September 2009, Glinda's Garden Day

For my previous turn as hostess the Divas of the Dirt made the big native and adapted flower bed around the birdbath in the front yard. That was 18 months ago, in March of 2008.
It was exciting when this year's turn approached:

Sunday, September 13: "It's been a long, hot dry summer since we were chased by rainstorms at Karla's house last May. My Diva day is scheduled for next Saturday...[hope we don't] have to work around another rainstorm...thank heavens, avoided having it scheduled for yesterday!
Sophia ..wont be able to work with us [maybe] she can come to visit and eat with us...Oz & I have been gathering plants and supplies...[want a] drought-tolerant border in the part of the front parking strip that has the mailbox...went from being a part-shade Liriope bed to a mostly sunny, hot & dry area. After seeing the transformation of the parking strips at Karla's, Buffy's, Annie's and Sophia's my biggest wish is that we'll be similarly inspired once we're together! ...didn't water that part of the parkway at all this summer - let it get crispy - figured it would be easier to dig if most of the St Augustine grass was dead. Mindy, maybe you could bring the diamond hoe?..."

I had a yen to cook something French ever since seeing Julie & Julia but in recent years "Talk Like A Pirate Day" has become a kind of modern folk holiday, celebrated every year on September 19th. Combining these ideas led me to declare "Eat Like A French Pirate Day". After 5 years of decorating indecision the dining room finally had curtains and the table had new French-style placemats: The Divas arrived and we caught up on all sorts of interesting events (none of which belong on this blog) before breakfasting on Quiche Lorraine, Whole wheat French Toast, Paradise Juice, extra bacon, pineapple, strawberries, blackberries, watermelon and grapes -then aaarrgghh! It was time to mosey out into the pitiful front yard where the "hellstrip" awaited us.
Back in February 2005 we Divas had removed a sprawling Spiraea that swamped the mailbox, moving it to the Batbed. We added native Pavonia lasiopetala/Rock Rose, an Artemesia, Texas Betony/Stachys coccinea and native Scuttelaria suffrutescens/Skullcap to the existing liriope and a Salvia greggii on the south side of the mailbox. The Betony and Skullcap didn't make it, but the Rock Rose and Artemesia survived, a multitude of tree seedlings sprouted and the liriope grew thick. When an Arizona Ash died in early 2007 this area became hotter and sunnier, but it never looked that bad until the drought settled in during midsummer 2008. Now the liriope is burned from the western sun. The Divas decided to make the weed trees walk the plank, used a few swipes of the cutlass to cut back the perennials and then attacked the Liriope. Good grief! Once Mattie and Karla started digging the Liriope kept coming like a magician's endless string of handkerchiefs...some could be replanted along the sides of the street walkway where it was shadier, some could go home with whoever could use it, and some could go under the trees in full shade.Mindy's diamond hoe cleared the top of the bed, then hours passed as the long bed was dug and the soil sifted. Sophia had decided she was not well enough for even a short visit, so Mindy & I went to pick up the Mantis tiller at her house. Decomposed granite and Ladybug Revitalizer compost went into the cleared area and the tiller mixed it up. Plants were ready and waiting: a Texas mountain laurel, a Germander, Mexican Feather Grass, Gulf Muhly Grasses, Lilac-colored lantana, purple skullcap, Blackfoot daisies and creeping rosemary plants that are supposed to stay under 1-foot tall. A big stepping stone and a couple of smaller ones were set aside for a path. Oz and I had also picked up a wheelbarrow full of free rocks on Friday, thinking we might want to Rock This Bed. Buffy and Mindy gave it a try, but it just didn't look right with our housefront - guess the pink-toned rock will end up somewhere in the Pink Entrance Garden.
The main planting was looking good, with only mulching left to do so I went in to get the very late lunch onto the table.My only other request had been help with a new container ... but the other Divas were not satisfied with that! They thought the new bed looked so good it made the big oval bed they'd made in 2008 look shabby - soon Annie and Karla and Mattie had the edges of the birdbath bed trenched, the plants cut back and the whole thing was mulched. Our 3 PM meal followed the French Pirate theme, too: a concoction of Poblano sausage, chicken, tomatoes, rice, beans & the Cajun holy trinity was now " Jean Lafitte Stew", there was a loaf of homemade bread baked in my grandmother's bread pan, spicy French cheddar rounds were rechristened "Pieces of Eight", salad (or should that be Salade?), my husband's contribution of "Outer Banks Hot Pickles", iced tea with Meyer's Lemons picked fresh from the patio trees, as well as a family recipe for Chocolate Shortbread shaped into coins and Historically Correct Key Lime Pie for dessert.

