Raising the Stakes

 

The raised beds are up and I'm loving them! This was the view a couple of weeks ago. 

These are the 6' x 4' x 15" Deep Root Cedar Raised Beds from Gardener's Supply. Really great quality beds, easy to assemble and the price isn't bad, especially if you find a coupon code and/or take advantage of a free shipping opportunity (extra shipping charge does apply, however).

We've since gotten even further than the above photo indicates. There's now crushed limestone surrounding the beds, good soil filling them and the perimeter beds, and drip irrigation lines in each bed. We used the Rain Bird Drip Irrigation Conversion Kits to change two sprinkler heads into multi-drip lines. This has worked out really well, despite being one of the things I was most nervous about in this endeavor.

And yes, I did some fruit tree shopping and went a little hog wild! Big thanks to Leonardi's Nursery for taking great care of me and answering all my questions during my shopping trip.

I'm learning a lot about growing fruit, for sure. Most citrus these days are self-pollinating, so they don't necessarily need a partner to dance with. However, growers are encouraged to plant a second variety nearby to bolster production.

The perimeter garden will contain the following:

• Pink Lemonade Blueberry
• Blueberry 'Native Florida'
• Satsuma Mandarin
• Ruby Red Grapefruit (2)
• Barbados Cherry (2)
• Persian Lime
• Key Lime
• Variegated Lemon
• Meyer Lemon

Honestly, I never even considered growing cherries until reading about how well Barbados Cherry does here. Coupled with the fact that it isn't a full-blown tree, but rather a large bush, and the decision became easy. It's said that three or four of these cherries contain a full day's worth of Vitamin C. I can't wait to try them; the larger of the two plants I have should actually produce this year and I'm beyond excited.

In addition to the rather large citrus trees listed above, I have two small potted "Buddha's Hand" citron plants that have been hunkered down on my lanai. These bear fascinating-looking fruit that are mainly used for their skin for flavoring dishes. Because they are so tender, I'm not sure that planting these outdoors is wise just yet; I may just pot them up and move them outside as temperatures warm. 

I also bought an olive tree (!) during my shopping trip and am really excited about that too, although it's staying in a pot for now as a I continue to deliberate where best to plant it. 

My partner in this adventure has been James Weston, a local lad who runs a garden consulting and composting business called Epic Compost. James is a knowledgeable gardener and very hard worker and I'm so glad I hired him. 

New Beginnings Start Today!

Today is a big day for my new backyard garden...we are breaking ground!  

When buying and building our new home, we were so fortunate to get one of the bigger lots. It's quite irregularly-shaped as well, with a chunk of protected conservation woods in the right corner and a large grassy area in the other. 

So...guess what's happening to the grassy area? Yup. Raised beds! Here's a look at it now:

As they say in advertisements: but wait...there's more. See along the fence line? I'm also having the guys put in a perimeter bed to host a collection of small trees and bushes, mostly fruiting ones. 

I'll have a variety of citrus (lemon, lime, grapefruit, orange), avocado, cherry, and blueberry bushes and some pollinators, like sage and agastache, in between. Some of you may be gasping at the prospect of growing cherries here in Florida, but yes, it is done with great success. There's a variety called Barbados Cherry which is incredibly prolific here; even Home Depot sells them in big pots and they are apparently delicious.

I also got my dirty hands on a flowering tree that I've lusted after for more than a year: a Black Tulip Magnolia (shown at right). I saw one in Calloway's just before departing Dallas and quickly fell in love. After arriving here, I was amazed to find one, and was happy to purchase it from the lovely folks at Southern Horticulture. That baby is going in the back far corner.

A bit more about the raised beds. I ordered four of the 6' x 4' cedar beds that are 15" deep from Gardener's Supply. (Pro tip: When you have decent coupon codes - like 20% off and free shipping - it is really worth it to shop with them.) I've vowed to be a good gardener and practice proper crop rotation, and four beds should be plenty. I already have a nice herb collection going, and those will be tucked into random spots.

Irrigation will be interesting. We have an inground sprinkler system currently. After a bit of investigating, I found that Rainbird makes a kit that will convert your pop-up sprinkler into drip irrigation. Perfect, right? We'll see how that actually goes, though; I'm a bit skeptical.

One weird thing I've found about Florida is that nobody - and I mean NOBODY - has cedar mulch, which was my preferred mulch back in Texas. Here, they use that awful pine bark mulch or pine needles. I understand that's what is native, but...ugh. 

