We moved here, on top of a limestone slab, from Florida. I need to be near green plants and find myself now living on a barren site. My husband agrees to move anywhere it will make me happy to be. What a sweetheart! I want very much to move back to Florida and it's lush tropicals, but hurricane threats are eliminating that state as a choice. I'm looking hi and low for a hurricane-safe area which has the tropicals that I deeply miss. Any suggestions will be VERY welcome
Hello from New Mexico. If you think SA is barren, you should see my new yard! Actually we just moved from Ingram, about 65 miles NW of San Antonio. We were there for about 20 years. I'm not knowledgeable about tropicals, but I did really enjoy the plants that are native to that part of Texas. The huge live oaks are fabulous (do you have any established trees in your new yard?)
As you know the new words in your life are "alkaline" and "limestone." Acid-loving plants are pretty much impossible there.
I used to enjoy listening to Manuel Flores who had a great gardening show on the radio. He's changed stations a few times but is currently on KAHL 1310 AM, Friday, from 11:00 to 11:45 AM, and Saturday, from 7:00 to 10:00 AM. Catching his show might get your feet wet with the plants that do well in SA. He is pretty opinionated (doesn't suffer fools gladly) and is fun to listen to.
Also, you have any yard-munching deer in your area, I do have some advice on that topic.
Actually, I think I owe you an apology, ILoveTropicals. I re-read your post and realized you're not really looking for ways to settle in to San Antonio, but hoping to get recommendations for another place to live.
I don't have a good suggestion, but wanted to bump this post to see if others can help. How about it, does anyone know of a place that is kind to tropical plants, without the threat of frequent hurricanes???
Thanks for your assistance oldmudhouse. No apologies called for. I'm checking out South Georgia and South Carolina. I think Warner Robins, Ga. offers what I'm looking for, but will research more. Going back to your first post, yes we have live oaks, but not huge ones. Sometimes our back yard is FULL of wildflowers which I love. What do you have in your yard in Las Cruces. I remember driving through there in the early 90's. It had a very nice feel to it. I hope you'll be able to plant a beautiful garden there.
I'm going to try to attach a pic of our back yard.
This is our back yard at it's best. Lush with wildflowers. But you may be able to see all the limestone that is just under the surface. Landscapers have told us that even though we can see the wildflowers, there is no way we could plant anything back there.
Great wildflowers! You are lucky they are already established there. Our hill country yard had some rocky spots like that, and others where we had decent dirt. I actually chiseled through some of that stuff with a steel digging bar (well, hubby took pity on me and helped) and then scooped out chips with a coffee can to get a small hole for soil and a plant. I planted some tough native plants that way on a limestone hillside...my favorite was a Golden-Ball Lead Tree, and it did well. It is not easy but it is possible, if you try to choose plants that naturally grow on rocky slopes. You can also do a raised bed right over that stuff and give yourself some decent soil, so I wouldn't say you can't plant anything there. You just have to be stubborn and determined.
I guess our limestone yard was a good teacher for our current desert yard. I'm naturally drawn to tough, drought-resistant plants now. They are beautiful in their own way (but I will admit nothing like tropicals!!) Maybe it would be cheaper for your husband to buy you a big, fancy green house instead of paying for another move?? :-)
Ahhh I love your suggestion. The only obstacle is my daughters, grandchildren and greatgrand little girl all live on the East Coast.
I miss them very much. They are all growing up and I'm missing all their changes.
I agree that my yard full of wildflowers is so very beautiful..I call it my 'field of dreams.' You were very creative in establishing your planting. Do you have any pictures yet. Please send them when you do. We have a few prickly pear cacti. We've lived here for 5 years and they've grown nice and big in that time.
We have something so lovely every now and then that blooms after a rain. Evening Stars. Did you have those. I hope I can send you a picture. They pop up closed in the daytime and open in the evening.
I need to take pics of our new house and yard, but here are some pics of our house that we sold in Texas. (let me know if they show up OK, this is the first time I've posted photos to DG!)
This one shows the big live oak trees that I do miss dearly. The 1930's house was badly neglected when we bought it, yard was non-existant except for the great trees. As you can see we did have enough dirt on this side of the house for grass to grow! Took us about 13 years to get it to this point:
This message was edited Jun 11, 2006 6:50 PM
Here is a photo of the back side, where I had an herb garden. I don't cook, but I needed to find something deer resistant. In addition to basic herbs like rosemary, thyme, and oregano, I also had white lantana, santolina, and other tough heat-resistant plants. On the little tower with the bell, I had Carolina Jasmine (or Carolina Jessamine) vine, and it was tough and deer resistant also.
There is a coral honeysuckle vine you can't see well here that the hummers loved, but I had to keep it fenced from the darned deer. I don't know the variety of the prickly pear in the left of the photo (planted it and promptly forgot) but it was huge and had to be hacked back regularly. Any plant that does that well against a hot rock wall with daily western sun is my hero!
Path in the garden is just chunks of broken up concrete. Not much is blooming in this photo, this was taken in late September when we had the house up for sale.
And here is a photo of the real heartbreaker to leave; our land included frontage on the Guadalupe River, lined with huge cypress trees. The little old crumbly rock patio got flooded about once a year, so we never did much to improve it. Can you believe we left this to move to the desert???
Yes, I did have those exact same little white rain flowers you show! They dotted the gravelly rocky hillside along the highway in front of our house. If you gather those black seeds you can usually put them where you want more...I just scattered them among the rocks and said a prayer!
I wish I could reply to each picture. They are so beautiful and came out flawlessly. Your home looks so well loved. I knows it broke your heart to leave. I can see your live oaks and love their majesty. Once again the back of your home is breathtaking! All the work! I love your herb garden.And your paths carry my eyes along at a gentle pace. Now the river! That keeps turning up in surprising places. It's much in our news here. For rafting and all. Living near water is very special. I wasz always drawn to it... was an islander for 15 years
In summary, your former home is absolutely awesome. The grounds show so much care and love. I have never been into gardening as you have. Now why did you move? Happily, it sounds like you have found a way be very happy and creative in Las Cruces. Please send pics when you have some.
Blessings for you, your Dh and your new home.
helo and welcome to daves garden frfom upstate new york where we never have hurricanes.
Thanks for your welcome, Herbie 43. It was nice to get.
I know a hurricane in upper NY is laughable, but you have SNOW, SNOW SNOW! :) I used to LOVE deep snow as a child making igloos and caves in the drifts. But those days are gone for me now.
I don't think there's a perfect place left to live anymore. Seems as every location has an environmental risk. Hurricanes, floods earthquakes, mud slides, heat waves, flooding or/and tornadoes. We are just going to have to adapt and deal with it, I guess.
Thanks again,
Nancy
You're welcome to move here, Nancy! No hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, or mudslides. In fact, we have no mud. Because we have no rain. It's gonna be 104 degrees tomorrow.
But it's a DRY heat!!!! ;-)
