The Moon and The Stars

I loved visiting my grandparents when I was a child.  My father's parents lived out in the country.  My grandmother cooked the best fried chicken.  My cousin always had a knack for talking her into making hot chocolate for us after dinner, even in the hot summertime.  There was no air conditioning, but hot chocolate, made from whole milk, powdered cocoa and sugar, was such a special treat, we didn't mind drinking a hot beverage on a hot night.

Cream Veranda

Occasionally, we had homemade ice cream.  It would take hours, and seemingly several men, to churn some secret concoction into creamy ice cream.  You had to eat it in a hurry, or it would melt into a thin, sweet liquid.

I think my grandparents got only one channel on their television.  It was rarely on.  Usually, the radio played while grandma was cooking or cleaning.  If it wasn't winter, we would congregate on the front porch after dark and look up at the stars.  There wasn't a spot in the sky that didn't have a star in it, either large or small.  I learned to find the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, the North Star, and many other stars and constellations from my grandfather on that front porch.  It was a magical time.

My mother's mother lived in town alone, a widow.  Due to all the lights that stayed on in town, the stars were not as bright at her house as they were out in the country.  We didn't sit out on the porch or eat homemade ice cream at her house.  Instead, we sat at the table and ate homemade cobbler with store bought ice cream.  I was at this grandmother's house when the astronauts first landed on the moon.  She was strict about bed time, but just this once, she allowed us to stay up to watch this momentous occasion on television.  She talked of all the numerous inventions that had been created in just her one lifetime, and wondered what fantastic inventions the future would hold for us.

Then we did what we never did at her house.  We went outside that night.  The stars were dim.  But that didn't matter.  It wasn't the stars she wanted to see.  Instead, she pointed to the moon.

"They're up there", she whispered.

And we looked up with marvelous wonder.

I hope you take at least one night this summer to look up at the stars, and remember the magic of the moon.

The photos are of Cream Veranda.  A small floribunda rose, it grows to about 4 ft wide and high, even though it could be kept at around 2 ft.  It grows in zones 5 though 9, is disease resistant and lightly scented.  It would be perfect as a container plant, growing on a sunny porch.

It's coloring is just a little darker than homemade ice cream.

Plant X

"These don't look the same", I thought to myself.  "I don't think they're the same plant!"

Last year, I blogged about how my hesperaloe had babies.  (Hesperaloe also goes by the names false yucca, red yucca, or even the combination false red yucca, even though it's not a yucca.)  I was so pleased to have more hesperaloes.  I thought I had gotten two babies from one plant.  I was wrong.  This year, I realized those babies weren't hesperaloes after all.

The bases are completely different.

This is what the base of the hesperaloe looks like:

This is what the base of Plant X looks like:

When Plant X started sending up this flowering stem, my suspicious were confirmed.

Hesperaloe blooms look like this: (Photo from last year)

Plant X is a yucca.  Now, I know that many people think hesperaloes are yuccas, but not many people think yuccas are hesperaloes!  In fact, people that know spiky plants would have probably known immediately that they were not the same.  I don't have a lot of spiky plants in my garden.  Thorny, yes, but not spiky.  So, all this was new to me!

What kind of yucca is Plant X?  That I don't know.  It could be a Soapweed yucca, a Louisiana yucca (also known as Gulf Coast  yucca), or even an Arkansas yucca.  I think I'll have a better idea when it blooms, but if someone knows, please tell me!

Even though I was thrilled when I thought this plant was a hesperaloe, I'm still excited that it is a yucca.  I can't wait to see it blooming!

But that's not all!  This plant was determined to teach me another lesson, too.

Do you see this bug on its flower stem?  This bug has taken up residence there.  It hasn't moved for days.  I thought it was a stink bug, but again, I was wrong.

This bug is actually a leaf-footed bug.  Notice the back of his leg.  It looks a lot like a leaf!  (You can click on the photo to make it bigger.)

Aren't those fun little lessons?  Just another reason I love the garden so.

Have you learned anything new in the garden this week?

