Gardening with Texas Native Plants; The Wildflower Slope.

Maybe the next time I clean up it will be the last time. I have gotten around the squat. I sit down now LOL. I have a plastic tub lid that I carry around with me. If I am weeding for more than 20 minutes or so, I sit. It does expose me to fire ants on occassion but I can work for a lot longer without having my joints lock up.
C

After two back surgeries I can tell you the kneeler bench with handles is a life saver. It folds up and will flip over for a bench.

Well, I have done a lot of squatting but the slope is all cut down by hand now.
Here is a picture with half cut to show the amount of plants, we grind them all and use them for mulch.

A picture showing the cut side.

Josephine, please tell me about the crossvine on the fence. How far apart do you plant individual plants of crossvine? How long does it take to cover? We have a slope and chainlink fence between us and our back neighbors. Until now, we haven't had water faucet over there but we spent last week running 200 additional feet of underground waterline and now my dream of covering that fence is possible.

Glenna

Hello Glenna, that looks like a great place for Crossvine, I bet it will be beautiful.
We have ours planted 10 feet apart for good coverage, the vines can grow as long a 50 feet, but if they are very far apart it would take a long time to make a solid cover.
Ours covered the fence in about three years. I don't know how long your fence is but if you have to buy a lot of vines it could get expensive. I can give you cuttings from mine if you like, although they are slow growers at first, once they get going they do quite well.
Let me know what you would like to do.
Josephine.

I got one crossvine at the spring trade and it finally started growing this fall. I am hoping it takes off next spring.
C

I am sure it will Cheryl, they are so lovely and care free, I also love the fact that I have never seen any harmful insects on them or disease either.

Josephine on clipping and shredding your slope, did you put the seed heads in the composter also? I haven't put a lot in mine because separating was a pain. I was afraid it would be loaded with seeds I didn't want to spread.

This message was edited Jan 21, 2011 8:12 AM

Yes, everything goes in there, normally there is no problem, and yes I get seedlings here and there, but not in the compost, mainly those that fall before I put them in.

That is good to know. I have a chipper that I could use, but with the seed heads, I have been just tossing them in the green carts. That will make things easier and make more compost too.

Most seed will be killed by the heat generated in the composting process.

Hello Glenna, just the other day I was cutting back the plants along the fence and I found some crossvine runners that had fallen and taken root under the mulch, so I pulled them up and potted them.
I have 12 potted up for you, so when we see each other you can take them. They will need to stay potted for a while while they develop new roots.

As for cuttings it will probably be less trouble to pot them in the spring, but anytime you are ready is fine.
The crossvine will do well in shade too, although it may not bloom as much.
With 200 feet I guess you will need 20 of them, if I were you I would be preparing in advance the areas where you are going to put them, so they will have a good home when they are ready to be planted.

I am getting excited about your fence already!!!
Josephine.

Oh Josephine... THANK YOU so much for all your wisdom & encouragement!! I am even more excited to start my garden. I wish I could have it as large as yours as I want too many flowers already!! hahahahaha. However I am hoping it will be large enough. The downside is I have to have approval from management here to dig another one & I want to incorporate a few boulders too..so I am still in the planning stage. Two years seems forever but I want to do it right!!!
I read on one of the Tx native pages that March is the best time to plant any natives as this gives them time to get established before the heat of summer!!
However, I need 5 weeks for my garden bed to prep before that can happen.
IF anyone needs a TX Native plant nursery in the Denton region I have an excellent one. It's the closest one to me that I found have all that I want & then some!!!

Hello Cindy, it is very nice to see people excited about their gardens. Take your time half the fun is in getting there.
Fall, Winter and early Spring are the best times to plant, but you can plant almost any time, except during the very hot months, as long as you keep the soil moist until the plants get established.
What is the name of that nursery?

the nursery is called Painted Flower Farm located in Denton... www.paintedflowerfarm.com

It looks very nice Cindy.

Wow, they have an impressive list of Texas natives. I have never heard of them. I wonder if they are new?

I'd have to have a gazillion dollars -- how would one choose from so many wonderful plants? Maybe one of everything!