There are many ideas about what constitutes Real or Original Key Lime Pie... some sites insist it must be graham cracker crust and have nothing like whipped cream or meringue on top. I'd found some cool historical sites that told of a man named Gail Bordon inventing safe & stable canned, sweetened condensed milk in the 1850's so people would not die from contaminated milk. Supposedly, people in the Keys had no cows - thus no milk or butter in those unrefrigerated times. The invention of canned milk let them use their limes for pie. Google the man and be amazed at his life story ~ then read this post from the Online Pastry Chef, discussing why a historically accurate pie would have been a pastry crust and why a pie made by thrifty people had to have meringue! My pie was made from the recipe at this site and we all agreed it was astounding!
The Divas quickly helped clear the decks (that Diva Annie insisted on washing dishes, too!) and then went back out to finish up - dollying bags of decomposed granite and Rose Magic Soil to Buffy along with some Saltillo tiles and the new pot. A dwarf Barbados cherry and a plant of culinary Marjoram were ready to plant, completing the Pirate theme. Did you know the island of Barbados was home to historical pirates and the herb Marjoram was the crop favored by "The Condensed Pirate", a tale found in my childhood's beloved Better Homes and Gardens Second Storybook?

Buffy got the tiles settled into the granite, then she and Mindy showed it who was captain of this garden! In the 5+ years we've lived here the center of this little bed has been amended and planted over and over without success - an Abelia, a Sago Palm, Spiderwort, Lambs Ears, Salvias, verbena and a hydrangea all failed in its tree-root choked soil ....maybe a big container can succeed. Around the outer edges some Oxblood Lilies from MSS of Zanthan are doing well, which makes me think other bulbs (like Texas-tough Grand Primo narcissus) should be added, too.
Next to the steps is another problem area - failures since 2004 were chrysanthemums, Japanese Aralia/Fatsia japonica, the usually tough Amarcrinum(!!!) and Hawaiian White Ginger. I bought a couple of dwarf yaupons/Ilex vomitoria and the Divas gave them a chance. They also decided to use the remaining bags of granite here - we need to get more but even this thin layer looks good!
Now when I come down the driveway the grass is still summer-killed, but patient Divas with rakes (thank you, Mattie) took off the top thatch, so when rain comes it can sink into the ground. This area needs another tree and perhaps a path. The remaining St Augustine can survive with a surprisingly low amount of water if it gets some shade. And when the plants in the beds are so interesting - who cares about grass anyway? Instead of wasting water trying to keep lawn alive in the sunbaked parking strip, less water can make the right plants grow and thrive, looking good while supplying habitat for bees and butterflies.
If the bird-attracting dwarf Barbados Cherry settles in happily I might be able to lurk on the veranda with my camera and snap feathered visitors coming for the fruit.
And every day when I stand on the steps I'll think about how wonderful it is to be a Diva of the Dirt, who has friends to change the view with layered plantings that make even a walk to the mailbox an adventure...the 'Mutabilis' rose they planted in 2008 is making new leaves and flower buds right now!
From the first Diva project here in October 2004 through last weekend, my wonderful garden friends have helped to make this house feel like a garden cottage.
Next up will be Diva Annie!

June 2009 -Sophia's Garden Day

Sophia's garden day looked like a tough one:

"... just looked up the temp for Saturday-97 degrees! ...All I can offer is a little shade, cool beverages, and ... vinca to pull out (the sequel to (Mindy's) Bermuda Triangle!) We will be working in the front yard on the bed close to the house and ... in the sidewalk strip, make a bed there and top with decomposed granite... will have breakfast ready by 8:30 so we can get out there early enough for a cool breeze or two to hit us-ha!"

Diva-Annie was at Sophia's door when I pulled up - the scents from the kitchen were enticing! Sophia and her husband Roger were ready for the Divas of the Dirt.

We'd worked on the back garden for Sophia's 2008 project - doing the preliminary work on replacing the unhappy grass with a granite path leading to a seating area. The completed path looked great and I snapped a few photos in the morning light.

