TROPICAL TEXANA

FAKE SPRING? REAL SPRING? MY GARDEN AND I DISAGREE

2012-01-26T23:03:00.001-06:00

Some of my garden thinks it is Spring, but I know otherwise. After doing this for 45+ seasons here along the Texas Gulf Coast, I can trust February weather about as far as I can throw a wheelbarrow in a snowstorm.
Still, we do have early Springs on occasion. Only time will tell.

The native Carolina Laurel Cherry thinks it's Spring...

The native Cedar Elm thinks it's Spring....

The lace (asparagus) fern thinks it's Spring.

This little Tradescantia thinks it's Spring...

The elephant ears (both Alocasia and Calocasia) always thinks it's Spring...don't freeze in February!

This bothers me...the banana tree (Orinoco variety) is coming out with new leaves. Yipes!

....and the white orchid tree as well.

My chickens think it is Spring...but does that make them Spring chickens? LOL

I'll post some Houston area LAST DATES for KILLING FROSTS next time and you'll see the craziness for yourself. There's NO pattern at all.

Thanks for stopping by. David/ :0)

I DARE YOU NOT TO LAUGH: GARDEN HUMOR LANDSCAPING

2012-01-23T21:26:00.004-06:00

Just when you THINK no one could possibly top your own crazy garden ideas, somebody comes up with things like this. So, what about it? Is it too much? Are you going try some of these yourself? Do we care what the neighbors think? Do you have any old shoes? What?!?

My wife and I were out walking in the neighborhood when I spotted this garden.

I like it.

It speaks to me.

It says, 'Here I am!'

A whole new twist to minimalist gardening. But, hey, no water bill and the lawn mowing's a cinch!

Here's another garden. Succulents never had it so good!

I feel like going to the resale shop and buying some kid's sandals....right NOW!

Too cute.

Howdy plants! Welcome to my boots!

Talk about solving the 'needs well-drained soil' equation.

I need to meet these gardeners. I like the way they think. In fact,

I'm going to find some of my wife's old high heel shoes and repurpose them this weekend. She won't mind, I'm sure. (Should I tell her first?)

There, I behaved all through this post.

I did not slip and say one pun about shoes. Ooops, slip..shoe. That was bad.

I need to tread lightly now. Ooops, there I go again.

I feel like a heel now.

Oh my, I must shoe these thoughts out of my head. Ugh!

Bless my SOUL, I'm stopping now.

Hope you got a KICK out this post.

Happy Growing and thanks for stopping by!

David/:0)

FIRST MONARCH OF 2012

2012-01-22T18:55:00.001-06:00

...and if you look just to the left of the berries, you will see the chrysalis shell. I never get tired of gazing at these beautiful creatures.
Happy Macro Monday.
Be sure to visit Lisa at http://lisaschaos.com/ for more lovely macros.

To track the northern migration of the monarchs, click on the Monarch link below:

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/maps/monarch_spring2012.html

Maybe this one is already on its way to your garden!

David/:0)

GARDEN PATHS: WHERE WILL THEY TAKE YOU?

2012-01-20T18:50:00.005-06:00

Hopefully to your garden! Seriously, I hope they also take you to my friend Holley and her new Garden Book Meme. It's the first of the series, so get in on the ground floor. See that cool button over there >>>? Click it when your're done with this post.
Hmmm...so which wonderful, fantastic, inspirational garden book shall I start with?

Let's follow this garden path and see if the book is there....nope, not here.

(My backyard ~ Spring 2008)

Maybe the book is down this pathway.

Nope, still no book.

(My garden ~ Spring 2008)

Hey, a clue! Someone's been working on this path.

(My garden ~ Summer 2011)

Another look, but still no book!

(My garden ~ Summer 2011)

A beautiful woodland path, but the book is nowhere to be found. Maybe, I've lost it!

(Houston Arboretum ~ Summer 2009)

While I go look for the book, you all can enjoy the beautiful pathways.

This is kind of nice. Wish it were in my backyard. (the path, not the restaurant)

(Berry Hill Restaurant ~ Houston Heights, Texas ~ Spring 2009)

Hey, here's the book! I found it.

TITLE: PATHS AND WALKWAYS

By: Hazel White

Photography: Matthew Plut

Published: 1998

Notes: This is a small, practical, how-to book containing beautiful photographs (though small), and lots of text. I think the best part of the book is the exploration of 'why' different types of paths set different moods.

There are chapters on the moods created with brick, gravel, lawn paths, stone, and concrete. It's very well written and thought-provoking.

It's got a lot packed into a book of 118 pages.

But before you go out and buy the book, would you like to follow a few more splendid garden paths?

The McNay Art Museum tropical garden ~ San Antonio, Texas

Another pathway at the McNay. Are you drooling yet? I am.

