thinned seedlings: first season's salads

Yesterday I was more aggressive about thinning my baby lettuces and beet seedlings and ended up with this season's first salads!


pre-thinning (left side is leftover summer basil)

I reserved the little regular-variety and freckles-variety romaine leaves for husband Kurt's beloved Caesar salad. Separately, I tossed together all the butterhead and leaf lettuces, along with some beet seedlings.





I still need to thin the carrot, cauliflower, and broccoli seedlings. But I can't show you photos of those beds yet because they're too gruesome: I've been slacking in the weeding department. Are they still "seedlings" when they're at least three inches tall? Hmmm.

garden bloggers' bloom day

ornamental black pepper

I confess: I'm feeling VERY lazy today, but I did wade through the heat and 90 percent humidity to snap some photos. (And I DID walk the dog this morning--yea, me.) Many Austin gardens are unusually lush right now because we finally got some long overdue rain! Go to Carol's blog, May Dreams Gardens, to see other gardeners' blooms today.


rosemary, cenizo, victoria salvia, blackfoot daisy, silver ponyfoot, mexican bush sage


victoria salvia


mexican bush sage


blackfoot daisy with silver ponyfoot


black and blue salvia


purple fountain grass and rosemary


turks cap


abelia, I think


scutellaria hybrid purple fountain (still haven't found its common name)

Also blooming are ruellia, blue plumbago, leadwort plumbago, society garlic, indigo spires salvia, rhea salvia, mexican heather, lantana, and potted oxalis.

horseherb: I like it as native groundcover for a lawnless lawn

A few weeks ago, Meredith at Great Stems published a great, informative post (with lots of interesting comments) about the love/hate affair many of us Central Texan gardeners have with our native horseherb--her post says it all!

I commented about how much I appreciate horseherb in my garden yards as our main groundcover. Meredith was interested in seeing it used in a lawn, as she'd observed it mostly in park-like settings. We no longer own a lawnmower and only need to use our electric weedeater once a year or so. It took us seven years to get to this point (no chemicals), but we find pulling weeds more rewarding than mowing grass.


along east walkway--easily pulled out and replaced with mulch when it gets carried away, which might be soon with our recent needed rains


near front porch with new softleaf yucca


other side walkway


filling in among xeric cenizo, sotol, and purple fountaingrass


I really like how the brighter green horseherb, with its little yellow flowers, contrasts with the surrounding grayer and purpler lavender, fountaingrass, and rosemary.


mixing in with prolific chocolate mint and trailing lantana in city right of way


back yard, surrounding huge 65+ year-old Sycamore tree and mingling with Turk's Cap, ruellia, and rain-beaten (yes!) plumbago.

update: David/Peese approved to pump 800,000 gallons from Trinity aquifer

Today I spoke to a helpful man at the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District and learned that their board has approved local Rollingwood residents James David and Gary Peese's application to drill a well to pump 800,000 gallons (annually) from the Trinity aquifer for "domestic irrigation needs" for their two-acre estate. David/Peese originally asked for a million gallons and requested a variance to get around the current drought-related watering restrictions, but the board denied the variance request and reduced the million gallons to 800,000.



The board seems to be fairly enthusiastic about the whole thing because David/Peese have agreed to keep monitoring equipment on the well so the board may study this "under-utilized" source that doesn't strain the Edwards aquifer. David/Peese will not be allowed to pump from the Trinity aquifer until the drought status is lifted and will pay $80,000-$100,000 for the privilege, should they go through with it.

The Garden Conservancy, along with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and The University of Texas at Austin is hosting a seminar on October 31 called Limestone & Water: Plants, Design and Inspiration for the Texas Garden, which includes the following topic

Smarter Gardens: gardening with less but getting more
Stephen Orr, garden writer, NYC
Stephen identifies a new revolution in garden design that treats gardens not as resource guzzlers—water, labor, materials, energy—but as conserving and graceful places in which to live and rest year ‘round.

Ironically, the reception for the seminar that includes this topic will be held at the home and garden of James David and Gary Peese.

reliable ruellia

Now that we've received some much-needed rain, my ruellia (Mexican petunia) is particularly perky and bloomy, but it's also been a real trooper during our two-year drought. I gave it very little supplemental water this summer and it still managed to bloom some.

