tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317163792024-03-13T16:41:03.868-05:00The GrackleAn Austin garden blogLeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.comBlogger498125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-48969009188045147382015-11-26T12:14:00.000-05:002015-11-26T12:14:23.683-05:00Thanksgiving Tree<div>
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Who needs a Christmas tree when you can have a Thanksgiving tree? </div>
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I'm so thrilled to welcome a new chinquapin oak to our back garden, which replaces <a href="http://the-grackle.blogspot.com/2015/11/getting-rid-of-unwanted-guest.html">the xylosma that I removed a few weeks ago</a>. The oak is perfect, and I can't wait for it to grow larger and provide us with shade from the hot summer sun.</div>
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Oaks are some of our most important trees for wildlife. They are hosts for tons of species of bugs, which means they are great sources of food for birds. The acorns are important for a lot of species too, such as blue jays. Even early settlers and Native Americans ground the acorns into flour. </div>
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Great trees.</div>
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An added bonus is that this tree already looks like it belongs here in our deep black clay, near our creek that's in the Colorado River watershed. The xylosma never did. Something about it just seemed out of place, even though it was a nice specimen of a tree. The chinquapin looks at home. </div>
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I'm thankful for this tree. Yes indeedy.</div>
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Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-22082928964539123782015-11-15T20:17:00.001-05:002015-11-15T20:17:27.373-05:00Getting Rid of an Unwanted Guest<div>
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Years ago, I planted a small Asian xylosma tree that I purchased on a whim from the Natural Gardener (they have since removed them from their stock). At once, I felt some trepidation about planting it, but desire won over. As the years have gone by, the xylosma has grown into a lovely evergreen multitrunked tree that anchors the patio garden.<br />
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But still, I've often wondered if it was the correct thing to plant, and pondered as much <a href="http://the-grackle.blogspot.com/2010/03/plants-oh-xylosma.html">here on this blog</a>.</div>
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When I bought the tree, I was under the impression that it was "sterile." I should've done more research. I recently discovered that it is not, in fact, sterile. These berries... </div>
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Turn into new little xylosma trees...</div>
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I knew it was germinating from seed, because from seed it reverts back to having thorns (see above). A deep search on the Google-bot led me to even find xylosma listed as an invasive on the <a href="http://www.bayoupreservation.org/html/Invasives_exotics.pdf">Bayou Preservation Association site</a>. </div>
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Though the bees like the little flowers and the birds clearly like the little berries, I decided that it was time to remove it. I do not was to be ground zero for another non-native invasive species creeping across our vulnerable landscapes. They are in enough trouble, thank you very much. </div>
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Here's my process from this weekend:</div>
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Ack! My garden is as nekkid as a jay bird.</div>
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Ultimately, it was very hard to cut down a tree that had grown for so long and was looking so developed, but I'm really happy to replace it. I've decided to go with a large native shade tree, a <a href="http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=QUMU">chinquapin oak</a> (<i>Quercus muehlenbergii</i>), purchased from Ted's Trees down the road.<br />
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It will eventually be much nicer because it will shade the house from the late (very hot) western sun in the summer. It's also deciduous, so we'll get some much needed light in the winter. The acorns will be great for wildlife, and the leaves will, too. Oaks are one of the nation's most important trees - host to hundreds of different insects that are in turn important food for birds.</div>
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I can't wait for the oak to be delivered in a couple of weeks! And then will begin the process of exploring what that patio garden should be.</div>
Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-63934700209039373182015-04-25T08:42:00.001-05:002015-04-25T08:42:05.299-05:00Our Yard Became a Jungle<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_IN94BhkVIxqqV0EpTfnoL16yIShIKPZjWw88EYQ4_vpN4mI-exlrmS8E1h-Z0Vog-PcDcer8Zo_W6DOguZnqQT7pfdwNbPajiTAdFyHmEaEvFZLQ1_T2FTUUGBstDKbf6Mf/s640/blogger-image-1884610222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_IN94BhkVIxqqV0EpTfnoL16yIShIKPZjWw88EYQ4_vpN4mI-exlrmS8E1h-Z0Vog-PcDcer8Zo_W6DOguZnqQT7pfdwNbPajiTAdFyHmEaEvFZLQ1_T2FTUUGBstDKbf6Mf/s640/blogger-image-1884610222.jpg"></a></div><div><br></div>Somehow, when we turned our backs, the garden became a jungle. Homogeneity this is not. I'm afraid that nature is in charge now, and we can merely assist.<div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqSroeeFBa05hlhRV4odWZtGLv9NtmLKN_6d2TJQH71bfheihchNhn6IYrI1zrhfIHLQJosNwX5BM6tZMiLNabzGhW4ydAVu5S6y6-mvidbyKTvUUViCD3kWAjdSdL5lrms1b/s640/blogger-image--483069303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqSroeeFBa05hlhRV4odWZtGLv9NtmLKN_6d2TJQH71bfheihchNhn6IYrI1zrhfIHLQJosNwX5BM6tZMiLNabzGhW4ydAVu5S6y6-mvidbyKTvUUViCD3kWAjdSdL5lrms1b/s640/blogger-image--483069303.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn1ZUZPtsnI7_C7Q7LUMsqcnIs62rURCDaXDHdoyEhE44mnmqbVICf6sCJ3cDcj9HDZhiv_e9VrBk_d1UvJGloy-lzU1hQNDJx3LtEbwnpOwwRfGyQs1WjWzIATCfnhOgDqekH/s640/blogger-image--1743245289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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I can't resist snapping some photos of the garden from up there, which provides such an interesting "plan view" of the space.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHOffoRk9n7VyBU9jZyOgD8XwiWArgvOayMZPYeI3W6GKC-fryeu4BuEUVw5XXkK2EQdY01Or2HtmSX9Aflbs5eijD6PjiuHQA-ps8Fv4pexSeY9yfIh9OK7eOqkyYBM6ADpXw/s640/blogger-image--1636785141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHOffoRk9n7VyBU9jZyOgD8XwiWArgvOayMZPYeI3W6GKC-fryeu4BuEUVw5XXkK2EQdY01Or2HtmSX9Aflbs5eijD6PjiuHQA-ps8Fv4pexSeY9yfIh9OK7eOqkyYBM6ADpXw/s640/blogger-image--1636785141.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bodi relaxes by the Ocular. A "plan view" of the front garden with yuccas, sedges, loquats and yaupons in view.</td></tr>