With fabulous art, beautiful gardens, and spacious parklands around it, it is definitely worth a look.

You could even take one of your NEW GARDEN BOOKS along and read it while you sit there taking in the view.

So you see, a garden path can take you just about anywhere.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks, Holley, for the fabulous new MEME.

To get a peek inside the book, PATHS & WALKWAYS, click on the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/Paths-Walkways-Projects-Contemporary-Designs/dp/0811814297/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327104690&sr=1-2#reader_0811814297

A FROST FREE JANUARY FOR GBBD&FF PLUS A SURPRISE!

2012-01-14T23:13:00.005-06:00

NOTE: If you're here for Foliage Follow-up, scroll to the bottom to skip past the blooms.
On with the show! On the 15th of each month, Carol at May Dreams Gardens, invites gardeners the world over to snap some photos of what's blooming in the garden. On the 16th, Pam at Digging, provides foliage fanatics like myself, a chance to tell the rest of the story through her Foliage Follow-up. Thanks to both for hosting! And both are ALWAYS in my sidebar favorite garden blogs link. Please go take a look!
Mother Nature was kind this month and held off on the freezes. For this reason, I have
something to show you. :0)

Tweedia caerulea still blooming! I love this plant! It's in the milkweed family and originally from Argentina.

Mexican milkweed (Asclepius curassavica)

Purple Oxalis (Oxalis triangularis)

Mexican Firespike (Odontonema strictum)

An unknown Aloe species blooms each winter. You can almost set your clock to its exact bloom sequence.

Aechmea gamosepala....has these crazy violet & purple matchstick blooms each winter.

Close-up of Mexican Firespike

NOW FOR FOLIAGE FOLLOW-UP FOR JANUARY

White Bird of Paradise...someone has the munchies!

Foliage is my favorite part of the garden. Here's the front bed with a weird aloe, rosemary, sage in a pot, and some Agave americana in the back.

Sage close-up. One of my favorite plants to put with Agaves!

Chinese fan palms endured the drought and the freezes to grace the garden.

You can see why it's my favorite palm.

Yucca gloriosa with Nuttall Oak leaves

Pecan leaf lands in Agave americana

Agave lophantha ~ voted Most Antisocial Plant in my Garden....OUCH!

It's way over in the side garden away from paths.

Caption: "It was a hard year"

That's it for the NORMAL version.

To see a surprise version of my GBBD & FoFo...er..uh....Foliage Follow-up, click on the link below. It's my photography blog. I'll risk this once a year in January. Enjoy! :0)

http://houbw.blogspot.com/

WHAT IT TAKES TO HAVE A TROPICAL GARDEN IN A FROST ZONE

2012-01-12T22:18:00.002-06:00

It's a lot of trouble having a tropical garden this far north of the Equator. Here's what I have to do each time we get a freeze warning. First, I have to look at the weather report and check if it is going to freeze. I'm in Houston, but I'm expecting a low of 30 tonight. Time to go to work.

First, I bring in all the nicest plants into the house. It's heavy work, but it must be done.

This one (White Bird of Paradise) stays outdoors and will need covering with blankets since it is growing in the ground.

Large plants are grouped together on the back porch and covered. Ugh! More heavy lifting.

I filled the small greenhouse back in early December, but tonight it needed an extra piece of plastic sheeting stapled to the ceiling. My son helped. Lights and a heat source are turned on for the night.

This is my heat source: a 200 watt shop light aimed at a metal tub. The tub captures the light and radiates the heat throughout the greenhouse. I've tried a 500 watt shop light, but it was too bright and it got very hot. On rare nights lower than 25 degrees, I use two 200 watt lights. It easily keeps the greenhouse above freezing.

Now for the chickens. They will especially enjoy the extra hay tonight.

I also covered many more plants with towels, blankets, and sheets. The front yard looks a bit crazy with everything covered, but people do this all over our area and no one thinks it strange.

That's what it takes to have a tropical garden in a frost zone.

Is it worth it? For most people it seems crazy. But not to gardeners. You probably do just as much work in your garden only in different ways.

Good night, and stay warm.

David/ :0)

BEST OF 2011 MACRO MONDAYS ~ SLIDESHOW from MY GARDEN

2012-01-07T22:45:00.014-06:00

I am one of those gardeners entranced with Macro Mondays. Here are some
of my best shots from 2011. Visit our gracious host, Lisa, at http://lisaschaos.com/
for more wonderful closeups. Thanks, Lisa, for another year of hosting!
David/:0)
For beautiful background music, click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e5DVNb6bCA&feature=related (El condor pasa), then open a second tab on google and type in Tropical Texana. By the time you get the second tab up and going, the music should fit. The music FAR outlasts the little slideshow, but hey, free music....free garden blog to tour around....and free pictures to download...what more could you want! :0) LOL

A recent leaf from our Rain tree (Koelreuteria elegans)
Note: Most shots are from my garden with a few from other gardens or along the highway.

