Bulletproof rose, quickly outgrowing it’s space
Old blush rose – water it never, fertilize it every other year…
Freezing Temp
Snowmageddon, Snowpocalyse, Winter Storm…So many words were used to describe a very cold weather event. I call it blessed. We were without power for 2 days, without water for almost 2 weeks…and we survived.
Aside from some busted pipes and minor damage, we were all ok. It was good to see neighbor helping neighbor.
And now some obligatory pics.
March ends with more happy plants
Protect them from temps in the teens
I have the best husband. He braved the cold to cover our frost tender plants. I helped, but am not very tall. lol.
fig, barbados cherry, bay leaf tree, sago palm, meyer lemon and pineapple guava
Snow – It never snows here
Snow. So beautiful. I will be happy to never have to drive in it again though. Once I got home, we enjoyed watching the snow fall and accumulate. I guess we will see if it is a plant killing snow in the fullness of time.
Loquat, an underappreciated fruit
I remember the loquat tree from when I was a kid. The sweet/sour memory of loquat makes my mouth water as I type this. Here is a picture of one of our Loquats flowering and beginning to fruit in December. Fruit will be about 2 1/2 inches long when mature. Looks like a good yield this year if the weather cooperates.
What’s happening in December?
We have fluctuating weather here in Texas. Highs in the 80’s some days and lows in the 20’s some days…Here are some blooms and berries.
Butterfly vine:
Evergreen Sumac Berries:
This plant is a native. It is evergreen and will be a dense shrub in full sun, growing up to 12 feet high. It attracts bees, butterflies and birds. It flowers in the summer and then produces these fuzzy, edible berries for the birds. Oh yeah, and it likes rocky soil! Plus ten points for that!
Passionflower vine – scary looking bug
This scary looking black spiny caterpillar (or is it a worm) will eat all of the leaves off of your passionflower vine. But have no fear, the plant can handle it. The caterpillar will turn into the gulf fritillary butterfly. It does not bother the plant until it has finished flowering for the year. It also will not harm the passion fruit. So I say let the bug have the leaves. The passion vine is pretty invasive and you will have less leaves to clean up in the winter. All creatures great and small.
Fruit in November?!?!?
It’s been a several weeks since we had any substantial rain, so I decided to give our plants some water…mostly the ones we planted this year. To my surprise, we had Pineapple Guavas laying on the ground underneath our tree. We have had this tree for several years, like six and this is the first year we have gotten flowers and fruit. I posted about the flowers earlier in the year. We are so happy! Oh and I included a picture of a Meyer Lemon. We planted this tree this year and it has already produced a fruit! Yay!
Pineapple guavas
Meyer lemon
Propagation success
I have a Mexican Sage that is really pretty and was spreading. This spring I tried to dig out a piece of the plant with roots and potted it up. I planted it in the fall and was not sure if it was going to make it because of the hot spells we had. I think it is going to make it!
Fall Veggie Garden
Fall garden in the new raised beds. Thank you to our neighbors who gave us their old water tanks.
Carrots – Nantes; Broccoli – Green Magic and Pacman; Romain lettuce and bush beans
This is a bush or a vine that looks like a fall aster
We were at a local garden center and found this little plant that looks like a fall aster. It turned into a large shrub. We have had it planted about two years and it is about 5 feet tall. I’m not sure if it is a vine or a shrub. Time will tell.
Purple passion fruit
Planted this purple passion vine last year. This year it produced fruit!
More August blooms
Thyrallis and Firecracker Fern – Both love the heat and do not need a lot of water. It does not get much better than that.
Thyrallis gets very large. If we have a really hard freeze, the shrub will die to the ground, but will come back in the spring. It is beautiful, but I am not sure how it benefits wildlife. I have never seen a butterfly or a bee land on it.
Firecracker fern attracts hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. Love this plant. It is beautiful too.
What is blooming in June and July
June, July and August are brutal. So hot. I’ve heard it referred to as Texas’ winter.
I only found a couple of new things blooming in June and July – Red Agave and Firebush
Both of these plants are bulletproof. They can take the heat.
Nopalitos
Turns out, Nopales are easy to propagate. Now I feel silly for paying $30 dollars for the mamma plant. It was worth it to show support for the Mostly Natives plant sale, which usually happens every April.
I’m not sure what the common name is for this plant..prickly pear? In Spanish, they are called Nopales and you make Nopalitos out of them. They are delicious. I wish I knew how to cook them.
What’s blooming in April
Guara, Mealy blue sage, Jerusalem Sage, Lavender and Roses
Pineapple guava
Edible fruit. Planted under a red oak tree. The flower petals are edible too. They taste like honey. So good.
What’s blooming in March
Roses, blue bonnets, peach trees and pear trees…just to name a few
Unexpected hard freeze while we were out of town
Before and after. Wah.
