Wow...It's Been a Whole Year!!

My....time passes fast.  It's been a year ago today, that I posted my first blog post ever.

It was a busy year.  It's been a real learning experience.  Not just the blogging, but learning to garden here.  Gardening with very different challenges.  Different soil conditions....extreme weather conditions....and, of course, the challenges of the wildlife, here.

In all my years of gardening, I'd never had to deal with deer.  Now, that is a real challenge.

The veggie garden did pretty well, in late spring.  A sturdy fence and a bit of rain, helped a lot.

Then, the blast furnace of summer set in.  Record temperatures, during record number of over 100 degrees.....and, no rain for months.  That brought the challenge of just keeping things alive.

Then, finally, the rains came in the fall.  The creek was running for the first time, since we moved here.  And, things began to come back to life.

We made some changes here.  We put in a fence.  We put in a rock drain (The Rio).

And, oh yes, we added a family member.

We toured gardens, and learned a lot about what will grow here, and what won't.

We fought to keep things alive again, when the records cold temperatures hit.

We took a trip down memory lane, to National Parks we've visited.

We celebrated holidays and travel.

And, we mourned the loss of those we loved.

So, here we've come around full circe.  Back to spring again. 

There have been a lot of changes here at Patchwork Garden.  More beds to tend....more challenges to face.

I've met a lot of really nice gardeners, this year....both in their blogs, and in person.  Garden blogging has been a very good addition to my days.

So, I celebrate my first year, and hope to have a lot more to share, in the year to come.  I hope you'll drop by, and join me.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda...

Foliage Follow-Up, April, 2010

Mexican Feather Grass, Nasella tenuissim

We're going pretty green, here at Patchwork Garden, for April Foliage Follow-Up Day.

Artemisia, 'Powis Castle'

I like flowers, I really do.  But, for  reliable garden color and texture, you have to have foliage.

Candy Lily,  Pardancanda norissii

Flowers do add color...and texture.  But, it's fleeting.  One of my favorites is Daylily.  As the name says, it lasts one day.  The Candy Lily, above, does the same.  Pretty bloom, but it lasts just for the day.  The foliage, though, is there all the time....adding interest to the garden.

Blue Fescue

Foliage comes in all kinds of colors...blue(ish)...

Autumn Fern

...green, with a touch of rust, on new growth.

Castor Bean

Dark green is the most prevalent, here.

Maiden Grass,  Miscanthus senisis, variegata

But, throw in some variegation, and different textures, and you up the interest quotient.

Agave Lophantha

Palm Grass, Curculigo capitulata

Lamb's Ear, Stachys byzantina

Asparagus Fern

Sago Palm, Cycas revoluta

Rosemary

Green Santolina....there's a gray version, too.

Inland Sea Oats

A good example, is our new mixed container, in the newly remodeled front bed.

It's all foliage.  Well, the Diamond Frost Euphorbia does have a small flower.  But, the rest is mostly for the foliage. 

In the back is Icicles Helichrysum, center is variegated Plectranthus, sides are the Euphorbia, and front is variegated Oregano.  I need those lighter colors, against the dark green of the Japanese Boxwood hedge, that came with the house.  Maybe too much for one pot, but I'll deal with that later.

There is more foliage, all throughout the garden.  All of these plants are outside the fenced area.  Yes, out there with those pesky deer.  So far, so good.  They're all on the deer-resistant list.  But, deer don't read very well....so, it remains to be seen, if they'll leave it alone.

Elaeagnus, Elaeagnus pungens

You just can't beat Green.....

If you want to see more green, and other colors of foliage, go over and visit  Pam at Digging, for
Foliage Follow-up Day.

April Garden Bloggers' Bloomday, 2010

Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloomday.  Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Garden, this is the day that garden bloggers show what's blooming in their part of the world.

Here, at Patchwork Garden, the flower blooming the most, is wild Prairie Verbena.  It's all along the creek, and filling the meadow.

I never realized it had such a scent.  But, walk into the meadow, and you can't miss it.

Blackfoot Daisy

Since I've been remodeling the whole place,  most of the plants are newly planted.  A few made it through last summer, and the unusually cold winter.

Salvia greggii

And, I've moved things around that were here last year.  They must be happy...they're the first ones to bloom.

Jerusalem Sage,  Phlomis fruticosa

Dianthus

Calibrachoa..lived mostly outside on the porch all winter.

Bougainvillea....lived in the garage.

Cleome 'Senorita Rosalita'

I've been digging more and more new beds, now that we have a fence.  I've been trying to fill them up with new plants.

Cuphea llavea 'Vienco'

Gazania

Calibrachoa

Kalanchoe

Some were already blooming, when I got them.

Salvia coccinea 'coral'

Some have started blooming since they were planted.

Salvia leucanthus

Not much there, yet.

Spiderwort

This one, was left over from last year.  It's outside the fence in a pot, mixed with Dusty Miller.  Still, it got chomped over and over, last year.  And, it got chomped early this year.  But, I put a cage around it, and it got to show it's colors.  I don't have a sunny spot for it.  So, maybe it'll have to go live somewhere else.

Everything has been happy with the spring, so far.  Let's hope we have enough rain this year.

Crown of Thorns, Euphorbia milii and Optunia 'Bunny Ears'

We don't want the whole garden to be a desert, again.

If you want to see more Bloomday blooms, go visit Carol at the link above.

Hope your Bloomday is bloomin' lovely.

Remember???

Remember the other day, when I showed you my precious, single Bluebonnet bloom? 

Remember how proud I was of my beautiful Bluebonnet?

Remember that I told you, the deer like to hang out in Elli's Meadow and the Deer Grove?

Well......this is what my precious Bluebonnet looks like now.

Is this that Fall that cometh after the Pride?

Remember how you all said how cute the deer are?

Well....I guess they are. 

But, what's up with them eating Bluebonnets?

I'm trying to remember that I vowed to get along with them.

Sigh......