NEW LOGO

I really loved my dragonfly logo, but it was time to move on. I love designing artistically.  And from what I've seen on all the garden blogs I follow, creativity must run through the veins of  most garden bloggers. We invent our own pots, garden art, paintings, and landscapes. So why not our own Blog title?
The map is from the University of Texas archives, the title is a bit of Word Art, and the plants are from this garden. I had to get the lighting just right to give a 3-D effect.

I was very happy with the result, but I know next month's will be even better.
Here's a peek at the set up just in case you want to try it. :-) David

SQUIRREL & BIRD CARTOON

Squirrel & Bird Cartoon

Squirrel: "Hey Bird, how'd you get up there?

Bird: "You tawkin' to me?  Huh...that's for me to know and you to find out. "

SQUIRREL: "Okay, so adjusting for wind factors and a table height of .94 meters with a thrust of 7.65 psi on both back paws...I should make it.

"

 "Able to Leap on Tables in a Single Bound...it's SUPER SQUIRREL!

SQUIRREL #2: "Hey, how'd you get up there?

That's the 'hole' story. Honest. :-)

NEW TO THE GARDEN: FISH AND PALMS

Not fish and chips! OK, my son loves fish and so do I. But they die. Often.We don't really pamper our outdoor fish, so the list of what will make it is slim.This week we are trying these...uh..I can't ever remember their names. But they are NOT goldfish. They are MUCH tougher. I once had a bog pond in an old washtub and during a drought it basically had only muck in the bottom with alittle water. As I closed out that chapter of the garden and dumped the muck,out wriggled two of these same type of fish. They had lived in muck for months.I was impressed.
These guys are all going to be happy. They each get to live in one of my rain catchment tubs or...the pond. All have mosquito larvae to the max so dinner is served. My wife is relieved to hear the plan for the tubs of water all over the yard. (I'm saving up for the drought....but it keeps raining)

Also new to the garden is this gorgeous palm. I got it for only $5.00 at Lowe's. It
was out in full sun and faced a certain death. It's a native needle palm and I've
never seen one for sale. It loves full to moderate shade. It will love Tropical Texana.






I'll divide up the palm pups once I figure out why it's called NEEDLE PALM. Hmmm....

FLORA, FAUNA, AND FATE

TOM'S DEMOLITION ~ BEST PRICES IN TOWN

I tried to work out in the front yard this morning, but was too upset. Why? Like the scene with the bulldozers in the movie 'Avatar', the same is happening to the bungalows in my neighborhood.

Bungalow Bashing

The crunching and grinding go on for an entire day. Imagine how unsettling

this would be in your neighborhood.  I always hope the guys have a very

ACCURATE map before they pick out the house. A new McMansion will be

up in a month. Such is progress. (That was the FATE part of the title)

FLORA

These are NOT cute ferns. These are cute pests. I'm posting this for Cindy

at My Corner of Katy. Did you know there are two kinds of this weed?

The common one is over in the lower left. I have the pleasure of having the

long-stalked version as well. It's not quite as bad as the short one, but it's still double trouble.

FAUNA

 One of the reasons I keep the garden

natural (no poisons) is for the wildlife.

We have a cardinal family now

and junior is getting a snack from

good 'ol dad. I never realized how

attentative the male cardinal is to

the young. In fact, mom flew away

when she saw me in the window,

but dad ignored me for good reason.

Flora, fauna, and fate at Tropical Texana.

:-)

MONTHLY GARDEN BOUQUET ~ JULY 2010

This is a tough one for me, but I'll try. Noelle at AZPlantLady invites garden bloggers to design a monthly bouquet cut from your garden. My wife thought I was crazy when I suggested that I'd like to enter. And she's right...I garden under mostly shade with very few flowers. But what I lack in flowers I gain in foliage.
After the first arrangement was done, she kindly mentioned that there was a HOLE in one of the leaves and that the bottle looked a bit like a beer bottle. OK, time to tweak.

I also added some more purple to the arrangement and thought it was perfect. Of course I didn't notice that one of the back purple-ma-bobs had slipped down so that the symmetry was awash. Oh well, you can see much better arrangements at AZPlantLady.
http://www.azplantlady.com/

Of course I gave my wife the arrangement afterwards and it's now on her desk. She loved it as is.
Hope it brightens your day as well.

Thanks for stopping by Tropical Texana. :-)

Crocrosmia, Peacocks gingers (Kaempfteria), Zebrina, Aluminum plant, small elf alocasia, loripetalum, giant liriope leaves, and common liriope bloom stalks. Note: do not count off for spelling, these were tough without looking at my garden books.

OH BOY! TIME TO MOW

This is my third year to use a REEL mower. When I mow, it is quiet enough to hear the birds singing. Plus, it really isn't any harder to push than my other mowers. I hate the smell of gasoline (the red thing is empty), and I was getting tired of the cord on my last two electric mowers. It was a bit of trouble to even describe over the phone what kind of mower I wanted. I had heard that one place in Houston carried them...an ACE hardware store on Ailrine Drive. Sure enough, the guy was able to order one from OHIO that arrived in a week. These new models have precision blades and are lightweight. I remember my Grandpa had two made of cast iron and they were the dickens to push. He also had an acre of land and two gas mowers.
During today's mow, I had to move a log and saw a swift jump in the bushes. One of the green anoles had found moth on today's menu, so I grabbed my camera. I would have missed all this with the noise of a gas mower. Reward enough here at Tropical Texana.

Nothing like a good moth!

BACK HOME FROM A TRIP!

It's nice to be back home.

Our family arrived back late due to some extra sightseeing in Fredericksburg, TX.

