Here it is...
SATURDAY, Aug 5: Texas "Coffee" and Gardening in the AM
I don't know about this invite to coffee and the hostess never shows! ((smile!)) Just kidding of course. Hope your evening with the DH was nice, and that the dinner guest & you have a great time.
DH and I will be going next door for a Birthday Party of our neighbor this afternoon. It will be indoors thank goodness. It is so hot out at that time of day; 102 yesterday and will be again today.
This morning it is out to pull weeds and spread mulch on the new beds while it is only 80 degrees. LOL! I have some items potted up in my shop that I need to move outside in the shade. Well time for that second cup....anyone up yet??
Here is the link to Friday's thread......
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/635298/
This message was edited Aug 5, 2006 6:40 AM
Morning all. I'm off to the garden center this morning to see they might have that I can't live without. I'm still looking for something to fill a very large pot by the front entrance. It get full sun and I'm thinking of succulents, but haven't found anything yet. I also have to move some agapanthas this weekend since they're getting direct hit from the sprinkler system. They don't like their feet wet and I guess this spot isn't draining well enough to suit them. Check y'all later.
Another late start for me. It's getting to be a habit, and I am missing the best part of the day. I'll bet Connie starts appearing early in a few days when school starts! This is the first August in many, many years that I have not been preparing to go back to school.
I'm headed out to put soaker hoses in a grove of live oaks. I'll hate to see the next water bill, but I'd hate to lose the main trees in the back yard even more. The trees have been stressed since losing so many leaves in the hail in May, but yesterday I noticed they were looking worse. So far we have been asked to conserve water, but we have no restrictions yet.
Hope everyone has a great week-end! Stay cool if you can.
By all means, we should try to save our trees. They take so long to grow, and do so much for our outdoor living space while we have them. An interesting item in this a.m.'s paper about water: a seminar on rainwater catchment systems will be offered starting August 23rd at the Cibolo Nature Center, Boerne. (830) 249-4616 for details.
I had a strange dream last night that I had to move and leave my new garden.This is the first garden i have ever had that is totally mine, started from scratch etc..(because of all the moves (8)and houses we've done in our marriage and the fact that I didn't really get into gardening when my kids were small.)
So that got me to wondering about other DG members.How long have you been gardening at your place? If you have been gardening at the same place for a long time how has your gardening style changed??
Right now i am in the "everything is so small, I hope it grows quickly" and " sure I can buy that because I have 10 feet of bed i need to fill up" so i may end up with a willy-nilly garden. i don't think i'm spending as much time as i probably need to on figuring out what it will look like in 5-10 years like those gardens you see on TV that look like a magazine.... nancy
Good morning. Home again from Georgetown for a little while, though I'll head back next week for my grandmother's memorial service. The housemate did well with the plants while I was gone, God bless her. The new passiflora is coming on like wildfire.
My grandmother asked in her Will that a half-dozen red roses be placed by her photograph at the memorial service, so now I'm thinking perhaps I should plant some sort of red rose bush in her honor, perhaps a repeat-blooming miniature.
I am completely new to rosebush gardening in Texas, though my parents-in-law (deceased) were genius at it. Any tips on a small sweetheart rose, repeat bloomer, that might do well in a large pot? I have My Valentine and Over the Rainbow (?) growing in containers now, but I'd especially like my grandmother's rose to have a good shot at survival here in Dallas.
The absolute most trouble free red rose, in my opinion, is the Knockout. They now come in double form also. They are listed as an earth friendly rose on the A&M superstar web site. I've had them in ground for two years. First year there were not in an ideal situation being under crepe myrtles and getting too much shade, but they still bloomed and didn't have any black spot or fungal problems. Early this year we removed the crepes, which were a variety that was plagued by powdery mildew. The Knockouts have flourished, gaining about a foot in height and spread and have bloomed heavily, non stop. I don't ususally like roses because they require so much care with spraying, pruning, pest problems, etc. These are so great I've just added another row as a hedge at the property line.
I don't know anything about roses, so I am no help there. Maybe go to the Rose Forum for inspiration. http://davesgarden.com/forums/f/roses/all/
edited to say: Looks like crow knows something on that!
Teacup....I hope you don't move and leave it. One DGer that has a drop dead georgeous yard is selling, and I asked her how she could move off and leave it. She said they are excited to get a new place and start again. They will carry the knowledge of what they learned, good and bad to the next. They will have left this one much better than it was when they came. God gave it to them and he will give them a new blank canvas.
That is a good way to look at it, but at my age, I don't know that I could start over.
Well DH and I worked on the flower beds this morning again. He only has about 15 more Winsor stones and he will be through with that I think. I have pulled weeds for a second time and I am ready to put some extra soil and compost, and top it with mulch.
We have been having a lot of water loss on the pond and finally tracked it down to a large stone pulling away from where we had adheared it to the bio-falls. As it pulled away, it is splitting the plastic of the falls. We managed to prop up and add supporting rocks to push it back in place. So far it has slowed the loss of water, we loose enough to evaporation in this heat!
Stay cool y'all.
This message was edited Aug 5, 2006 12:48 PM
Sheila, The last house we owned we bought it from a gardener who had fallen ill and was no longer able to care for it.We realized she had invested thousands of dollars in the landscaping after we spent almost two years clearing the weeds and watching bulbs,perennials etc come up and flourish. It was gorgeous. In fact when we went to sell the house the realtor wanted to put it up in february. but I convinced her and my husband to wait until late March,April. When we did the larkspur were blooming, the roses were coming on and the house sold in 10 days. My husband is convinced it was the garden that did it. the new owners accepted my invitation for a "walk through" of the garden so i could tell them all about it because they were form the north and didn't recognize a lot of the stuff.Since then when we have been back in Austin we've driven by and the garden still looks great. They've done a good job of expanding it.
But the thing was, because of extensive beds and walkways the previous owner put in, I always felt like it was "hers". I may have changed some plants around, but the basic design was hers.
This yard was nothing but a fence, and some grass.This garden is mine...It would be hard to leave. I have no idea were that 'dream" came from but i think we are here to stay for quite a while. fingers crossed..nancy
Susannah....I had a "Santa Claus" rose bush that I gave away because it's a pinkish red and not in my color scheme, but the guy I gave it to just loved it! It has about 10 little mini roses in a bunch....so cute!
Nancy...I've always liked gardening...
Lived in a high rise in Houston when first married and gardened on my small balcony. First house...gardened a bit....next house...and the next 8 or so...had little kids and didn't do much. Then when the kids were in middle school, I designed a yard from scratch and worked in it every day after work (teaching school). Got a divorce, lived in an apartment, rented a house...married....finally had another house to design all the areas.
I used to be more traditional, and now I"m trying to do more modern arrangements, design, planning of beds, but I'm probably a traditionalist at heart. Nancy, you can post this question on a thread you start...probably in the "Design" forum and get lots of feedback!
Sheila...cute...too cute...: "the hostess never shows"...LOL
Patrob knows the drill...come next Thursday, it's the end of my long summer vacation! I"m actually ready for it!!
Connie, I'm missing the drill. I am doing the twelve month lay out to keep TRS from penalizing me big time for working, but I hope to be back teaching Spanish and/or English or counseling in January. If not, I will adjust. The rules have changed with the wind and every legislative session since I approached retirement. I rather like being lazy, but I am still (I think) an effective teacher in a shortage area.
This message was edited Aug 5, 2006 11:56 PM