Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Outdoor time!

Now that we will be starting our fourth year in Texas, we know that this time of the year is when you have to enjoy the things that are thriving in your yard.  Once the hot summer days come, those plants will go into survival mode and not be as showy.  We have had a lot of rain this spring so everything is  looking great.  I started a flower bed on the back of the house which almost faces completely North.  I know that flowers that bloom need sunshine, but in Texas they also need afternoon shade.  I started out with some yarrow and purple cone flowers a few years ago. I have divided them in the fall so that I could fill in the whole bed.  I love repeating the same flowers throughout the bed.  I also have a few small hostas that I planted around the irrigation heads so the at the water can still spray as it's suppose to.  I am thinking next year Tom is going to need to change out the height of the heads because my perennials are getting larger.






Early this year I added some white lily bulbs and they are so pretty right now.  I also planted a clematis but it will take some time for it to build up a root system before it will show off.  Then a few weeks ago I added the rain lilies.  My latest addition was a hydrangea bush I got for Mother's day!    I hope they surprise me a little later this summer.  A few iris and a few mums that my sister shared with me last summer are coming along.   I am so excited to see how well it is doing. It is a whole lot different growing perennials here than up north.  I will continue to add things I see growing well in this area.  The plants are filling in pretty well, but I know for sure I will be adding some more lily bulbs and would love to find some red tulips that will return year after year. They are getting harder to find since everything started to get hybridized.


 I am so excited to have a southern magnolia planted in the back yard.  Tom has convinced me to add a couple more.  So that may happen next February.  The large white blossoms smell so good, I just wish they lasted longer.


 

The final picture is a fig tree. It is starting it's third summer with us.  We got quite a few figs on it last year and this year we will probably get two crops.  They are a very interesting tree as they don't flower but produce fruit.  This is the first year it hasn't died back to the ground during the winter.  We thought we had lost it the first year, but after reading up on it it's very common for that to happen until the tree gets to the age of three.  I am very pleased to still enjoy my passion to grow things, although we have scaled back the size of our yard with this move dramatically.  I knew as we are getting older it gets harder and harder to garden the way we used to.  So last year was my last year to have a veggie patch.  I will continue to grow a few herbs and found that planting them in a planter with some flowers it a great way to fit them in.  Tom and I really love going out every day and checking the progress!  Life is definitely good!

12 comments:

  1. I would love to have a magnolia tree I hope yours grows well. I have thought of a fig tree but I think we get too cold in the winter for one. I have been doing less with a vegetable garden and mainly tomatoes and herbs and few things in pots - as I get older I'm glad I have the 4 raised beds as I can't do gardening like I used to - it's too hard

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    1. Yes, its good to plan and realize things get harder as we get older. We planted a Little Gem magnolia as the others can get quite large. They seem to do well here. It has put new growth out on each branch so I think it is happy.

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  2. Always a pleasure to see flowers grow after a dormant winter. thanks for sharing yours.

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    1. Yes, just being out in the spring taking it all in is refreshing.

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  3. I truly enjoyed this walk around your garden... we are going to be adding tulip bulbs this winter... is there a plus to getting not hybrid other than they are a solid color instead of multi colored?? do they last longer not hybridized ?? Thanks for your advice on that... I love your fig tree too and nice it gives figs and looks pretty too <3 Kathi

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    1. Yes the old fashion tulips come back year after year but the hybrid bulbs are really good for a year or two. They guaranteed there future market. Did you know that at one point in history that owning tulip bulbs was like owning gold and they were traded as currency.

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  4. Your yard is coming along beautifully, Carla,! It lloks like you've settled in nicely to your new environment. I don't know where you lived before (I'm not good at keeping track of these things...) but it seems Texas is a very popular state for relocation these days. We lost one of our quilter friends to the Austin area everal years ago, and now we never near from her! (due to all her new friends). Her name is Karen, in case you happen to run into her, lol!

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    1. Yes it is, the economy is strong here. We moved here to be closer to our son. We also like the mild winters

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  5. I remember when we lived in Texas, we had to water around the foundation of our house several times each summer. Is that something you do? It was to help keep the foundation from cracking and the brick work in place.

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  6. I planted two magnolia trees when we lived in Orlando. They finally started blooming just before we had to move because my husband had a job transfer. So much for that.

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    1. I have landscaped quite a few homes and it was always hard to say good bye when we moved. It's a bit like gifting a quilt. Your one hope is it will be loved and cared for.

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