Brrrr, it was just a few degrees above freezing! That's a very cold afternoon temperature even for February. Just outside the front door....do I want to go out in this?
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Venturing a little farther along the walk. The Gopher Plant I copied from Pam at Digging is blooming and repeating the yellow of the Color Guard Yuccas in the background.
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Love this plant and plan to add more this spring.
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The watering can is not needed today! I'm training ivy around the lantern from Yeya's Antiques and Oddities. Salvia Indigo Spires in the foreground has bloomed throughout the winter months.
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Pinecone finial from a thrift shop nestles in the iris bed..
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Agave ovatifolia always shines during cloudy weather.
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Color Guard Yuccas also seem to brighten up on gloomy days.
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Golden Barrel cacti bring that same yellow-green combination across the drive
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One of the neighborhood cats wonders what is going on, and if there is any food in it for him.
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Variegated Elaeagnus (back right) completing the yellow and green circuit that works so well with silvery plants. The Bismarck Palm is closed up ready to be wrapped if the temperatures go too low.
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Through the gate the deer fence across the back is progressing. Wildflowers are the only green in the dormant buffalo grass lawn at the moment.
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The tank from my latest visit to Yeya's is getting settled. It needs to be leveled and filled but there's no work in the garden today.
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It's been set on an axis with the tank in the circle garden, which is a fancy way of saying they are lined up.
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Blooming Gregg's Dalea is taking over one wedge of the circle.
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Cinnamon Bunny Opuntia hunkers down in its strawberry pot for now. I need to lift it and fill the top of the pot this spring.
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The lemons on the Meyer Lemon might be frozen concentrate soon. We brought this and several other plants out of the garage when it warmed up last week.
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Mexican Flame Vine is blooming bright by the kitchen window.
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A last look over the back gate at those arching oaks. The Brugmansia did not freeze back this year so they should really put out the blooms this year.
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That's the tour for this cold ending to February. But overall it's been a good winter for allowing plants to continue growing since there were no deep freezes here this year. We should see temps back in our average 60 - 70F range soon.
More End of Month Views from garden bloggers can be found at The Patient Gardener's Weblog.
Your garden looks fine and fab to us even when wet Shirley. And that Agave ovatifolia is just stunning!
ReplyDeleteFab, now that's a very cool compliment. Thank you.
DeleteI love everything about the plants you have chosen for your front garden. They shine as well in the winter as in the summer. I cannot believe that the Mexican flame vine is blooming. I only tried one year with this vine and had no success. I would have to treat it like an annual. It has such beautiful flowers though that you have reminded me I might try again. Roll on spring. Another week of cold nights on the way.
ReplyDeleteIt should be an annual here as well but I placed it against a south-facing stone wall. Winter lows in the teens will send it underground and it will not bloom the following spring. I saw the forecast this morning and we will be cold but not quite freezing.
DeleteNothing worse than cold rain....but it is good for the garden. I think my favorite right now is the curving walk under the oaks with the 3 trellises...just gorgeous Shirley.
ReplyDeleteThe rain has been so very good for the garden so I can't complain. Those three trellises have made a big impact on that blank wall.
DeleteI'm quite smitten with the light green and yellow color palette out front - those plants do bring light when the sun is behind clouds and that is just the ticket during gray winter days. I especially enjoy seeing your Yeya's finds being brought into play in your spaces. Happy that dent is still in the tank - lends character - and cannot wait to see your vine covered lantern when the ivy takes hold.
ReplyDeleteYou have a great eye - there are views large and small equally attended to in your spaces and much to be copied, er, LEARNED from what you've done here. Thanks for braving the cold and the damp to share!
Go ahead and copy, I spent a lot of time looking at local landscapes and totally stole my color scheme from Pam at Digging.
DeleteHi Shirley
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining in. It am amazed that you have such tender looking plants when it gets so cold but I think it is the constant winter wet here that kills things rather than low temperatures. Your cactus in e strawberry pot made me smile
Our winters are not usually so damp and generally our freezes are in drier weather which helps. Drainage is not a problem on the rocky hills where we live.
