The Never Ending Story...

A while back, I told you there was a 

New Project

in the works.

This area, on the side of the house, has been progressing since we got here.

Our first view was this...

The fenced Veggie Bed was there when we got here.

That black thing in the middle?  That's the septic tank.

We're hooked up to the sewer system, so that tank just is a pass through kind of thing.

I couldn't stand that.

So, one of the first projects here, was making a bed around it.

There was some grass over there then. St. Augustine, some Bermuda,

and a lot of weeds....

and ROCKS.

So, as the digging progressed, and the heat started setting in,

the bed became smaller than the plan.

I named it The Rock Bed.

Not for the rocks in it, but for the rocks I took out.

The next year, I expanded it.  I planted lantana, some autumn sage that came with the house,

moved some prickly pear from the Deer Grove, and added things here and there.

I think you've heard this story before.

It looked pretty good, for a while.

But, the deer ate the blooms off the lantana.

They shredded some of the agave.

I borrowed the prickly pear for the Drive Bed, after the evil

Snout-nosed Beetle killed that pretty yucca.

And, it all got neglected.

Weeds took over.

Horseherb and feather grass everywhere.

That wouldn't do...

So, we put up some wire on most of the bed.  If I'm going to have lantana

...or any other blooming plant...

there has to be a barrier against the deer.

But, I have bigger plans.

This new mulched area is for grasses...and other things deer don't eat.

I moved the feathergrass out of the new fenced area.

And, some autumn sage and agaves got moved.

Planted some Gulf Muhly, and moved the 

Spanish Bayonet from the front bed, where it was in the wrong place.

I dug out the weeds and the horseherb and planted a new lantana I was lucky enough 

to get at an Austin Bloggers meeting.

We made a mulch path along the side of the house.

Red mulch...I wanted brown, but ended up with red.

It does add color.

There's a bridge across a low place, where we're trying to protect some tree roots.

Is it done?

Hahaha...

Of course not!

There are plants I need to move around, blooming things need to be planted in 

the new fenced area, more grasses and some cactus in the grass bed....

And then, there's this...

It's a Never Ending Story.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

This and That for Thursday...

Remember the old John Fogerty song....

'110 in the Shade'?

Well...it's not quite that here.

But, close enough.

That old sun is beating down.

Barely any breezes blowing.

But, hey...it's August and it's Texas.

It's expected.

It does seem, the older I get, the harder it is to handle the heat.

With  Mr P's help, we got part of the New Project done.

The mulch is down on this part.  Native grasses are planned for here.

We put wire around part of the old Rock Bed.

I need to clean it out and will plant some of those 

'deer resistant' (ahem) plants, that our deer like to eat.

Ones that require more sun than the Fenced Yard supplies.

This part will be planted with salvias.  Very low water plants.

Can you tell I've neglected this bed?

The part between the large rock and the bucket is new bed.

It'll need some amending.

But, when it's already 80F when you get up in the morning,

projects move pretty slooooowly.

You do a lot more sitting in the shade, than digging in the dirt.

While I was sitting, I noticed this Hyacinth Bean had taken hold in a Live Oak.

Now the Oak is blooming purple.

While you're here, I'll show you one of my new toys.

I put a Coke can on it, to give you some perspective.

It is 'toy-like', right?

The heaviest part is the rechargeable battery.

Not big, but it gets our tiny piece of lawn mowed.

If we don't get some more rain soon, we won't have to worry too much about mowing.

In the mean time, we'll keep putting out water for the wildlife,

dragging hoses around, and staying in the shade.

Hope you have the weather you want, wherever you are.

'Til next time...

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Speaking of wildlife,

I did a short post, over at my photo blog, about these.

And the Neighbors Say....

Uh oh....

She's at it again....

Yep.

Stay tuned...

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Foliage Follow-Up...May, 2012...

After a day of rain yesterday, today dawned sunny and cool.

Today is Foliage Follow-Up day.  The day we join
Pam at Digging,
to show off our foliage.

Let's start in front.  This is one of two Squid Agaves we have in containers,
at the front entrance.  They're doing quite well.

In the new Driveway Bed, the Mexican Feathergrass is growing fast.

Diamonds of moisture were shining in the early sunlight.
This is becoming one of my go-to plants for around here.
Last summer's awful heat and drought didn't faze the Feathergrasses we already had.
The deer don't touch it.
It's pretty.
What is there not to like?

The Unknown Agave is about to out grow it's protective covering.
I hope when I take this off, the deer will leave it alone.

Over in the Island Bed, two more of my favorites..
Lamb's Ear and Artemisia 'Powis Castle'.