MY 300th POST AND LOVING IT: WHAT MAKES ME DO THIS?

2012-01-05T21:13:00.005-06:00

Children's art from my friend's art studio

Isn't it nice to see nature from a child's perspective?

This is the 300th time I've taken a seat in front of my computer and written about my garden.

Why?

I think I can answer that question by asking another; Is garden blogging an art form?

I'd like to think so.

We photograph our gardens....and our garden blogs capture the photographer inside us.

Some of us love to craft stories and our garden blogs capture that sense of style and drama in

our writings. Others have a gift for humor and entertain us all until we're ready to fall out of our chairs and onto the floor.

Still others give us a private view inside their gardens and inside their hearts...a view so beautiful we want to visit again and again.

We're happy to see gardens like our own and many others that inspire us with their landscape designs and crazy garden art.

Crazy garden art...I'm lovin' it

(My favorite tropical flower: Scarlet Passiflora)

Finally, there are the plants themselves. We love to grow these beauties for their colors, their textures, their scents, and for the animals and insects they attract.

Designing a place to hold all these objects of beauty can be just as exciting as the objects themselves.

That, to me, is a fine reason to sit down at a computer and design a garden blog.

But there is still one more reason

Garden blogging is not a one way street like sitting down to read a book.

Instead, there are friendships to be made and garden blogs see.

And to our amazement, there's a gardener behind each one!

When you love doing something, it never seems like work. It seems more like play.

300 times...

...seems like yesterday when all this started.

Happy Garden Blogging!

David/ :0)

Best Images of 2011 Slideshow at Tropical Texana

2012-01-04T00:18:00.008-06:00

I'm so inspired by Pam, Greggo, Galloping Gardener, Signature Gardens and so many others, that I'm trying a little slideshow experiment. These are my best photos of 2011 here in the garden. I hope you can view the slideshow without problems. That's my dad feeding the chickens. I'm back in school, so the garden will have to take care of itself for the time being. David/ :0)

DARLING, THIS IS THE BEST DATE WE'VE EVER HAD. Flowers AND a great meal!

2012-01-01T21:22:00.000-06:00

Found these two today in the butterfly garden we planted outside our church. They better hurry and eat, 'cause old man winter is comin' soon.

David/ :-)

A TRIBUTE TO 500 MILLION TEXAS TREES

2011-12-31T18:27:00.006-06:00

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

2011-12-30T17:10:00.009-06:00

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

2011-12-28T14:01:00.002-06:00

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)

2011-12-27T21:57:00.002-06:00

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?

2011-12-25T17:42:00.002-06:00

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!

2011-12-24T21:20:00.000-06:00

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

2011-12-22T19:14:00.000-06:00

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/:-)

I MADE A YUCCA CLAUS FOR YOU!

2011-12-21T14:29:00.003-06:00

It's in my front yard. My neighbors don't mind....they're used to my gardening style by now. LOL

So, are you smiling?

Merry Christmas and

Happy Wordless Wednesday from Tropical Texana!

David/ :-)

HEN HAPPENINGS: WHAT TO DO WITH CHICKENS DURING A STORM

2011-12-20T09:17:00.005-06:00

The violent storms that were forecast for last night did not materialize. But it did get me wondering what I should do with the chickens during a hurricane or tornado. What did they do on the Wizard of Oz?
I think they just let them fend for themselves. I'm not sure Phoebe, Zeebee, Gwen, and Hoot would appreciate that particular idea.

See the Wizard of Oz chickens here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1PfVVFq97I&feature=related

There are many stories about farm animals being picked up by tornadoes. The chicken being plucked by a tornado is probably not true. It was perhaps molting when the storm hit.

A few years back, the hen house went through the 100 mph winds of Hurricane Ike with no damage. Maybe I should join the chickens rather than stay in the house? :-)

Gwen seems alert to the rains and wind but maintains her always calm disposition. She's always 'talking' to me about what's on her mind. She's a beautiful Australorp...a breed from Australia. Would YOU just let her fly off in a tornado? No way!

Here's the POST-IKE part of the coop. I'd need to put a set of 20 bricks on the runner boards to keep things from blowing away.

(Yes, the leaves ARE falling)

My wife bought this pretty feather piece for her hair. Since keeping chickens, I've suddenly started noticing this type of jewelry.

But I asked the wrong question.

