Another One Bites the Dust...

Seems like just yesterday,

I was being amazed it was April already.

Now, it's almost over.

Another month, bites the dust.

It's been busy.

Weeding, and mulching, and graveling.

I got the fenced yard almost finished.

Just have to clean up that bed at the back,

and along the Rio.

I got some of the Virginia Creeper cut back.

It wants to take over the world.

This is the before...

I got some things planted in the Veggie Garden...

tomatoes, squash...and, transplanted these cucumbers

that came up in the compost bed.

Not sure they'll do anything, 

but, they were there.

Why not?

The grapevine is putting on buds.

It looked so bad last fall, we thought it had died.

The buds on the softleaf yucca opened.

Aren't they pretty?

As an extra treat, here's our neighbor's yucca blooming.

No wire around it, and the deer didn't touch it.

And, to finish out the month with more beauty...

Last fall I ordered some iris online.

I got them all planted and they all did good...except one.

But, that's a good record, for me.

And, they're blooming.

First, New Moon

Next, Peaches and Dreams.

And today, Discovered Treasure.

And, all together...

We had some light rain, and have a forecast for heavier rain tonight.

So, I went out and cut the open ones,

so we could enjoy them, inside.

Look how the peach of Peaches and Dreams,

and the peach in Discovered Treasure, match.

Isn't Nature wonderful?

So...that's it from here.

Hope you have a fun and safe weekend.

See you next month.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Blooms and Foliage...May, 2015...

I've been neglecting this blog for a while.  

Travel and weed pulling, have gotten in the way.

The middle of each month, though, is when we join 

Carol at May Dreams Garden

and

Pam at Digging.
for Bloomday and Foliage Follow-Up.

We've been having a lot of rain.
So, I got out between rains, for some of these photos.

Not much is blooming here.
My garden is way behind some others due to a late freeze.

But, this prickly pear has been showing off a little...one bloom at a time.

This one is in the Drive Bed.
And, it's really been growing.

The Feverfew bloomed this year, too.
The flowers are on long stems, and I'm not too crazy about that.
But, the blooms are pretty.

The Verbena Bonariensis is blooming.
Another one with pretty flowers on long stems.

I tried a Mexican Honeysuckle this year.
I really like it and so do Hummingbirds.

It seems the deer like it, too.
I'll be moving it to the Fenced Yard.

What we have most of here, is foliage.

The Japanese Aralia is finally taking off. Mr. Rooster might get covered up.

Lophantha

and Quadracolor agave are doing well.

The Inland Seaoats are finally filling in the way I planned.
They're loving all this rain.

This Japanese Holly Fern is coming back from the dead.

We got the weeds out of the front beds,
and put down new mulch.

I think some cutting back is in store for the fig tree....
which is in a very wrong spot.
It was here when we got here.

In the veggie garden, the grapes are putting on clusters of grapes.

And, even though they got a very late start, the tomatoes are putting on fruit.

There's more going on here.
But, the sun is out and there's gardening that needs doing...
before it rains again.

Be sure to check out the Blooms and Foliage this month.

Happy Gardening...
~~Linda~~

A Real Vineyard...

The last time we met, I showed you the progress of the 

grapevine.  After several years, it put on fruit.

We harvested.  All THREE bunches.

We ate a few of them.  But, they are really wine grapes, not table grapes.

Pretty acidy....if that's a word.

But, on last Sunday, we went to a private tour of a real vineyard.

Five years ago, when we moved here, we joined the wine club at

Driftwood Estate Winery.

It's just down the road a bit.  And, we like wine.

We agreed to take a quarterly 'shipment' of three bottles of wine.

A hardship, I know.  But, we did it.

They have a 'Pick-Up Party' each time, so locals...or any member who wants to...

can come to the winery and pick up their 'shipment'.

Entertainment and some snacks and wine.

Another hardship....lol

We recently received an invitation to take a complementary tour of the vineyard,

followed by a box lunch....and, of course, wine.

It just so happened to occur on the hottest day we've had all summer.

But, it was worth it.

Gary Elliot, owner and wine maker, led the tour.

He knows his stuff....and, loves his job.

He talked about planting, pruning and the watering, 

that goes into growing wine grapes in Texas.

There are new acres, recently planted, but doing well.

The watering is done with drip emitters. 

  

Drops fall on each side of the vine.

It takes a bit of water.  Right now, they're taking it out of a creek that

flows through the property.

Soon, it may have to come from wells, which makes it harder, because

of the calcium in the water that clogs the emitters.

sangiovese

Grapes 'mist' themselves, through their leaves, especially when the nights stay warm.

This uses even more water.

cabernet

The welcome rains we've had this spring have certainly helped.

viognier

I asked about the later freeze we had this spring.

Gary said he has giant fans (sorry, I didn't get a photo), that he uses to 

blow the cold air up away from the ground.

It must have worked.

We gathered under the shade of a Live Oak grove, and had our box lunches

of Muffaletta sandwiches, fruit salad, chips and cookies.

photo quality due to bad focus, not too much wine

And, of course, some Longhorn Red.

By the way....we told Gary about our grapevine.

He said we're the first ones he's heard that got one to live,

much less make fruit.

We must have done something special.

Well...we planted and watered it.

Not all that special.  But, it worked.

Have a great weekend, and...

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

The Grape Update....

Back in May, I told you how excited we were that

the grapevine we planted a few years ago was finally

putting on some fruit.

We had buds.

The blooms.

 Then, little baby grapes.

Just last week, they were beginning to turn color.

Now this week, they're ripe.

The birds have left them alone.  We've tasted a couple.

They're a bit tart, but taste good.

We're taking a private vineyard tour this weekend,

at Driftwood Estate Winery.

We'll be asking questions. 

Maybe next year, we'll have even more grapes.

So much enjoyment, from ONE grapevine...LOL

Gardeners are indeed a breed apart.

Have a great weekend.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~