Cindy...since you were impressed with the nursery, you might want to add them to the list so others can find them later. http://davesgarden.com/products/go/

Thank you Sheila, I was wondering where & how I should do that. They are not new however...they were recommended to me by someone else too... AND their selections are amazing! Another thing is..they won't take "requests" for something they don't already carry however, if you have a seedling, seeds, cutting, they will grow it for you!!
I am like you Txgardener I wish they took credit then I would spend more!! hahaha. They only take cash or credit...I've checked other places & Painted Farm has reasonable prices.

Dennis... they are so easy to find too.... I actually drove by the road the first time there!!!! hahahaha

I see a field trip to Denton in my future. :)

I fell in love with the place as soon as I started walking around!! Bring a wagon as there are no carts available!!! The smallest size is a gallon & it's $7... there is only one other size which is $11 & they only take cash or check. They lay out the plants on grass & tables so there are no set pathways..know what I mean?

I agree Dennis, I am always up for a drive that involves plants.
C

Hey Guys, this is what the slope looks like right now. Thank God for the Crossvine, and the Yuccas.

But it won't be long before the sun makes everything start growing again. It will look all fresh and perky for the summer.

All I keep telling myself is that all the ice and snow will melt and all the nitrogen will be good for the soil! LOL

I really do think this is good for the natives (and another bit of cold coming next week, apparently). We're just sort of having the normal wet and cold of winter a little bit offset, after Nov and Dec were so warm and dry. I think a lot of seeds that three weeks ago wouldn't have been able to germinate this year, will be making a go of it now that they've been watered and frozen.

Sucks to be sub-tropical...

I hope not this much cold next week, had my fill of cold hands and feet.
C

I am hoping things will improve next week too, it is just too cold and dangerous, and absolutely boring.
Josephine.

Boring is right, how many tv shows or movies can one human being watch. I have been looking at plant and seed catalogs and looking online at my favorite nurseries. I am grateful they cancelled schools and even if school is in session tomorrow I won't make the long commute to Carrollton.
C

Believe it or not, I have been sorting through outdated important papers for shredding or recycling, how exciting can things get?

LOL ok that is bored. Well think how good the warmer weekend will feel. I might be too scared to go and check on my plants though. I actually feel guilty I didn't do something to help them out. I did clean and mop the kitchen last night so at least my messy house is getting cleaner.
C

I wish I could say the same Cheryl, my kitchen is 45 degrees right now, since I have the door the leads to the garage open to keep the plants from freezing. So I make a quick in and out dash when I need something.
I do have a door between the kitchen and the living room or I wouldn't be able to do that.

We think of all kinds of things when we have to. I wouldn't stay in a 45 degree kitchen either!
C

Hello frostweed and Texas gardeners --
I hope you don't mind an out-of-state visitor dropping by. I would say I'm here for the warmth but you've had it as bad as we have lately. And we have another blast of arctic air coming here later this week ... down in the low teen's or single-digits again. But enough of the bad news.

frostweed, I was intrigued by your comment in another forum about your garden being all native plants. I moved into this house year before last and had nothing but grass (and weeds, of course), trees and some long-neglected azaleas. So I have begun to plant ... and have located a couple of wonderful nurseries here in TN that specialize in native plants. Thus I've been "touring" your yard and gardens this morning for inspiration. Wonderful!

I hope you don't mind if I hang out here a little while. Some great ideas to be had!

Welcome! Ms. Frostweed is a wealth of information about native plants. TN has some fabulous wildflowers if my memory serves (lived in Nashiville a short time many years ago). Past my bed time but check out other posts on here too.
Cheryl

Thank you, Cheryl ... I didn't think anyone else would be here at this time. :)

Yes, TN has some wonderful wildflowers and native plants. I'm sure we share some, if not many, in common given the size and variety of the state of TX. I saw the crossvine and I had already planted that on one of my chainlink fences. I had hoped to save the fence but it now needs replacing; however, with the crossvine being fairly well established, it should take off quickly again on the new fence even if I have to do some rather severe cutting back.

You two are up early. I have visited Josephine's house several times and can atest that she is an avid native gardener. Her and Frank have taken up all of the grass and laid out a master plan that will be in full bloom this year, I can't wait to see it.
If you were close she would no doubt share a wealth of plants with you as she does with each of us in this area.