I asked, "Was it anyone we knew?" LOL

Thanks for stopping by~ David :-)

YELLOW SUDDENLY DOMINATES THE GARDEN AT TROPICAL TEXANA

2011-12-18T17:51:00.002-06:00

Is YELLOW your favorite color? You've come to the right place!

When I started putting this post together, I didn't really think there were that many yellow leaves in my garden. But,you know the old saying; you find what your're looking for. Well, here's what I found.

Even though yellow is not my favorite color (green, red, and purple are higher on the list), I had to say the sunlight coming through the box elder leaves were glorious today.

Pecan leaf detail

Box Elder leaves detail

(for more Monday macros, visit Lisa at http://lisaschaos.com/

From top to bottom:

Mimosa

Wisteria

Pecan

Redbud (my second favorite)

Tallow (with some red tints)

Box elder (my favorite this year)

Sugarberry (Hackberry) left side

American elm (top)

Golden Raintree (right)

Cedar elm (green ones in the center...these will turn later in the season)

Pecan and Redbuds in our front yard.

Golden raintree closeup

Well, it was a year for yellows! I don't recall seeing this many ever before. Anyone else notice? Could it have been the drought?

Thanks for stopping by.

David/ :-)

FOLIAGE FOLLOW-UP & GBBD: BROMELIADS STAND IN AS 'FLOWERS' IN A SHADY TROPICAL GARDEN

2011-12-14T18:34:00.009-06:00

A colorful photo of bromeliads growing up a hillside in Costa Rica was my Eureka moment a couple of years back. The idea: that from a distance colorful bromeliads can stand in for flowers in a tropical shade garden. At once I started imagining these plants punctuating the all green landscape of my backyard. So...here they are! After many years of collecting, I'd like to show you some of the 'flowers' where no flowers can grow. The leaves of bromeliads form beautiful rosettes of color.
To see more of what gardeners are doing, visit our hosts, Carol, at May Dreams Gardens and Pam at Digging who hosts Foliage Follow-up. These bromeliads can fit into both posts this time around. DIGGING and MAY DREAMS GARDENS are on my sidebar favorites and always fun to visit.

Happy GBBD & FOLIAGE FOLLOW-UP!

Neoregelia 'Florida Red Bands'

Aechmea blanchetiana

(protect from frost or it will be lost!)

Neoregelia hybrid. I like the apple green with pink tips!

This is a purple & green Aechmea

Neoregelia with three colors. These become stronger in cooler weather.

One of my favorite purple Neoregelias.

Neoregelia 'Vulcan' hybrid. I love the speckles.

My favorite variegated Neoregelia.

A miniature Neoregelia mixes well with variegated Arrowleaf.

Neoregelia hybrid. The cooler weather gives it that reddish blush.

A red blushed Neoregelia with variegated Alstroemeria.

I bought this one at a Bromeliad Society sale and it was considered a failed hybrid. I love it since it grows very quickly and has some frost tolerance.

I hope you think about adding some of these easy to grow plants into your garden or indoors. They make great houseplants as long as you keep them filled with water.

Thanks for stopping by.

David/ :-)

DECEMBER GARDEN BOUQUET

2011-12-10T14:39:00.001-06:00

It's nice when you can go out into your garden and make a flower arrangement for your wife's birthday.
We almost had a frost in town this week, so I'm very lucky to have these flowers.
Happy Birthday, Melanie! :-)

Made from: Mexican Fire Spike (Red), Variegated Alstroemeria (green/white), Loquat blossoms (white)

and green foliage from Loquat, Mexican Fire Spike, and Cast Iron Plant ( Aspidistra 'Milky Way')

David/ :-)

At a cottage garden in Round Top, Texas

IF YOU NEED HOPE FOR TROPICAL PLACES, WATCH THIS VIDEO ....WILLIE SMITS RESTORES A RAINFOREST

2011-12-08T18:16:00.005-06:00

My new tradition in celebration of my birthday starts today. Birthdays are for receiving gifts. But this is one I'd like to pass on to you. I found it today while reading through old emails. We hear so much about the destruction of our habitats and especially the rainforest. But here is someone who is proof that one person can make a difference. It takes a lot to impress me, but this speech gets my coveted 5 STAR RATING. Instead of just previewing the first couple of minutes, I was so mesmorized I ended up watching the entire segment. I love tropical places, so this especially touches me with a ray of hope.
David/ :-)

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/willie_smits_restores_a_rainforest.html

Willie Smits

Harvesting sugar palms provide a steady and sustainable source of income.

How it all started.

Many of my garden plants, such as this beautiful bromeliad, come from tropical places.

