Thursday, September 15, 2011

Texas Tough

There is no way to adequately describe the landscape of Texas at this time.  Have you ever forgotten a container plant until it was dead from lack of water?  Dead, brown, dry, crispy?  That's Texas right now.  In a container of high pressure that hasn't seen water for far too long.  Our landscape is dead, brown, dry, crispy.  And the wildfires that pop up everywhere will not end until we receive some rain.  With the cool front that is pushing through parts of Texas, we have a small chance of some scattered showers.  A small chance (not likely).  Of scattered showers (not adequate enough to replenish the soil).  If you haven't noticed before, Texas gardeners are discouraged, distraught, and worried.

My joy is that I have been able to water my garden areas.  I have many plants that have not survived the extended heat, but my garden is much better off than many I see.  The plants that have lived through this are Texas tough.  Superman strong.  True survivors.  Every day I am thankful that we drilled a well in the nick of time to save my garden.  That many of my plants can take the heat and are drought tolerant.  While so many have lost their gardens completely, I am thankful for each and every bloom in mine.

The last couple of Bloom Days, I have focused on the roses that were blooming.  Today I'll focus on other plants in my garden.


Catmint
Can I just say here how much I love catmint?  And, no - the cats don't bother it!


Sedum
My sedum has had a tinge of pink all summer.  Should be gorgeous this fall!


Asters
I think asters are adorable.  I loved their spring blooms, and couldn't wait for them to start blooming again.


Hydrangea
My hydrangeas are blooming purple instead of their regular blue.  Due to the heat, I suppose.


Caladiums are still looking good.  Lantana, Pavonia, Althea, Salvia, Firebush, Chinese Indigo and Liriope are all blooming without complaint.


And just a few roses.  (You didn't really think I'd leave them out, did you?)

Pat Austin


LaMarne


Knock Out


24 comments:

  1. I'll be honest I can't believe you have that much blooming for you down there. That shows your dedication to them. Everything looks lovely. If I was down there I'd be growing a lot more Sedum. :)
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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  2. This is amazing me, too, all the flowers you managed to keep going in such extreme conditions. I can barely keep my roses alive with ample rainfall! Love your statue, too.

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  3. Happy to see so many blooms in your garden. Hope it rains soon. Over here it has been raining quite a lot.

    Your Catmint is beautiful. The leaves kind of resemble the Indian Borage/ Cuban Oregano.

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  4. Holley, I feel so sorry for all Texan gardeners! I can not imagine what the ones do, who don't have sufficient water supply to water their plants! That's being said the plants that you have featured from your garden today are looking great! I love the catmint and must make a note in my head to plant it in my garden soon, too. The last photo of the Knock Outs with the garden statue is really lovely!
    Christina

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  5. Your roses look so pretty. I'm so surprised as I'm not a rose person and know very little about them. One of the true standouts in my garden this summer has been the Livin Easy. Despite the heat, drought and being broken in half by my dog it has bloomed and grown all summer long with no supplemental water. I can't wait to see how it performs in a normal season!

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  6. So glad to see so many survivors in your gardens when your part of the country has been under such extreme drought/fire conditions.

    I have La Marne and it is a sweet little rose.

    Have a great weekend ~ FlowerLady

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  7. HolleyG ~ you are truly a dedicated gardener! I have been watching the news with disbelief at the drought you are enduring. I wish we could have shipped off some of our rain from earlier this summer to you!
    I'm digging the catmint. I'm intrigued by it and love it's apparent hardiness!
    Keeping my fingers X'd for Texas to get some wet relief soon! Cheers, Jenni

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  8. Your blooms are lovely but I still love your roses the most. We are praying for Texas to get rain. xxx
    Happy GBBD :)

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  9. So glad your garden is pulling through...I am jealous that cats don't bother your Catmint...the neighbors' cats LOVE rolling in mine.

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  10. Cher - I do love sedum. Unfortunately, they tend to flop for me. Or maybe they're flopping because I step on them trying to weed! haha

    Karen - The roses have amazed me. They are really quite versatile plants. I think they like the dry climate better than a wet one, at least there's less blackspot that way!

