The heat had already begun by mid-April and the day was off to a very late start. We Divas gradually straggled in and found Buffy still engulfed in her ambitious menu. The table looked lovely!
We wandered outside to check out the garden. Mattie had brought Barbie along, hoping she and Libby would have fun. Aha! Finally a photo with a pretty dog instead of a Barbie-shaped blur.
Breakfast arrived at the table at 10:45 am. Here a basket of crescent rolls & blueberry muffins complements spicy fresh ham from The Noble Pig (This small restaurant near the corner of El Salado & FM 620 has garnered a huge amount of buzz since opening in far Northwest Austin!)
We are in for another treat today... Buffy has made Eggs Sardou, gently poached eggs, cradled in artichoke hearts, nestled on a bed of spinach and covered in Hollandaise sauce -
The berries & pineapple missed their photo opportunity but here is Loquat Jam from a local Farmers Market. Buffy & I both have loquat trees - maybe our 2012 crops will be abundant enough to make some loquat jam, too.
When we went out we saw that Buffy had turned the remains of her 2011 project into art for the front bed... remember how we struggled to get this ex-Texas Sage out of the driveway border?
The drive bed plants had done amazingly well in the drought - here we see Buffy showing her helpful nephew Jimmy how to deadhead flowers while Libby supervises.
Buffy had more ideas for that drive bed this time but her main project was to turn another part of her parkway from not-happy grass into a water-wise planting. After a lot of work, the bed was stripped of grass and turned with the tiller, but oh, my!
The soil was fill dirt - brought in during construction and full of small, chunky rocks. Buckets and buckets were sifted out from just this small strip.
Meanwhile in other parts of the yard Divas pruned the barberry hedge, worked on the gateside bed and pruned, weeded and tidied the center bed
Divas redid the original parkway planting and even worked on the edge of the lawn.
Back at the hell stip #2, another power tool mixed in amendments, including expanded shale.
After more hours of work the bed was done with rock edges in place. The plants included Blackfoot Daisy, Damianita/Creosote shrub, Rosemary, Lychnis coronaria, 4-nerve daisy and a few plants Buffy had bought without tags. This job was approved by Libby.
Then the bed we redid in 2011 was clipped & groomed and new plants were added, including white iris, a Yellow Knockout rose and several Salvias from Barton Springs Nursery (our guess on ID is 'Wendy's
Wish'.)
We finished that bed then began pruning and clipping yaupons and other shrubs and trees but we avoided making any cuts on the live oaks in Spring. The experts advise that the safest time to prune live oaks to avoid oak wilt is in late winter.
By the time all the front beds were in good order it was 4:45 pm - we were ready for a fabulous lunch! Buffy surprised us with Steak Salad - ribeye on the grill cut in strips to top mixed greens
With lots of wonderful extras to top that salad and soft breadsticks on the side
Steak salad is quite attractive when assembled!
No Pudge brownies with more toppings were the sweet end to the meal, but you'll have to imagine those brownies... we were laughing so hard when Barbie decided to sit at the table with the Divas of the Dirt that I forgot to snap a photo of the dessert
I did catch one more picture of the stunning floral arrangement - thanks for a fun day, Buffy!
Posted by Diva Glinda/Annie in Austin
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