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The garden has moved fully into its tan and green winter phase. I love the bright yellow color of this young Mexican buckeye, planted from seed a few years ago.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sedges, pale-leaf yucca, Mexican buckeye and Lacey oak dominate this space.</td></tr>
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In planning a garden, it's great to think first about what things will look like in the winter. We often think of blooms and summertime, but taking time to consider how plants will look in winter can go a long way to providing the essential structure of a landscape. What will stay green? What will have vertical form? What stem shapes will be around in the winter to provide geometry and form to your space? </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A grid of Carex retroflexis var. texensis creates anchors the back bed.</td></tr>
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Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-404064110763103082014-10-25T21:31:00.001-05:002014-10-26T12:13:41.579-06:00Fall Planting Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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Doing a little fall planting today. </div>
Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-4125330207357558912014-09-28T08:34:00.004-05:002014-09-28T08:35:14.886-05:00Horseshoe Dillo<div>
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Pretty psyched to have this original from <a href="http://dracogardens.blogspot.com/">Bob at Draco</a>, a 'dillo custom welded from horseshoes. He will enjoy hanging in the garden with several of our other steel critters. </div>
Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-6547256346078743572014-09-21T13:50:00.003-05:002014-09-21T13:52:14.034-05:00Wasps and Rakes<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I'm really glad that I found these before they found me.</span></div>
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Do you see them? Look close...</div>
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Gardening often has it's surprises, and wasps are one of the more common. Many folks are apt to pull out the bug spray and destroy the nests, but I encourage everyone to think twice.</div>
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Social wasps, like these Polistes paper wasps nesting in my American beautyberry, are important parts of the garden ecosystem. They are excellent predators, and particularly like feeding caterpillars and spiders to their developing young. They are also pollinators, and you can often find them rooting around inside flowers for pollen and nectar.</div>
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Of course, wasps can build nests in dangerous places and those need to be dealt with from time to time. I try to keep an eye out for the queens when they start building their initial "seed" nests in the spring. Before the nest gets large and any of the workers grow, they are pretty vulnerable, and the queens aren't very aggressive either (generally). You can basically just sweep the nest away without harming her (or while she's out foraging), and she'll find another spot.</div>
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Just beware the hidden nests hanging under a leaf or on a branch in your garden!</div>
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Wasps are beautiful, complex creatures.</div>
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All this came about while we were cleaning things up a bit in the garden prepping for Fall. Weeding after these rains is super easy and good to take advantage of. It's a great time to pull all the little weeds (mostly straggler daisy on our property) growing in the pea gravel.</div>
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Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-63319648776110572872014-07-06T08:24:00.000-05:002014-09-21T13:51:17.257-05:00Pruning with Compassion<div>
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Pruning is part of gardening. As the saying goes, we must prune to make things grow. So we deadhead flowers. We cut back unruly growth. We manicure our spaces to clean things up a bit and encourage growth the way that we want it.<br />
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The problem is, there's a community of living beings that depend on those plants that we choose to clip, and this is doubly or triply true if we have created gardens with native plants.<br />
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There are finches that grab seeds from echinacea and sunflower heads held aloft on black ugly stalks. There are giant swallowtails that love parsley that is past its prime for our palates. There are hawkmoth larvae on the coral honeysuckle. Lizards hunting for bugs on the kidneywood. Hummingbirds whose very life depends on getting enough nectar from the patch of turk's cap in the back corner.<br />
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This afternoon, I decided that it was time to cut the spent yucca stalks in my front garden. The beautiful cream colored flowers typically bloom in late spring, and they are long done. In their place stood spindly stalks reaching 8 feet or more high, slowly turning brown from the top down. They are ugly at that stage, and perhaps could give the impression that our garden is not, in fact, gardened, but has been left to wild abandon.<br />