We'd worked back here in 2006 and 2008 - what fun to see this pretty, functioning shady patio garden unfold over the last few years!

The oatmeal pancakes were delicious and the hearty Potato-Egg dish enticing but the compote of fruit totally amazed us - Roger had combined fresh figs, peaches, blueberries and prosciutto in a killer combination with one of his special vinaigrettes.

nnnn

Out in the front we agreed with Sophia - some of the grass in the parkway needed help and some of it should be torn out and better plants installed.

Grass didn't grow on the front edge - time for a redo - the Divas decided that although the separate, smaller beds with established plants looked pretty good, one large border surrounded by stone edging would be even better. Luckily Sophia and Diva-Annie had collected a wheelbarrow full of freebies because it was time to Rock this Bed!

Mindy's diamond hoe flew so quickly it looks like a blur as weeds and Bermuda grass disappear from the center area of the bed where the new plants will go.
All the tools are ready for turf-removal (some of it will be transplanted to the North end of the parkway), digging and mixing in amendments.
A garden hose outlines the interior shape of the new unified border. Sophia's front yard is overhung with a few large Cedar Elms - sometimes a pain for pollen and leaves - but their filtered shade lets in enough light for foliage plants and flowers while shielding the garden from the worst of summer's sun. With a little breeze even a day in the nineties was tolerable.
We weeded existing beds and Diva-Annie took on the task of digging up many square yards of invasive Vinca major which had started out as a rooted cutting from a friend but now had overwhelmed the fern bed near the front porch. Sometimes Annie had help, sometimes she worked alone, patiently working in the tangle, determined to free the ferns from captivity and make space for the beautiful caladium plants that Sophia had bought. Caladiums can usually take heat if they are in shade and Sophia has that! She also bought a couple of gorgeous hostas - if anyone can make them thrive in Austin it will be Sophia.


Everyone is a gourmet cook at this house! We'd been spoiled by Roger's culinary arts at previous meetings...this time he started the banquet with Caprese salad and a luscious Cantaloupe soup. Next came piquant pasta salad paired with Sophia's homestyle stuffed peppers. We were thrilled to hear that Sophia's son Mark had made a Tres Leches Cake for dessert. It seemed impossible that the amazing chocolate cake Mark made for us in 2007 could be equaled or surpassed, but his Tres Leches belongs on a pedestal...wonderful!


Mindy had suspected that the reason everything died in the parkway was the soil - what's put in by contractors is frequently the sandy loam nicknamed "Red Death" by gardeners. Her idea was to dig in amendments and raise the bed before making a new flower bed in the center of the parkway and replanting the far end with turf that was removed when the beds were joined together. We hope the resprigged parkway can make it.

On the other side of the walk the Divas used our new Mantis tiller to make everything ready, then built a cool foot path before adding plants. You can see the caladiums sitting ready in their pots near the front porch. This kind of shade is just perfect for those Aspidistra/Cast Iron plants near the tree trunks

At the South end of the unified bed are two 'Mutabilis' roses which had a rather drastic pruning. Taking out some of the oldest rose canes might let the adjoining Bauhinia regain its shape and the pruning should encourage the roses to rebloom in late summer or fall.
Before we left at 7PM that night we'd placed the caladiums but not planted them. I went back a few days later to take "after" photos and with the Divas' cars and tools removed from the view, saw a transformed landscape.
The new layered look with rock edging seems to work well for Roger & Sophia's front garden from the new parkway bedto the outlines of the new unified bed
to the shady area of ferns, hostas and caladium near the front door

There's a whole colorful world for Sophia and her family to enjoy!

May 2009 Karla's Garden Day 2

Part II - Previous post has Part I

A week after Karla's rained-out garden day the Divas of the Dirt tried again - hoping the possible storms would wait until evening. We started in quickly, determined to finish at least part of what Karla requested. Last June we'd worked in Sophia's garden when the temperature hit 96°F ... the same heat was predicted for Karla's day.

This time Diva-Annie was with us and she'd brought her new pruning stick with her. The ligustrum seen in the last post was brought back into line and dead branches pulled down.

We fanned out and tackled all the work we'd talked about the week before - starting with the front of the house and the sidewalk edge.

The front entrance was dug up and redone and the new liriope was planted. Cheerful gazanias grow in the sunnier spot to the right of the liriope.

