Old Faithfuls
Posted: April 15, 2019 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Automatic Gardening, Black and Blue Salvia, Black Eyed Susan, Butterflly Weed, Gardening, Gulf Coast gardening, Gulf Coast Penstemon, Passalong Plant, Salvia coccinea, Salvia guaranitica, Southern Gardening, subtropical climate, Subtropical Gardening, Year-round gardening 15 Comments
Black and Blue Salvia guaranitica.
Salvia coccinea
Black Eyed Susan
Butterfly Weed
Gulf Coast Penstemon
These plants are the backbone of my garden. I can count on them every year. Many have been transplanted from my former house nearly 20 years ago and others are passalongs. They have faithfully grown and multiplied for years and should continue to do so.
Camellias Still Blooming
Posted: April 10, 2019 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Automatic Gardening, Backyard Critters, Gardening, Gulf Coast gardening, My Kitchen Window, Professor Sargent Camellia, Red Velvet Camellia, Southern Gardening, subtropical climate, Subtropical Gardening, White by the Gate Camellia, Year-round gardening 12 Comments
My camellias have been having an outstanding year. They have been blooming since the end of January. I am so thrilled, I just had to take more pictures of them. The Red Velvet has more flowers than ever. I think it helped that deer didn’t eat the shrub this year.
White by the Gate has had very little discoloration from fungus despite the rains this year.
I do not know what is different this year, but the Camellias have given me months of pleasure. Professor Sargent has a few more buds to open.
Fantastic Fringe
Posted: April 8, 2019 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Automatic Gardening, Chionanthus virginicus, Fringe Tree, Gardening, Southern Gardening, subtropical climate, Subtropical Gardening, Year-round gardening 13 Comments
Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus) is a native to the southeast and because of that it is very easy to grow and virtually pest resistant. Surprisingly, this one is still alive after being hit by a tree during Hurricane Ike. Its lightly scented fringe-like flowers remind me of shredded coconut when they fall to the ground.
This fantastic Fringe Tree is really worth adding to a Southern landscape.
Foraging for Volunteers
Posted: March 31, 2019 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Automatic Gardening, Black Eyed Susan, Gardening, Gulf Coast gardening, Hardy Gloxinia, Hinckley's Columbine, Oenothera grandiflora, Southern Gardening, subtropical climate, Subtropical Gardening, Year-round gardening 16 Comments
The Automatic Garden is full of plants that multiply in one way or another. The offspring does not always land in a bed. A Polka Dot plant came up in the cobble stones among leaves and Elm tree seedlings.
I love to forage around my yard looking for volunteers. This Black-eyed Susan is growing happily between the patio and grass.
It is always amazing how little soil is needed for a plant to germinate. A Columbine and Hardy Gloxinia are growing on this moss rock.
The Oenothera grandiflora preferred to grow in the grass and managed to survive several mowings.
I find plants cannot resist germinating in cracks. There are at least 3 different kinds plants started here. Over the last few weeks, I have been popping them up and replanting them where they belong.
Bluebonnet Surprise
Posted: March 25, 2019 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Automatic Gardening, Bluebonnets, Gardening, Gulf Coast gardening, Southern Gardening, subtropical climate, Subtropical Gardening, Year-round gardening 15 Comments
I was not expecting to see Bluebonnets in my garden this year as I had the bed relandscaped and didn’t buy or plant any. But a seed from the Texas State flower must have stayed behind and germinated. A happy surprise.
Identified – Snow Poppy
Posted: March 20, 2019 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Automatic Gardening, Eomecon Chionantha, Gardening, Gulf Coast gardening, Snow Poppy, Southern Gardening, subtropical climate, Subtropical Gardening, Year-round gardening 11 Comments
A great big thank you goes out to The Shrub Queen for identifying my poppy from the March 11th post. It is a Snow Poppy, which makes a lot of sense as it is white and blooms at the end of winter. Its proper name is Eomecon chionantha and its family is Papveraceae.
It is from zone 6-9 moist forests of eastern China, which is why it loves it in the moist forest of this part of Texas.
It comes up from rhizomes (maybe that why I was told it was a ground poppy) and can spread from seeds. I believe mine are reseeding which explains why they come up here and there around the bed.
I am very excited to have this mystery straighten out by the amazing Shrub Queen.
Azalea Time
Posted: March 18, 2019 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: Automatic Gardening, Azaleas, Gardening, Gulf Coast gardening, nature photography, Southern Gardening, subtropical climate, Subtropical Gardening, Year-round gardening 14 Comments
I usually make a post on Azaleas every year. The reason being is that my most popular post is Azaleas, which leads me to believe people really like looking at them. Check out the post and keep it at the top of my most viewed.
The Azalea buds are just about as pretty as an open flower.
This year a long stem wrapped around a pine tree for a nice contrast.
My nearly 20 year old bush has grown to 6 feet tall and it always puts on a great show.
