that bloomed in early Feb, all the rest are about to pop. Here’s one, front yard:

View attachment 1750523​

The elephant ear continues to make progress:

View attachment 1750522
6 plant shoots in this photo​

And we have decided to allow a little bird to have it’s nest under our gazebo. She’s not all that happy when we are hanging out back there, but it comes with the territiry she chose. I’ve not yet identified it, but it’s small with brownish red coloring, maybe a wren of some kind. Right now my guess is a House Wren or Carolina Wren.

View attachment 1750524

View attachment 1750537
something like​

The LawnCare Nut did a video that should pertain to your situation here:

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

The hydroponic greens are coming along. Had some really bad germination this time. After a few rounds of reseeding, we finally got every slot growing, but the crop is going to be staggered.

My wife started some greens for the garden, but I’m afraid she started way too early.

View attachment 1734859

Very nice looking! Could we get a few wider pictures, to see the setup?

 

[Huntn]

The LawnCare Nut did a video that should pertain to your situation here:

Our lawn St Augustine seems to be coming back without issues. I had fertilized it just before the freeze if that made any difference.

 

[Huntn]

April 2021 flower bed Project
This strip of yard, approx 6x35’, the wife wants to turn it into a wild flower bed. The idea is that wild flowers should be relatively rugged and not depend on regular water as there is no sprinkler system in this part of the yard. So you know who gets to do the brunt of the work.

Since we live in a community that has covenants, I decided to run this by the home owner Association who approved, but I said flowers and mulch, not specifically wild flowers which can seen unruly. So we’ll see what kind of reaction if any we get from them. Anyway in the picture I just scalped it with the lawn mower, and per Monty (Gardener’s World), I’ve started to vigorously rake it to expose the dirt, not supposed to remove all of the grass.

Today, I’ll buy a stack of pavers to define the property line which will be flush with the ground (already checked and got an ok from the neighbor. I really need to get this area raked and the seeds spread as it is getting late in the season to start such plants. You want them going before it gets stink’n hot. And I’m going to drop a border of crushed rock around it using landscaping edging to make the area look more defined and refined to counter any unruliness of the wild fires themselves.

This area will also get some tuffs of ornamental grass and 2 Acoma dwarf (white) Crepe Myrtle bushes, 7-10’, but we will prune them as they commonly are around here to resemble trees, pruning them up with a couple of main stalks In the bottom 6’ or so. Typically each year, they are topped And new growth is encouraged.

So has anyone worked with wild flowers? I was surprised that they are typically sewed in existing grasses, but that makes sense when you see them growing in the wild in pastures. Any suggestions?

​

 

[jeyf]

if you dont water it here, it will NEVER grow.
I am thinking you also live in a semi arid climate,

wives and or significant others always tend towards the optimistic side

dig your high heels into the dirt and install gravel.

 

[Huntn]

if you dont water it here, it will NEVER grow.
I am thinking you also live in a semi arid climate,

wives and or significant others always tend towards the optimistic side

dig your high heels into the dirt and install gravel.

Not saying it will never be watered, but fields of wildflowers grow in Texas along the highways without any care.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Fact when it comes to gardens.
What you want to grow won’t.
what you don’t want to grow will.

 

[jeyf]

give it a try; do they sell teh wild flower rolled in sod format?
it is difficult to even find arid adapatable plants.
good luck

 

[ejb190]

So has anyone worked with wild flowers? I was surprised that they are typically sewed in existing grasses, but that makes sense when you see them growing in the wild in pastures. Any suggestions?

Yes! You live in Texas. Look up the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin - http://wildflower.org
On the site go into LEARN -> HOW-TOs.

A few suggestions.

• Watch out for generic "Wild Flower Mixes". They often contain more non-natives than natives, sometimes inappropriate species, and occasionally invasives.
• Look for a native plant group in your area. I guarantee there is one or more! Those people may annoy you, but they won't lead you wrong!
• If you think the area is too small for a native planting or to be valuable to pollinators, I challenge you to read Doug Tallamy's book Nature's Best Hope. Or visit https://homegrownnationalpark.org/

I love this stuff! I just read about a guy that does guerrilla tree planting in urban areas. I'd come down and plant you yard in the middle of the night, but that's a bit far to drive in one day!

 

[Huntn]

More Amaryllis and honey suckle which is a lovely plant. Two Geisha Girls (shrubs) are coming back!

Amaryllis



Honey Suckle



Geisha Girl before the freeze now growing back from the roots​

 

[Huntn]

April 2021 flower bed Project
This strip of yard, approx 6x35’, the wife wants to turn it into a wild flower bed. The idea is that wild flowers should be relatively rugged and not depend on regular water as there is no sprinkler system in this part of the yard. So you know who gets to do the brunt of the work.

Since we live in a community that has covenants, I decided to run this by the home owner Association who approved, but I said flowers and mulch, not specifically wild flowers which can seen unruly. So we’ll see what kind of reaction if any we get from them. Anyway in the picture I just scalped it with the lawn mower, and per Monty (Gardener’s World), I’ve started to vigorously rake it to expose the dirt, not supposed to remove all of the grass.

Today, I’ll buy a stack of pavers to define the property line which will be flush with the ground (already checked and got an ok from the neighbor. I really need to get this area raked and the seeds spread as it is getting late in the season to start such plants. You want them going before it gets stink’n hot. And I’m going to drop a border of crushed rock around it using landscaping edging to make the area look more defined and refined to counter any unruliness of the wild fires themselves.

This area will also get some tuffs of ornamental grass and 2 Acoma dwarf (white) Crepe Myrtle bushes, 7-10’, but we will prune them as they commonly are around here to resemble trees, pruning them up with a couple of main stalks In the bottom 6’ or so. Typically each year, they are topped And new growth is encouraged.

So has anyone worked with wild flowers? I was surprised that they are typically sewed in existing grasses, but that makes sense when you see them growing in the wild in pastures. Any suggestions?

View attachment 1751258​

Update : project complete with 2 dwarf Acoma Crape Myrtle bushes to be shaped as trees, 3 decorative grasses, and wild flower seeds planted. Let’s see what happens.

​

Landscaping finished, watching for wildflowers to pop.
Hopefully the straw bed will not adversely effect wildflower seeds.
They were put down first

Acoma dwarf Crape Myrtle pruned as tree. Mine will have to be pruned up
for the narrow space, next to the driveway.​

if you dont water it here, it will NEVER grow.
I am thinking you also live in a semi arid climate,

wives and or significant others always tend towards the optimistic side

dig your high heels into the dirt and install gravel.

The guide I am reading says regular watering required until the wildflowers get established then they can be ignored somewhat.

 

[Huntn]

Amaryllis popping out front:

​

They tend to sell just Red ones here (Houston) for Christmas. Last fall we divided, and sent some extra bulbs to friends and went online to find some other colors. My wife got some intriguing double amaryllise.

​

 

[jeyf]

Houston; not a semi arid climate

some neighbors here are hording garbage living room carpeting. use it, put under rock or mulch ground cover to prevent weeks. They drill 6" holes in it to plant annual.