Scene on the Street: Another side of the neighborhood

Each spring my neighborhood holds a garage sale weekend for the entire community.  It's a great time to get out, talk to the neighbors, and see what's going on across this roughly one square mile of houses.  The neighborhood was built one house at a time over more than 60 years which makes for an interesting mix of styles.

Today's post features scenes from the older section which is quite popular for its large lots and big trees.  The lack of curbs along the street gives it a country feel.  This house on a large corner lot has an old stone planter with opuntia and a low wall.  The pretty patch of bluebonnets seen in the distance return every year.

Rain!

What a beautiful picture!  Not a big deal unless you know this was only our third rain this year.

After seeing so many soggy blog photos from other regions I was beginning to feel left out so I'll take this rare chance to share a few from my own garden.  Close to two inches of rain fell over two days which almost doubles our total for 2013.  There was a bit of hail overnight but no damage.  The good news is most of the pollen was washed out of the live oak trees as shown below.  The rain also brought down the rest of the old oak leaves which fall here in the spring.

Foliage Follow-up July 2012: Succulents as Problem Solvers

Using succulents is a great way to grow plants where others struggle.  These problem solving plants are the focus for today's Foliage Follow Up sponsored by Pam Penick at Digging.

These cradle style planters worked out well at the breakfast room windows because the feet sit securely in the window frames and drilling into the stone for standard window boxes was out of the question.

The last two years I tried annuals here but there's not enough room for soil to keep annuals watered.  It's no problem for succulents with their small root system and limited water needs.   We enjoy seeing these green plants from inside and most of these will eventually bloom as well.

 
Strawberry jars with their interesting little planting pockets are a favorite of mine.  The problem is it's especially difficult in our hot, dry climate to keep many types of plants growing in them.  That may be why I find so many at garage sales around here.  I picked up these two in April for just $2 each.

This year when I planted strawberry jars, I took inspiration from my friend Ragna and went with succulents all around.  Succulents work so much better than annuals and I don't have to worry about the plants drying out.  I like mixing varieties of plants, mostly from plant swaps.

A welcoming grouping works at the top of the deck stairs where it's been difficult to keep plants growing.  These are planted with Aloe 'Blue Elf', Kalanchoe, and Portulaca.  Deer love these so all succulent planters stay on the deck,

I enjoy making my own pots from concrete and hypertufa mixes.  Concrete will dry out plants and soil quickly, so succulents are the answer here too.

 
Three planting problems solved with succulents and I'm still looking for opportunities around here.

Head on over to Digging to see how other garden bloggers celebrate the importance of foliage in their gardens in July 2012.