Karla puts impatiens in the shade at the far end of this bed each summer - this year the color is a cooling white. Mattie designed a rock path across the side border - with so many flowers it's good to know where it's safe to step!

The front looked lovely when composted, watered in and mulched.

Around the back Diva-Annie and Sophia tackled the back border and the woodland area an to the north of the patio. This is one of those jobs with no end - it will absorb all the hours a person is willing to give.

Karla didn't have to make breakfast for this make-up session, so she decided lunch would be a Fiesta. All the elements of a Mexican Stack-Up were arranged on a colorful, placed on different levels around the table. She instructed us that to properly enjoy this vintage recipe we needed to go around the table, spooning some of every single ingredient onto our plates, in exact order and no exceptions!

We obediently piled on taco chips, rice, ground beef, cheese, tomatoes, olives, peppers, sour cream. tomatoes and could that be pecans and coconut? Yes!

Peach cobbler with ice cream- oh, yes. In the shady back yard Karla had this Fatsia japonica/Aralia and the variegated Aucuba in containers for awhile. She's used lattice to screen the utility boxes in the back yard and these shade lovers went in front of the lattice as further softening and screening.

Karla still had some decomposed granite piled in the driveway - it came in handy as a path to the compost corner Mattie had in mind. An open wire composter collected dry leaves, grass and twigs. Buffy, Mindy and Mattie got the black plastic composted assembled and ready and Mattie edged the path.

Diva-Annie, Sophia and I were still working on that woodland bed and trying to reset the birdbath when the first lightning bolt and crack of thunder made us jump. This time there was no period of hesitation when we thought the rain might lighten - this was a toad-strangler and Karla's Diva Project was declared officially over.

Karla: Good Morning Divas ...I have seen my yard get more beautiful each day. After the rain storm ... I had to replant a couple of things, move some dirt/mulch back in to the beds and prop a few plants up, but everything is looking so perky and happy. It is such a delight to look at now – as opposed to the very overwhelming feeling when looking at it before your great effort. I love all of the revisions to the back yard and how it just keeps evolving into something more wonderful each time you are there. Thank you so much for all of the hard work!
Have a great wk and again, thank you Divas – you’re the best!!!

May 2009, Karla's Garden Day One

Karla: Bring the usual tools – mostly we will be cleaning up the beds (I know, it’s mid-May and I haven’t done that yet!!), composting, mulching, trimming – planting a few things. My goal is to have breakfast on the table at 8:30 so we can get in the yard before the temp reaches broiling point.

I might need some limbs cut on the ligustrum, Glinda, so if you want to throw your pole cutter in, that would be great. The only tilling we will need to do is a small bed beside air conditioning unit.

Looking forward to seeing everyone!!


By 8:30A the buffet table was ready and the flowers were on the table. One-by-one 5 Divas arrived for Karla's May garden day, dressed in work clothes with every tool in our arsenal. Diva-Annie was not in town - we'd miss her calm presence. With Karla almost everything has a backstory.... usually one that has us in stitches. It turned out that Karla saw the flowers when she went to check on her sister Callie's house while the family was on vacation. Such a giant bouquet obviously needed a group to appreciate it so Karla liberated the lavish floral arrangement and brought it where it could be admired.

We enjoyed Karla's menu of Baked French Toast Casserole w/Maple Syrup, Hash Brown Quiche, Berry compote and juices - isn't the Scottie napkin ring cute? After breakfast we went out to survey the garden and take a few "before" photos of the areas that Karla wanted us to do. The Rose of Sharon in the front corner was getting an established look and the parkway (AKA Hellstrip) mainly needed tidying - that rosemary badly needed pruning.

When grass grew in the parkway it never did well but the Lantana that replaced the grass was very happy indeed! A little snipping and mulching and they'd look great.

This didn't look like too bad of a work day - the long front border we worked on last year looked pretty good - just needing neatening and cutting back, composting and mulching.

The edge where the entrance walk meets the foundation bed has been a problem area for most of the years we've worked in Karla's garden. It gets too much sun at some times of the year, not enough sun at other times and gets washed away in heavy downpours. Karla wanted to plant some variegated liriope in this spot - it's a tough plant that might be able to take those conditions.