NORFOLK ISLAND PINE CHRISTMAS TREE ~ THIS YEAR'S TREE

2011-12-05T14:03:00.007-06:00

We finished decorating our Norfolk Island Pine for Christmas and we've finally put away our artificial tree forever. We had to use very lightweight decorations. But other than that, it's very nice to have a living tree in the house. David/ :-)

2011 Tree

One of our pet chickens, Marco, takes a look at our Norfolk Island Pine Christmas tree.

No pecking the ornaments, Marco! :-)

2010 TREE

DECEMBER 2010 ~Since everyone in our extended family knows about my gardening interests, I am often given plants as gifts. I got a small Norfolk Island Pine last year and I told everyone this small plant was going to be our Christmas tree by next year. Everyone seemed to think I was joking. Well, 3 pot sizes later and about double the size later, here's the picture. It stays outside in the garden all year long until Christmas. If you are going to have a Norfolk Island Pine as a Christmas tree, buy very light ornaments. I use paper ornaments and small ribbons and bells. Wishing you the Happiest of Holidays
David at Tropical Texana/ Houston :0)
Be sure and visit Alicia at http://weloveiowa.blogspot.com/ to see her beautiful photography and WW group. Thanks, Alicia, for hosting all the year long.

THREE RAINY DAYS AHEAD, BUT NOBODY is COMPLAINING

2011-12-04T18:54:00.001-06:00

Raindrops on Loropetalum Leaves

We walk by our Loropetalum almost everyday and it seldom gets noticed. Purple leaves just blend in.

It's a wonderful shrub for the Texas Gulf Coast. It even blooms with small, lavender tassles in the cooler months. It is more drought tolerant than you would think and it can take a hard freeze and come back quickly. It's a native of China and was discovered in Hunan Province. It's in the Witch Hazel family.

For more closeups, visit our host, Lisa, at http://lisaschaos.com/. She hosts Macro Monday each week. Thanks, Lisa.

Have a Nice Monday, Ya'll.

David/ :-)

GLOBAL WARMING DOESN'T KEEP ITS PROMISES

2011-11-30T06:09:00.000-06:00

I've just finished bringing in plants, covering plants, and putting plants on the back porch this week due to freeze warnings. I live on the Texas coast and just far enough north to get freezes every winter. I had thought with an entire year of abnormally hot weather, that perhaps the trend would carry through the 3 winter months. I would finally have a dream come true. With a bit warmer winters I would not have to worry about frosts.
FAT CHANCE!
Our last 2 winters have had temperatures in the low 20s and now I'm wondering if yet again we will have a bad winter. Where did all the heat go? WINTER SEEMS TO HAVE NO MEMORY OF SUMMER.
If the past drought and heat from the last two years were caused by global warming, then all we get is global extremes. Now gardeners get to fight the heat and the cold...and the drought. Good thing we don't give up easily.

"The Mad Gardener" Here's how I feel this week with frost warnings! It's too early!

Time to drag the plants indoors. I couldn't bear to watch these get freeze burn...the foliage is too nice.

Manger scene with aloes. These aloes would freeze outdoors. Now they are part of Christmas. :-)

Thanks for visiting.

David/ :-)

A TROPICAL LOOK FOR THE CHICKEN COOP

2011-11-26T20:07:00.001-06:00

I have long wanted to add a tropical looking roof to the chicken coop. This is not bamboo, but a reed screen that I cut in half. I used one inch runners and screws to attach it to the boards underneath.

Thank goodness my brother stayed an extra day to help. I'd also like to report to the world that chickens are some of the most curious creatures on Earth! Phoebe is a barred plymouth rock. She 'talked' the entire time.

"What's this, what's this?", she said.

We slid the entire roof up a low angled extension ladder. We tied it off when we got it to the top.

This used to be a play fort for our children, so there were already brackets to attach to.

The reed construction was my own idea. That's a rare glimpse of me at the top.

We got it up just in time. Precious rains were moving in from the west. I'm pointing to where we are located.

I'm painting the hen house a shade of green and adding little windows next holiday. After that, I'll take a photo when it is done.

Thank-you, Gary, for your hard work.

And thanks, Dad, for feeding the chickens!

David/ :-)

MY VERSION OF BLACK FRIDAY ~ GARDEN EDITION

2011-11-24T18:40:00.002-06:00

Ho Ho Ho or should I say HOE HOE HOE...It's BLACK FRIDAY in the GARDEN.

Black is good...for business AND for the garden. Let's see what I've got that's black.

For starters I have a black hoe.

I have black seeds...these are from Four O'Clock plants.

I have a black chicken that's taking a siesta in my arms.

I have rich, black dirt and really rich, black compost. The chickens love to help out.

I have black water tubs for rainfall. BTW: We are finally having normal amounts of rainfall for the first time since January! This water is for my larger trees.

And finally, I have black patterns on these peacock gingers...Kaempferia 'Shazzam' and Kaempferia 'Brush Strokes'.