We've had this Sago Palm for years.  It moved down with us from our old garden.
Last year, the hard, long freeze we had really stunted it.  This year, it's looking good.
That makes me smile, because this is the centerpiece of this bed.

Around the side to the Rock Bed.  This is a bed that gets no more than one watering a month, even in last year's hot, VERY dry summer.  You see why these are some of my favorites.
Mexican Feathergrass, Prickly Pear, Rosemary, Autumn Sage...

And, the agave I rescued from Elli's redo.  It's put on new growth.  These are tough plants.
And, that bed really needs some cleaning up and new mulch.

The Agave lophantha in the wheelbarrow is growing.

In the brand new Back Bed, the Candy Lily and Iris are adding interest next to the pot of Prickly Pear.
There are lots of 'Tunas' on the Prickly Pear.  I hope the deer let them ripen.

Up onto the deck, here's one of the three Hawthornia we have in the copper windowbox liner.
You can see why some people call this Zebra Plant.

My aim here was for a vignette of orbs.
Golden Barrel Cactus, Blue Fescue, and a hummingbird feeder that's pretty, but leaks.
So far, so good...

The Wall pocket with Liriope.
Notice the wren's nest.  She worked hard on this, then never came back.
We're leaving it for a while, just in case.

In the Fenced Yard, Liriope is a favorite.

Along with Aztec Grass.  I'd use them all over the whole place.  But, deer eat them, so they have to stay behind a fence.

The Cannas are beginning to take off.  I hope they bloom this year.  The burgundy one didn't bloom at all last summer.  It's supposed to be red.  The Striped leaf one did bloom, and it had some really nice blooms last year.

Purple Heart is a good performer, in sun or shade.

And, I like the Silver Ponyfoot, too.  It's a happy little ground cover that looks really good spilling over the sides of containers.  I'd love to have it out front, too.  But, the time I tried, the deer ate it all, but left the Holly Fern behind.

gratuitous picture of the view


We have a lot more foliage.
Foliage is a favorite around here.
It's always giving interest to the garden, even when there are no blooms.

What kind of foliage to you have?
Go over and join Pam, for more Fabulous Foliage.

Happy Gardening...
~~Linda~~

Making Some Progress...Update #3

I'm continuing my journaling of the progress in the garden.  Lots of time and work, have gone into these beds.

July, 2008

A lot has changed, since that day we made the offer on this house.  This is the view from the front, beside the mailbox, to the veggie area.  The veggie garden, is a large cage, with dirt inside for planting.  The black thing, sitting in the middle there, is the cover on the septic.  The septic isn't really used as a septic anymore...we have city sewage...but, the hole is there, and there has to be access.  Certainly not your most appealing view...a big black thing, just sitting there, looking ugly.

April, 2009

  We took away the big black cover thing, and covered the hole and put a big rock on top.  That left a big rock, sitting in the middle of the yard.  Not what I wanted.

So, I got out there and started digging.  My original plan, was to make a huge bed, all along the veggie garden.  The more I dug, the smaller the new garden plan became.

April, 2009

I call this the Rock Bed.  Not because it has a lot of rocks IN it, but because I took so many rocks OUT of it.  Mr. P. calls it the 'No See 'Em' bed, because you can't see it from his precious covered porch.

May, 2009

It's sunny and hot in this bed, from mid morning, until about 5:00 in the afternoon.  I wish the veggie garden was on the other side of this bed.  It would get more sun.  But, there won't be any moving that.

Late May, 2009

I know how all these plants felt, sitting out there in the sun.  Except, I was out there much earlier in the year.

Most of these plants had to be moved.  Some were chomped right down to the dirt, or burned to a crisp, during our very long, hot summer.  Sometime, you learn the hard way.  Actually, since that's the way I do it so often, that must be my favorite way to learn.

April, 2010

Anyway, when they took the dirt out for the Rio, I had them dump it over beside the Veggie Garden.  It's surprisingly good dirt.  Other people's top soil, that has washed down over the years, and decomposed leaves and grass, for years.  I added some more compost, though. 

April, 2010

There's still a way to go.  More weeds have shown up.  We need to get mulch down.  But, I think once things grow, it'll be good.  Something nice, for the golfers to see, as they make the turn.  

April, 2010

  The grass is very sad over here.....no grass watering was done last summer.  The weeds love it here, though.  Not sure what we'll do for the 'lawn' here.  I have some plans, but they're going to have to wait.

So, what do you think?  Was it worth all that work?  I guess, we'll have to wait and see what it looks like later in the year.  At least, it's not just a big cage and a big black thing, anymore.

But, you know....a garden is never really 'DONE', is it....

Happy Gardening..

~~Linda...