April 28, 2011
A little native, a little not + Wildflower Center Gardens on Tour
Look what the Easter bunny brought!
According to Scott Ogden’s book, Southern Bulbs for the South, this could be Zephyranthes drummondii (formerly Cooperia pedunculata). I’ve planted many rain lilies over the years, with such erratic success that I lose track. This one popped up out of “nowhere”; its wide gray green leaves were hidden by spiderworts on their way to summer vacation. It’s fragrant, with 2.5″ flowers.
Native White Avens (Geum canadense) is starting to go to seed after blooming for several weeks.
I love it for its low growing foliage in shade that gets bursts of sun.
My garden is not all native. My life is not “one thing” or another, either. Some days I go for an “earthy” outfit. Others, I’m in the mood for tailored or feminine. (Always, my nails are grubby).
As I wander the garden, I remember the people, places or botanical discoveries that have influenced me. It’s a combination of wild and tame, ideas and emotions. Experiments and satisfaction. The garden reveals me far more than any diary.
I’ll always remember the gardener who turned me onto my native Penstemon cobaea.
And after drooling over Heartleaf skullcap (Scutellaria ovata) in several gardens, I just had to give it a spin.
It’s just now starting to flower near the Pink skullcap (Scutellaria suffrutesscens), native to Mexico, but perfectly happy in east Austin.
One influence on my garden comes through garden tours, like the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Gardens on Tour. This week on CTG, Tom meets with LBJWC Director of Horticulture, Andrea DeLong-Amaya, to preview this year’s May 7 tour. They’ve got a diverse line-up to tickle your garden aesthetic, ideas on your project list, or tips for solutions. It’s also a blast just to hang out with other gardeners and swap notes! And this year, it’s a great chance to see what made it through drought and extended freeze.
Our video tour is to one of the gardens designed by Glee Ingram, where she started by removing invasive plants on a ski-slope site, and then restored the native habitat to bring back diverse wildlife.
Of course, your ticket for the day includes the Wildflower Center itself. You can get wristbands at each site, purchase in advance at various nurseries, or buy online.
This week, Daphne answers Lori Linder’s great question about her Cereus peruvianus that had a little “accident” going outside after winter. Been there, done that!
Anyway, Lori’s got two plants now! All she needs to do is let the broken part dry out and replant it. Some of us call this “pruning!”
Thank Lori and her husband Tony for the super fast re-build of CTG’s set and its fabulous update, including great new plant stands/coffee tables made from the old set. Lori & Tony are superb set designers and furniture builders all over the place, not just for TV and films, but for real situations, who jumped in to help out CTG at the last minute when we moved from one studio to another.
Right this minute, I’m getting so many questions about fire ants and grub worms. Chinch bugs are coming up soon.So, this week, John Dromgoole has a few organic tips to send these pests on their way.
Heads up for an event this Sunday, May 1! The Coalition of Austin Community Gardens and Sustainable Food Center invites you to the Austin Community Garden tour to visit public spaces around town and get tips on growing your own vegetables.
Until next week, Linda