Now with all that, why should I go shopping? I think I'll stay home and enjoy the garden.

Thanks for stopping by and happy shopping.

David/ :-)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM TROPICAL TEXANA

2011-11-23T15:11:00.002-06:00

Judging from the picture, you'd never guess my garden's gone through the worst drought in the past century. I am thankful for the 3 rainfalls we've had this month and the hopeful recovery from the drought.

It was a perfect day here in Houston. The sun was warm and the air was cool.

I'm thankful for bromeliads and other plants I can grow outside during November.

I'm thankful that plants come in so many shapes, sizes, and colors!

I'm thankful for our hens!

I'm thankful for the food we have. (This is a from our school project on archeology)

And finally, I'm thankful for all of my gardening friends all over Texas, the United States, and the world. I'm always thankful you stopped by! Here's to that time when we thank God for all of His blessings...Happy Thanksgiving.

David/ :-)

MY TROPICAL TEXANA EGG CARTON DESIGNS

2011-11-21T18:45:00.005-06:00

My latest designs. I paid 87 cents for the wooden chickens. I added the googly eye.

The hens LOVE the nest boxes that my dad made for them. Notice the one in motion. :-)

A week's worth of fresh eggs. They taste delicious!

Another carton design

One of my first designs.

Up at school the students have been using some of these new duck (duct?) tape colors to design their science projects. I decided to use the extra tape to make some new egg carton designs. Relatives and friends will be getting some of these eggs as gifts, so why not make each egg carton unique? Plus, it's fun.

Chicken art seems to be a nice fit in the garden design world. I'll show you our artistic chicken coop sometime soon. And I'm not alone. I saw recently where someone hung FRAMED PICTURES in their chicken coop for the hens to look at. I'm not to that point...nor plan to ever get that crazy. LOL

Thanks for stopping by.

David/ :-)

STAINED GLASS WINDOW LEAF: HAPPY MACRO MONDAY

2011-11-20T08:32:00.003-06:00

My wife found this beautiful leaf off of an ornamental pear tree. It was being blown around on the street along with ugly brown leaves. When you hold most leaves up to strong light, they have the look of a stained glass window. Happy Macro Monday.

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

:-)

DO YOU HAVE WILD HOGS IN YOUR GARDEN?

2011-11-16T22:37:00.003-06:00

2011 Map

1982 map

As you can see, feral hogs have expanded their range in the last couple of decades. The Texas Parks & Wildlife department had their population at 1 million, then 2 million, and now some sources estimate that there are up to 2.6 to 3.9 million in the state. A wild sow can have up to 20 babies at a time. They can do this a couple of times a year!

We got cable TV for the first time and the technician who installed it had a degree in wildlife management. We got to talking about feral pigs. He said they chase off deer and other wildlfe and consume vast amounts of acorns and other forest foods. These feral hogs are not native to Texas, but were brought here by the Spanish explorers. Domestic pigs have added to the gene pool over the last hundred years and many are much larger than the wild boars of Eurasia.

http://www.aetv.com/american-hoggers/infographic/

The latest craze are reality shows about hunting feral hogs.

For a person in a city like Houston, all of this seems like a far away problem.

However, just 20 miles away, feral pigs live in Addicks reservoir and I'm told by my students that they tear up the local golf courses at night!

I'm afraid to ask if anyone sees wild hogs in their area, but I'd like to know.

David/ :-)

MEET THE BUG THAT ALWAYS MAKES ME SMILE: HAPPY MACRO MONDAY

2011-11-12T22:00:00.001-06:00

If you have aphids and you see a piece of lint moving along a leaf, don't worry. You're not going crazy. I love this little guy. These little insects find any old scrap to stick on their backs in a uniform I'd call homemade camouflage. The results vary according to the garden. Some are covered with moss. Others the dead bodies of ants. My garden friend over in Austin says she found one covered in yellow flower petals! Mine seems to have found some gray 'things' to put on itself. They are completely harmless...unless your'e an aphid. Hence the name APHID LIONS. Happy Macro Monday! David/ :-)

This is one of the GOOD GUYS in your garden. It eats aphids.

Here's the aphid lion moving along a leaf. I'm always taken off guard when I see a piece of trash walking around in the garden.

If they eat ants, then this one is in BIG trouble.

Can you finally see him under his cloak? It's Chrysopa oculata and it will turn into a green lacewing when grown.

My old college textbook is long out of print, so I'll show you what he looks like without all the decorations.

Hope you enjoyed reading about the bug that always makes me smile.

David/ :-)

DIVING INTO THE BIZARRE WORLD OF EGG CARTONS

2011-11-10T18:40:00.008-06:00

Since I've started collecting eggs from our garden chickens, I've taken a keen interest in egg cartons. Have you ever read an egg carton here in America? What does it all mean?