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I garden for wildlife, so it was really no great surprise when I noticed mid-prune that the stalks were giving shape to the lives or other creatures, namely spiders. There were webs spanning the stalks between yuccas, and I found at least one beautifully grotesque pearl-colored spider hiding in the space where leaf meets stalk.<br />
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Now, I'm not a super huge fan of spiders, but I respect their existence. Who am I to swoop in and destroy their life and livelihood with the snip of a pruning shear, for no reason but my since of aesthetics and need to keep up appearances?<br />
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I recently noticed that I've developed a habit over the years that I've decided to call "pruning with compassion." It's a practice where I prune, but leave the pruned bits laying around the garden, so that any critters depending on those parts have time to either make their way back to the mother plant or find some new place to do their thing.<br />
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I can't do this every time I prune, but it's just an awareness that I try to have of the lives of creatures that I am altering by my actions. And full disclosure here: I do not profess in this post to be able to adore and save every creature. I've been known to squash bugs, throw snails across the yard, and pinch aphids. But sometimes, it just doesn't feel right to do so.<br />
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Take the grotesquely beautiful spider hiding in her yucca this afternoon. I became aware of her in mid-snip. Rather than stuff the yucca stalk and spider both into a compost bag, I snipped off the section of stalk in which she was spending her day and left it laying in the garden. When she wakes up to get her hunting duties started this evening, her home will not be the same, but at least she can wander off and figure something new out.<br />
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Likewise, when I snipped the coral honeysuckle vines that had overgrown our walkway, I left the cuttings there on the ground by the origin plant. There could be snowberry clearwing moth eggs or even tiny first or second instar larvae on those leaves that I can't see. If I leave them there for a while, those little lives might have a chance to find living plant parts to use. When I cut the parsley, I'm sure to shake it off into the remaining bunch, so any swallowtail caterpillars might fall off and find their way forward.<br />
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I'll go back later and grab those parts, or even better, leave them in place to compost naturally.<br />
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Like I said, it's hard to be completely aware of every life around me (I mean, do I really care about aphids? Not so much), but it's just a way of looking at things out there in the garden ecosystem. Our whims - like cutting a pretty flower and bringing it to a vase indoors - can complete destroy the life and habitat of some beautiful creature out there depending on it.<br />
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Whether we are conscious of it or not, when we garden, we create spaces for other creatures to breath, be born, struggle to survive, mate, raise young, grow old, and die. Just something I try to keep in mind when I'm out there with the pruning shears...</div>
Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-57802348537332798062014-06-08T08:48:00.002-05:002014-06-08T08:48:38.533-05:00When American Germander Takes Over<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaqf1N7ze0ZU-hadIhDQ4eNb6uiv2rPGfqk_OX2Ax3qROE2MrgCCLc9cvPQ7b4wKc4Cyevfnrnbn2M_sPBTtiOmkZ263SlNq4O99M-dLx5nH-rGQcbIEPOSKEjzGp3GhOEmYol/s640/blogger-image--60571240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaqf1N7ze0ZU-hadIhDQ4eNb6uiv2rPGfqk_OX2Ax3qROE2MrgCCLc9cvPQ7b4wKc4Cyevfnrnbn2M_sPBTtiOmkZ263SlNq4O99M-dLx5nH-rGQcbIEPOSKEjzGp3GhOEmYol/s640/blogger-image--60571240.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The <a href="http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=TECA3">American germander</a> is starting to bloom with gorgeous repetitive whitish pink flower spikes.</div>
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This plant is taking over the front corner of the front garden, an is threatening to take over the entire garden.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0vQi7zzPm-gnK8rwxF17gYWHh7FmaK9uVQIBZdALPsdv40jB1GdZl5bCPrSlu0315dnxoMVcAoe42xP-lwZ8HhKN11ys0IJx8WM6IDKSVS2FFW9CO6IPEfJ1-3mpw0NhxA-iq/s640/blogger-image-1227298254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0vQi7zzPm-gnK8rwxF17gYWHh7FmaK9uVQIBZdALPsdv40jB1GdZl5bCPrSlu0315dnxoMVcAoe42xP-lwZ8HhKN11ys0IJx8WM6IDKSVS2FFW9CO6IPEfJ1-3mpw0NhxA-iq/s640/blogger-image-1227298254.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'm too busy (ahem, lazy) to keep it in check, so what will? Well, eventually something will, I'm sure of it. Perhaps some other plant (goldenrod) will start competing with it, or the ash tree will die or we'll cut it down and it'll be too sunny. Or it won't be moist enough for it (we don't water it and it likes moisture, so it's happy this year).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJUyP8BlmcguujE3o8bAYUe-P_gWsDfq_JoIUF9MiTlL4uB6SW1-plmyBNCcFetnmoZhia9On1xrsqcTHF1wv0HTTyV6TqLyBY5cjEXlmomr9XjRQcz3fYwju5QMg5ZMmS2enJ/s640/blogger-image-1054298046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJUyP8BlmcguujE3o8bAYUe-P_gWsDfq_JoIUF9MiTlL4uB6SW1-plmyBNCcFetnmoZhia9On1xrsqcTHF1wv0HTTyV6TqLyBY5cjEXlmomr9XjRQcz3fYwju5QMg5ZMmS2enJ/s640/blogger-image-1054298046.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Above is the view of the germander creeping into the main garden space from the edge, starting to crowd into the sedge. There's a datura poking out from the germander mass, too.</div>
Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-34352519550650864012014-05-26T13:01:00.002-05:002014-05-26T13:02:06.512-05:00New Screen to Cover the Compost Zone<img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbiFQyyAFBntq2-hBS4JONCUvMscVIFytLiJpCxkLL32JflopyFMsKIjtRqGdgewOq-9ONu5Ua9F7R08TO87_pgge62Lr2dgITHX06BbqG-H1AuOcpXNkuvd8o3lqpyQGkADa-/s640/blogger-image--2011617409.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbiFQyyAFBntq2-hBS4JONCUvMscVIFytLiJpCxkLL32JflopyFMsKIjtRqGdgewOq-9ONu5Ua9F7R08TO87_pgge62Lr2dgITHX06BbqG-H1AuOcpXNkuvd8o3lqpyQGkADa-/s640/blogger-image--2011617409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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John got the gumption recently to build a screen to block one of our back utility areas, and I couldn't be happier.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaThJUD07POgRN7wDG71Nyn3eZeShUWgupkwd9OsWaEc5EpsvFE76VPQ1xd81F0G4G1MHTEzfEwtknNnJ5NXJvl0U-yXdKGC8GnS7CtDI8g3kpeuYSoWfXAigv21qUN1aJnlyt/s640/blogger-image-1183558711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaThJUD07POgRN7wDG71Nyn3eZeShUWgupkwd9OsWaEc5EpsvFE76VPQ1xd81F0G4G1MHTEzfEwtknNnJ5NXJvl0U-yXdKGC8GnS7CtDI8g3kpeuYSoWfXAigv21qUN1aJnlyt/s400/blogger-image-1183558711.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Though it's way in the back corner of our back garden, the compost bins have always driven us nuts, and the back chainlink fences that we share with neighbors are forlorn. The screen is a good way to create a visual block without having to spend a bunch of money and time on a complete fence.</div>
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Plus, it creates a "behind the scenes" space where we can toss compost, tree limbs and etc while we figure out what to do with them all.</div>
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Here are a few process photos:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdcigegMomQ4oSJ1p9qgO2IetB2_hgd10I5lR_de8zpp_BXGHvTIoqMBxNjFXBq0EYB3RvvfX4Nsb8MG8xRTf-snx1XrqCU9dgEVavw6ao_5_Cqt1NOTl9aFzSLvJ6L_CtNFNx/s640/blogger-image--87894482.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdcigegMomQ4oSJ1p9qgO2IetB2_hgd10I5lR_de8zpp_BXGHvTIoqMBxNjFXBq0EYB3RvvfX4Nsb8MG8xRTf-snx1XrqCU9dgEVavw6ao_5_Cqt1NOTl9aFzSLvJ6L_CtNFNx/s640/blogger-image--87894482.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ZVXOQ1vfm0T0eG8NBptJtmX91_hTbwCCdSUAYuhnquDZjWfJrZHK3eLrCXqkF9XeMY-av9SW2bS3rwsDuZlZvBVdsmCjSUmJzkAnRx8OwzxdzHr_pE1wedn6rQJuDmLiQekY/s640/blogger-image--1717664544.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ZVXOQ1vfm0T0eG8NBptJtmX91_hTbwCCdSUAYuhnquDZjWfJrZHK3eLrCXqkF9XeMY-av9SW2bS3rwsDuZlZvBVdsmCjSUmJzkAnRx8OwzxdzHr_pE1wedn6rQJuDmLiQekY/s640/blogger-image--1717664544.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ohw0iwspj62GM-tV_9OhdPLXpw7BBfaftSNKtXom4FxeNluiEH4RCpCiEpNtA1s3ahyxpn9HYEALbMlqpETJH49PcP15xDoa0muIkVWXXZFN7gTBlR2GWA86cGKggx7aJmOl/s640/blogger-image--1026225167.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ohw0iwspj62GM-tV_9OhdPLXpw7BBfaftSNKtXom4FxeNluiEH4RCpCiEpNtA1s3ahyxpn9HYEALbMlqpETJH49PcP15xDoa0muIkVWXXZFN7gTBlR2GWA86cGKggx7aJmOl/s640/blogger-image--1026225167.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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For anyone interested in implementing something similar, we used 4x4 rough cedar posts and 2x2 rough cedar for the slats. We decided not to cement this in, because it's not a weight bearing structure, and we might have to remove it someday if we do any other bigger projects out back.<br />
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It should hold up just fine for a number of years.Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-86753575203226217372014-05-10T20:17:00.000-05:002014-05-10T20:17:00.123-05:00Coneflowers and Firewheel<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhscOTztk7VvTBfWxp23nqVNY_NAc9e2Ol8Vgm7Fx1SHBFFN0vjXPNq2uINdYFDYCpetbpVl8DtsCK12PjBicZ1Km8h9HxgSxbDDCQuw-dcXgTQvs_7neoj-tPS0W08D16TRRmh/s640/blogger-image-388410148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhscOTztk7VvTBfWxp23nqVNY_NAc9e2Ol8Vgm7Fx1SHBFFN0vjXPNq2uINdYFDYCpetbpVl8DtsCK12PjBicZ1Km8h9HxgSxbDDCQuw-dcXgTQvs_7neoj-tPS0W08D16TRRmh/s640/blogger-image-388410148.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The purple coneflowers, <i>Echinacea purpurea</i>, and firewheel, <i>Gaillardia pulchella</i>, are beginning to show their stuff. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgagl86_thLhEsyz6D6NcfjZr5E-KoMASsRt-VNcQRRvQAjw0H0danFsDt1khcFusULfi79R2ZPEj4mhDSHNGKybOG-iCDxC4i9bTPQPLHiWXoCSBVuB5CbrrfRrhsH58mzAVDe/s640/blogger-image--459096435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgagl86_thLhEsyz6D6NcfjZr5E-KoMASsRt-VNcQRRvQAjw0H0danFsDt1khcFusULfi79R2ZPEj4mhDSHNGKybOG-iCDxC4i9bTPQPLHiWXoCSBVuB5CbrrfRrhsH58mzAVDe/s640/blogger-image--459096435.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I've collected and spread seeds from the Echinacea all over the garden over the years, so it has become rather prolific. Purple coneflower is beautiful, relatively shade tolerant, and a great butterfly nectar plant.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWhQC9QlDa_F3QMG3xVkiyhhlK2mexZ9qE3JK_V-AWR8tRpQ2dotGdqgtIkogAc_rLHjsLMFwdQXvLb91Ot9qY6Df-cE3lEz_2ApEpHoUUNyuU5AqmLtDInPrFWzM3vtxCx3q/s640/blogger-image--486844551.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWhQC9QlDa_F3QMG3xVkiyhhlK2mexZ9qE3JK_V-AWR8tRpQ2dotGdqgtIkogAc_rLHjsLMFwdQXvLb91Ot9qY6Df-cE3lEz_2ApEpHoUUNyuU5AqmLtDInPrFWzM3vtxCx3q/s640/blogger-image--486844551.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Firewheel might be one of our most under-rated native spring bloomers. Everyone goes nuts for the bluebonnets, which I love too, but big fields of firewheel are pretty darn amazing.</div>
Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-70346293836415961222014-04-21T19:49:00.003-05:002014-04-21T19:49:40.171-05:00Spring in the Pocket Prairie<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGMJTgFIhRdZ0Ca2xzBLIz-gk7iAN0QR8B1oxM1hxAxpLaOqDyIaP8nItRQ0_bPoKsnAN1dx-S3-5eMNQKXTsbzQT8ofjtGAGeFhXhTeQDeVq37S0v6tEaazBgbTq74enB4L9u/s640/blogger-image-1450529852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGMJTgFIhRdZ0Ca2xzBLIz-gk7iAN0QR8B1oxM1hxAxpLaOqDyIaP8nItRQ0_bPoKsnAN1dx-S3-5eMNQKXTsbzQT8ofjtGAGeFhXhTeQDeVq37S0v6tEaazBgbTq74enB4L9u/s640/blogger-image-1450529852.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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This is the second growing season for some of the plants in our tiny front yard pocket prairie. Last year, we planted grasses like sideoats grama, little bluestem and blue grama.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizB0z12WiLg-UlwrhtVhD5R57KpQ8ldi0W2tMcGQGZmM7QuFp8RBhYy0u9n9sXkeExnNS_I8Azmfw16xLQrXnRV1MZg-SP0F7oSWvJoHlXGj5F1MEoX7eoel9E1AnQVqQLT7ns/s640/blogger-image-251771750.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizB0z12WiLg-UlwrhtVhD5R57KpQ8ldi0W2tMcGQGZmM7QuFp8RBhYy0u9n9sXkeExnNS_I8Azmfw16xLQrXnRV1MZg-SP0F7oSWvJoHlXGj5F1MEoX7eoel9E1AnQVqQLT7ns/s640/blogger-image-251771750.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We also planted firewheel, purple prairie clover, antelope horn seedlings, and standing cypress. Many of these are filling in and some are just about to bloom.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6M_87D22SonUVai4jsXMEAcDdAB4gMHtBv01l2qtE7_hCbPGY7Z_uK1IULb_OifMpSC4F_tj6V9Dv0x-qVPjhDzCDWbJ0tvSjD1WYxE2jFSSY8Hb5i2yYsb1Xu2XoRhyphenhyphenOQSk/s640/blogger-image-1770544199.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6M_87D22SonUVai4jsXMEAcDdAB4gMHtBv01l2qtE7_hCbPGY7Z_uK1IULb_OifMpSC4F_tj6V9Dv0x-qVPjhDzCDWbJ0tvSjD1WYxE2jFSSY8Hb5i2yYsb1Xu2XoRhyphenhyphenOQSk/s640/blogger-image-1770544199.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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There are also some plants coming in that I can't yet ID. One might be a Black-eyed Susan. Remains to be seen. We did have some Rudbeckias out back several years ago that never took. Perhaps this is seeded from that - with some delay.</div>
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It's a stretch to call this a pocket prairie. Prairies are large complex grass-dominant ecosystems. This is just a wild planting using some prairie plants. It's our one little spot of sun, and I'm using it more like an experimental plot than anything. Just seeing what makes it.</div>
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Here's a gratuitous shot from the other side of the world, deep in the shady part of the garden.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOC50xcNhBLYY7MBAmqziSPk4bgj7mHcRM2n5cvko4hfF21qlSh4cIYlAKL6-t2jLhCy7YKEyOyhKS6R0jArrkQRgmjNqR5d6dSf059IwOxwJdTNEVxx5ouHuT-QpAhYvUHsSy/s640/blogger-image--1843624311.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOC50xcNhBLYY7MBAmqziSPk4bgj7mHcRM2n5cvko4hfF21qlSh4cIYlAKL6-t2jLhCy7YKEyOyhKS6R0jArrkQRgmjNqR5d6dSf059IwOxwJdTNEVxx5ouHuT-QpAhYvUHsSy/s640/blogger-image--1843624311.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-54604941591304189022014-04-08T09:11:00.000-05:002014-04-08T09:11:11.109-05:00Texas Blue Grass<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgauy-pFoDdlr7o-742rA_WB3N8G7ZGKhz_eTUW4arWOHwnPlzGVuYCa_14LNSYW_8aOS9csN7JWd3den7OaHRVkdyzO36JloWhwFV22_JCypst40GkfQPunTNoYWeIEpnva4cp/s640/blogger-image--229811378.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgauy-pFoDdlr7o-742rA_WB3N8G7ZGKhz_eTUW4arWOHwnPlzGVuYCa_14LNSYW_8aOS9csN7JWd3den7OaHRVkdyzO36JloWhwFV22_JCypst40GkfQPunTNoYWeIEpnva4cp/s640/blogger-image--229811378.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I have a small stand of <a href="http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=POAR">Texas blue grass</a>, <i>Poa arachnifera</i>, and it is just amazing right now. If I wasn't such a fan of biodiversity, I'd plant my whole yard in this grass. It is a cool season grass, remaining green all winter, only to shoot up these fantastic fuzzy, soft flower heads that wave in the breeze.</div>
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<br />Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-32073142611693258042014-03-30T19:37:00.001-06:002014-04-06T21:23:43.568-05:00Thank Goodness It's Spring!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQGeBpkYNpvGwnNKIbvllsS31gCPb59SCJ4rKX-Um8R5MMiLVb9wQ9uFD9W30viVDXjCYzrT7R2xmROfixyOtuYvNZwN4d9n4vMUhm5m7FkB5jFTq7PcIxddveuwNros6FtU9R/s640/blogger-image-865665197.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQGeBpkYNpvGwnNKIbvllsS31gCPb59SCJ4rKX-Um8R5MMiLVb9wQ9uFD9W30viVDXjCYzrT7R2xmROfixyOtuYvNZwN4d9n4vMUhm5m7FkB5jFTq7PcIxddveuwNros6FtU9R/s640/blogger-image-865665197.jpg" width="608" /></a></div>
Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-25640203439273065602014-03-22T08:43:00.001-06:002014-03-28T06:40:31.495-06:00Red Columbine<div>
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I<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> love it every spring when my small bunch of red columbines, <i>Aquilegia canadensis</i>, blooms. </span></div>
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These are volunteers from who know where, and they decided to grow hugged up against the corner of the house far out of regular view. They thrive in alkaline soil, so perhaps they benefit from the cement skirting around the base of the house?</div>
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I've been tempted to transplant these to someplace I want them, but always decide they are better off where they want to be. And it doesn't take much effort for me to visit with them in their place anyway.</div>
Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-57409176961482942892014-03-08T17:43:00.000-06:002014-03-08T17:45:37.474-06:00Marxism<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOEVt49Czr3GIqlwsqEvSzuXW4UH8809UoStJ-ONvgIAGh1fKWLOtJYgN-OYNUbRApJRRQRf6PKtnLZORJjU4V1H1MDDADcEh60B58dr44ClYGCtQaXMG5GmUkWG_mXjdK1Bm/s640/blogger-image-521712391.jpg" width="640" /></div>
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While in Rio de Janeiro a few weeks ago, I made a point to find a few spaces designed by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Burle_Marx">Roberto Burle Marx</a>, a very influential Brazilian modernist landscape designer, including his landscape at the Petrobras and BNDES building downtown, and Parque do Flamengo. One of his famous designs is that of the wavy sidewalk patterns on the Copacabana Beach, which was based on Portuguese pavements. Various black and white pavement patterns are now found throughout Rio.</div>
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Once again I didn't make it to his personal gardens south of Rio in Guaritiba, which is now a national historic site and apparently amazing. But I was lucky enough to have a long lunch with a woman who lives down the street from the property and who used to go to many parties and visit with Roberto.</div>
