After the rain

I've learned to count on these sage blooms.  We had just over 5" of rain from August 8-9 and ten days on the nose later, they burst into bloom.  It happens every time we get rain in late summer.  We don't get a lot of rain events so it's easy to predict these blooms.  Known as Cenizo or Texas Ranger Sage its botanical name is Leucophyllum frutescans.

It's a stunner running the 100' length of our driveway.

During their full bloom, which lasts just a day or two, I spend a lot of time outside enjoying their mild fragrance and cool deep lavender blooms.

The warm pink autumn sage (Salvia greggii) is also blooming which may not be the best combination, but...

I planted white Salvia greggii to compensate.

See, that helps along with pink muhly grass which is not in bloom but adds another color pink to the mix.  When all three pinks are in bloom at once it's quite a cacophony of color.

Then again, just about any color looks good with them like this bright orange and yellow Pride of Barbados (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) below.

Another after the rain bloomer are Hill Country Rain Lilies (Cooperia pendunculata).  When I first saw these huge bright white and fresh lily blooms I thought I must have planted summer bulbs but they are native to my area and simply popped up in several places around the front and back yard.  The seeds are large and easily transplanted for more and more plants.

Some insist these sage blooms predict rain because they are also commonly called "barometer bush".  So do we have rain in the forecast?  Yes, there's a tropical storm headed our way eventually.  When these blooms first popped out over the weekend we had a 20% chance of rain today (Tuesday).  Then the rain was moved to Wednesday with a 40% chance.  Now that chance has evaporated.  No rain today and little chance of rain Wednesday with possible rain later in the week.  I've heard it said the plant does predict rain as long as you don't specify when, exactly, that rain will arrive.  Come to think of it, that does sound like our local TV weather forecast.

Ah, everything looks better after a rain.

Drive by photos? It's a compliment!

When a car stops in front of the house I have to peek, especially since this one also backed up.  She rolled down the window and out came her phone.  It's a drive by photo!  I'll take it as a compliment.  

The video is amusing.  Bloggers will recognize this move and I've done it many times.

Often when a car stops out front they're trying to find one of our neighbors.  We live on a confusing curve where the street names change for no apparent reason.  Even more confusing is the other street has the same house numbers except odd-even switches sides from left to right.  "Your destination is on the right", "or left (maybe)."  We've had to run up the street to redirect a few guests who ended up at the wrong house.  Some of my neighbors on the same street even live in a different town which adds to the fun.

This time I'm pretty sure it's the landscape that caught her attention.  I wanted to tell her it does look better than this in spring and fall, but maybe seeing how good it looks on a hot summer day is even more informative.  Just a few Pride of Barbados blooms by the garage because the Salvia greggii along the street has just finished blooming.  This view doesn't change much in the winter as I noted in a post last March.

With a significant increase in water bills this year due to a new tiered system designed to target irrigation systems we've seen a renewed interest in cutting back on lawn.  No lawn here.   This area is hot in the summer so most turf grass would brown out anyway.  That doesn't mean an absence of grasses.  Mexican Feather Grass has turned from green to tawny for summer.  It'll need a little grooming in early spring, otherwise it's pretty easy.  I used to pull out extra grass seedlings to maintain the original planting design.  I like the look so much better now with grasses popping up wherever to soften concrete and stone.   We've planted native Muhly grasses:  Pink Muhly, Lindheimer's Muhly, El Toro Muhly, Deer Muhly, and Seep Muhly.  African native Ruby Crystals grass is best along the driveway where even Mexican Feather Grass couldn't stand up to the heat.

While our neighbors fire up their lawnmowers each week, we cut back the grasses every few years in January and Salvia greggii gets a light haircut after blooming several times a year.  Grasses bloom in the fall, their soft colors adding so much more to the landscape than turf grass.

I very much enjoy knowing our choices are appreciated.  So thanks anonymous drive-by for stopping to snap a few shots of our landscape!

It's been a good summer in the garden

I'm not sure I could have imagined a gardening year like this when I began planning our garden back in 2009!  After a mild winter and nice spring weather, we've had cooler than average temperatures with so much rain this summer that I've rarely needed to water anything.

Salvia greggii are blooming bright out by the street.  As predicted the Cenizo sage have bloomed again due to a foot of rain last week.  With so little downtime the blooms are not quite as intense as in my previous post.  With so much rain again this week I wonder when they will stop blooming.

My drought tolerant plants are responding well to so much rain.  Bright pink Salvia greggii in the mailbox strip were planted about 20 years ago when I was too busy to garden and had no clue what to plant in San Antonio.  An article in the paper recommended Salvia greggii for our climate so in they went over a long weekend.  A year later we were transferred to Boston and rented this house out for eleven years.  Eleven years of garden neglect and they never missed a beat!  We easily divided enough for the driveway landscape (above) four years ago.