Karla was right - that ligustrum needed the pole pruner.
After Karla's garden day last summer we'd left this path edged and ready for decomposed granite. Since then a mountain of granite had been delivered and used to fill in the very Austin looking walkway. We like the result, Karla! In back the beds needed a Spring Cleaning, too - Karla and Mattie had some ideas about a compost corner and screening shrubs for the utilities. Maybe this wasn't going to be a short day after all!

CRACK!!! Thunder and lightning suddenly changed the focus of the day - we headed inside, in hopes it was a passing shower. Weather info was pulled up from TV, phone and computer. Mattie decided to work on the houseplants while she waited - taking them to the kitchen for grooming and watering them one at a time. "What's the usual procedure when weather interrupts a garden day?" Mattie, our newest Diva asked.

The rest of us looked at each other and realized we'd never dealt with this situation in 10 years of Diva-Days. We'd cancelled a few dates the night before and or very early in the morning, and on more than one occasion we'd worked through steady drizzle but we'd never had a lightning storm hit after we were already together.

The weather reports grew more ominous - it was time to quit and go home. It wouldn't be fair to make Karla cook breakfast again - we'd eat that at our own homes next Saturday, then arrive at 8:30AM ready to work....but would still hope for a great lunch.

April 2009, Buffy's Garden Day

In the weeks between Mindy's March garden day and Buffy's April date we in Austin experienced a Weather Event. On March 25th hailstorms pummeled parts of Austin setting records for the amount of damage. I took a video of the hailstorm and put it on YouTube and the photo above is from Sophia. The storm's path was erratic! Mindy and Diva-Annie escaped unscathed, but the other five Divas had been hit pretty hard.

Some of us would need new roofs and skylights. Karla was in the middle of traffic and Sophia was also on the road when the hail hit - it was terrifying to be inside a car as hail smashed their windshields, pounded the cars and turned the road to slippery slush. Our windshields were intact, but neither Buffy nor I could save our cars from being hammered. Mattie missed being in the middle of the storm by mere minutes. In addition to our homes and vehicles, we gardeners we were distressed to see our evergreens, perennials, annuals and trees get trashed - Sophia & I lost our newly-planted tomato gardens.

So we had to take some time out of Buffy's garden day to check out the demolished windshields, broken trim and actual hail potholes on the car bodies as we marveled at the power of ice the size of golfballs falling from the sky.

Buffy's garden is well established so it seemed unlikely we'd be removing turf but renewing beds and pruning existing trees and replacing plants that had failed or disappeared in the Texas weather fell under normal spring maintenance. The hearty breakfast of Italian sausage, Rosemary Strata with Sundried Tomatoes, Rosemary-Currant Muffins, Blackberry Muffins, Hash Browns should have been a clue that Buffy wanted us to work - she even tried to get our creative juices flowing with a drink called Brain Juice.

The Hellstrip that had been our project in 2007 was looking bedraggled, needing cleanup and replacement plants. Buffy likes natural stones set in as edging for areas like this - when she told us "I'd like to Rock this Bed" the phrase was perfect to describe what the Divas have done in so many of our gardens. Buffy had collected a quantity of fist to grapefruit-sized rocks for that task. Back in 2002 we'd removed the turf to encircle a small grove of trees in the front of Buffy's house into a large mixed border featuring native and adapted plants. Each year on her annual garden day we'd do some pruning and weeding and renew the plants.

Being part of the cycle in our friends' gardens, revisiting previous project and sharing the effects of time and weather on what we've done together, is part of the fun. We're invested in each other's gardens, sometimes getting quite emotionally involved with the results!

As usual, Buffy had bought a variety of plants. Even though we'd never get all of them planted in one day it was fun to see the variety - Buffy has a soft spot for Four-Nerved Daisy and it appears that the newish 'Diamond Frost' euphorbia was irresistible. We intended to also tend to the secret garden beds and the long shady bed along the side fence in the back garden but as we split up and began working we kept in mind that the most important part of the project as far as Buffy was concerned was to complete the Entrance bed outside the gate. above photo The photo above from October shows how much we'd been able to do with this bed at Buffy's last garden day. Now it was time to move forward with the renovation.

The Texas sage was whacked back even further and given another chance and the viburnum left in place, but other plants were overgrown, exhausted and out of shape. Buffy had an entirely new design in mind once the soil was renewed - she would give gardenias a try.

