A TRIBUTE TO 500 MILLION TEXAS TREES

The view from my front yard on this foggy morning.

Intricacies in a Quercus stellata ~ Post Oak

I see this graceful pine tree each morning just past my backyard.

GOOD NEWS

I love trees. This is the Old Pine Tree (Loblolly pine) in our front yard ~ a sentinel through storms and drought for the last hundred years. I watered it throughout this past summer. It lived and is thriving.

BAD NEWS

Besides saying good-bye to 2011, Texans will say good-bye to upwards of 500,000,000 (that's half a BILLION) trees due to the devastaing drought.

The Texas Forest Service says between 2% and 10% of all trees died or will die from the conditions.

GOOD NEWS

The rains are returning and thankfully, many of us are hopeful that the rains will continue all winter.

We shall need to take care of the trees we have left.

I'm hopeful.

David/:-)

Still RED, but not ALL RED. Recent rains have helped.

THE TOP 10 PLANTS IN MY GARDEN FOR 2011

If you live along the Texas Gulf Coast and your garden is DEAD from the drought, try a few of these next year. My garden has a wet/tropical look in some parts, and an agave/dry tropical look in others. Here are my awards for this year from my garden:

FIRST PLACE: LEAST AFFECTED BY a WIDE RANGE OF CONDITIONS goes to:

the AGAVE family~ Agave americana

 Very beautiful with other plants and this cultivar has a nice curve to the leaves, not bayonet style like some.

Agave desmettiana 'Joe Hoak'

SECOND PLACE: MOST BEAUTIFUL LEAVES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR goes to:

The Neoregelia genus of Bromeliads

Pictured: Neoregelia 'Raphael'

THIRD PLACE: BEST GROUND COVER goes to:

Licorice plant Helichrysum petiolare (from South Africa)

FOURTH PLACE: BEST NATIVE TREE goes to:

Redbud~ Cercis canadensis

Bloomed, grew, and set seed despite half the normal rainfall!

FIFTH PLACE: BEST TROPICAL LOOKING TREE goes to:

Eriobotrya japonica~ Loquat tree

SIXTH PLACE: MOST ABUNDANT BLOOMER goes to:

Lantana montevidensis ~ Trailing lantana (see below)

Lantana montevidensis was never out of bloom from June to December!

SEVENTH PLACE: BEST HERB goes to:

Rosemary (many cultivars). It is VERY drought tolerant!

EIGHTH PLACE: MOST ENDURING BUTTERFLY HOST  goes to:

Aesclepius curassavica~ bloomed for months, got eaten to death, attacked by yellow aphids, and still looks good!

NINTH PLACE: PLANT MOST WORTH KEEPING ALIVE goes to:

Odontonema strictum ~ Mexican firespike

I had to water it, but the blooms and leaves respond quickly after wilting.

TENTH PLACE: PALM MOST TOLERANT OF SEVERE FREEZES, HEAT WAVES, DROUGHT, AND FLOODING goes to:

Livistona chinensis ~ Chinese fan palm

Happy Gardening and thanks so much for stopping by Tropical Texana

David and family

along with the chickens: Hoot, Gwen, Phoebe & Zeebee

(P.S. Marco the Rooster had to get a new home)

A FUNNY WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: CHICKEN JOY RIDE

Guess who noticed the new compost today?

This is Phoebe and Zeebee, our Barred Plymouth Rock hens.

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

10 NIFTY HAND TOOLS FOR ANY COMPOST PILE (approved by our chickens)

My brother is not a gardener. But, each Christmas he asks what tool I'd like for a gift.
"...I'd like a snow shovel..."
"....a what?! Don't you have a tropical garden?"
"...it's for the compost pile...it might be called something else...maybe a coal shovel...."
"Uh...OK...I'll try to find you one."
And he did. Thanks, Gary!

Whatever it's called, I hope I won't have to use it for  SNOW! It's big.

Having fun playing along.

This is tool #1...a coal shovel. I'll use this fine shovel for moving compost. The hens are curious.

Left: a 4 tine cultivator is great for mixing a compost heap.

Right: a garden fork can be used to move unfinished compost

This is called a mulch fork. It's great for scooping wet leaves and finished compost.

I inherited this tool from my grandfather's farm. It's called a pick mattock.

A pick mattock is great for cutting through layers of compost and for mixing the heap.

A hand-sized garden pick can also do the job. This tool can also turn soil in a flower bed. I love it!

A sharp shooter shovel is great for any digging work like making a vermiculture(worm-turned) composting pit.

Left: Garden rake

Middle: 4 tine cultivator tool

Right: Leaf rake

Loppers serve to cut small sticks and tree limbs in a compost pile.

So did that add up to 10? I think so.

Well, that's the collection. Hope you love to compost as much as we do.

We?...why... who else would be a better help than the chickens!

Hens are happiest while in a compost pile. We work side by side.

That's right! :-)

Thank you for stopping by. David/

HEN HAPPENINGS: FAKE or REAL?

Happy Macro Monday! As a boy, I thought chickens only came in white. That's all anybody had out in our county. But amazingly, chickens come in a beautiful variety of colors and sizes.

This feather is from Hoot, our Easter Egger chicken that lays teal green eggs.

Here's an assortment from our 5 chickens.

We don't have a Partridge in a Pear Tree, but this certainly would be a beautiful bird for a garden.

Speaking of which, I'll be going to my first poultry show in College Station, Texas on January 7th.

I'll see all types of chickens and take pictures for you at the Brazos Valley Poultry event. http://www.bluebonnetclassic.com/

For more macros, visit our gracious host, Lisa, at http://lisaschaos.com/

Happy Boxing Day!



MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Our favorite Christmas card. (We didn't want to leave out the Chickens!LOL)

What we leave out for Santa down here in Texas instead of cookies. My homemade black bean salsa.

YOU'RE not Santa! Put that down!

An early Christmas present from above. Thanks be to God for the rainy day. I know the kids are sad, but the farmers, ranchers and gardeners are smiling!

Happy Holidays! David & Melanie :-)

GARDEN FUN: DECORATING FOR CHRISTMAS

Just buy some cheap 1 inch ribbon and let your imagination run wild. I got poked only once. I must be getting better at this! Happy Holidays. :-)

Red and Green....Christmas colors! Hey, it's Texas, right?

I get these at the dollar store. They each cost...hmmm... I forgot..oh yeah, a dollar!

Yes, I have a whimsical side.

Just for fun.

This one turned out much better than I thought.

Looks almost like snow.

Ouch! This one was a bit difficult.

Do you think I have a sense of humor? Guess. :-)

Of course, Mother Nature has her own way of decorating the garden. No raking just yet, I'm going to enjoy the leaves.

And if you missed it from yesterday, here's my best creation...Yucca Claus.

Thanks for stopping by and Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night.

David/:-)