I've got a really nice guy who's doing this entire build for me, so I'll talk over the mulch issue with him. And of course I'll continue to share pictures as the project continues!

Can U Dig It...Again?

Well hello...long time, no see, eh? 

So it's been around nine years since my last post here. But hey, it's 2020 and anything can happen!

A lot of life events have occurred for me personally. In May, my husband and I ditched the big, dusty city in favor of a small coastal town. Goodbye Dallas, Texas...hello St. Augustine, Florida! 

We are in a brand new house with a huge yard and, as the crow flies, we are a little over a mile and a half from the Atlantic. The air is predictably salty and breezy, and the soil is sandy. I'll certainly take that over black gumbo clay soil and triple-digit temperatures. 

Speaking of temperatures, in terms of Hardiness Zones, this move means I went from Zone 8a to 9a. Locals tell me our winters are milder than Jacksonville, which is an hour to the north, but we can still get frosts here between mid-December and mid-February, with last frost around Valentine's Day. 

There are a few apparent similarities when it comes to vegetable growing in Texas and Florida. Before knowing my background, everyone I've talked to here about gardening shakes their head, smiles, and remarks that I need to be prepared for "the heat and the bugs." 

Brothers and sisters, I've gardened in Dallas. You don't get much hotter and buggier than that.

I'm really looking forward to my first real gardening season here in Northeast Florida. My seed starting and planting dates are a little different from what I'm used to, but I'm giddy with the prospect of actually being able to grow stuff all winter, and not just veggies. Plants that I used to treat as annuals aren't anymore. It's a little crazy and I'm really looking forward to the change. I hope you'll come back as I share more of my new adventures. 

Late Season Stress

Mother Nature was most benevolent today, allowing me to finish nearly all of my lingering outside duties in 65° weather before the rains hit later this afternoon. This gives me great relief, as there's nothing worse for a gardener than facing the doldrums of winter with chores left undone.

By my count, I planted something in the neighborhood of 115 bulbs (and a few other stragglers) today with the help of my trusty new auger. I'll never plant bulbs without it again. Here's the line-up of what hit the dirt today:

10 Tulip acuminata
16 Allium schubertii
10 Anemone coronaria bicolor
2 Dracunculus vulgaris (Dragon lily, Voodoo lily)
10 Dwarf iris histrioides 'George'
5 Dwarf iris winogradowii
10 Dutch iris 'Rosario'
20 Dutch iris Apollo
10 Ornithogalum nutans (Silverbells)
10 Chionodoxa 'Blue Giant' (Glory of the Snow)
12 Daffodil centannees

Other:
1 Eremurus Shelford Hybrids (Foxtail Lily, Desert Candle)
1 Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff'
1 Bearded Iris 'Wench'
1 Bearded Iris 'Anaconda Love'
1 Bearded Iris 'Aggressively Forward'
1 Japanese Iris 'Picotee Wonder'

I still have a few plants in pots on the patio that will most likely end up in either the greenhouse or the garage, but either way I'll find a comfortable temporary home for them.

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day - November 2011

Well, the fall of 2011 has been nearly as strange as the summer. Record heat and drought are being followed by mild temperatures -- and unusual bloom action  -- just a week before Thanksgiving. Flowering plants that went dormant due to the heat have been tricked into thinking it's spring again. I'm concerned some of them will suffer quite a shock when winter does get here, even if we do get the mild temperatures that are being predicted for our area.

This is Passiflora 'Lady Margaret.' I waited all summer for this to bloom. The vines grew and grew...but no blossoms, until we had 3" of rain in one week. Oy. Gorgeous, though, isn't it?

Clematis 'Crystal Fountain.' This is one that usually blooms in late March/early April and is showing its confusion by blooming again now.

Lilac 'Sensation.' I couldn't believe my eyes when I spotted new leaf growth and flower buds emerging on this 8' lilac shrub a couple of weeks ago. Sure enough, it's blooming. Lilacs are pretty cold-hardy, so I think it'll be ok.

I don't think this Blackfoot Daisy, growing on a sunny, dry slope in our front yard, has ever stopped blooming all summer. A great, carefree native plant.

A scattershoot of Mexican Mint Marigold. These plants are consistent fall bloomers, but they do get a little raggedy.

