Foliage Follow-up November 2014

While I was out yesterday getting bloom photos I decided to go for two and capture the mist on my foliage plants for Foliage Follow-up sponsored by Pam at Digging.  Those of you who live in perennially damp climates are probably laughing yourselves silly by now.  We average about 30 inches of rain a year which usually arrives in downpours just a few days a year and within a few hours it's dry out there again.  A series of rainy days or a light mist/drizzle day is rare.  Even if you find my misty wonderment hilarious I hope you will enjoy these views of my garden.

The shiny droplets on the Yucca recurvifolia look almost frosty in the chilly mist.  A predicted freeze last week never arrived.  We have another freeze warning for Tuesday morning and it might happen this time so the tender plants are protected.

Foliage Follow-up April 2014: Those Bismarck Palms

I'm joining Pam at Digging for Foliage Follow-up for April by checking in on my frozen Bismarck Palms (Nobilis bismarckia).

So what about those Bismarck Palms?  Back in January I posted on the State of the Bismarckias after a deep freeze took us down to 20.8 and those poor tropical palms quickly showed the effects of exceptional cold exposure by browning up.

End of Month View February 2014

Let's face it.  January and February were a gardening disaster this year.  So where are we now?  I'm joining Helen at The Patient Gardener for End of Month View.

February is typically a time of big changes in the garden when we South Texans try to beat the heat with big projects and plant moves.  But February started off gray, cloudy and cold.  Here is the view of the front yard in early February.

State of the Bismarckias

With freezes pushing into south Texas as early as November and Monday's well-publicized deep freeze I know some of you are wondering about the Bismarck Palms in the front yard.  There is other news to report on the state of the garden but I'm pretty sure you'll want me to just cut to the chase here.

Blooms for Good Friday

Let's take a peek at the Easter basket and see what's blooming this holiday weekend.

Bougainvillea

Oh Deary, Deery, Deer 2: Bismarckia and yucca get hit

A few posts back I mentioned one of the two Bismarck palms in my yard had been "antlered" by a deer and I was both surprised and touched by the expressions of concern for the plant.  The damage was superficial and mostly affected older fronds.  The crown was not damaged so I'm sure it will make a full recovery--eventually.

Here's how it looked when first planted August 2012

Two Palms Up!

A few weeks ago I wrote about adding a Bismarck palm (Bismarckia nobilis) to the garden in front of the garage.  It was an even bigger hit than I expected and there are a lot of fans of the Bismarck palm around.