Animal Husbandry Guidelines? I checked the website and read the 40 pages of text. Whew!

Made by Texas Chickens! (not Iowa chickens or Michigan chickens)

All natural? (I do hope so)

In Spanish, brown eggs become red eggs..(.interesting)

Vegetarian fed hens....as opposed to?

Maybe they are talking about...about...what? Companies don't feed chickens meat. Right?

Free roaming nesting hens...that sounds a lot better.

Natural grain fed....as opposed to unnatural grain? Uhh..hmmm..we're back to mysteries.

Farm fresh...but NOT cage free. This company sells both side by side.

If people were to only buy cage free starting tomorrow, then there would be NO caged chickens.

(at least here)

At least 4 European countries have only cage free chicken farms.

These are California Prop 2 Compliant...don't you feel better?

Wouldn't you like to know what Prop 2 says?

Those organic labels are serious...violators get hefty fines...so these are some careful egg farmers

that do it the right way.

Now here's an interesting label! It's my label that I have when I give away eggs to friends.

Here are some eggs from our chickens. They have a good life without cages. Plus they get to roam around in the garden.

Hope you enjoyed the egg carton tour.

David/ :-)

If you want a serious version of egg carton labels including the fact that most hens spend their sad life in an area the size of a legal sheet of paper, go to this link

http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/confinement_farm/facts/guide_egg_labels.html

IF YOU NEED a reason to never buy caged eggs again, then watch the pathetic chickens in this short video. The video announces larger sizes for caged hens. Notice how many feathers are missing and that their beaks are cut off:
(scroll to the bottom of the link to see the short video)
http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2011/07/landmark-egg-agreement.html

Compare to our chickens:

Why I Garden: Reason #3: A Garden is Filled With Unusual Connections

2011-11-09T19:46:00.002-06:00

I could say the usual spiel about plants and bugs and soil. And these are all near and dear to a gardener's heart. But Reason #3 is much greater. Gardeners and gardens (and garden blogs) keep you connected in wonderful and unusual ways. I didn't go through this terrible drought alone. There were others that cared enough to comment with thoughts of 'hang in there' and 'me too...hope we make it'.
I didn't go through the horrific southern freezes (and snows!) of the past two winters alone. Other southern gardeners commented and we supported each other.
These are all wonderful connections that make gardeners friends for life.

But the strangest and I think most interesting connection is the one that spans time. A garden and a garden blog are about the connections of time....past, present, and future in your garden.
Here's a funny story about that very thing:
Our wonderful counselor (and gardener) retired last year from our school. We loved to compare notes and trade stories. I still miss her. What's funny is she sneaks back up to school and puts old garden magazines in my mailbox with the single word 'ENJOY'. I like that. Interestingly, she dropped off a magazine this week from waaaay back in 2006 and on the back page was a story about GARDEN BLOGS. This was a story from one of the original garden bloggers and I read with interest her fascination with connections. I loved everything she talked about: sharing pictures, connecting with comments, having debates, and the astonishment she had over a few hundred people actually reading her garden blog each week. She even had chickens and you know how fond I am of other gardeners that have chickens.
I immediately connected with this gardener from long ago....(2006 is long ago in this computer age).
So was she still blogging after five long years? They gave the url at the end of the article and I was both excited and worried that this mystery gardener might have hung up her blogging trowel by now.
Here's her blog if you want to find out:
http://dirtbyamystewart.blogspot.com/

Thanks, Amy for a garden and garden blog filled with connections!

David/ :-)

LET ME GUESS...YOU'RE HUNGRY: HAPPY WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2011-11-08T20:11:00.000-06:00

As I was filling up the small feeder for Mary Marco Marie, she peeked inside the can. Her eyes must of popped out at the sight, because the next thing I know she hopped right into the barrel! It was chicken heaven for her.

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

David/ :-)

HERE'S MY FAVORITE TROPICAL FLOWER: HAPPY MACRO MONDAY

2011-11-06T15:43:00.001-06:00

Passiflora vitifolia ~ Crimson Passion Flower

It was such a pretty day that we took a walk through the Houston Heights. The Heights is filled with small bungalows and many contain cottage gardens. This is only the second time I've seen Red Passion Flower here in Houston and it almost took my breath away. If you look closely, there's a ladybug underneath the petals.

Sadly, because this is not a native, the Gulf Fritillary butterfly skips over it when looking for host Passifloras.

If I'm wrong, please update me. These leaves seemed untouched by caterpillars.

To see more mighty MACROS, visit our gracious host, Lisa, at http://lisaschaos.com/

Thanks for stopping by!

