Friday, February 29, 2008

Field Trip!

February 29th is a free day in my book - so we took a break and headed off to Harlingen's World Birding Center. The park had tons of visitors today so ours was not an original idea. . . .


I had never seen Guayacan, Guaiacum agustifolium, blooming until today - Wow! What a beauty! I don't have any in my yard - but will be adding one or two this spring! This is an understory tree as it only grows to 8 or 10 feet. This one was nearly as wide as it was tall. The bark can be made into soap, so this plant is also called soapbush. This Valley native would look great in any landscape!




On the north side of the park, there are large plantings of prickly pear cactus. Lot of buds beginning to pop out. I'll have to check back in a week or two and see if they're blooming!









This is a piece of citrus "staked" on this tree. I know that orioles and woodpeckers both love fruit. Volunteers had placed citrus halves all over the park - especially near the photo blinds.








There are many ponds all over the park - but this American Coot was the only water bird we saw - it must have been naptime.



I thought this grass was especially pretty. I don't know its name and am too lazy tonight to look it up! Feel free to educate me!




This little sweetie is the other half of my "we". I must admit that playing on the "dinosaur eggs" was her favorite part of our excursion!

Special thanks go out to the Arroyo Colorado Audubon Society and the Cameron County Master Naturalists for all their work in this park.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning!

When I looked out the window this morning, this was the breathtaking sight that greeted me! This Honey Mesquite, Prosopis glandulosa, anchors a dry corner of my yard. I think it must like it there! The pods are eaten by deer, cattle, and lots of smaller animals. Quail and doves feed on the seeds. Mesquites are good shelter and nesting sites. They tend to have a very open, spreading habit. Mesquite wood is used for fence posts, furniture, and barbequeing. This particular tree is exceptionally upright for a Honey Mesquite. Its elegant free-form shape makes it a good ornamental tree in the landscape. Just make sure to give it plenty of space!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Winter Beauties

This Kapok tree was planted four years ago. At that time, its thorns were pretty tiny. In my neck of the woods, Kapoks bloom in the August heat. It's one of the few blooming plants we have that time of year. I was hoping for blooms this year - but we are going to have to move this tree to another location so I guess I'll have to wait another year or two before I see those silky pink flowers. Ah, progress. As I've read about Kapok trees online, the one thing all the sites mention is its smooth trunk! Only one site (St. John USVI Beach Guide) mentioned thorns on the trunks and said that they drop off with age. I have watched one particular tree like this in Harlingen for 25 years and it still has thorns. With no leaves or flowers to flaunt right now, these thorns are the main event!

This pecan sits outside our farm office door. I just love the big flakey pieces of bark it has. Leaves or no leaves, it's a real beauty!


The bareness of crepe myrtles in winter just accentuates the beauty of its bark!

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Last night's cool front brought with it a still, sunny, & comfortable day. Since we've had to endure near hurricane force winds lately, it was such a joy to be able to stroll around my garden this morning and take a few pictures (even the huge number of garden chores to be done couldn't dampen my spirit). I hope you enjoy my first Garden Bloggers Bloom Day entry - and my wind-whipped flowers. . . .


My spineless cactus, grown from a couple of cactus pads three years ago, is now well over six feet tall. This is the first year that I have had abundant blooms - and aren't they pretty!





This ruellia (Mexican petunia) will spread to every bed in your yard - but since it will still be blooming in the heat of August, I don't mind removing it from where it doesn't belong.










Salvia is a great re-seeder -

Both hummingbirds and butterflies feed heavily on them.














I don't know which I prefer - the orange-red or this pale coral.









I only have pentas in this one color - it is planted in a "red" bed beneath our flagpole.
This one has re-grown from one I planted last spring.
I'd like to add some purple and white ones to this bed for a real patriotic look!

Can you guess what this bloom is?







Ti plant, Cordyline terminalis!

There are many different leaf variations on ti plants. The color on my leaves vary according to the amount of sun each receives. A ti plant is easy to propogate - just cut a stem, put it in soil, and water.





















Mexican heather
Cuphea hyssopifolia




Nasturciums - great in flower beds and the flowers are edible too!


Kolanche - these will bloom for about another month
then I'll cut them back to fill in the blank spots of this bed










Bougainvillea begin to bloom with short winter nights.

This one plant will have both pink and orange blooms on the same branch! Check out it's close-up below. . . .













Everyone needs an aloe vera plant for first aid treatment - you can't beat it as a burn salve. These beautiful orange blooms are a bonus.

















Crown of Thorn














and dwarf Crown of Thorn












Begonia from the window box

Until I went outside this morning to take pictures, I would have said that very little was blooming (besides a bumper crop of dandelions). Thanks Carol of May Dreams Gardens for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day!

