It Rained!...

We FINALLY had some rain.

Six inches of rain!

We really, really needed it.

It made everybody happy.

The planter we made in this old fountain,

was happy.  

The Periwinkle loved the rain.

It loves the heat, too.

The Plumbago is beginning to really bloom.

They love the heat, too.

And, a little water from heaven doesn't hurt.

Even the Prickly Pear loved the rain.

We're heating back up,

and we have a whole lot of sun.

But, it was nice while it lasted.

Hope you're having good weather,

wherever you are.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

If the Creek Don't Rise...

We live beside a wet weather creek.

It goes on two sides of our house.

It comes along the back, and turns at the pond

you can see in the photo below.

This little feature was built by the young man next door,

so his elderly Golden Lab could get wet, without swimming.

This was back in June. The water was flowing over the cart path,

making a little waterfall, on it's way to the Big Waterfall.

Sunday...three days ago...this creek was dry.

The pond...which is four feet deep in places...was dry.

Dry.

Not today.

I'm not sure how much rain we've had.

Our digital rain gauge chose Monday,

as a good day to die.

It's coming across the cart path with a lot of power.

It's rushing down to the Big Waterfall.

I didn't walk down there....it was still raining,

and I didn't want to dodge the runoff.

The pond is full, again.

And, I'm wondering if Nate's wall is still there, 

so Carly can swim.

Water is an amazing thing.

We are thinking about those in Louisiana,

who are dealing with WAY too much water.

Flooding is such a sad thing to deal with.

I hope you're safe, wherever you are.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Lazy Sunday Afternoon...

The middle of April.

Can you believe it?

There has been some hard work going on here.

More weeding.

More mulching.

More graveling.

Because of some health issues I had last year, 

that kept me out of the garden, 

and two flooding rains that washed

away mulch and some gravel... 

there is even more to do this year.

Yes, I know there are people you can hire to help. 

I'm just too hard headed

to hire them. 

There will come a time when I don't have that choice. 

So, for now...

Things are looking better. But, the end is still a way off.

Take a walk with me. I'll show you what we've been doing.

We'll start at the front...

This is some of the mulching and graveling.

We had mulch down in this path before. It was washed away.

So, I raised the edge bricks and we're trying gravel.

Looks like this, from the other direction.

Across the bridge and into the Grass Bed. 

We had a hard rain the other day, and water washed across these bricks...

and around these rocks. I put them there to keep debris out of the agaves.

No fun getting it out.

Water went around, but washed a trail through the Grass Bed.

The black edging worked to keep water from flooding here.

And, the new rock edge by the Yuccas kept it away from them.

I left it this way for a few days. More heavy rain is forecast.

Just let it follow this path, until I can raise up another barrier.

The irises have been doing really well, this year.

Even some of the new iris, ordered and planted last fall,

are budding.

I'm loving the Yarrow. It's finally looking good.

The deer are finally leaving it alone.

Around to the back....

the rye grass (from the golf course) and Horse Herb are nice and green.

The Jerusalem Sage is blooming nicely.

Love these blooms....

Looking back the other way, from inside the fence.

I took a water break...also known as 

"Admire the work, and plan more".

No...he's not real. I placed this little resin frog in the birdbath for 

a place for the birds to sit.

The Japanese Aralia is taking off this year.

This Softleaf Yucca will need to be cleaned out.

Waiting until all the Brown Squigglies have fallen.

The new and improved AC Bed.

I'll put a vine on the trellis. Just have to decide what kind.

The Front Fence Bed is cleaned out. 

I have a few things I want to plant, but it's cleaned out...soon to be mulched.

And, back to the front.

That stone drain was here when we bought.

We added the Rio for more drainage. Sometimes, it's just not enough. 

(sigh)

The yucca stalk is coming right along.

We won't be sitting in the swing tonight, enjoying this view.

It's storming here today. We've only had a lot of noise, and some good rain.

More is coming, and we're hoping no really heavy rain comes

and washes away our hard work.

Still and all...

Life is Good.

I hope all is good where you are.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Frosty Mornings...

Maybe it's because I just never noticed.

Or, maybe it was because the grasses in the Deer Grove

were all pushed over or washed away,

in the Halloween Flood.

Or, maybe I was looking out the window,

at just the right time.

But, I got to see the Frostweed, when it was doing its thing.

I was looking out the kitchen window,

and I could see something white in the Grove.

It was 24 degrees.

Yes...not bad, considering the blizzard going on 

in the Northeast.

So, I grabbed my camera and went out to investigate.

Sure enough...it was the Frostweed.

Frostweed (Verbesina virginica) stores water in its stems.

When the temperature gets really low,

the stems burst open, and the water comes out and freezes.

I didn't touch it. But, it looks like shaving cream.

When I went out a couple hours later, 

the foam was gone....as if it never was there.

Isn't Nature interesting?

I searched my files, and couldn't find one photo of this

plant in summer.

So, I borrowed one from the Wildflower site.

www.wildflower.org

It's a nice looking plant, although unremarkable until it blooms.

The white bloom clusters are nice.

It blooms in early fall.

In the Grove, it lives without much water....none at all in most summers.

And, the deer don't touch it.

Maybe I need to move one up to the house.  

Not sure how well it might transplant.

*****************

We haven't had any real rain in a while.

Less than a tenth of an inch, over a week ago.

We're supposed to be getting more rain than usual,

because of El Nino.

We'll have to water soon, if nothing happens.

*****************

I hope you're safe a warm where you are.

'Til next time...

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

These Guys Broke the Mold...

We had a lot of rain this spring.

Days of rain and clouds, and very little sunshine, to dry things out.

Everything became green...

including the driveway, the deck....everything.

The driveway developed a thick slime.

And, after I slid and bruised my tailbone on Father's Day,

going out for the paper,

our daughter and son-in-law came to power wash.

We have a circular drive.

So...dear son-in-law...who has no 'off' button...spent over 

SIX HOURS

washing away the slime.

The slime was thick, and it was slow-going. 

But now, it almost looks like a new driveway.

If I fall now, it'll have to be blamed on something else.

They left the powerwasher for Mr P to use on the deck.  

It was pretty black and moldy.

Amazing how just water can wash that away.

I thought the porch wasn't quite that bad.

But, up against the clean, you can see it had to be done, too.

The older generation doesn't work as fast, but it's finally done.

We just have to seal the wood now, and it should be good for a while.

Sitting here this morning with my coffee, I'm loving the clean.

And, as an extra bonus....it smells so much better.

Life is good today....

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

It Wintered Here....

Maybe not for long. Warm weather will probably return.

But, for November, in Central Texas, it's been cold.

And, rainy.

We haven't gotten out of the thirties here since last Friday.

Thursday was 80F.

The water is still flowing down the creek, and across the cart path.

That pipe has been clogged up, for a while.

And, wet, soggy leaves are stuck to everything.

We cleaned up several cart loads, just before the cold front blew in.

There'll be more sweeping and raking and hauling, once things dry out.

Hope you're keeping warm where you are.

Looks like our little piece of Winter, is spreading across the country.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~