A plant that makes Winter worth it

It's no secret that I loathe being cold. Snow is lovely...in a photograph. I even get fussy when the AC is cranked up in the summertime. Before I found gardening and specifically this plant, the only redeeming quality of Winter was that it killed mosquitoes and weeds. (Both of which suck, to be clear.)

Teucrium fruticans 'Azureum', aka Bush Germander 'Azure', makes the cold weather worth it.

I first posted about it back in 2010 when my plant was about 2 years old, and my love for it is still as strong as it's ever been.

Now I feel like a proud parent, too: back in 2009 I had some friends who admired them in my old garden and were looking for xeric plantings. (David referred to it as "the boxy plant". No idea why, but that's what we call it to this day.)

It's a little dicey to recommend plants to people, because you can't control anything about how they execute the planting, watering, etc. I gave them 3 as a gift, figuring no one had anything to lose. Not surprisingly, the Bush Germander 'Azure' have fulfilled every promise I made:

Teucrium fruticans 'Azureum', with 3' tall outdoor torch in the foreground for scale.

Blooms! Crazy numbers of blooms!

It starts to bloom intensely blue flowers in mid-to-late December, and continues until early February. It's evergreen and silver/gray, NEEDS full sun, and once established it takes complete neglect in stride. (For reference, my friends have zero irrigation.) It gets to be 5-6 ft wide, about 4-5 ft tall, in a semi-fountain form. Bees love it, deer don't seem to care about it, and it doesn't seem to have any disease problems.

I planted some in our new yard when we moved in (Feb 2014), and while this is a lousy shot you can see the size this past August as compared with now:

(Opposite side, same plant)

They always seem to get a growth spurt just as Winter hits. The new growth gets a little gangly, so I shape them lightly after they're done blooming. It isn't particular about about that either: I usually pull the new growth up into a "ponytail", and cut. It flops back and retains that rounded shape until the next Winter growth spurt.

They do require watering (weekly for the first month) to get established if you plant in the Spring, but once they're established they're pretty drought-tolerant. (In a related story, if you dig one up and try to transplant it...good luck. I've done it successfully, but I can't recommend it for your back health or the plant health. I seem to recall it had an extensive spider web-y root system, a *#$%! to dig out. It was touch-and-go for about a month in its new location, and then it went back to being impervious to sun and heat.)

I've never understood why anyone uses Russian Sage, Texas Sage, or even the more common variety of Bush Germander when this is a much more attractive option. It's harder to find at local nurseries but not impossible: last year I found lots at Hill Country Water Gardens. It's always available online at Digging Dog Nursery.

2015 in Review, or "Let's list all the plants I've killed and other poor decisions"

Let's cut right to the chase: I made some excellent decisions this past year, and there are some I'd like a mulligan on.

The biggest one, and the one that falls into both categories, is painting the kitchen cabinets. I love the colors and have zero regrets about doing it, but I regret two things in the doing:

1. I should have gone with Sherwin Williams Pro Classic. If you weren't witness to the angst real-time, here's a recap. Benjamin Moore Advance is just thin/brittle, and chips too easily. I saw it in my old house when I painted the door frames, but I assumed it was due to the paint underneath it. Nope. I have 2 extra cans of both gray and white that I won't be using, and that ain't cheap.
2. A liquid deglosser is not as good as sanding the surface. I needed to believe that it was because I wanted to save time and I didn't want a house full of dust, but it's simply not comparable. There are a few small chips in the paint where something struck the surface, and the wood shows right though, telling me that the primer really didn't adhere.

And now for the longer list: plants I've killed. I took some risks this year: there were bound to be casualties. There were also a few mercy killings. And maybe a few "this bores me" killings. R.I.P. to:

• Salvia leucantha 'Santa Barbara' (they were in the front, and just stayed spindly and stupid)
• 'Lafter' roses (ditto)
• Yucca rostrata (technically two of them, mentioned at the end of this post)
• Lamb's ear 'Helen von Stein'
• Aralia cordata 'Sun King
• Salvia x 'Elk Phoenician Purple'
• Apostle Walking iris
• Melianthus major 'Honey Bush'
• Tasmanian Tree Ferns
• Hydrangea 'Ruby Falls'
• Hibiscus 'Midnight Marvel' (just the one that I stupidly put in a pot, the other is fine in the ground)
• 'Regal Shields' Elephant ears
• Smoke Bush tree (it bores me)

And now for a list of surprising successes:

• Giant Spider Lily: despite the worm incident, they're tough and tropical looking
• Hibiscus 'Midnight Marvel': I don't think it's well-sited, but I can fix that
• Brugmansia 'Double White': this thing is a rock star, producing blooms even now
• Canna 'Flambe': my love for these is no secret
• Justicia fulvicoma: I didn't post about these because I only bought 2 as an experiment back in October, but so far so good
• Variegated Flax Lily: I grew to love the variegation, and I'm now re-evaluating my overall stance on this topic
• My Japanese maple: a qualified success because it didn't thrive but it didn't die either!

