Stealth Planting
Posted: June 17, 2018 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Automatic Gardening, Backyard Critters, Bartram's Oenothera grandiflora, deer, Evening Primrose, Gardening, Gulf Coast gardening, Gulf Coast Penstemon, rabbits, Southern Gardening, subtropical climate, Subtropical Gardening, Year-round gardening 21 Comments
The Oenothera grandiflora Evening Primrose collected by William Bartram is one of my favorite plants to grow. It is also a favorite of rabbits.
So I came up with a plan to do stealth planting, strategically putting the Primrose among plants rabbits don’t eat. In the middle of the photo is one planted with Shrimp Plants.
In this photo a Primrose is planted with Salvia. I bet you can’t even find it.
Rabbits never touch the Gulf Coast Penstemon and neither do I as they smell bad, but make up for that fact by being pretty.
The Primrose in the front yard are the tall plants that were surrounded by the Penstemon when they were small. They look darn good.
Yup, I was feeling pretty clever thwarting those rabbits. As it turns out, deer like the Primrose too and they start eating at the top. The tall plants in the front yard were just about finished off by the deer (not the rabbits).
I guess I will have to count on the Evening Primrose I planted in pots, in a high planter, in the fenced in backyard.
This and That
Posted: June 10, 2018 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Automatic Gardening, Backyard Critters, Five Lined Skink, Gardening, Gulf Coast gardening, Gulf Fritillary Butterfly, Passion Flower, Peruvian Lily, rosy wolf snail, Southern Gardening, subtropical climate, Subtropical Gardening, Year-round gardening 23 Comments
I have taken various photos around my yard that don’t really go together so here is a post of “this and that”. I was trying to change the focus on my camera and took I shot into the wooded area. It turned out pretty good.
I came across this giant 3 inch bug on the cobble rocks. It was dead and not something I want to see flying at me while alive. I’m not really sure what it is and spent some time looking at pictures of cockroaches to identify it. I had enough of that and gave up.
Peruvian Lily (Alstroemeria psittacina) is pretty, but don’t ever plant them. I was looking for its botanical name and an article came up asking how to get rid of them.
This chubby skink with no color or stripes was sunning on a rock one afternoon.
I had to buy a new Passion Flower plant this year as the Gulf Fritillary Butterfly caterpillars totally ate my last one.
I just thought this Rosy Wolf Snail was pretty against the moss rock.
And that is it for “this and that”.
It’s Always Something
Posted: June 5, 2018 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: St. Augustine Grass 21 Comments
It’s always something, to quote Roseanne Roseannadanna. After years of drought and webworm invasion, we finally had our grass replaced by a professional as our attempts didn’t go well.
We grow St. Augustine which does not grow by seed and it must be replaced by sod that grows with spreading stolens. Part of the first batch died and we had it replaced. It was looking great.
Then someone decided to drive through our front yard. It happened mid-morning on a Sunday. Unbelievably, the car missed the sprinkler heads (which had just been tuned up) and the fire hydrant at the top of the photo.
Of course, they did not stop and admit to ruining our grass. Yup, it’s always something.
Tulip Envy
Posted: May 28, 2018 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Automatic Gardening, Gardening, Gulf Coast gardening, Rain Lilies, Southern Gardening, subtropical climate, Subtropical Gardening, Year-round gardening 13 Comments
I have been seeing so many beautiful photos of tulips, I have become quite envious.
But my Rain Lilies helped me get over it by putting on a spectacular show after the rain.
The Rain Lilies are not quite tulips, but they certainly can brighten the day.
Blood Lily, Another Survivor
Posted: May 22, 2018 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: African Blood Lily, Automatic Gardening, Gardening, Gulf Coast gardening, Scadoxus multiflorus, Southern Gardening, subtropical climate, Subtropical Gardening, Year-round gardening 21 Comments
Continuing with plants that made it through the harsh weather this year, I was really pleased to see the Blood Lily back and blooming.
The Lily grows from a bulb and could have drown as it is growing in the good old Texas dirt, which is clay gumbo here. The ground apparently stayed warm enough to keep the bulb from freezing.
For more information and better photos, go to my Blood Lily post.
They’re Back and Blooming
Posted: May 21, 2018 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Automatic Gardening, balsam impatiens, Black Eyed Susan, Gulf Coast gardening, Monarch Butterfly, Southern Gardening, subtropical climate, Subtropical Gardening, Year-round gardening 23 Comments
After a year of record breaking rain and freezing temperatures down to the teens, I was worried about my plants returning. But, they’re back and bigger than ever. I have been growing these reseeding Black Eyed Susan for many years and have never seen the flowers this large.
A seed from a Blanket Flower made its way across the driveway to grow in this crack.
It seems very happy against the hot wall and drive.
Speaking of hot, Hot Lips is back. It is Salvia microphylla.
The Mexican Hat returned. Being in a raised bed might have helped it survive the rains as they prefer drier soil.
One of my all time favorites, Balsam Impatiens, germinated from the seeds they dropped last year. Surprisingly, the seeds were not washed away.
These plants were grown by our founding fathers.
The Tickseed (Coreopsis lanceolata), managed to reseed a plant or two.
Even though the Butterfly Weed froze to the ground, the roots survived and it is ready for the Monarchs to visit.
A Five Lined Skink photo bombed the shoot.
Although most of the plants survived, there is always room for something new. I added this Bat Faced Cuphea, but expected it to be red and dark purple, but it is pretty anyway.
Another new addition is this petunia that just showed up in a front yard bed. I know I grew some several years ago. Did the seed survive or blow in from a neighbor? I will enjoy it while it’s here.
My winter anxiety has finally been relieved by seeing new blooms everyday. The Automatic Garden survived.
Mystery Solved…Mostly
Posted: May 14, 2018 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: ageratum, Automatic Gardening, Gardening, Gulf Coast gardening, Southern Gardening, subtropical climate, Subtropical Gardening, Year-round gardening 8 Comments
During the winter a plant with large leaves sprouted in the garden. I had no idea what it was, as I had planted a variety of annuals there to provide blooms for hummingbirds and butterflies and I wasn’t sure if it was one of them. The plant froze back twice during the winter and I never thought I would find out what it was. Finally, it revealed itself as an Ageratum.
I had originally planted these sweet little Ageratum that are tumbling down the rocks and now this really big one has appeared. So I am asking the experts out there to explain this. I think it is a throwback to its original form, before being miniaturized. I do have a Wild Ageratum (Mistflower) in the yard, but this is not the same.
