February showers bring spring flowers

Our especially mild winter weather this year means an even earlier spring.  By the time April showers roll in our spring flowers will be finished and by the end of May we'll see only the toughest of summer flowers.  It's been nearly a month since we had measurable rain and yesterday morning brought light showers of just .01 inch.  Sometimes we celebrate what's known as a "trace" of rain most places and it was just enough to freshen the garden for sharing a few early spring photos.

Tazetta Narcissus 'Golden Dawn' are naturalizing up to Zone 9.  This is their first year in the garden so next year will tell if they make it through our hot summers.

February 2016 Foliage Follow-up: Sedge Collecting

This sedge project didn't start out as a collection.  I simply wanted to line the stone walkway in my side yard with gentle terraces of graceful green sedge.  The story of my foray into the world of sedge collecting makes a good post for Foliage Follow-up at Digging. 

Tropical Color for Valentine's Weekend!

A tropical treat for those still in the grip of wintry weather.  The Lucile Halsell Conservatory at San Antonio Botanical Garden hosts special exhibits such as the holiday poinsettias featured in my post here.  Crotons, Bromeliads and other tropicals welcome with bright color all year, especially nice when things are a bit dull outside.  In the heat of summer, it's refreshingly cool in here where the temperature is kept the same year round.  

Drought Survivability Study Follow up

Just how much can we cut back on watering plants and still have a great looking landscape?  An experiment conducted summer of 2015 in San Antonio seeks to answer that question.  Last spring I wrote about the drought survivability study by Texas A&M Institute of Renewable Natural Resources in San Antonio to test popular landscape plants under various irrigation conditions over the summer.  When the test ended this past fall I went down to check out how some of my favorite plants had fared.

The project site is off the beaten track to say the least.  It's down that road a fair piece.

Wildlife Wednesday February 2016

It's Wildlife Wednesday hosted by Tina at "My Gardener Says..." on the first Wednesday of each month providing an opportunity to share wildlife from our gardens.  With our mild winter this year  we've had visitors like this Gulf Fritillary butterfly posing on faded Gomphrena 'Fireworks' for a striking color combination.

Otherwise, it's been another slow month for wildlife.  I actually spent some time trying to photo a Skink which is the very definition of an exercise in futility.  Aggie Horticulture has some photos on their website if you're interested.  Skinks are beneficial in the garden since their favorite food source is grasshoppers.  It seems we have several but they are so fast I might be seeing the same one in different places!

Just like last month I've returned to the archives for more bird antics.



There's a backstory on how it went down that day.   Lesser Goldfinches, two look like young chicks, having a bath in the saucer when a Black Crested Titmouse shows up to the party.  Stern looks are exchanged.

Things get a bit crowded.  Surprised looks follow.



Some objections are raised.  Feathers fly.  But not the Titmouse.

Black Crested Titmouse exits the pool, shaking butt as it leaves.



"Hey, wait a minute!"

Now we have a staring contest underway.  You lookin' at me?

Some trash talkin'

"We'll just finish up here"

Maybe there's enough room after all

Almost done here.  What we we arguing about?

Okay, I'm out...

I spent a nice day earlier this week cutting back Inland Sea Oats which were looking a bit tatty and never seem to mind a late freeze.  A doe showed up looking for an free lunch in the compost pile.  Since deer don't typically go for grasses, I cut a few Ruellia stalks and added them to the pile for which she rewarded me with a smile.  It's tough for deer out there right now with so many winter dormant plants.

That's the roundup of wildlife in my garden for this month.  Tina has a post on the value of native bees in the garden.  You'll want to check out how to attract native bees to your garden.  I definitely will give her bee townhouse a try.

Wings of the City at San Antonio Botanical Garden

"Wings of the City," a series of bronze sculptures by Mexican artist Jorge Marín, are on display at the San Antonio Botanical Garden through June 6, 2016 presenting a special opportunity to view classic sculpture in the garden.

Designed as a traveling exhibition shown in cities around the world and sponsored by the Consulate of Mexico along with local businesses, I was thrilled to see eight of the sculptures in November.  A ninth work from the series is on display at the Southwest School of Art.

The artist worked from a lofty concept:

“I wanted to share with a major audience one of my obsessions, which is the possibility of going beyond our physical limitations — metaphorically, we can fly to the place we wish to.” (from Marín's interview with the Dallas Morning News)

Angel Perselidas has just landed.  Beaked masks are designed to encourage interaction according to the artist.  Marín's placement of the sculptures within the gardens and in context of surrounding structures was particularly compelling.

Cycads evoke the wing theme and are a good textural match for the sculpture.  Agaves in the bed below make closeup viewing a challenge.