Lunch was delicious - flavorful Greek turkey-meatballs served in pita bread with Red Pepper-Leek Soup and assorted crunchy potato chips.
Diva-Annie looks comfortable in the shade but in reality she was under the thorny, rambunctious 'Mermaid' rose, so beautiful, but so uncontrollable. That ground was littered with pieces of vicious rose cane out to get her if she wasn't vigilant.
By the time we left the Hell Strip was a parkway garden once again and according to Buffy's plan the Divas had Rocked the Bed. This is a very popular look in our Divas of the Dirt gardens - these rocks may not be as formal or glamorous as cut stone, but we can usually get them at no cost and they look as if they belong here in our Central Texas cottage gardens.


The Entrance Bed was planted, mulched and ready to bloom - glad we could help, Buffy! We'll hope for a follow-up post with some photos of the new bed as it becomes established.

Mantis in Action video

Earlier this spring we Divas of the Dirt chipped in and bought an electric Mantis. That way we'll have one available when we do out garden projects and to share for use by the Divas during the year. Here are a couple of seconds from yesterday's project in 95°F temperatures.

The fun of being together outweighed the hard work.

March 2009 - Mindy's Garden Day, Part I

Mindy thought her courtyard was boring, but at least she could see it this spring. In this photo from November 2008 the stone arch of the courtyard is almost invisible. On that day the Divas of the Dirt met at Mindy's for our November project. We spent that entire day taking down every visible piece of an out-of-control creeping fig vine, ripping it off stone walls, the arch, siding, the timbers of the roof overhang and getting rid of all the roots we could see. Mindy climbed a ladder and balanced on the beams of the courtyard to clip and reveal the wood. When we left we knew the vine was only slowed...not vanquished. The walls were temporarily blank, but the odds were that the fig would come back. When it did - so would we!
Last week it was Mindy's turn to be hostess once again for our March project. She and Warren had made enormous project on revamping the walkway & courtyard entrance- by the time we arrived there were gutters and the rain barrel above was in place, though not yet attached. Mindy hoped we could help to improve the view into the courtyard and work on the front of the house near the walkway. We were pleased that not too much of the fig had dared to show above ground. But first things first!
The breakfast table looked beautiful, decorated with Texas Mountain laurels picked from some of Mindy's large established shrubs. Her stone house is set on a couple of acres in a hilly part of SW Austin, where deer play and wild flowers grow naturally around the rock piles.


We feasted on country ham, scrambled eggs Benedict, berries and pineapples, blueberry juice and Morning Glory Muffins. They're wonderful! Here's a link to the recipe from Earthbound Farm.


Buttercup the Golden Lab led us out the door to the courtyard where Mindy had a bunch of plants waiting in the shade. There were more plants waiting under a ex-peach trees, victims of age and the ongoing drought. The soil in the courtyard was daunting and it was pretty doubtful we'd get around to using all the plants but we'd try our best. Mindy had bought plenty of composts and mulches.


A recent fun project by Mindy and Warren was now revealed - they'd made a recycled wine bottle border along the sidewalk that led across the front of the house to the entrance courtyard. The border defined and area of decomposed granite. Burying wine bottles as a garden edging may sound new and trendy, but it's actually an old Texas tradition, found around historic homes where German settlers made their homes.

Mindy knew the two tired pyracanthas against the house had to go. For one thing, that wall is scheduled to be redone and the thorny tall shrubs were in the way. And in spite of the thorns, the deer that munch on Mindy's landscape thought the shrubs were delicious, drawing them into the heart of the border.

Buffy and I were already on record as not being fond of the way the pyracantha (sometimes called Fire Thorns) looked against the house wall, so as soon as we had the go-ahead on demolition, we happily waded in with loppers while Mattie, Sophia, Karla and DivaAnnie started to dig up the courtyard beds and Mindy ran back and forth coordinating, bringing supplies and answering constant questions.



Chop! Chop! Chop! The tops were cut up small and put into yard waste bags.
We left enough of the trunks to use as handles, after taking off all small branches with their vicious thorns. Then we hauled, pulled and rocked the two pyracanthas, while using garden forks and spades to pry and dig the roots out. Buffy was triumphant!


Back in the courtyard the almost-clean walls belied the reality beneath the surface.



Mattie's ripping up the left inside courtyard - this is hard work! We'd pulled up at least 50-feet of thick roots last November -guess that was just practice!