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<b>First stop: Petrobras.</b></div>
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The gardens at the Petrobras are very subtle and symmetrical, almost underwhelming in a way. This is especially true because the water features have been drained to prevent mosquito breeding and disease. However, there were a few notable design elements.</div>
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The photo at the top of this post shows his pavers spaced inside of lawn. I think I learned somewhere that his use of this in designs inspired North American landscape designers to do the same. I see this all around Austin in modern landscapes.</div>
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The patio below has a wonderful pattern. Notice how none of the pavers come together to make four corners. That kind of symmetry would stop your eye and cause dissonance as you experience the pattern. We used the same design rule for our back walkway.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOQ_7M9-hapuxPucD8e3cJlmmjgklQVXd_UKfBN8XDLC1v1IkH88NXDIQ3H7ee4BNkCKUdbRZwBiqK7KCHjkxKv-tI2W43fLx0iMze91upyCN6JJDQJwVvQBPzweZjO0iT7VD/s640/blogger-image--1515162508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOQ_7M9-hapuxPucD8e3cJlmmjgklQVXd_UKfBN8XDLC1v1IkH88NXDIQ3H7ee4BNkCKUdbRZwBiqK7KCHjkxKv-tI2W43fLx0iMze91upyCN6JJDQJwVvQBPzweZjO0iT7VD/s640/blogger-image--1515162508.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here John and I are in front of a planting bed. The hill behind us is also a large Marx corporate garden at the BNDES building, which I sadly didn't get any photos of but did see a giant hummingbird with a forked tail there.</div>
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Below you can see a beautiful stone patterned patio and walkway that connects the Petrobras and BNDES buildings, with the Petrobras building on the left and the Metropolitan Cathedral on the right, evoking a Mayan pyramid.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAs2rQCmAfLvhmoEPFtX2FWnak_2HTSRN9FRnPb5JGoPCRUxGcC3i-JFjJ1Iq9q5NHu5qEFRBg8JOM785Hrh-CCpG0RKEYdBpGAorS2lzSl_2JHqlMhqmFqoc00GbjB-Var8ZG/s640/blogger-image-199243415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAs2rQCmAfLvhmoEPFtX2FWnak_2HTSRN9FRnPb5JGoPCRUxGcC3i-JFjJ1Iq9q5NHu5qEFRBg8JOM785Hrh-CCpG0RKEYdBpGAorS2lzSl_2JHqlMhqmFqoc00GbjB-Var8ZG/s640/blogger-image-199243415.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvk28ZoCy2MAM4brVoU2p8TWzItr5w39vEis_p4SBDC89M0RMZsMSlwTv9cLTjmUL-PRPkO4mWcN488s7O_J6CW4eRJZvbKbWZxAxJH1omlBtf1wPBkPu9uBSOnU-tBSZntzNt/s640/blogger-image--1669436783.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvk28ZoCy2MAM4brVoU2p8TWzItr5w39vEis_p4SBDC89M0RMZsMSlwTv9cLTjmUL-PRPkO4mWcN488s7O_J6CW4eRJZvbKbWZxAxJH1omlBtf1wPBkPu9uBSOnU-tBSZntzNt/s640/blogger-image--1669436783.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Next stop: Parque do Flamengo.</b></div>
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This is one of the largest urban parks in the world, and was steps away from our apartment. It has more than 150,000 trees of 300 different species. </div>
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I didn't take too many fotos at Flamengo, but here's one of a wavy pavement patterns specific to this park.</div>
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<img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivnlVPdIbmdo_HmQKssHFIHXUhYrrX5sf_2Dvvz7cvWmJ_hvNGHER63Uv4OUcIjm37GDMD4z1hfWzGaEmFmvyr5mIoaQoGt20mg3mGO2VU2JhhFbP2oAuYnfw5qK9qXusX0uE4/s640/blogger-image-529392178.jpg" width="640" /></div>
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The same walkway with Pão de Açucar in the background.</div>
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The view from Urca which is a mountain that is halfway along the way up to Pão de Açucar. Flamengo beach and park can be seen in the middle left.</div>
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<img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfstXINFnuCrBbbmHlzjgC5jlvAsgT_mAjHmvEPsB43tGYA6Wow3vf3HY4Z8_fcE7ebDLvdMBvzhTgosMG-RA-NK_Ucd3WKC4HJsBm-aNOqORA-u1Nex2RKdXZKnVHmzEIlhr0/s640/blogger-image-562772800.jpg" width="640" /></div>
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And below a couple of beautiful flowers that were blooming in Parque do Flamengo (uh, not sure why my camera decided to focus on the background instead of the foreground in that first one...dang!).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8v2G8au-lXL0axz-7CK9Lv4xqrAASAD42aXDgFA6M2MVFpGLQuAIZZntSzqfPtxmnlL_VIQDgDcNNFp7MAVsg9EbyY2F_4roR4naN_V-cycDpzJlFetgancdFphYE4bVGd4Y/s1600/IMG_3735.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8v2G8au-lXL0axz-7CK9Lv4xqrAASAD42aXDgFA6M2MVFpGLQuAIZZntSzqfPtxmnlL_VIQDgDcNNFp7MAVsg9EbyY2F_4roR4naN_V-cycDpzJlFetgancdFphYE4bVGd4Y/s1600/IMG_3735.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-88161428246404408152014-03-02T12:11:00.000-06:002014-03-02T12:11:34.497-06:00Hasta Luego Agaves<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0479ZVU7Z9NL4nxH4vszIodCSLF-NOVM6ITpN7CgpwJ_fRSyxu-1dIE8DaSYf3h8RRzGSKzxrmlk54p82DMQ8SWncvtsVFnaN4ShD4VhCT1zfeWIYdKX_ww3kxd_iyfabUEOq/s640/blogger-image--1685834184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0479ZVU7Z9NL4nxH4vszIodCSLF-NOVM6ITpN7CgpwJ_fRSyxu-1dIE8DaSYf3h8RRzGSKzxrmlk54p82DMQ8SWncvtsVFnaN4ShD4VhCT1zfeWIYdKX_ww3kxd_iyfabUEOq/s640/blogger-image--1685834184.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We planted the three agaves above when we first moved in to the house about 8 years ago. All three were hand-me-downs from friends. They provided great structure for our early garden, but they have worn out their welcome. The middle one in particular is a variety that just has never looked good in my opinion. It's hella spiky and always kind of floppy from not being in full sun. Plus, the pups drive me crazy and have started coming out of cracks in the wall and in the paths.</div>