The Many Words of Progress

We are making progress on the spring garden chores.  Of course, I don't think any one thing has been completed, but as I walk around the garden, I see a lot of progress:

1).  Repairing

We have repaired the small fish pond.  And the water has been turned on.  So nice to see and hear the splashing of water.  No fish, and no water plants yet.  Still, I'm thrilled that progress has been made.

2).  Fencing

All the posts have been put in.  And about half of the fence panels have been put up.  Just a few more days of work will be needed to complete the fence around the new vegetable garden area.  Then all my yummy veggies will be protected from the deer.

3).  Mulching

Main rose garden

The main rose garden has been mulched.  The corner garden has been mulched.

Walking garden

The walking garden, no.  The east garden, no.  I've done a lot of mulching, but there is still a lot left to do.

But, look!  Do you see the mulched area beyond the arbor?  It's a brand new area!  I can't wait to get it planted.

4). Weeding

East garden

Of course, the areas that have been mulched were also weeded.  And even though all of the east garden has not been completely mulched, it has been (mostly) weeded.  Just a little more work to do there, and a little bit of weeding left in the walking garden.  Doesn't sound too bad!

Repairing.  Fencing.  Mulching.  Weeding.  They all sound like progress to me!  I hope you're making a lot of progress in your garden, too.

I'm joining Helen at The Patient Gardener for End of Month View.

The Quest for Coreopsis

A quest for coreopsis is not a big thing.  Not like Ponce de Leon's quest to find the Fountain of Youth.  Or Magellan's quest to sail around the world.  Or, Don Quixote's quest to return to an era of chivalry.  Coreopsis (tickseed) can be found at almost any garden center.  The quest was not to find them.  The quest was in finding them the second year.

I know what you're thinking.  There's nothing to it!  They easily and happily return each year.

What you may not know, however, is that if there were a group for Aggressive Weeder's Anonymous, I would join.  No intervention would be required.  I know I weed a little too aggressively.

I have weeded out all my echinacea, and have had to buy more.  :(

I have weeded out all my coreopsis, and have had to buy more.  :(

Whenever a perennial plant doesn't return, I wonder if I have weeded it out.  (Of course, I have also weeded out a lot of weeds!)

This year, I tried very hard to leave a few plants that looked suspiciously like weeds to me, in the hope that they weren't actually weeds.  Well, it paid off!  Some of those weed-look-alikes were, in fact, coreopsis.  My quest for finding coreopsis the second year was finally successful!

Coreopsis

Look at all the sweet, sunny, yellow blooms!  Coreopsis!  Proof positive that I am becoming rehabilitated.  Let the quest for echinacea begin!

What I Work For

Occasionally, I see someone on a street corner with a sign that reads "Will work for food".  Sometimes I see a bumper sticker that reads "I'd rather be golfing".  Well, if I had a bumper sticker, it would read "I'd rather be gardening".  Even more accurate would be a sign that read, "Will work for blooms".

Spring has finally sprung, and my garden is starting to fill up with blooms.  I run out to the garden every day just to see what new blooms will be there.  It also makes all those hours of work worth it.  Want to see what's blooming for me now?

Christopher Marlowe rose

Christopher Marlowe rose looks divine with a calibrachoa (million bells) in the same shade of pink.  You can find out more about Christopher Marlowe rose by clicking HERE.

Japanese irises

Pretty, pretty, pretty!  These are the irises I wait anxiously to see blooming every spring!

James Galway rose

James Galway rose was the first David Austin rose I ever purchased for my garden.  We go way back.  And I'm still thrilled to see his face every spring!  You can find out more about this rose by clicking HERE.

Gaura

I absolutely love guara, and the way it sways in the breeze.  I always forget how beautiful this plant is, until it blooms.  Then, it is a cloud of petals.  It's also a big hit with the butterflies.  You can find out more about gaura if you click HERE.

La Marne

La Marne rose is just starting to bloom.  I look forward to it blooming all summer long.  And when I mean all summer long in Texas, that's a mighty big claim!  You can find out more about La Marne rose by clicking HERE.

