April 17, 2015

A Stroll Through the Garden

After a long, miserable day of yard work yesterday, I thought I'd walk about the yard to remind me why I am doing all this work.  Here's what is blooming in my yard today.

Prairie foxglove (Penstemon cobaea), a native both to Texas and Ellis County.

Another Prairie penstemon, more purple than pink.

And here they are side by side.  Another behind these is even a darker purple.

Copper Iris (Iris fulva), a native Texas bog plant

I love how it flattens out as it blooms.

Horseherb just beginning to bloom.  (Yes, I should have cleaned off the dirt crumbs first.)

Horseherb aka Straggler Daisy (Calyptocarpus vialis), a native Texas ground cover.

Yellow columbine (Aquilegia species), one of them almost white this year.  Another native Texan.

Rue (Ruta graveolens), an herb native to the Balken Peninsula.  I keep it so the caterpillars will leave my parsley alone.

Cedar sage (Salvia roemeriana), a native Texas plant and one that thrives under Juniperus ashei.

Last are some bearded iris.  Although I have a lot of iris, I'm not an iris enthusiast and don't know the names of any of these.  I like them because they will grow in my hell strip when nothing else would.











That's the end of my pretty pictures.  Now for the ugly.

I have been digging out Asian jasmine. I tried to mow it to death last year, but I think it liked that. I've tried Roundup and it only burned the edges of some leaves. Hubby wanted me to leave it because it was better than weeds, but he didn't have to trim it off the sidewalk and porch every week. This year it went under the edging AND it had weeds in it that were almost impossible to pull out. So I decided to dig it out and put in something I could control. That was easier said than done. The thatch on the stuff was four to six inches thick and the roots were easily as deep. My method was to use a sharp shooter shovel, jump on it as if onto a pogo stick, and drive it into the ground, then move over six inches and do it again. After about ten hours (spread over three days), this is how much I got done.


In the space I dug out, I planted three yaupon hollies and three salvia greggii and then a layer of mulch.  The rest I covered with black plastic so it couldn't use the rain that was coming.  The salvias are just there to take up space and give a little color until the yaupons reach their mature size.  Then I'll move them in front of the yaupons when that Asian jasmine is gone.  I would like to think that the black plastic would kill off the Asian jasmine, but even if it does, it will take a very long time and I don't think I can look at this that long.  So I will be digging again soon.  Besides, I still have more plants that need a home.  Aren't there always plants that need a new home?



No gardening for me today. I have to get a new tire, and then I'm off to the plant sale at the Heard Museum. The locally famous Antique Alley Texas starts today too. I'm going tomorrow and maybe Sunday too. Have a good weekend everyone!

6 comments:

  1. All your flowers are beautiful. I hope you have eliminated that one that you don't want! I'm still waiting to see what is planted here, since I haven't seen a spring nor summer yet. I do know there are quite a few rose bushes.

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  2. Still snowing here, so I enjoy the photos of your yard. Bearded iris are my favorite Spring flowers - you have some gorgeous varieties.

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  3. it's hard work keeping up with the garden. Yours look good though.....

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  4. Lots of beautiful flowers in your yard. Hope you were able to finish your Asian Jasmine removal project.

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  5. Your hard work paid off. Your flowers are very pretty. I particularly like your copper iris.

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  6. Thanks for your info on Rue keeping caterpillars away from parsley. I'll give it a try if I can find Rue. Also, thanks for visiting my blog WinterWaterinWatchin.com. I appreciate your comment

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