About the photos in Mindy Parts I and II: The photos that were taken during the project are mostly mine. The photos of the courtyard before we arrived and the photos taken last week after we left are mostly Mindy's. We had so many fun pictures there just had to be two posts! On to Part II.

March 2009 - Mindy's Garden Day, Part II

Photos taken during the project were by Glinda (that's me). Photos taken a few days after we left are by Mindy.

Karla thought our post needed this view of all the stuff we seven women use on these projects. In addition to the horticultural supplies like composts, mulches and plants, the hostess provides coolers full of cold drinks and we each bring an assortment of tools and totes. Sometimes we bring plants to share with each other, too.
Let's head back to the project:
DivaAnnie likes to work at ground level. She amazes us with her persistence and patience. Instead of using force or violence, she carefully untangles and clears areas ready for amending. And when she puts a new plant into the ground, it stays planted!
In the outer courtyard here's Sophia prying up weeds along with some shrubs that were a previous experiment by Mindy. The coral berries were native, but they seemed to sucker too freely without looking attractive. That Mahonia/grape holly can stay - it will work in the new design. This time Sophia got to work at ground level - last November she was high on a a ladder cutting the fig vine off the timbers.

Once the outer courtyard was in better shape, Mindy took the new tiller on its maiden run. It did a pretty good job, but when the Divas dug deeper than the tines could reach, more and more long, huge fig roots kept appearing.

Mindy, Mattie, DivaAnnie and Karla continued to fight with the fig roots around the not-live-oak, then used hand tillers before replanting holly ferns. After the dying tree is removed piece by piece, the philodendron seen in the photo at the top of this post will live in the inner courtyard. Mindy told us the entire fig colony started from two small 4" pots from a local nursery.
Out around the corner Buffy had dug in compost and loosened the soil to plant a Chilopsis/ Desert Willow. Once established it should be drought-tolerant, and a good rain should persuade it to produce lovely flowers. This particular Chilopsis is a variety called 'Bubba'.Buffy and I had fun reinstalling that huge 'spineless' cactus to the left of the Desert Willow. If you've never met one - spineless is a relative term. We had gloves on but still ended up with little spines all over our clothes and unprotected skin.

Hard soil, semi-shade, wandering deer and limited water make the courtyard a difficult situation for any gardener, but Mindy does not give up easily! After bags and bags of composts were added, the new planting of soft-leaved yuccas, holly ferns, Four-nerved daisies, bluebonnets, iris, lambs ears, Setcresia/purple heart and Mexican feather grass was set in.

The flat-backed water barrel was in place for our Diva day, but not hooked up. There were full water barrels on the patio so we walked through the house carrying water from the back of the house to the front courtyard, giving all the new plants a good drink and then mulched them.


The Divas hunted around the property for stones and used them to edge the left side of the courtyard. A Loropetalum went in against the wall, with pockets teased out for foxgloves, and more setcresia closer to the oak. Mattie got artistic at the corner of the house, fitting stones together under the spot where a rainchain would be hung. It was nearly 5 PM when Mindy called us in to eat - so not exactly lunch - but a delicious meal.
The main dish was wonderful - Cold Peanut, Chicken, and Soba Noodle Salad
accompanied by Hot and Spicy Asparagus.

The lettuce was supposed to be a garnish, but we didn't leave one leaf! Mindy thought her cake was too crumbly but we thought the taste was perfect. Here's a close-up of the Texas Mountain Laurels decorating the table.
We went back out and tried to get a little more done before packing up the tools and doing some clear up. We left Mindy and Warren with shovels in hand, using decomposed granite to fill in the bottle edges.

Let's take a stroll from the drive down the sidewalk past this very Hill Country front garden. We like the way Rusty the metal horse sculpture looks in his revamped quarters among Hesperaloe, yucca, cactus, desert willow and salvias. Past the cactus and the crepe myrtles, we approach the entrance to the courtyard. It's a few days after the Divas met and the rain barrel is now hooked up.
Now the new rain chain hangs on the left of the courtyard.Instead of carrying water through the house, Mindy can use the coiled hose to water the courtyard plants. Encouraging the bluebonnets to bloom.
Another cherub hides in the purple heart across the walk.
From the front door the view into the courtyard is a pleasing one
And at the base of the rainchain, Mindy will see a little souvenir of the day...when Mattie made the rock-splash, she tucked a heart-shaped rock into the very center.