Prosperity rose

Prosperity rose is just beginning to bloom.  I have fallen completely and madly in love with this rose.  I can see it out of my bedroom window, and it thrills me to see this beauty first thing after getting out of bed.  The photo would be much prettier without those dead twigs.  They are not part of the rose.  The twigs are from the Chinese indigo (indigofera decora), and I need to cut these dead stems off.  There's still much work to be done in the garden!

May Night salvia

Salvias are blooming.  I just love these plants!  So, too, do the bees.

Koko Loco rose

What can I saw about Koko Loco?  I just had to have it when I saw it.  Something about its soft color made me swoon, and every time it blooms I fall in love with it all over again.

Hooray for blooms!  And it's just the start of another wonderful gardening year!  There's lots more to come.

I'm joining Tootsie Time for Fertilizer Friday.  Have a great weekend!  I'll be outside - working for blooms.

Finally, Some Roses!

What's cooking up in my garden?  Well, the roses are finally starting to bloom!  And in my garden, Julia Child has decided to whip up some spring, with a side dish of beauty.  I should have known I could count on Julia to be one of the first roses to bloom in my garden.  She's dependable, sunny, sweet, and smells good.

Julia Child rose

I have her squeezed in a small space between the walkway and my front door, in a spot a little too narrow for her.  She's not a large rose, growing to around 3 ft x 3 ft.  But here, she would actually be a much prettier rose bush if she had a little more room to grow.  Of course, you know us rose lovers - we will stick a rose anywhere!

I love Julia Child's bright yellow blooms.  It is the color of the room I had as a child.  You just can't be unhappy or mad in a yellow room!  (O.K., psychologists say that yellow makes one angry, but that just ticks me off!)   Anyway, who couldn't love a bright, cheerful, delightful ray of sunshine in their garden?  Julia Child rose really delivers.

Julia Child rose is a floribunda shrub rose, hardy in zones 5 through 10, and resistant to blackspot.  It has been an unusually cool spring, although not too wet here, and some of my roses are showing signs of blackspot (I don't spray).  But not my Julia Child rose.  She's as clean as a whistle (whatever that means).

One other thing about disease:  I purchased several Julia Child roses, planted them in a row, and one, and only one, came down with a fungal disease.  I absolutely thought I was going to have to take it out.  But, eventually it has become as healthy as the rest.  I believe that the soil in that spot was not as good as the rest of the soil in this area.  Having problems with a rose?  Maybe, just maybe, it's your soil!

Julia Child rose has a distinctive fragrance.  Not too rosy sweet, but with a touch of what some say reminds them of licorice.  I don't like to eat licorice, but I do love the scent of this rose.  It is, of course, named after the famous chef Julia Child.

My Bad!

My red dianthus has been stunning this year.

Last year it was stunning, too.  Even more so, really.

Because last year there were Thalia daffodils blooming alongside them.  It was magical.  And I looked forward to seeing that same look again this year.

But the daffodils have all bloomed and gone this year.  But not one Thalia bloomed.

At first, I thought it was Thalia's fault.  That's right - when in doubt, blame the plant.  I figured it just didn't like something in the soil, or the water, or - whatever.  It didn't matter, it was Thalia's fault.

So, I decided not to ever, never, never ever, to plant Thalia daffodil bulbs again.

Even if I did think it was so charming blooming alongside the red dianthus.

Last year

That's when I remembered - it might have actually been my fault.  Oops!

You see, last year I decided I was going to have a neat and tidy garden.  Yes, you read that right.  ME with a neat and tidy garden!  Don't laugh - it could happen.

Anyway, I decided I was going to deadhead the dianthus, even though usually I just let them lie there dead and ugly.  While I was tidying up the dianthus, I'm afraid I might have also tidied up the daffodil foliage as well.  I kind of, sort of, remember doing something like that, maybe.  (Confession is hard.)

Anyway, that's a big no-no.  I know better.  I faintly remember not knowing what that ratty foliage was when I cut it down.  I should have taken the time to remember it was the daffodils.

Daffodils need to keep their foliage as it's dying down, to put the energy back into the bulb for blooming.  Otherwise, they don't bloom.

Just like mine didn't bloom.

:(

My bad.