Hello Texas!

Hey, Sheila, happy to see you again! Nah, we rent. So it's OK. I noticed that some houses have all kinds of rock and sand landscaping, probably to economize the water needed for the lawns. I don't like the rocks either, but I have my coffee in the backyard, so that's the area that worries me.

My improvised orchid corner. I start to believe I should bring them inside. Though one of them just flowered, and another one has two flower buds. Some of my poor orchids got burned leaves while traveling to El Paso, nothing major, but not pleasant.

I'm thinking of trying to keep alive and in the patio a "tropical" look, that needs a lot of arrangement, and water almost daily.
And in the garden, the "canvas" that Eyes sees. So, really the only shade is there. The rest of the borders have a LOT of sun. I will try to change the current look a bit. I am thinking of a more "xeri" approach for the garden, as compared to the patio. But can I plant plants in this heat? I have many seeds that wait to be sowed. Can I sow them now?
I'm still a bit confused. I need my basil, and my dill (didn't see dill at all at the food stores so far).
Sheila, in the back with the red-pink flowers, it's the neighbor's oleander. Until coming to El Paso, I've never seen such tall oleanders.
I have two more problems: 1. I'll have to go to Miami for two weeks mid-July, to finish an experiment and talk with my mentor about my thesis (I'll write here in El Paso, but still have to go defend in Miami) and 2. the wife of one of my DH's colleagues scared the st out of me, telling me about scorpions and stuff.

Eyes, is the pretty blue flower the Ruella? I love blue! I should get me some.
What do you mean with "watch out for those cacti and yuccas. I believe that alot of the mecanthus love dry heat, too. "? What is mechantus?

If you don't have someone watering your plants, I sure wouldn't leave them outside. You will have crispy critters when you return. There are some DGers on here from that area that might help with suggestions about the scorpions, don't have that problem here.

my DH will water them, he's usually good with that. I'm just afraid to put new things right now, since they might need additional care, and he'll be working his tush off even without new plants

most caladiums I know of are said not to be hardy for zone 8, I'll check if there are any. Any idea about hostas? I remember some in my Grandma's garden, they liked the shade, and were hardy for winter (equivalent of zone 7 I believe), but don't know about the dry heat.

oh, I found one that is said to go for zone 8: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/153690/

Alex, you like a breathe of fresh air. So nice to have someone see our state with such and open heart. Of course, the El Paso area is very different from much of Texas. Guess you can find just about anything you want here if you travel far enough. The noid tree looks much like a chinaberry tree. Hard to tell from a distance. Might check it out in plant files and see if it is close. I would suggest that you go to the local nurseries and drive around town and look at other landscape ideas that appeal to you. That would be a good start at seeing what would grow. I live in the Dallas area and hardly anything I have chosen would work well for you. Mainly because I am pushing the zone this year and going heavy on the tropicals. When it gets cold, I will probably wish I hadn't.

I love your pictures and your commentaries. Keep 'em comin'.

Christi

Hi, Christi! I suffer from ZDD as well (I think that's what they called it on another thread). But right now I cannot afford to lose too many plants (financially speaking), so at least for the garden (open area) I hope to make some wise choices. I don't plan to change the world here, as long as I don't own the place, but I need to make it a bit more homey, because when I'm at home, I spend a lot of my time outside.
So far, I visited a cacti nursery (that's where "slurping soup" came from), but somehow I wish to have some more green, plus they are a pain (literally!!!) to move out of containers to place them in the garden. My hubby promised me that we'll go to the Rose Gardens, but tomorrow he'll be on long call, so probably Saturday he'll sleep most of the day. Maybe Sunday.
From my last HD rescue mission I have many paperwhites, I think they would do well in the garden (don't mind if they haave some cold, and go dormant during summer), but I still have to wait a bit to put them in.
I keep looking and "lurking", and in the meantime I'm trying to amend the soil a bit (well, nothing spectacular, a bit of enriching). Maybe it's because of the dryiness, but it looks a bit pathetic to me LOL. It doesn't seem to be clay-ish, it drains well, but probably it's very thirsty too.

http://elpasoco.colostate.edu/horticulture/index.html

Try this site, Goofy. Can't hurt.