DeleteLooking great even in the rain, and your lemons are brave if you are nearing frost, can they tolerate frost? I have been thinking of trying lemons here in London but not jumped at it just yet. I have nowhere to store a pot so it will have to be outside all year, but I know some people have been successful with it as we rarely have more than a few degrees below frost if any at all.
ReplyDeleteThe Meyer Lemon is quite cold tolerant and an established plant will recover even if damaged by lows of -7C and the plant will survive to fruit another day. Your city location has good protection from deep freezes so you should give it a try especially if you are able to get a cover on a small one. Small Meyer Lemon trees produce a lot of fruit early on.
DeleteWow! I think that Agave ovatifolia is what a lotus would look like if it decided to live in a desert. Gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteIt does look lotus-like although I often see it as a rose blossom.
DeleteThanks for the rainy day tour. I'm still hoping we'll get some rain here as we've had precious little from the current storm but our chances aren't looking good at the moment. I love all the yellow touches in your garden. I was attracted to the Dalea too but, unfortunately, my Sunset guide says it's not suited to my zone.
ReplyDeleteThat's not good news to learn you have been missing the rain. I'm not sure why it wouldn't work in your area. Gregg's Dalea is easy to grow in full sun and rarely needs supplemental water. Maybe your nights are too cool near the coast.
DeleteI love the unique structure and color of the gopher plant. I will definitely have to try it in my garden this year. And your Meyer Lemon - I've never seen them so orange before! Mine were definitely a bright yellow, but no where near the shade of orange on yours. Any chance they got cross-pollinated with your Orange Frost? Stay warm!
ReplyDeleteMine always turn orange if I leave them on. They are a mandarin hybrid so that's probably why. Trying to stay in and keep warm. One more week of this cold wet and then we should see some spring.
DeleteIt all looks very nice. I don't get to see my Gregg's dalea bloom as often as I would like because of its odd blooming time and because I cut it back to the ground at this time too. Of course, this past week it was covered in a different variety of ice almost every day.
ReplyDeleteGregg's dalea loves the heat though it seems to bloom most of the year. It's not deciduous here which makes a difference with your somewhat colder climate.
DeleteIt was worth venturing out with your camera! Everything looks wonderful - especially that Agave ovatifolia!
ReplyDeleteYour garden looks so open and park-like, I love the dark twisty trees reaching across, and the trellis area looks very professional. Here the weeds go crazy everywhere.... sigh.
ReplyDeleteLove the tour! Everything looks really happy. The rains have been wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThe dalea looks pretty in the rain, and I cannot believe you have Mexican flame vine in bloom! Have you had any freezes this winter?
ReplyDeleteWe had two freezes I think. One in early November and another back in January after a warm week brought out new shoots on everything. I may have lost a few things, only time and spring will tell.
DeleteI love those three trellises lined up in your first shot. Are those custom or did you buy them locally? They appear to have a metal piece on the back allowing them to be attached to the wall. I haven't seen any like that for sale in Austin, but San Antonio isn't too far to drive.
ReplyDeleteThe trellises are from Hobby Lobby and purchased at their end of summer sale last year. The piece on the back is PVC pipe painted black and slotted so the crossbar fits in. The trellises are leaning against the wall and not attached because I do not want to drill the stone or mortar.
DeleteYour garden is looking beautiful like always. You've got so many cool things going on. The cinnamon bunny opuntia in the terra cotta pot - perfect color echo!
ReplyDeleteThe cinnamon bunny was in need of a home and the terracotta strawberry pot was empty at the moment....
DeleteI know how you felt venturing out, but my oh my, your garden is gorgeous in winter! A color burst, really, and such wonderful pictures. And good grief on that Mexican flame vine!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Linda! The front landscaping was designed to look good in all four seasons in a nod to our mostly mild winter climate and scorching hot summers. The Mexican Flame Vine disappeared in last year's cold and I thought it was toast. The south facing stone wall saved it. I don't think that would work in Austin though.
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