My ever-reliable heirloom rose 'Midnight Blue.' Nothing fazes this thing. Totally disease- and pest-free, smells great and carries its wonderful deep purple color even in the worst heat.

A mystery plant coming up in my side yard flower bed. It looks sort of hibiscus-like to me, but has those weird, lobed leaves. If anyone can positively identify, please email me!

Pepper Population Boom

I knew many of my plants would bounce back once the rains returned and the temperatures cooled...but my peppers have something else in mind. I think they intend to take over my gardens.

Not that I would mind. After the dismal summer we had - especially for virtually any kind of veggie gardening - my booming peppers are a welcome presence. Here's the rundown of who's doing what. The seed sources I used are linked for each type.

Antohi Romanian, an Eastern European frying pepper. Gorgeous pale yellow color turns to orange and then flaming red. First prize for production, strength and longevity, even through the hot, dry summer.

The Merlot sweet bell also did pretty well, but really stepped it up when the weather cooled. Stunning purple color fades to red as the fruit sweetens. I ate one today that had a reddish blush to it and my heavens, it was like candy.

Anchos/Poblanos always do fairly well in the Texas heat, if given enough water. Mine's growing in a half whiskey barrel, so adequate irrigation was a constant challenge. With all of this recent rain, it's really kicking butt.

I love the so-called "bull's horn" sweet peppers like Marconis and Cubanelles - they are easy to grow, generally, you get a lot of pepper and not a lot of seeds, and they are extremely versatile in that they can be eaten fresh, baked or fried. These Biscayne Cubanelles have really come on strong lately, although I hope they get just a bit bigger.

Here's a rare site: purple jalapenos growing next to purple cabbage. The jalapenos should be done by now, right? Uh, no. This variety is especially handsome and I'm so glad to see them re-emerge after the rough weather.

Yes, go ahead and ask "So, where are the peppers in this picture?" They're coming, believe me. This is the beautiful, variegated Fish pepper - the fruits are striped too. Unfortunately, this plant got totally munched by a hornworm caterpillar but is now making a remarkable recovery, with flowers starting to emerge. Read a fascinating story about the origin of Fish peppers here.

A New Family Member

I've long considered Dotty Woodson to be somewhat of a rock star. She is - after all and officially - Dr. Dotty Woodson, and has appeared on numerous locally- and nationally-televised gardening shows to share her expertise and great advice. She serves as Dallas' Extension Program Specialist for Water Resources and lectures frequently around the metroplex.

In mid-September, the City of Allen sponsored a water catchment and rainbarrel-building course that I enthusiastically attended, knowing it would be both fun and a good way to get more Master Gardener hours. I also knew that, for $50, it was an economical way to add to the two existing rainbarrels I already have around my house, which cost nearly $100 each several years ago. Plus, you know...I'd get to meet Dr. Dotty.

After speaking for 30 minutes or so on the interesting and sometimes scary facts surrounding local water usage and conservation, Dotty got to work. I watched with combined horror and fascination as she drilled holes, applied caulk and pretty much built my barrel for me from start to finish. (I felt compelled to tell her I was a Collin County Master Gardener, which didn't seem to raise my acclaim any, but that's ok. It's like introducing Bon Jovi to Beethoven, you know?)


Anyway, with Dotty's "help," my barrel turned out beautifully and, with recent rains, it appears to be functioning perfectly as well. These barrels start out as ugly, dirty bright blue food containers and then find a new life as water catchment systems. Dotty advised decorating them by lightly sanding, priming and painting to better fit into your landscape.

The best part about the new barrel is that the City of Plano will recognize my water conservation efforts by offering a $25 credit to my next water bill...so that means the total cost was only a couple of hours and $25. But I got to do something worthwhile and meet a legend in the meantime.

Here's Dotty doing what she does best: educating.


Catch Dotty's next water conservation and rainbarrel workshop this Thursday at the AgriLife Extension Center at Coit and Campbell. More info

Six of the Most Beautiful Words in the World...

..."Your Garden Crossings Order Has Shipped"

Half of my order is a dwarf pennesetum called 'Piglet'...now who could resist that?

For added contrast, I also indulged in several Spilled Wine™ Weigela (shown at left) and Sunjoy Gold Beret Berberis.

And it's a four-day weekend coming up. And the forecast is for high temperatures under 100°. Life is good.