"eyes"

http://museum.utep.edu/florafest/florafest08list1.htm

Difinitely this site......good luck sweetie, I know you'll do well.

"eyes"

Eyes, you are a gem!
I know that right now both my "garden" and the patio look sad, but I hope to do good.
Goofy

We all are a "work in progress", Alex. No apologies needed.

Welcome to Texas Alexandria from a fellow Floridian. To hear you talk of gardenias and scorpions surely bring to mind So Florida.. I use to have a disdain for both. I lived off a street that was lined with Gardenia bushes for half a mile and it was hard to breath. Scorpions ran rampant with as many as fifty babies on their backs. But I am talking 50 or 60 years ago before Miami became a Cesspool and all concrete and cement.The Scorpions I still hate, but I am still looking for a Gardenia plant I can grow. I really appreciate them now, but I cant grow one for nothing! Anyway Welcome to Dave's garden you will love it here.
Sylvia in Dallas

I've got a jasmine that I've tried to kill many times and it just keeps on ticking like in that commercial, you know? I KNOW it has more than the 9 lives of a cat! Oh...and welcome to Texas!

This message was edited Jul 3, 2008 10:26 PM

Hi, Sylvia and Linda, and everyone! Thanks for the welcome.
Sylvia, I wish I could tell you what I've done to my gardenia, but honestly I have no idea. I keep joking and saying: just stuff her in a truck on the road for 3 days, share some of your coffee with her, and puff, blooms allover! My best friend that I left in Miami has one, poor thing looks so bad... Oh, I also talk to my plants, but shhh, don't tell anyone... and mine is in a huge pot, but most people say it does much better in the ground.
Linda, I recently killed a jasmine (mandevilla, while still in Miami), if you need help, LOL, just call me! Now seriously, I was just looking today on Logee's site at a jasmine that looks close to yours, but they recommend it for zone 9 and up, or inside for lower zones http://www.logees.com/prodinfo.asp?number=R1019-2 . What kind is yours?
I really want a some fragrant plants close to the house. I see that many people have brug fever, but I have no idea how they smell (I only saw one close, but not close enough to sniff) or if they would do well here. They are very beautiful though. I am thinking of starting some from seed, I love starting plants from seed.
LOL, Christi, mine is not work in progress yet, I barely moved them since the unloading...

I've had that jasmine a long time...always in a pot. I've left it too long without water...many times. I've left it out when it's too cold. Not intentionally, you understand, I'm just forgetful and a tad lazy. Many times it seemed to be dead or dying, but somehow it always survived. I think it's this one:
http://www.floridata.com/ref/J/jasm_sam.cfm

It's sure pretty, and I know the smell. I will have to bargain a bit with my hubby... Thanks!

HI goofybulb

I see you are alot like me wanting fragrance near the house. lol
I love gardenias and jasmines they smell great, as for brugs I am growing my first ones this year so can't tell you how they smell yet but they sure are a favorite in Texas.

Both gardenias and jasmines grow in my zone I have 3 gardenia bushes 2 are a semi dwarf that I bought last fall at a local nursery and one I received as a trade at an RU along with the jasmine.

I know I am pushing the zone some this year as I have several tropicals and am going to try and keep them outside and mulch them heavily for the winter and if I can talk hubby into it maybe even make some covers to go over them like mini greenhouses to protect them from frost....so we will see.

Phyllis! I loooove flowers' fragrances! Though I could never have a gardenia or some kinds of asiatic lillies in the house, I do love their scent outside. I will probably get myself some jasmines soon, but they like their water, so probably in the patio.
Eyes, I discovered between the seeds that I have some lantana (pink yellow) seeds. Any suggestions on when should I start them?

Now, Goofy, but you won't have them until next seed, lantana reseeds itself. If you can find a plant, and they are relatively cheap this time of year, it should get good size by fall.