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I've been thinking about removing them for a while now, but always balked in the end. Well, this weekend, I got to courage to go for it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEjGIkXYPjQ_a30-syhAX0h-8NAfwgiZFJQs0uURyr1ULhqPjfVLlIqPEpWke4PkkngtDVV7AFScVauo_KDlQfHZqQc1yuXyY9CRbpK-rw-5YnS0UD4UOGioyAJpFf9Rh-4-ao/s640/blogger-image-1846396154.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEjGIkXYPjQ_a30-syhAX0h-8NAfwgiZFJQs0uURyr1ULhqPjfVLlIqPEpWke4PkkngtDVV7AFScVauo_KDlQfHZqQc1yuXyY9CRbpK-rw-5YnS0UD4UOGioyAJpFf9Rh-4-ao/s640/blogger-image-1846396154.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Too bad I don't have a tequila making operation in the garage. </div>
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In the end, I couldn't bring myself to get rid of all of them and left one as a specimen, for now. I'm not sure if I'll like to keep it there, but will do so until spring blooms forth and I can see how everything works together.</div>
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That said, I'm looking forward to filling this space left by the agaves with more zexmenia and other flowers plants that will attract butterflies and birds. It's hard to tell from this photo, but the front garden has plenty of other spiky yuccas and things, so I don't think the agaves will be a great loss.</div>
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I'll be pulling up pups for a while yet, and that one agave left in the ground will continue to send them up too, but hopefully less so than three of them together.</div>
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I'm late getting to trimming all my plants for the spring season, but that was a good start. Today, I'm thwarted by rain and cold weather. Meh. Still need to get out their an trim, prune, plant and transplant before spring hits in earnest!</div>
Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-49902638462463269742014-02-25T18:44:00.001-06:002014-02-25T19:59:17.936-06:00Transition to SpringThings have begun their transition to spring here in Austin. Mexican plums blooming. Ageritas perfuming the air.<br />
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Here's a possumhaw full of winter berries with new leaves peaking through.</div>
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Bluebonnet rosettes and verbena greening up this planting with lovely tan winter grasses in the background.</div>
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Golden groundsel beginning it's show in the understory before the trees leaf out.</div>
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Carolina jessamine glowing yellow.</div>
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A wonderful time full of anticipation!</div>
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(All photos taken at the <a href="http://wildflower.org/">Wildflower Center</a>.)</div>
Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-4129426519786693222014-02-07T16:08:00.001-06:002014-02-25T19:59:34.691-06:00Creating a Serene Seating<div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Decided to move the vintage bench up front. We have had various seating scenarios up there over these years. The latest was a vintage patio table and chairs on loan from a good friend. </span></div>
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She was ready to get them back and we figured that the bench would work well up there. We don't normally hang out in the front in big boisterous groups, so don't need a ton of seating. The bench is perfect for a short rest and moment of meditation.</div>
Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-28225413944306045622014-02-05T11:29:00.001-06:002014-02-05T11:29:32.861-06:00Is My Garden Native Enough?Over the past few months, I’ve been getting freaked out that my garden doesn’t have “enough” native plants. I’ve been looking around and all I can see are non-natives that were either planted before I arrived, or in fact, were planted by me. The latter in particular have been making me feel embarrassed or irresponsible somehow. But let it be known that I too fall prey to that urge at the garden center to pick up random plants that look nice or captivating in some way.<br />
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For those of you who’ve been following the blog for a while, you know that I feel very strongly that I ought to use plants native to this region. This is important to me for a number of reasons, including supporting our struggling native wildlife. As Doug Tallamy points out in “<a href="http://www.plantanative.com/">Bringing Nature Home</a>,” native plants support native bugs which support native frogs, birds, lizards, and ultimately, humans. Of course there’s also <i>potential</i> reduced maintenance, water use, sense of place, and many more reasons.<br />
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<b>Collecting Data. Because Science.</b><br />
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OK, so back to freaking out and judging myself, neither of which are healthy are they? Before I began spontaneously ripping out all of our non-natives, beating like tell-tale hearts in my imagination, I decided to get more scientific about it. I wanted to find out if my garden really is heavily focused on non-natives, or if I was just perceiving that. So, I collected some data. I made a list of most of the plant species in the garden and classified them as:<br />
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<li><b>Blackland prairie native</b>. My garden sits closest to where this historic ecosystem used to be. We have deep black clay soils. Plant examples include little bluestem and giant coneflower.</li>
<li><b>Central Texas native</b>. Austin sits at the convergence of several ecosystems, and plants clearly move back and forth among them over time. We aren’t far away from the Balcones escarpment, which is drastically different habitat. Blackland plants would also be considered “Central Texas natives,” but for my counting purposes, I’ve only given them one label. These plants are more Edward's Plateau-related and include cenizo and flame acanthus.</li>
<li><b>American native</b>. These plants fall outside of Central Texas, but are native to Texas or other parts of the U.S. This includes plants like Arizona ash and bamboo muhly.</li>
<li><b>Non-native</b>. These are just plain not native to anywhere in the U.S. Think: xylosma and Greek oregano.</li>