Cool Season Vegetable Gardening in Hell

Triple digit temperatures remain around DFW in late August, but the end is in sight. My lustful fantasies about working comfortably in the yard in a sweatshirt are becoming closer to reality as the calendar marches forward.

And, as Marianna Greene correctly stated in a recent Dallas Morning News article, as gardeners, we can't pay attention to anything but the calendar, especially when it comes to vegetable gardening. We must put a gloved thumb to our nose and get on with it, even if it is bloody 105° outside.

Here's what I started in Jiffy jumbo-sized peat pots today:

Cabbage - Deadon (Savoy)
Cabbage - Samantha (Savoy)
Mustard - Purple Wave
Mustard - Tah Tsai
Broccoli - Belstar
Beets - Gourmet Blend
Bak Choi - Red Choi
Radicchio - Red Surprise
Radish - Round Black Spanish
Nasturtium - Mahogany
Nasturtium - Peach Melba
Nasturtium - Variegated Queen

Most of these varieties prefer cooler weather and, when they sprout, we'll all be hoping fall is just around the corner.

Mulling Over Mulla Mulla

One of the new hot plants getting an awful lot of press in the last year has been Ptilotus exaltatus or, as it's known in its native Australia, Mulla Mulla.

Why all the attention? Well, it's a gorgeous plant, for one thing, and thrives in the harshest of conditions. Believe me, I know. I'm growing the 'Platinum Wallaby' variety in a container in my backyard now and, despite nearly a month of triple digit temperatures and very little rain, this plant is still blooming and still pretty.

According to a very informative article published last year in Sunset Magazine, the 'Platinum Wallaby' is an all-around better plant than a similar variety called 'Joey,' at least as far as North Texas gardens are concerned. 'Platinum Wallaby' prefers alkaline soil, which we have a lot of here, and as a perennial, it also appears to just be generally tougher.

Since Proven Winners is a supplier of 'Platinum Wallaby,' I'm hoping it will hop to our local nurseries faster than a bush kangaroo.

Brutal Temperatures All Around

It's been an especially hot and nasty summer around Dallas - and much of the country, apparently. So my complaining about it won't get me much sympathy.

One of the worst things is watching the plants suffer. My in-laws are coming to visit, so I planted a bunch of new flowers in front of the house, only to watch them shrivel within hours. They've since bounced back a little, but a landscape filled with semi-shrivelled flowers isn't exactly the impression I wanted to make on my family.

"I thought she was supposed to be a gardener!" I can hear my MIL say to my FIL in a hushed, tut-tut type of voice. Actually, my MIL is a wonderful woman and would probably never say such a thing. But...these are English people, and they have no way of knowing the struggles we Southern U.S. gardeners endure. They come from the land of lush backyards and Alan Titchmarsh, after all.

The family arrives tomorrow. I bought a bunch of new flowers yesterday and am going to plant them around the yard tonight in hopes they hold for a couple of days. After that, I don't care what happens.

Especially Nice New Purchases: A 'Red Riding Hood' mandevilla (from Home Depot!), enormous 'Hot Papaya' and 'Harvest Moon' coneflowers

Back Again

I'm still here, believe it or not. I created a Facebook group to post ideas and such, and while I have a lot of followers, there isn't much interaction and I couldn't do long posts. So I'm back here blogging, at least for a bit.

Anyhoo...the weather here in Texas is its usual, unbearable summer self. Nearly 100° every dang day. How are we supposed to garden in that? Well, we aren't.

Of course, the triple digit temperatures didn't stop me from ordering some coneflowers and daylilies that were on sale at Garden Crossings. Not sure how long that sale is going on, but I highly recommend GC for their robust plants, as opposed to the pathetic little 3" pots that other mail order companies will charge $20 for.

It has been a cucumber-laden summer for me. Last year was the first time I grew Burpee's 'Yellow Submarine' cuke. I got two huge fruits toward the end of the season but that was it. Well, this year has been a different story. I check the two vines every other day and routinely come back with six or seven gargantuan cucumbers. I don't know how they get so big so fast. It's creepy, really. Fortunately, they stay very yummy up until they get to a foot long (and I've harvested several of that size, believe me). Pickling has been a great way to use them up and they have made absolutely delicious dill spears.

Truth be told, though, the only way I'm going to stop the production of these monsters is to pull the plants up, which I'll be doing this weekend. It's time to start some fall veggies anyway.

Hope all is well with everyone out there.

