Fall projects..

What a gorgeous day to play in the yard. I plan to smother then remove some St Augustine and replace it with granite paths and water-friendly beds. Step one was to lay down weed block fabric to start the process- I wager it will be easier to dig the grass out once it's brown and baked. The walkway can wait until cooler weather, but I plan to dig up new beds around the AC unit so I can plant Turk's cap and flame acanthus this fall (and they can get established before next summer..)..

Of course it looks pretty unnatural right now, with the limestone pavers I plan to use on the grass side dotted along the fabric to hold it down, and the grass pushing against the fabric staples like sofa cushions..

 I also planted some fall veggies this afternoon. I put the chickens to work earlier this summer by putting compost and scraps on a bed that had had tired compacted soil. They happily pecked and fertilized.. when I dug it up today I was happy to see the soil was crumbly, rich and full of earthworms. Of course I had to wrap the area in chicken wire- hopefully it'll keep the girls out!

Broccoli, Romaine lettuce and brussels sprouts (I cheated and found some 9-packs of seedlings at Home Depot while buying pavers!).

Other happy plants in the yard:

The ice plant up front was bursting with blooms this morning

The Black dalea transplant is blooming already

Wild Italian arugula gone wild- no watering, vigorous regular trimming and it just gets bigger..

Another volunteer pumpkin- I'll see if it produces anything..

Free days to frolic in the garden?!

Not this weekend (I first had to act like a grown up at a conference, then spend quality time with the husband and kids at Legoland-Dallas and the hotel pool. Legoland Dallas is not really a Legoland by the way- more like a mall attraction. The kids had fun though).

This week I have a few days off, and I'm happily thinking about garden projects.. I'll have to play clean-up at first (mowing, raking up all the mulch my chickens kick from the beds onto the crushed granite driveway). But, after that's done, I'll get to start laying out plans for new beds. I'm experimenting with smothering the St Augustine, layering organic material in the hopes that in the spring I can dig up the bed and plant less water hungry plants like I did in the front. The chickens have scratched up the edges of the newpaper/shredded hardwood mulch I placed on one spot, so I think I will try cardboard on the next area (after spraying a vinegar/epson salt/dish soap solution on the few shoots of grass trying to break through on the original area).  I'm too.. cheap/lazy/antisocial to hire a crew to dig out the grass so I'll try it this way this fall..

The front (which I dug out this spring) is looking infinitely happier after the rain:

It feels like the lantanas and salvias have finally stretched their spring-planted roots and decided to stick around for a while! The zinnias have regrouped, too, putting on a new set of blooms for the fall..

Of course, with the rain the nutsedge grass has popped up again- time to weed! I wonder if it has any benefits?

Nut sedge is annoying, but that may be a bluebonnet seedling in the bottom! I threw out many packets, after freezing some and putting them in near boiling water, just freezing and thawing the others. The back back is littered in sudden seedlings (probably of the indian blanket and black-eyed susans that grew this spring, but maybe also the winecup, evening primrose and horsemint seeds I threw out a few weeks ago, just before the rains). 

We visited cousins in Burleson this weekend- San Diego transplants that have settled in uneasily in the odd estate-like suburbs of Ft Worth. Apparently their HOA sends them letters every month commenting on their deficiencies ("No chickens, no weeds!".. This family would rather enjoy life than mow their lawn and they get in trouble for it..). They started a garden last year, but have let the bermuda weeds kind of take over this summer. I'm jealous of the fact that they have still managed to get an amazing crop of veggies! We drove home with an enormous watermelon, a bag of tomatoes and three spaghetti squash. The difference in latitude (and depth of soil!) must be just enough to keep them productive.

Spaghetti squash.. dinner for later this week.

Seriously- a volunteer watermelon vine that has grown 20 feet long!

Just a little weedy :) My cousin warned me to watch out for snakes.. We had a caprese salad from the tomatoes tonight..

Happy fall everyone!

Aha (?!?)

I think I know, but am not sure. I think this backyard volunteer is a Ruellia nudiflora (wild violet petunia) which is a low water native that grows in thickets and is host to several butterflies with great names like the Cuban Crescent, the Common Buckeye, the White peacock and the Malachite. If so I should relocate my "undesirable" ones (growing in a new pathway) off to the side so they can do their thing. It certainly likes it in the back so I should encourage it..

The rest of the plants seemed to be smiling this afternoon when I went to see how they liked the rains- the near-dead Copper Canyon daisy has new growth, the salvia's and lantanas are covered in the buds of new flowers and my scraggly butterfly weed is blooming. I hope everyone got to enjoy the outside, too!