Tiempo crouches in the ornamental grasses with missing arms and partial skull.   Wing details are exquisite.  Marín began forming wings with modeling clay as a child and sculpted his first wings in art class at age 18. 

A bit battle weary still with intact wings, ready for action.

Well sited among specimen plants.

Wingless Split with angled legs reinforced by the form of surrounding buildings.

Placed at the highest point in the garden Split has a view of the city:

“In each city the experience is different, because the people make what the city is: their own dreams, aspirations, wishes” (Marín's interview with the Dallas Morning News)

Archivaldo strikes a powerful pose.

Details in relief evoke strength.

With an aviator's helmet and hands crossed behind Bernardo Oriental rests near a grove of ripening citrus.

Overlooking the formal gardens emphasizes his classic lines.  Photos from the exhibit in other cities show these pieces set against busy city scapes in contrast to this more restful garden setting.

  

Set in the palm room, Embrazo, an angel comforting a woman Pieta style.

It's the only sculpture in the exhibit displayed indoors.

Equilibrista 90 evokes balance and strength in a magnolia grove.

Alas de Mexico (Wings of Mexico) near the entrance invites us to climb the steps and become a part of the exhibit.  Appearing static on their own...

...then quite dynamic moments later when my garden club friends encountered them.

For a different perspective check out Pam's photos at Digging from the Houston stop on the tour. "Wings of the City" will be at the San Antonio Botanical Garden through June 6, 2016 so you have plenty of time to visit this spring for a view of art with the garden in bloom.

Guest Posting at Garden Style San Antonio

When my friend Heather at San Antonio Water System (SAWS) contacted me about writing a guest post for their website Garden Style San Antonio I didn't hesitate to say yes.  Garden Style San Antonio has been an an excellent resource for watersaving garden ideas and I'm excited to have my first guest post published on the site today.  If you garden in San Antonio or Central Texas, you will enjoy browsing their extensive plant lists with photos, design ideas, seasonal reminders for tasks in the garden and the latest on SAWS watersaver coupons.

Another reason I was happy to guest post for SAWS is my article highlights the stars of my winter garden--agaves, cacti, and succulents.  Lawn is not the only welcoming option for a front yard, these plants have led to many compliments from passersby and opportunities to chat with neighbors over the years.  Planned about six years ago with the idea that our front landscape would look much the same year round with minimal maintenance, we've achieved our goal.  Mid-January is an excellent time to check out our plan.  With a silvery foundation of drought-tough agaves, grasses, and evergreens like Texas Mountain Laurel, all anchored by native Live Oaks, the front garden needs only a few tweaks each year to keep it looking great.



Any post highlighting agaves in my garden must begin with Agave Ovatifolia, the focal point of the front drive.  Heather knew I wouldn't turn down a chance to write about this beauty!  Damianita at its feet have just finished blooming.

Upright and comparatively small Agave neomexicana provides a focal point in the narrow island.  There are two offsets emerging and I can't wait to plant those out in the garden when they're ready.

Tough agaves and yucca add form and structure while echoing the silvery color theme throughout the front garden.  The narrow leaves in the middle belong to a small Yucca rostrata.

A special variety of native Yucca rupicola features gold-edged silvery leaves.  Color Guard Yucca in the right foreground picks up the the gold and green theme against a background of native Salvia greggii.

Golden Barrel cactus (foreground) needs little care to look its best in this tough spot along the driveway.

And here they are close up.



Fishhook barrel cactus continues to produce bright magenta blooms during our mild winter.

Another welcoming garden near the front walk is in the works.  Deer resistant Wooly Stemodia will eventually make a silvery carpet for small agaves placed here.

Agave Victoria-reginae grows slowly so it's a great choice for small spaces.

Opuntia Santa-Rita and Color Guard Yucca add winter color on the north side of the driveway.

Around back the crevice garden holds a sunny slope where little would grow previously.  

It's a perfect spot for more small agaves, grass-like nolina, yucca, and cacti nestled into pea gravel.  By the way, those low-growing green plants in the gravel are wildflowers, not weeds.

My favorite here is Agave 'Blue Glow' in the left hand corner (above).  Below it's shown with a backdrop of Texas Blubonnets from last spring.

Agave angustifolia picks up the silvery theme in the narrow side yard.

Agaves, cacti, and succulents keep my garden looking its best year round.  I'll have an opportunity to write more posts for Garden Style San Antonio this year and I'm looking forward to sharing my San Antonio garden adventures with you.  Be sure enter your email on the front page of the Garden Style San Antonio site to keep up with the best of San Antonio gardening.