"eyes"

Just a note. Last year I didn't know the difference and purchased hybrid Lantana.
They didn't come back. This year I asked specifically for the old standard that lives a hundred years. Hope they gave me right one.

LouC

If ya got a Yellow or a Dallas Red, they will be around a long, long, time. Some of the newer hybrids don't cut the longevity line.

"eyes"

I saw Gardenia plants at HD today for 5.98., started to buy a couple, but its just too hot to plant anything else ... as i am still planting Hosta NOIDS.

Sylvia, you can buy one and keep it in a pot (if it doesn't need repotting), give it some coffee grounds every once in a while, and plant it a later, when it cools a bit. However, I probably would not wait until late fall to do it, you want it to get adjusted before winter.
Eyes, I'm a bit confused. I have no idea what kind of seeds I've got, they say only "yellow and pink lantana", I received in a newbie pack about a couple of months ago. Are you saying that they are no good to use? Should I buy a mature plant? I honestly would like to start some seeds as a soul therapy, and if they turn into plants even better. Though it might be a little too hot for them to stay outside right now, right? I'll check for a plant as well.

Thanks Goofy I will get it tomorrow, Lawd know I drink enough coffee , i make two pots a day. Is that enough coffee grinds? :)

Had nice surprise yesterday. My gardenia is blooming again and is loaded with blooms. They are not particularly easy here in North Texas. I have had it for 3 years and it never bloomed until this spring. Now it is doing an encore in this terrible heat. The aroma is heavenly from 3 feet away. Go for it, Sylvia. We only live about 15 miles apart.

Alex, by far the majority of my garden is from seed, tuber, bulb, whatever. I love to watch the progression of the plant. Seems they are a bit healthier started from seed sometime.

Everyone enjoy your Sunday.

Christi

LouC you better make certain that you will never want to move those old timey Lantanas....I had some on a fence row that I wanted down and we used alternately a tractor with chain to try and pull the roots up, a chainsaw and finally had to hire some hispanic men to dig them up with machetes.!!! They broke the chain attached to the tractor, and the tractor was practically doing a wheelie, LOL! Once they are in, they are there for life. As a matter of fact, I still have two stumps of it that I overlooked, and

The new breeds of Lantana are smaller, more ornamental and a little less hardy and are not as invasive as the old timey "bacon and eggs" Lantanas (orange and yellow)

whoops! So that's why you see them out in the country where the house "used to be". Can always find it by the chimney, iris and lantana. I had no idea....

Christi

LOL, didn't mean to burst your bubble hon, just wanted you to understand what you're getting into with the old timey kind. I have alot of experience with them. On top of that they are hugely invasive and die back every winter leaving big sticks that have to be broken off every spring to get more blooms. They are itchy and scratchy too.

I appreciate the warning. On my way out back to check them out right now.

Thank you,

Christi

You may be able to use those Goofy, just saying I don't believe they will bloom this year, I could be wrong, but most likely will come next spring.
Confetti Lantana, will return on it's roots, Dallas red, and Basket of Gold will reseed heavily as well as return on it's roots...does that make sense.

"eyes"

Thanks Christi, I will ... yeah, I remember it taking a long time to bloom .... and had it in a pot too ... my last boyfriend bought it for me ... now like him .... its gone......