Pausing..

Did I mention I work a lot? Grown up work, meaning of life stuff.. or at least it affects many lives with decisions about treatment and parameters of care, and when to go home. Somedays I flow though it mindfully, other days each case is sticky and stubborn. I was stuck in traffic for 1 ½ hours today, music from Pandora streaming through, howling to the Pixies and wishing I had an Irish lilt so I could lose myself in the minute syllables. Just read “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed and now I wish I could dissapear from all my responsibilities and and hike for 3 months  in gorgeous awful wilderness. The husband and boys were settled in by the time I got home (late dinner with the boys half falling out of their chairs), wet chickens holed up on their roost (even the two broody bantams). I’ll work through the weekend, and the expected rain will pass me by as I go from room to room, but the shift in the season is somehow palpable. Nature abhors a vacuum. 

The in-betweenness... Smother grass with mulch. Grow something new later..

Stop light entertainment. House Park, with Travis High School and Southside High waiting for the rain to stop. Friday Night Lights and all.. The grey feels gloomy, but it also evokes feelings of harvest time, promising that odd Texas mixture of orange everything (leaves, pumpkins, flowers) with green (grass, plants, finally free of the oppressive summer heat).

Chicken haiku text messages from a friend that brightened up my evening- these are her new chicks (3 weeks old) in the old pink coop I gave her. Soft, fuzzy and sassy. Not bad role models..

Hungry birds

My bird feeder was empty in 5 hours.. The (Caroline vs house) wrens are small but voracious- especially when they line up 15 at a time! At one point a trio of blue jays tumbled through the air, wrestling each other for a treat, then a cardinal swooped in to eat. The doves are a bit big so they hang on the railing and peck at the other birds..

Volunteer flower in the making- one long stately stem.. I'm curious to see what it turns into..

Ironic comment from my husband- "what a great art piece".. It's a found (presumed bovine) hip bone in a chicken cage that is not meant to be artistic- it was just an efficient way to block the chickens from digging into the pot of lettuce seeds I'm trying to grow!

After working far too many days in a row I took to the garden for hours this weekend, raking up sycamore leaves, mowing, and planting new drought tolerant plants like an agave marginata "Opal", diamatina, multiple flame acanthuses (acanthae?!), a black dalea as well as tossing wildflower seeds out there. It's too bad the mosquitoes are everywhere because it's finally tolerable to sit on the porch at dusk and listen to the world outside. I did it anyways, smelling like lemongrass (the "natural" bug spray I use that is only marginally effective). It's luxurious to have a yard, and dirt to dig, and time to do it :)

Glimmers of recovery (what plants made it through summer..)

Summer winner: Sedum (Autumn Joy I think).. I will propagate more in this bed..

Hints of rain (and mildly cooler temps) and my Gaura, salvia and iceplants perk up in the new bed up front.. I can't wait until next year when they will be more established (except the iceplant which will probably turn to mush in any winter freeze..)

My chile pequin is probably in more shade than it wants, but I'm glad it's decided to give me little flowers- so they can develop into little peppers..

Sturdy garlic chives and rosemary..

At some point I'll identify this plant (that tries to pop up in the back and handles drought pretty well). It's got fuzzy, slightly tacky leaves and looks like it wants to be a scraggly bush...

The "softer"passionflower plant bloom- not showy but turns into bright red little fruits. The more dramatic one (below) never fruits. Both types pop up everywhere in the yard (happily followed by Frittilary butterflies)..

Happy Saturday everyone!

Snippets

Boy that's a lot of grass. Water hungry St Augustine at that. It's spotty, weedy and only half-trimmed, but I somehow can't imagine getting rid of all of it.. yet. Because where else would my 8 year old spin circles around (with his treasured "ninja stick"), rolling, flipping and flopping down to feel the sun on his face? I'll carve away at the edges each spring and fall (adding xeriscape bushes and beds), but will probably always leave a central "lawn" for the kids to throw balls and loll around on...

My fall project.. time to collect newspapers from my parents (we are digital at our house!) to smother the grass, cover with mulch and see what I can plant in the spring.. A perfectly unused edge to reclaim (and not have to water as much..).

I have done nothing to encourage this plant, but here it is, about to flower and produce pretty red fruits. It's a less showy passionflower vine that takes over the oregano (which has faded for the season anyway). I'm interested to see how the chickens take to the fruits..

Psst.. Hey bluebonnet. wrong season. Fun to see it anyways.. Neglected all summer it must be happy in it's spot. I'll sprinkle more seeds around it in the next few weeks (have to remember to refridgerate them!) to have a show next spring..