Tag: xeric

And now for a sense of perspective. Because I don’t believe there really is an ‘after’ in gardening.
This is what the front of our house looked like when we bought it. I dug it so little I  wanted to keep looking. Thankfully Julie convinced me that we could get rid of that gunmetal gray and it would make all the difference.

Just a quick note on how I do irrigation. I’ve gotten really into the drip irrigation kit they sell at home depot for abou $18. The basic kit has everything you need to get started. And they have pretty fantastic spray sprinklers you can attach that are fantastic for things like grass without straightforward trunks to water. Those sprinklers cost like $1.80 a piece. Which is ridiculously affordable when compared to pretty much any other type of sprinkler.

The long stakes in the picture above are those spray sprinklers. I got 4 90 degree sprinklers and 2 180 degree sprinklers. They didn’t quite do the job, though, so I’m going to have to add one or two more. It’s a pretty huge area I’m trying to get there, though.

I ran the main hose under the edging and under the path, so both garden segments are watered at once. But now my fingers hurt like hell from squeezing on all those tiny hoses.

This is by far the most affordable kit I’ve found, and most people will be able to do all the flowerbeds in one yard with just one kit.

And apparently installing one guarantees rain. This is the second time I’ve installed one of these, and both times it has rained. 

Planting today. Installing drip irrigation tomorrow.

The planting was pretty uninteresting. Just a great sense of relief that it’s finally done and the yard can actually start growing again.

The last two pictures are part of the process. I’m attempting to have very geometric modern looking beds, while still keeping an organic look to the plants. So I laid bricks dividing the various beds to provide spacing and prevent some plant mixing. Only time will tell if this works and is interesting.

If you happen to be near a garden center please snap a picture and email it to Julie to prove I didn’t buy EVERY plant in Austin. Our budgeting process has been fun for this. Julie asked what my budget was and I said I figured I wouldn’t spend over $1000. Julie mentioned she was thinking more like $100. Ah… gardening.

Planting tomorrow. Can’t wait!

The cactus are from East Austin Succulents. Wonderful place over there right next to the Greater Austin Creative Alliance (GACA! ACoT!) on Tillary Street. They let the kids feed the fish. So Etta repaid them by falling down and crying a lot. Also sticking her arms in the fish tank and sticking her face in the fish tank. Yay! Thomas (the owner?) was concerned about germs. I was concerned about his fish.

I took only Stella to Barton Springs Nursery while Etta napped. It’s my new favorite nursery. But don’t go there. Because it’s less busy than the Natural Gardener. And cheaper. And they have tons of the 1" containers which are what I prefer to grow since they establish with less coddling. I am horrible at coddling plants.

I checked out Northpark Mall in Dallas this weekend. What a beautiful mid-century modern mall and garden. Definitely worth the trip for anyone who loves succulents.

Took out a bunch of dandelions and more bedstraw today. I tired of bedstraw. I also think I took out a bunch of wild petunia today. Whoops.

I love the smell outside. You can almost smell things growing. Looks like I’ll have roses in a day or two, and I’m hoping to plant the front yard this weekend… 

So in previous years I’ve been known to pull up anything green that comes up in my yard. Which would make you wonder why I bother planting wildflower seeds. I’m pretty sure I’ve pulled up every wildflower that’s sprouted in my yard.
But this year is different. If I don’t recognize it, and it doesn’t have tendrils or huge seed pods, it stays put.
Which leads us to this pretty flower. I thought at first it was just a dandelion. But the leaves are subtly different, and my patience was rewarded with this beautiful flower.
So what is it? Anyone know? 

No Camera

I left my phone at work so no pictures today. Boo.

I felled two small dead trees today and cleaned out my vegetable garden. Turns out it has become the neighborhood cat box, so I guess it’s good I have no plans for it this year.

Still on the to-do list. 3 more dead trees and shaping the boxwoods. Hopefully they’ll be able to handle the shaping. I feel bad for them because they almost died last year. At the same time I need to be able to get down my garden paths.

Some pictures of the backyard for a change. I’ve been doing Elder Care for my Grandmother, and I’ve been finding weeding especially therapeutic this year. I went back and did a bit more weeding after I took the pictures. Been doing a lot of weeding. I think I’ve gotten most of the bedstraw out now.