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<a href="http://the-grackle.blogspot.com/p/plant-inventory.html">Here’s my mostly full list of plants</a>. (Caveat: I have not verified fully the exact native ranges of these species, and some of them, such as the <i>Carex retroflexa var. texensis</i> are cultivars, which complicates things.)<br />
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Here’s a little graph showing what I found:<br />
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And here’s what I happily learned from the above analysis:<br />
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Actually, Blackland prairie and Central Texas plants dominate my garden in terms of species richness. (Species richness is a simple count of how many species are in a defined region; in this case, my yard.) At the Grackle, we have 93 different species of plants total, 70 percent of which are native to this general area.<br />
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Species richness is distinct from species diversity, which takes into account things like relative abundance. If I were looking at diversity, for example, I would need to take into account that my garden has more than 50 individuals of <i>Carex retroflexa</i> and more than 12 <i>Yucca pallida</i>. There’s only one big giant Arizona ash.<br />
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<b>Honey I Shrunk The Plants</b><br />
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Bottom line, I guess, is that sometimes what I see everyday, like the Arizona ash, the loquats and the xylosma, dominate my perception because they are, put simply, big. In reality, the overall garden is quite a bit more diverse.<br />
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But importantly, the way I see the garden may be how certain other species are perceiving my garden too. Perhaps some of the birds and bugs only “see” the giant ash and xylosma, of which they cannot utilize not at all. They fly through and don’t perceive much useful to them aside from a branch to perch on (which, come to think of it, has value too).<br />
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Ultimately, wouldn’t it be better if that Arizona ash were a tall sycamore or common persimmon? Or if those loquats were Texas persimmons and yaupons? Taken to a further extreme, that those bamboo muhlies were instead Indian grass?<br />
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Well, in fact, the answer is - for me - YES, but the reality can be quite different. It costs money and time to buy new plants and nuture them. It takes water, too. Some of these non-native plants provide other services, such as much needed shade (or a nesting or perching place). And then, it’s hard to draw the line. What exactly is native? How far away does it need to be from my house to be native? And really, who wants to be so dogmatic anyway?<br />
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<b>It's For the Birds</b><br />
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Perhaps this is all to say that I still think it’s important for me to think about plant choices very carefully before committing to them. And it reinforces my wish that nurseries and home centers should not be stocking these species that have no place, no meaning, no purpose other than being pretty. Ultimately though, it’s really my responsibility as a consumer. If we all stopped buying nandina from Home Depot, they’d stop carrying it.<br />
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So, back to my decision making. My goal is to try to replace the non-natives as I can. I’m not going to do any major plant-ectomies at this point, but I plan to over time, strategically. And I definitely want to be more conscious of my decision-making at the nursery than I already am. I don’t want to drive myself nuts, but I want to be responsible.<br />
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Because mainly, I want to help the butterflies, bees, birds, lizards and snakes. They need it.<br />
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Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-17370367649529532762014-01-24T07:39:00.001-06:002014-02-03T20:13:49.952-06:00Snow on the Pocket PrairieSnow day!<br />
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Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-10234354763909773802014-01-02T10:00:00.000-06:002014-01-02T10:00:04.422-06:00Path and Rock Garden Inspiration<div>
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This natural outcropping at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area is a great inspiration for a stone walkway scattered with plants.<br />
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Imagine large flat chunks of irregular stone planted with little bluestem, moss and a few perennials and you've got it. Full Texas sun and all.</div>
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In fact, head over to <a href="http://wwwrockrose.blogspot.com/">Rock Rose</a> and you'll see what one beautiful interpretation of this looks like.</div>
Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-6689667897465811952013-12-30T10:00:00.000-06:002013-12-30T15:49:22.240-06:00Lichens<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-84012854005284347912013-12-29T18:09:00.000-06:002013-12-29T18:09:00.574-06:00Enchanting Micro Gardens<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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Here's proof that beautiful small native gardens can be grown on little to no soil and with natural amounts of rainfall.</div>
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In these parts, all it takes is:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Little bluestem</li>
<li>Prickly pear</li>
<li>Yucca</li>
<li>A small shrub or two</li>
<li>A ground cover (try blue grama, moss or frogfruit)</li>
<li>A small tree, even an oak will make a nice little bonsai</li>
</ul>
And voila!<br />
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For inspiration, I suggest a visit any time of year to Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.<br />
<br />Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31716379.post-91796978398940419972013-12-26T17:40:00.000-06:002013-12-26T17:40:04.924-06:00Macro Micro<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04963437932419275984noreply@blogger.com0