This native can be invasive but is really easy to thin. Some people think it looks too "weedy", but I appreciate its colorful blooms and hardiness. I haven't figured out all the varieties yet, but I seem to have three right now. (Sometimes I also have the dwarf 'Katie' ruellia but not today.)


tall-ish white version's leaves are slightly darker green and a curvier shape than both my purples


this version stays shorter and in a clustered mound with narrower leaves than the taller version below

rain gauge and window screens finally get a workout

A month ago, I really didn't imagine we'd ever see a day like today until maybe November. But I was SO wrong: it's 65 degrees (F) right now and has rained 3 inches in central Austin in the past 15 hours! We finally had custom wood window screens constructed and installed a month ago but haven't had a chance to air out the house and enjoy them until today. The talented John Hindman of Red River Restorations made them out of cypress and aluminum and did a great job!


note half-open window!


screen detail from inside

seeds are sown!

red sails leaf lettuce seedlings

Because our raised veggie beds aren't boxed, they don't always translate well in photographs, appearing to be shallow blobs. SWEET husband Kurt spent last Sunday adding tons of our homemade compost to the beds, mixing and turning them, then fluffing them up into respectable looking raised veggie beds. What was I doing last Sunday afternoon while he toiled? Watching the Cowboy game. I did feel guilty enough to chop onions and garlic for dinner while I was watching. Ahem.


you can sort of see the height/depth better here, less blobby


beets, carrots, chard, kale, broccoli, and cauliflower in these four rows

I further redeemed myself on Wednesday, when I sowed the veggie seeds in all the revived beds. I water all of them twice a day with the hose sprayer set on the mist or shower setting. Today I fed everybody a little John's Recipe organic fertilizer. So far, so good. Little seedlings are emerging almost everywhere.


all lettuces and herbs in these beds, which are raised but still appear a bit blobby here

I got a little carried away with trying some new-to-me varieties because the Botanical Interests seed packet covers are so great. I sowed the following organic seeds.

leaf lettuces: Red Sails, Tango, Oak Leaf Blend
romaine lettuces: Parris Island Cos, Freckles
butterhead lettuces: Speckles, Marvel of Four Seasons

kale: Italian Lacinato Nero Toscana
swiss chard: Five Color Silverbeet, Bright Lights
beets: Early Wonder, Gourmet Blend, Detroit Dark Red
cauliflower: Chef's Choice Blend
broccoli: Di Cicco
carrots: Scarlet Nantes, Purple Haze, Carnival Blend

sorrel: Common
cilantro: Slow Bolting
dill: Bouquet

cooler, less parched garden bloggers' bloom day

first time my Society Garlic has been presentable since March

Hooray! Austin finally got some measurable rain last weekend and cooler temperatures. I know it will get back up into the mid-high nineties later this week with no rain, but I'm still blissing out on today's cloudy, upper-seventies, driving with the sunroof open and the windows down weather! Thanks again to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting this bloom day. Go to her blog to see LOTS of other great blooms today from around the country and the world.


oxblood lilies should be in full bloom later today


victoria salvia I never thought would have made it through the summer


can you believe how absolutely LUSH this trailing lantana and indigo spires scenario looks? A little rain can go a long way!


freaky, lovely golden shrimp plant


purple skullcap crawls back from coma because of rain


shamrock oxalis has some scorched edges but still entrances


leadwort plumbago muddled through


indigo spires now seem grateful I gave them a serious mid-summer pruning


blackfoot daisy coming back to life with silver ponyfoot

Also blooming now are plumbago, turk's cap, purple and white ruellia, prairie verbena, rosemary, mexican bush sage, and provence lavender.

rain clouds and rain lilies

Today's the first gray, drizzly day we've had in a long time. Welcome negative ions! This chorus of rain lilies appeared Saturday and continues to sing today. Hallelujah.

I don't think these guys should be showcased on future garden tours

At the moment, restrictions on use of the Trinity Aquifer are not mandated by the Texas Legislature as they are for the Edwards Aquifer. So, during this greater Austin area's second year of exceptional drought, it appears that Rollingwood residents James David and Gary Peese are taking full and for now, legal, advantage of that lack of restrictions by applying to the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District for the right to suck a MILLION gallons a year from the Trinity Aquifer to water their two-acre estate.

Read the whole story here. And more info here.

(Hat tip to tweet by MSS Zanthan Gardens.)

colorful annuals in the veggie garden

bluebell (Eustoma russellianum)

Most of my veggie seedlings are beginning to emerge, so I'll transplant them to their real raised-bed homes later this week. Meanwhile, I bought a few annuals (and put them in pots) to add some color to the veggie garden. We got almost two inches of rain Friday evening, the most we've had since early June, so everything is looking more peppy for now!


yellow shrimp plant (Pachystachys lutea)


ornamental pepper (Capsicum annuum 'Black Pearl')

preparing fall veggie garden

The triple-digit heat took a break and also brought us some clouds and breezes this weekend, so I finally got myself out back to weed and prep the overgrown raised beds. I worked in our homemade compost into the existing soil with my hands (and have the roughed-up skin to prove it) and re-set the drip lines. I also let some of the horseherb stay because it seems to serve as soil-cooling "mulch". I also left, for now, the stressed, but generally okay pepper plants, basil, oregano, sage, and thyme.



I sowed the following seeds to transplant as soon as they're ready: romaine, butterchrunch, and mesclun mix lettuce; swiss chard, kale, beets, carrots, dill, cilantro, broccoli, sorrrel, and spinach. I still want to add some fall annual flowers into the mix, too!




I think I've discovered what's preventing this mexican feathergrass from thriving.