Friday, February 15, 2008

February is Arbor Month


February is Arbor Month in the Lower Rio Grande Valley and that means it's time to talk about my favorite subject - TREES! I think trees are the single most important aspect of a landscape. The home we raised our family in backed up to the Arroyo Colorado. This gave us a wonderful natural border of native trees - anacua on the sides, a huge ebony in the back, and then mesquite, tepeguaye, huisache and more all down the steep bank to the Arroyo. Needless to say, our yard was teeming with wildlife. When we moved, we planted a native tree thicket. Although it's new, the additional nesting and food sources have helped attract a larger variety of wildlife to this yard.

Did you know that you can change the climate in your yard by planting a few trees! Asphalt, concrete and buildings raise the air temperature by several degrees. (Just step out of your car at the mall in August and you'll see what I mean!) The shade from trees, along with leaf transpiration, will lower that temperature for you. Frankly, tree lined streets just make me smile!

Valley Proud Environment Countil has an excellent Tree Guide that can be downloaded from their website. It lists their favorites for our area along with planting, pruning, and general care tips. It's quite a large PDF file so be patient. It's chocked full of good information and well worth the wait!

My favorite shade trees for deep south Texas include Live Oaks, Cedar Elm, Anacua, Mesquite, and Ebony. For seasonal color, I love Texas Mountain Laurel, Wild Olive, and Royal Poinciana.


The Texas Mountain Laurels, Sophora Secundaflora, are just beginning to bloom. This deep purple is typical of their flowers. Its fragrance will take you back to drinking grape koolaid on the back porch. Occasionally, you will come across a rare white blooming mountain laurel. They produce a pod of dark red seeds, which happen to be toxic. Texas Mountain Laurel is a slow growing accent tree - rarely getting over 12 feet tall. When purchasing one, look for a container grown tree. If your nurseryman is carrying balled and burlapped ones, make sure yours has been cured for three weeks.

If you are wanting to add a tree to your landscape this year, do it now! Valley Proud has a goal of planting 3,000,000 trees in the Rio Grande Valley by 2015. Plant a memory; plant a tree.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Jewels of the Desert


During a recent visit to Phoenix, Arizona, I saw so many plants that we grow here in deep south Texas. Purple sage, oleander, yucca, and palms of all sorts were abundant in residential and commercial landscapes. It was a good reminder of what I need to be focussed on for the dry areas of my garden - not getting more water to them, but planting things that love those conditions. Most fun for me were seeing those plants that I can't grow. Unfortunately, my poor photography skills combined with the bright Arizona sun left me with just a few pictures worthy of sharing.

My favorite desert plant, this Saguaro cactus Carnegiea gigantea can grow to 50 feet tall. It thrives in the dry desert air - thus making it difficult to grow in deep south Texas - but I do know two people who are growing them in Harlingen. A large five armed Saguaro would be estimated to be 200 years old. I've never seen one flowering (May and June). It's a night-bloomer, opening in the cool nighttime air and closing again by the following noon.







Ocotillo, Fouquieria splenden, sure stands out against the blue Arizona Sky! When I moved in to get a closer look, I was surprised to see all the little leaves along this branch. I think the thorny branches are often completely bare but Arizona has had abundant rainfall this year so everything is lush. In the spring, Ocotillo produces a bright red tubular blossom at the ends of it's branches.








Don't you just want to cuddle up with this Teddybear Cholla, Opuntia bigelovii? This fuzzy looking plant is actually covered with sharp, barbed spines. I hear they are very painful to remove - but we were sure to keep our distance!







I don't know if Huisache (Weesatche), Acacia smallii, is native to Arizona but it's one of my favorite Texas natives! It's one of our first spring bloomers and the fragrance is incredible! One difference I saw was that our huisache are completely bare when they bloom - so they are awash with golden pom-poms.


Saturday, February 2, 2008

Time to Prune Roses


As I was listening to Neil Sperry's radio show this morning, he reminded me that it's time to prune roses in the Rio Grande Valley. He says that roses are best pruned before they put out their first spring flush. When I checked today, over half of my roses had swollen buds.

I only grow a few roses and they are all antiques. On the patio are pots of 'Margaret Merril' (above) and 'Gruss an Aachen'. They receive a half-day of sun (along with a full day of our strong Valley winds), yet they bloom for months. Pictured at left, 'Adam', is a short climber with double salmon-pink blooms. Believed to be the first of the Tea roses, it dates back to 1838. My 'Adam' had a number of blooms today before I took the pruners to it.

Before you begin pruning, make sure your trimmers are nice and sharp. Remove the dead and diseased canes first. Now, you will want to remove 1/3 to 1/2 of the remaining growth. Choose a bud that points to the outside of the rose bush and make an angled cut slightly above it. When you prune, more time should been spent deciding where to prune than actually pruning. Take your time and you will end up with a nicely shaped rose.

All of my roses are continual bloomers. If you have a rose that blooms once a year, you will want to wait until after it blooms before you prune. According to the Antique Rose Emporium, "roses that bloom but once annually are best pruned after they have bloomed. Their flowers come from wood that has been hardened over a winter".

Rose trimmings are the only plant materials that never go into the compost pile. I either place mine in the garbage or burn them in the chiminea.

If you want to read more about pruning and the care of roses, the Peninsular Rose Club has detailed instructions on their website.