Plans for 2016:

• Bananas trees! I inherited 2 from a neighbor after the Halloween storms, am optimistic they'll take over that spot in the Spring.
  
• Two big-as-I-can-afford Texas Mountain Laurel. It's criminal this property has zero.
• Finish the DG install in the backyard
• Overhaul the side yard/address the drainage issue (see Pinterest ideas here)
• Tetrapanax in a planter! I reeeeeaaally want one but can't risk it spreading uncontrollably, so I got a Cor-ten steel planter for against the far back fence, and I'm going to let it go crazy there.
• More Yucca 'Lonestar', Brugmansia, Oakleaf Hydrangea, 'Berggarten' Sage, and Giant Spider Lily!
• Tiered planters: I haven't fully fleshed this out yet, but I've always wanted something tiered in my garden, and it's also an opportunity to create optimal drainage situations for agaves, cacti, and other plants intolerant of my backyard's clay/mud.
• Expand the beds in the front yard. Nothing radical, I just noticed one day that they're a little skinny and should be fuller/rounder.
• Maybe a tree swing for the back?
• Paint the front door, replace the lock
• Gutters and rainbarrels

What are your plans for 2016?

Closing out the year, gardening with a dog

We got a dog, and I've [willingly and positively] allowed that to suck up any downtime I have, so I've neglected my blog. And vacuuming. I've been blogging a lot in my head, though, and even taking some pictures for blog posts, like Bloom Day and Foliage Follow-up (both of which I had grand ambitions for and missed by a mile). So that has to count for...absolutely nothing, I get it.

She's very sweet and we named her Daisy:

We adore her! She loves the cat (sometimes too much) is great with the boys, and is working through some fear issues around grownups. She's about 1 year old and lived on the mean streets of Austin for part of her life, so it hasn't all been roses for her. And speaking of roses...

Before we got a dog we made a list of pros and cons, and I feel like we did a pretty good job going into this with our eyes wide-open. That said, there were a couple of gardening-related surprises, as you might have guessed:

1. My favorite surprise: I've developed an appreciation for some of my neighbor's yards. When you walk by them 15 times in a week you start to notice things (especially if your dog wants to sniff everything). Future posts planned....
2. When she gets excited she likes to run fast. Back and forth. A lot. She has unintentionally shredded a few low-lying plants, like my Philodendron 'Hope' and some of the strappy-leafed Giant Spider Lily. Nothing that can't be replaced, or won't come back in the Spring. (The Hope philodendron were disappointing anyway, and I was thinking about replacing them with Oakleaf Hydrangea.)
3. She also likes to dig when she gets excited or bored. She's easy to redirect and she only digs in bare ground areas (no plants so far), but yeah. This is a manageable one - we just don't leave her outside unsupervised (she wants to play with us anyway, not alone) or we give her a bone to chew. She loves it when I'm outside with her, raking the many many MANY leaves. That makes one of us. (Although I did get a leaf vac as a gift for my birthday, woohoo!!)

And speaking of gifts [I am the QUEEN of segues in this post], I also got the fire pit I'd been coveting!! Thanks mom and dad!! We picked it up the week of Christmas, and used it for the first time on the weekend immediately after:

Here's another angle, because it's awesome:

And here's us using it!!

Ryan and the boys

I don't know what I'm doing here - marshmallow roasting gang signs?!?

As predicted, I ate half a bag of marshmallows, and burned at least 97.6% of those.

I need to make a cover for it so we can use it as a coffee table in the summertime, so that has gone on my long list of winter projects. And there will be more on that in 2016, but for now:

Farewell to 2015, and Happy New Year!!

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, November 2015

I was worried I wouldn't have any blooms for November since October was pretty sparse, but as always my Salvia come through!

I'm so thrilled my Pineapple Sage 'Golden Delicious' are blooming - it's such a pure red, not as orange-red as I remember.

Pineapple Sage 'Golden Delicious' in bloom

Gorgeous foliage!

My Salvia 'Vanhouttei' are also blooming behind the Pineapple Sage. They're a darker red, and also beautiful (I wish I had a close-up):

The Canna got perky after the weather cooled, too:

Canna 'Flambe' in bloom, floppy and fabulous

Canna 'Blueberry Sparkler'

And much to my surprise, my Mahonia 'Soft Caress' are blooming:

Mahonia 'Soft Caress'

Happy Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, ya'll! Thanks SO much to Carol of May Dreams for hosting!

Epic catch-up post part 3: Sod Removal and Decomposed Granite Install

You know how sometimes you build something up in your head, and then when you finally get it you're kind of disappointed? 

This wasn't one of those times. SO. HAPPY.

The only thing that would make me happier would be to have money to finish this project in the backyard, and continue it into the side yard as well. But since it's illegal to sell your organs on the internet, I'll just have to save up some cash and maybe finish in the Spring. Delayed gratification is the lamest thing ever.