The front walk view is shaping up well.  I find myself trying to describe to first-time visitors how we essentially started with a blank slate.  It seems hard to imagine now.  Maybe a slide show some day would work better.

Sometimes it's even harder to see in photos, for example, the agave bed in the lower right looks so much better in person.

Current favorites are beautyberry plants in three colors.  Bright magenta on Callicarpa americana.

White beautyberry, there are several botanical names so I'm not sure which this is.

And the deeper purple Mexican Beautyberry.

Not the best photo but when I returned to take another, it seems the birds had nearly finished stripping  the berries.

This photos shows darker berries.

On to the side gate where no-mow buffalo grass has stayed green all summer.

Plants in the circle garden are overgrowing their beds due to all the rain.

 Last year the tank garden was mostly grasses, this year Blackfoot daisy spills out from under blue Salvia farinacea accented by Gomphrena 'Fireworks'.  Seedlings are popping up everywhere!

Hyacinth bean vine climbs the cedar arbor.  I keep testing vines that can take a direct shot of sun hitting the arbor in late summer.  This year we had so many cloudy days in August that it wasn't the best test.  We'll see what happens next year.

Pomegranates look ready but it will be a few more months before we pick them.  Tart pomegranate seeds are not that great.

Hardy and tasty Lemonquats are turning yellow.  This unique citrus tree was developed in Texas especially for our hot-cold-rain-drought climate.

Native poinsettia bracts are turning neon orange.  I started with just a few my friend Cheryl dug up on her family ranch near Pipe Creek and just one year later they are everywhere.

Love them!  Brighter than surveyor's paint.

No longer a neglected back fence corner, the hottest spot in the garden is looking good now.

Three different colors of Esperanza will grow to make a colorful hedge.

Bells of Fire

Traditional yellow bells

And 'Mahogany' mix of yellow with orange.

Hibiscus blooms make the humidity seem almost worth it.  Japanese lantern hibiscus.

Moy Grande Hibiscus

A look over the side fence down the stone path and my pot ghetto under the arching trees.

While we've been cloudier than usual there's always sunshine in my garden.

Fall is also normally great weather here as we take a long, slow slide into a usually short and mild winter season.  This has been a great gardening year so far, and there are four months remaining.  I wonder how the year will end?

Late Spring Garden Walk-Through

This has been a most amazing spring.  After several years of drought we've had plenty of rain and cooler than average temperatures.  Everything looks so good it's time for another tour before it all fades in summer's heat.

We'll start out at the street where the Salvia greggii are beginning to fade and the Yucca 'Color Guard' will bloom soon with the skeletons of Yucca recurvifolia bloom stalks in the background.  Last year each plant had only one stalk this year there are three on one, two on another and just one on the front plant which seems to be struggling to bloom again this year.

March 2014 End of Month View

Sometimes we gardeners are so focused on what remains to be done that we forget how much progress has been made.  This is why I enjoy looking at the changes through past photos, and just one of the reasons I'm joining  The Patient Gardener for the End of Month View for March.

March is one of the best months for gardening in our climate and we are typically in a big push to get large projects finished.  Plants put in the garden now get a chance to grow in and gain strength before the heat of summer sets in.  This year March has been cooler than usual, but the weather has been great for gardening except on a few days when high winds kept us indoors.

The Salvia greggii blooming along the street are an especially welcomed sight after our cold winter.  These tough native plants are evergreen and resume blooming as soon as the weather warms a bit.  By design the front view does not change much through the seasons, providing an enjoyable view throughout the year.

Foliage Follow-up August 2013

Foliage Follow-up is hosted by Pam Penick at her blog Digging  for bloggers to highlight our garden foliage on the 16th of each month.  For August I'm featuring blooming plants without blooms and a selection of plants doing well in our high summer heat.

How will that plant look in the heat of August?  That's a question I often ask when selecting new plants. August is not typically a great bloom season in my garden and it's a time when the foliage itself needs to shine.

That doesn't mean blooming plants are out of the picture.

The scene this morning in my front yard.  Many of these plants produce blooms throughout the year but are not blooming now yet they still add to the landscape and I enjoy the subdued colors in this part of the garden.  Earlier this week I trimmed the last fading flowers from the Salvia greggii (in the foreground) and gently shaped them into mounds so they will look good through the next few weeks before being covered with blooms again this fall.  I've also trimmed the lantana (farther back along the driveway island and walk) to prepare for fall blooms.

Shopping for Inspiration

When we moved home to Texas in 2008 our yard was a blank slate and I needed garden inspiration.  I went looking for a beautiful, regionally appropriate landscape that worked with the strict watering guidelines imposed by our city.  I began by checking out commercial landscapes as I was out running errands and started putting a few ideas together.  It wasn't long before I headed out to The Shops at La Cantera in northwest San Antonio and discovered one of the best spots for my landscape inspiration.