It's always strange to get back to your garden at night after being away for a time.

I was the last inside after unloading our car and stopped to look up at the full moon.

It was a very quiet night when suddenly I heard a screech owl close by. Next came a tiny squeeeeck, then all was silent. Nature is close by in this garden and goes on just fine without me.

This, by the way, is a mother screech owl that has 3 very cute babies. I got a glimpse of them last week and even tried to take a picture. It was impossible, so I just enjoyed watching them.

Such is life at Tropical Texana.

WHERE'S WALDO...UH I MEAN WHERE'S ANOLE?

The baby anole lizards are out and about here at Tropical Texana. Can you find him?

To read more about these little guys, visit Jackie's garden site and see her wonderful photo article on...Southern Post Journal.

It's on my sidebar favorites.

TEXAS RAIN GAUGE

We've REALLY had a lot of rain this summer..almost daily. I know everything's supposed to be bigger in Texas, so I just couldn't resist showing my wheelbarrow after yesterday's rain. Hope you're getting a summer rain soon...IF needed.

Texas Rain Gauge

A Good Year for Deadly Nightshade

It's been a great year for Black Nightshade (Solanum ptyscanthrum)  here at Tropical Texana. So why, do you ask, would I keep a plant like deadly nightshade around?
To begin, it has very pretty berries and it grows naturally since it is a Texas native. Secondly, I have watched a mockingbird eat all the berries off a plant and not fall over dead. So somebody likes it for food.

HOWEVER, if you have it in a field with cows (that hopefully does not describe your garden! :-) or you have small children, do not let them eat it. The unripened, green berries are especially toxic and can cause a fever, stomach cramps and vomiting. It's not the same plant as the more famous version shown below. That species grows in Europe.

LYRICS - Where Have All the Flowers Gone

Where have all the bottles gone?
On my bottle tree?
Where have all the bottles gone?
Short time ago.

Where have all the bottles gone?
Squirrels have shook them every one.

When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

So....I've put them all along the window for now.

Go to  Youtube~~~~>   Search:  Peter, Paul, and Mary  "Where Have All the Flowers Gone"  to hear the original version from the 1960s
I'm old enough to remember this song. How about you?


Credits:
LYRICS - Where Have All the Flowers Gone: "WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE
words and music by Pete Seeger
performed by Pete Seeger and Tao Rodriguez-Seeger

Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?"

FIRST FOLIAGE FOLLOW-UP~JULY

Thanks to Pam at Digging for encouraging Garden Bloggers Bloom Day participants (Carol at May Dreams Gardens) to follow up on the 16th of each month with foliage shots from your garden. I'm new at garden blogs, so here's my first edition from Tropical Texana.

Kaempferia elegans (Peacock Ginger)

Neoregelia bromeliads

They love Houston's heat & humidity and can almost stay out year round.

This Hypoestes (Polka Dot Plant) is root hardy and came back from a 21 degree freeze!

Who would believe it.

Patterns on a White Bird of Paradise leaf. It got scratched by some nearby twigs as it developed.

Aloe saponaria glows in early morning light.

Someone's snacking on this Bauhinia. And if you look on the left leaf, you'll see they're not finished!

This is the fancy cousin to our common green Oxalis. It blooms pink just like the rest of the genus and

has popped up from under a rock.

Duckweed from a nearby slough adds a whimsical feel to these water pots.

Washingtonia  robusta~ a palm that does well here in Houston.

(Note: robusta has the 'thin' trunk and 'filifera' has the robust trunk. seems backwards to me)

This stink bug takes a nap on a Zulu Fig leaf (Ficus lutea).

Don't worry...this Brugmansia will perk up as soon as shade comes its way.

We don't get much Autumn color, but sometimes we get a little gift from the canopy above.

This pecan leaf caught my eye.

On a tightrope. No, this is not Ralph. Ralph has only one antenna.

These agave capture the evening sun.

Agave desmettiana (highly variegated) & Agave ferox in the foreground.

Thanks for stopping by Tropical Texana. Come back often.

July Bloom Day at Tropical Texana

Bauhinia aculeata (?) White Orchid Tree ~ Blooms All Summer

I'm new at this garden blog stuff, so here's my first Garden Blog Bloom Day . The wonderful person who thought of this idea is Carol over at May Dreams Gardens. I'm one day late, but here goes:

Our wisteria vine blooms every Spring, but decided to put on an encore.

The tough as nails Evolvulus 'Blue Daze' blooms by the front street.

This little Florida purslane was found growing wild in some sandy soil when we went blueberry picking. The owner said take all you want. It loves the hottest, sandy soil in the garden.

This pass along Garden Phlox is from my friend Pat one street over.

It almost died out, but is now growing in shade. Butterflies love this plant.

This native crossvine attracts hummingbirds.

Not all the color at this time of the year is from flowers. The American elderberries are ripening and are favored by Mockingbirds. But, yesterday I saw a woodpecker on the bush having a snack.

I planted this Caesalpinia pulcherrima many years ago in my neighbor's garden. It died back to the ground last winter, but can revive and bloom in one season.

Turk's cap is another Texas native in the hibiscus family.

The Crown of Thorns blooms all summer and the tropical bromeliads stay colorful even when not in bloom. The white flower is an althea. The purple liriope and Virginia Creeper weave their own patterns.

Go to May Dreams Gardens and you'll be dazzled by the other gardens. Here at Tropical Texana, I'm  mostly gardening in the deep shade of large trees, so flowers are a special treat.

I'm 'berry' glad you stopped by!

Sabal minor~ a native Texas ground palm