Here's how the project started:

Dumping road base and decomposed granite in our driveway

Sod removal in progress

The same location after (sorry for the shadows):

After

Before

After

Before

After

It's like I've been under water and can finally breathe. Negative space is important, ya'll; don't underestimate it.

And then even though it seemed like it couldn't get any better, it did:

 My fingers were so sore from putting those suckers together, but it was worth it. (Pretend you can't see the hose running behind it. I suck at staging photos.)

The above is further evidence of my craptastic staging abilities, but more importantly you can see the current "Tommy Two-Face" nature of the backyard: those white bags mark the beginning of the crappy grass zone.

Still, all I need is my firepit in the middle of those chairs, and I'll feel like I won the lottery. (Which I might need to do to pay for the firepit....)

Picture me here with a marshmallow on a skewer, accidentally catching it on fire in my firepit!

I understand what people mean about the granite tracking, but so far I've only seen that when it's wet (and then it sticks to your shoes like cement). I have a pretty decent transition of patio, then tile before we get to the hardwood floors, so hopefully that will keep me from regretting this decision. And sometime in the next year, I hope to add big rectangular limestone pavers along the most commonly traversed areas. That should also reduce the likelihood of tracking?

I had a tree expert come out and make sure that the dg around the tree roots wasn't causing them any harm, and he acknowledged that it was piled a little high but should be fine. (I had them trim the Live Oaks and some plants were smushed, but that's another post.)

A good problem to have: that giant empty bed against the far fence! So many plants and ideas....

Epic catch-up post part 2: New Windows

When we bought the house we knew the windows were an issue: several were visibly clouded, and whatever insulating properties they once had were long gone. Unfortunately, they seemed like the least urgent of our negotiating and discretionary spending priorities.

I'm not even sure why or how, but a few weeks ago we ended up getting a quote from Anderson Replacement Windows, which means we ended up buying some windows. We didn't replace them all, but we prioritized some of the worst offenders: Ryan's office windows, and the giant kitchen window.

It's actually been cool enough to have the windows open all day long!

Ryan's office, and Ollie the photobomber

Sneak preview of my 3rd project!

My favorite part about them? Besides the fact that they open easily, and block out sound and temperature extremes, and look beautiful? A better view of the garden!

Epic catch-up post part 1: Fence Replacement

My lack of posting has literally been the blogging equivalent of me holding my breath. I've had 3 major projects spinning over the last 2 weeks, and today I got word that the 3rd was a qualified success, so I can exhale and post without sounding like a Neurotic Nancy.

I mean, more so than usual.

Project #1: Fence Replacement

This was one that caught me off-guard. Not the part about the fence needing to be replaced, that's a "duh". The surprise part was Neighbor Steve upping the urgency when he found out the people behind their house were moving out and he had carte blanche for fence design.

I've posted previously about our shared drainage challenges (see posts here and here). His was much worse than ours, but it became our problem when his yard couldn't handle the volume. You see, there's a slight grade to our cul de sac and really that entire side of the neighborhood, with our houses being "downstream" if you will. Having observed his flooding situation, he noted that he was getting a tremendous amount of water from "upstream" and the homes on the flip side of us. (A lot of the homes behind us have removed their sod and put down large rock, so their properties don't absorb any water at all anymore and it all becomes our problem to address.)

His imagined solution was a stone fence around his entire property, and he wanted to do that before someone bought the house behind him and had contrary thoughts. He included us in the discussion because he was fearful that his solution would effectively push the water volume onto our property, and didn't want to be a jerk. [Sidebar: our Neighbor Steve and his wife are awesome neighbors: they always take us and their other neighbors into account with any project they consider. We're very fortunate.]

I was a bit cranky about that initially (although only to Ryan), because while I totally sympathized I had been saving up for my sod removal/DG installation project and I didn't want to throw any money at a fence instead. I'm selfish.

Ultimately I'm tremendously glad we did the fence, because

1. In getting someone to come out and give me quotes for the DG install, we found the fence guy we ended up mutually hiring.
2. He gave me some tips on how to address my drainage solution (hint: get gutters, dummy).
3. The fence dude told Neighbor Steve that a stone/cement wall would be expensive and overkill, and recommended just installing "rot boards". 
4. The new fence looks SOOOOO much better!!

He did give us quotes for installing French Drains, which we (I) declined due to cost, and in hindsight I feel really good about that decision. I will get some gutters on that side of the house, and then we'll see where we're at on drainage.

Anywho, our fence is DONE! 

Do you see what I see?? That's right: more planting space.

We moved it up on the property by about 10 feet, because Neighbor Steve was doing that with his and it seemed weird for our fences not to start at the same point. The fact that it gained me more space for planting was purely an afterthought, I swear. (Although right now I'm loving the empty space. It gives you room to breathe and take in the yard.)

I had a 48 hour period when there was no fence in place and I freaked out about deer getting in and decimating my Cannas, but the fence dude said to put out mothballs and either it worked or I got lucky. Either way, no plants were harmed in the making of this fence.