Plantable Holiday Cards

Just ordered a bunch of these. What a great idea!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Difficulties in Dallas

The Dallas Observer recently ran this fascinating story about the difficulties city residents have faced in their efforts to begin a community garden.

Seems to me like there's a lot more going on here that we'll find out about later. Make sure you read the comments after the article too.

What Do You Get After Two Inches of Rain in Two Hours?

Hopefully, rain lilies. This is Zephyranthes sp. 'Labuffarosa'

Garden Crossings Delivers

Just wanted to, once again, share the love for Garden Crossings. They send you the best plants with the best packing method of anyone I've dealt with in the mail order plant business.

Know, too, that many of the plants in my order were on sale. Ever ordered sale plants from other mail order places, only to receive the tiniest, sickliest, most pathetic sticks you've ever seen, usually tossed into the box carelessly? Yeah, me too. Well, not from GC. Here are a few photos:

Can't Afford Plants? Train Your Pet to Steal Them.

Viewers of The Colbert Report are familiar with his frequent "Monkey on the Lam" spots, featuring real stories of escaped monkeys and their adventures.

Well, here's the tale of a Monkey on the Take. He's been caught on tape robbing a local Dallas plant store.

WFAA.com: Police believe monkey used to steal from business

Considering how much I spend on plants each year, maybe I should trade in my labrador and tortoise for a gibbon...?

Garden Crossings Savings

Just placed a small-ish order with Garden Crossings. I've had a discount card sitting on my desk for awhile, begging to be used. (Use the code SAVENOW at checkout and receive $25 off a $99 order, or $15 off a $75 order, thru July 31!)

I've had my eye on a couple of types of golden barberry, both of which are carried by GC. There's the dwarf low-growing beret-type 'Maria' and the upright pillar-type 'Talago'. I wanted both of these, but the Talago was sold out, so I'm at least getting two of the dwarves to flank the variegated yucca at the end of our sidewalk. I've tried regular barberries there, but they keep burning up. Hopefully the goldies will last longer.

I also ordered a gorgeous new Aquilegia called 'Blackcurrant Ice' (shown at right), a couple of Heucheras ('Miracle' and 'Tiramasu') plus an interesting Brunnera called 'King's Ransom' that looks to be a cross between 'Hadspen Cream' and 'Jack Frost'. I hope it at least has the heat tolerance of Jack Frost...every Hadspen Cream I've had has melted during our intense Texas summer, never to be seen again, while the Jack Frosts have held up surprisingly well...when given adequate water, of course.

I also got an Echinacea 'Mac 'n' Cheese'. Didn't see the accompanying bright red 'Tomato Soup' variety in their catalog, or I would've gotten that too.

Go Fish

I've been growing fish peppers for the past couple of years with limited success. In most attempts, I put the plants into my community garden plot and watched as they slowly got munched down to nubs by various varmints during the growing season.

Well no more. I am now growing them in pots in the somewhat safe sanctuary of my own backyard, and my success has escalated...when I can keep the tobacco hornworms off the plants, that is. (I plucked off a hornworm as big as my ring finger the other day. Luckily, we have lots of attentive and hungry mockingbirds around our property.)

Anyway, this year's success of the lovely variegated heirloom Fish Pepper got me thinking: what exactly do I do with the peppers now that I have them? Are they hot? Are they a main dish type of pepper or a flavor-enhancing kind?

Well, trusty old Google provided me with some answers and then some. I learned a lot about where these unique peps originated and how their seeds have survived. Quite fascinating. Read on:

Heirloom Fish Peppers - I don't think there's a vegetable my buddy Kenny over at Veggie Gardening Tips hasn't grown. Check out his interesting and informative article about Fish Peppers.

Fish Peppers - Mother Earth News - William Woys Weaver offers a fascinating look at the history of these peppers, including a great story of how his grandfather was a key player in keeping the seed in circulation.

As for recipes...well, it's difficult to find them, mostly because when you Google on "fish pepper" you get a a lot of recipes with fish and peppers in them. There is some correlation in the name, however, as the traditional usage of the vegetable was as a flavoring in seafood dishes. A-ha!

Lovely Lily

I planted this lily about three years ago and it hasn't bloomed until now. Gorgeous, yes? If memory serves (which it usually doesn't these days), I think this was a freebie/extra bulb from somewhere.

What I do know is that it is a very fragrant Oriental lily called 'Stargazer'.