hey, everybody!
Just wanted to let you know that I spent my month's allowance already (yesterday and today)! As a goofybulb as I am my purchases are... TA-DAAAA... bulbs (and seeds for bulbs), soil, some big pots (I read that small pots are worthless here, they tend to bake the roots... I will have to move some of my plants to bigger pots)
Sylvia, maybe not your everyday coffee, but about every 2 weeks, some grounds (or even a dilute sugarless coffee)
About the lantana: I am patient. I was just thinking that if I seed now, by the time the cold gets here (which I have completely no idea when would happen) they would be some nice plants, ready for winter. And I would have flowers next summer, I guess. I didn't see any lantanas, small or large, today. But I'll keep looking.
I am not planning by any means to change the look of the garden in a week, and I have to think very well how much I'm planning to invest in my landlord's garden (see what happened to Aggie). So far, thank God, there is no sign that I might have a bad deal. I have also to choose carefully so the plants that I'm adding in the garden could take care of themselves or thrive with less water.
I have two Red Birds of Paradise prepared for the garden (for full sun) and I'll also start some Yellows from seed. For the shade, I saw today some Black EE, they were only 4$ each, but they looked pathetic. I have no experience with them at all, maybe they were just neglected and not watered enough. If I would know that with a bit of water they would get cheery again, I'd jump in my next month's money right away!
We also tried to visit the Rose Garden today, but we had a big disappointment. It was closed (the real schedule does not fit at all with the schedule published in magazines). Nevertheless, what I could see from the other side of the fence is very promising, and I will probably show you pictures when I get inside!
Today my hibiscus plants started to flower again. I think they went thru an adjustment period (the humidity issue), plus I moved them in bigger pots, so they would have more soil and moisture, cause they are heavy drinkers. I guess I'm on the right track with the patio plants.
Hugs,
Alexandra

So where did our little Goofy Alex go.....

"eyes"

Hey, Eyes! Hi, all!
I've been around, but today I wasn't a pleasant company, so I just laid low. I walked around DG, posted very little. In the past days I tried to make friends in the SWF, so I'll be more comfy in asking questions about good plants, desert, weird weather... I met a few nice people.

I've just had a phobic attack. I am afraid of insects, and now, after 3 serious rains, they seem to be allover the place. They even entered in my screened patio, so I am afraid to get out now. Lucky plants, I watered them before dark. I cannot take a picture of them, and I cannot go in the bug files either, it makes me panic! I'm sure I've seen this stupid bug in Miami too, but one or two at a time, and almost always dead (my hubby knows me and had always sprayed the patio perimeter and inside the house). But now there are many of them and alive! They appear mostly in the evening and at night, though I've seen one or two during the day too. These guys are less than 1 cm (1/2") long, light brown, they fly and come to the light sources. I know I'm crazy, but I cannot help it!

On a more happy line, and more Texas-related, I ordered some seeds of Texas bluebonnet and a couple of drought resistant vines, one of them I think it's also naturalized in Texas (Antigonon leptopus - coral vine), so these should do good in the garden, and I think the bluebonnets will give me a lot of blue! I signed in for HCG emails and catalog, to get more suggestions.

I'm doing a lot of reading to figure out when the cold season starts, what other plants can be happy with less watering, and so on. I saw in the DG marketplace an offer for a box of mixed Caladium bulbs, but I'll be in Miami for two weeks, so I have to wait until I come back, if they'll still be available. My concern is that probably most of them won't be resistant to the 8a zone.

Oh, and I saw Mibus' turtle thread.
Well, that's the story with me in a nutshell!

I saw you were busy, I like the back porch, and I hope someday I'll be old enough to sit there! It sure is a funny bunch! I think it was a great idea, this way all of you can find each other fast! I liked the flowery VW! But I cannot imagine Betty Boop with a beehive!!!!

Hugs,
Goofy Alex

Hey Alex, can you describe your bugs, or get hubby to take a pic? Maybe we could dispell your fears if we could id it for you. You are saying it comes to the light...maybe a moth or at this time in my area June bugs (brown beetle)?

My thought, too, Sheila. June Bugs.

You got June bugs.....poor baby...water in the dark...they are drawn to the light at nignt, stick to your hair and clothes....I'm not helping am I?
Wear a net....and carry a big stick...

"eyes"

Alex ...you sound like me but mine is a fear of snakes.
long story behind it but I am slowly working through it ...
not all bugs are bad and some are fun to have around...like praying mantis' you can ask other I have told them how I would love to send a box to my X back in Illinois as he is scared of them.LOL but of course that doesn't help the problem ...I have found that if I do some learning about the bugs that bother me by surfing online it helps me know what they are and what they do so I know good bug from bad bug so to speak.

oh and ya know the person offering the mixed Caladium bulbs lives in FL ...is it a place you will be going by on your way back?
I do know they are all over the place in landscapes in Tyler but they are in a part shade area so they only get morning sun.