Beautifully landscaped with an emphasis on native plants and details that were unmistakably San Antonio, I was presented with possibilities that I was not even aware of.  I was fascinated from that first visit and returned again and again as I put together a plan for my own yard.

These photos are from a recent trip

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: March 2013

Gardens Blogger's Bloom Day sponsored by Carol at May Dreams Gardens is special day for garden bloggers to share what's blooming in their gardens on the 15th of each month.

March in Texas is bluebonnet season when our favorite native wildflower, Lupinus texensis, takes center stage.  A few years ago we planted a patch in our back yard and they have begun blooming right on schedule this week.  This is a preview and they will get their own post next week.

Winter Walk-Off 2013

It's time for the Winter Walk-off sponsored by Les at A Tidewater Gardener.  Last year I gave the walk-off a try and the resulting photos were so boring I didn't even post them.  So you wanna see my neighborhood?  Yes? No?  Either way you're going to see it this year.

The Winter Walk-off 2013 rules are

On your own two feet, leave the house and share what can be seen within walking (or biking) distance of your home (if you want to drive to your walk that's OK too).  Your post does not have to be about gardening or a travelogue, unless you want it to be.  Maybe instead you will find some unusual patterns, interesting shadows, signs of spring, a favorite restaurant or shop, questionable landscaping or local eyesores.  Whatever, just keep your eyes and mind open, be creative and have fun, but don't show anything from your own garden.

I considered posting one of my River Walk adventures instead.  After all, Les said we could drive to our walk.  That's too easy though and I really want to show you my own neighborhood.  There are many special things that make it one of the more desirable areas of the city:  the live oak trees chief among them. They set the backdrop for a wide variety of gardening and landscaping options.  But among the challenges are the lack of sidewalks and deep set-backs for the houses mixed with a very laid-back approach to yard maintenance.

So here we go on a walk around the 'hood.  Of course I picked trash day and brush pick-up week to do this so the photography would be more fun!

Boorrring!  This isn't my street, but a nearby one just like it.  I actually forgot to get a picture of my street.



Let's keep going, there are some fun things to see along the way.  I promise.

Mild winter brings plenty of March blooms to the garden

In our warm climate we don't wait for April showers.  Signs of spring are all around the yard this week and quite a few blooms are springing up.

Texas Mountain Laurel, a favorite native plant, is blooming out in the front yard
 

Watersaver Landscape Tour: Wildscape in Alamo Heights

Last Saturday I attended the Watersaver Landscape Tour sponsored by SAWS, our local water system.  Six San Antonio gardens were on the tour, including five residences and one community garden.

My favorite on the tour was the native plant garden in the Alamo Heights neighborhood northeast of downtown.  The house is located on a downslope away from the street which can provide unique challenges for gardeners. This homeowner created a very natural feel to the gardens along the street and driveway with a wide variety of plantings.  A garage was removed at street level and a circle drive added to allow plenty of room for plants at the top of the hill.

Before and After: October 9, 2012

Shortly after beginning to write this blog last year I posted my yard for the first time on October 9th, 2011.  I resolved to check on progress consistently and I chose the date primarily because I had a good photo from the previous year on the same day.

This year's October 9th photo looks so much better because it's been a good year for rain and (relatively) cooler summer temperatures.  Even though I now document progress throughout the year in this blog, I still plan to do this annual assessment.

Hot Lantana for Summer Color

Throughout the summer New Gold lantanas and autumn sages (salvia greggii) brighten yards and commercial landscapes around the city of San Antonio.  It's no different here in my front yard.

Most of these lantanas were planted when the house was built about 18 years ago.  Even though they didn't come with tags I'm pretty sure they are New Gold Lantana as they bloom profusely and do not produce berries.  They take all the heat the south facing driveway throws at them and then some.

These lantana are also huge. The largest two at opposite ends of the island bed are 68" and 72" diameter which is about twice the mature size listed on the label.

Over in the hellstrip by the mailbox, red autumn sages (Salvia greggii) were planted here back in 1996.  About three years ago I added this red lantana.  It's a color match for both the red salvia greggii and the gold lantana.  The ladder you see is for my husband who was on the roof installing sun shades on the clerestory windows.  I always stay outside when he's on a ladder or the roof.  I spent the time enjoying all this color.

Existing Salvia greggii was divided and planted in the new bed along the street. The gold here is Four-nerve daisy because it blooms through the winter while lantana dies back. We still need to mulch here and that will be completed soon.

It's all tied together with Color Guard yucca and Golden Barrel cactus (Echinocactus grunsonii) like these by the power pole and street sign on the opposite side of the yard. Extra credit if you notice the similarities in my neighbor's landscape.   Love it when that happens!

We're ready for summer here as these hot colors will hold their own throughout the hot summer.