    One - I love the leaves of the catmint, too. But the little flowers on it are such delicate beauties, I can't help but smile when I see them. The bees like them too!

    Christina - I'm afraid a lot of gardeners are losing much of their gardens this year. I hope we get rain soon so we don't lose most of the trees. You really should plant catmint in your garden. It looks beautiful with the roses. You will love it!

    Cat - I have a Livin Easy rose, too, and it is a good bloomer. Glad you're enjoying yours. Some roses are real workhorses.

    FlowerLady - My poor LaMarne is doing so well. It's new this year. Planted before I realized we would have such a horrible summer! I am very impressed with it.

    Jenni - It seems everyone this year either has too much rain or not enough. I think very few gardeners have received the "normal" amount! I had seen pictures of catmint and liked it, but really fell in love with it after I put it in my garden.

    GardeningBlog - Thanks for your prayers. I'm hoping now that fall is here we will have some fronts come through and bring some rain.

    scottweberpdx - I had heard that cats loved it, and was worried. But my cats have never messed with it. They just don't know what they're missing I guess! :)

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  11. It's amazing to see that despite having very different climates a lot of the garden plants we grow are the same.

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  12. lovely photos especially your roses (my favorite) and hydrangeas too. thanks for sharing. have a great day! happy GBBD!
    ~ANGEL

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  13. I have definitely had that experience with a container! But I can't imagine my garden looking that way. It's so hard to understand the horror of the situation in your part of the world when we've had nothing but rain all summer. But I guess this is the effect of a warming climate.

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  14. Your roses look great, especially the Knock Out roses. I have some sterile catmint that I love. I have a hard time getting a good photo of it. I like the way you captured the light in the catmint photo.

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  15. We were on water restrictions for years, though we were doing better than some areas which had NO outside watering whatsoever. I hope you get rain soon!

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  16. arignagardener - That is truly amazing, isn't it? And so wonderful that the plants can adapt to so many different climates/soil conditions.

    Angel - the roses are my favorite too! :)

    Marguerite - I think everyone has had too much of something this year! Either too much rain, or too much drought. Seems like there's hardly any middle ground.

    GirlSprout - The Knock Outs are really great roses. Easy care, though they didn't especially like the high heat we've had this year!

    Mac - Wow - water restrictions for years must have been hard indeed! You must have some very amazing plants to have survived in those conditions.

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  17. I can't believe how great your blooms look. I really feel for the people of TX right now. When I was there in the summer for 4 weeks it was over 100 degrees every day and no rain which I believe has been the constant for ya'll.

    Thanks for still visiting my blog.

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  18. Susie - Yes, over 100 and no rain sums it up. I can imagine you went home and were glad to get out of Texas!

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  19. Your garden looks lovely! We got a little shower this afternoon - not enough to do much good but it was lovely, nonetheless!

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  20. So pretty! I love the combo of the LaMarne and that purple flower (not sure what it is - a Salvia?). Hope you get a good rainfall soon!

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  21. Looks like you fared just fine despite the heat. Good! Now you can enjoy the slightly cooler weather. That Hydrangea has an interesting form. Everything looks lovely!

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  22. Cynthia - So happy you got some precipitation, although it wasn't much. I thought we might get some last night, but it passed over us. Maybe in the next couple of days. (fingers crossed)

    charlie b - Yes, that's a salvia. That bed has been neglected all summer - I was hoping to blur out the weeds!

    PlantPostings - The cooler weather has really helped. It's not as stressful on the plants, and they are breathing a sigh of relief.

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  23. We've heard a lot about the drought and the issues from our friends in Wimberly. You've done well to keep your beds watered and surviving. Last summer we had a drought and our apples looked like cherries. Without water, they simply didn't grow! I hope the weather eases for you soon.

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  24. Cathy and Steve - I've actually lost quite a few things, but I'm making note of what does well as replacements. Cherry sized apples! I'm glad your trees lived through that. Here, the cooler weather is helping, and I'm still hopeful it will rain soon.

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