David/:-)

Footnote: There are at least 4 scarlet/red Passifloras. My best guess is vitifolia since the leaves are 3 lobed and highly serrated, hence the name vitifolia...foliage like grape leaves.

Growth requirements: Is root hardy in zone 9 and easily grown in zones 10 and 11. Very vigorous in full sun and can even be considered invasive! Hundreds of flowers once vines are established. Fruit is edible in some species. Native to Central and South America. Passiflora miniata is also like this one, only with black interior spikes.

A SMALL VICTORY OVER THE SUMMER DROUGHT

2011-11-05T23:19:00.001-05:00

It's natural for a gardener to care more for some plants than others. And we've all lost a plant that has caused us more agony than we'd like to admit. One such plant that I DIDN'T lose is our Norfolk Island Pine. I was mostly concerned about days where we reached 105 degrees plus. I know this plant is from a tropical island, but I would guess most islands would have those nice cool breezes coming off the ocean. Well, I have good news; Norfolk Island Pines can endure temperatures as high as 105 and humidities that bottom out at 25% and still look good. I was vigilant about keeping it well watered since this is our living Christmas tree. That's why I'd be very sad to lose it. It's one small victory over this drought.

It adds one or two layers of branches each year. The cooler weather has started a new layer of growth.

Here's my brother being silly in 2009. At first everyone laughed at my idea, but that's okay. I've grown a number of these up to 8 feet tall over my life time.

Here it is in 2010. They sell Norfolk Island Pines in groups so that the pot will look fuller. There are actually 5 trees in this one. I've repotted it 3 times in the past years.

Here it is in the backyard. Always protect from frost. It can take down to 28 F (-2.2C) to 30 (-1.1C) degrees F, but I'd rather not test fate. Bring it in if there's frost danger.

It can grow in full sun, but I grow ours in dappled light under a pecan tree. It gets full sun in winter.

There are large, outdoor Norfolk Island Pines on Galveston Island, Texas, Corpus Christi, Texas, Fort Myers, Florida, and probably in the Rio Grande Valley. We had some 20 to 30 feet high here in Houston before the hard freezes two years ago.

Thanks for stopping by.

David/ :-)

GARNISH YOUR GARDEN WITH GAURA: HAPPY MACRO MONDAY

2011-10-30T20:18:00.000-05:00

Gaura 'Siskiyou Pink'

In some ways, this Texas native reminds me of little orchids. The long, wispy stems can cascade over a rock wall, or mesh with agaves and other xeric plants. These were part of the planting I did up at our church during the blast furnace summer. As you can see, it's a survivor.

As with most wildflowers, the little plants aren't that exciting. But look at all those bloom stems!

Here's another image later in the day.

Visit our gracious host, Lisa, at http://lisaschaos.com/ for more great closeups.

Thanks for stopping by.

David/ :-)

WELCOME TRICK OR TREATERS TO THE ADDAMS FAMILY GARDEN

2011-10-29T08:37:00.005-05:00

Morticia would be excited about this drought induced art! If you are 50+ years old, you'll remember the Addams Family TV show. Morticia was quite the gardener and even had a man-eating vine named Cleopatra.

Now for my Garden Spoof....

The Addams Family welcomes all Trick or Treaters to visit the garden! If you don't remember us, please watch our youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFD7KGBUtKI

Uncle Fester and Lurch will help the children pass safely through the garden.

Lurch will stand by the front agave bed. We don't want small children with masks to venture off the trails! Ouch!

There are even more spikey things over here. Uncle Fester will wave if you get too close.

Oh! And you might want to stay away from Cousin Itt's palm collection.

And please don't fall in Grandmama's Swamp Pond. The Piranha might get upset.

I'm a little worried about running out of candy. But Mr. Addam's says he has a back up plan.

Uh....hope we don't run out of candy.

I do hope you have time to play with Wednesday's aphid collection. She'd be thrilled.

Pugsley might let you hold his baby black vulture.

Thing might let you pet our baby opposum that keeps getting into our chicken run.

Of course the main attraction is Morticia's garden. The drought has put it in picture perfect shape. She's especially proud of the droopy firespike.

Morticia even wants to use the ferns in cut flower arrangements. I can't recall ever seeing them like this.

Mr. Addam's is so proud of his brown spots in the lawn. The drought came just in time for Halloween.

We left this spooky, dead tree for the woodpeckers but of course you can climb it for fun.

See you on Halloween night.

Morticia Addams/ :0)

IN THE STORY BOOK PUMPKIN PATCH ~ 2011 EDITION

2011-10-26T20:09:00.000-05:00

Still looking for pumpkin decorating ideas? Well, you've hit the jackpot. Once a year I get to take you to my elementary school to see our annual Storybook Pumpkin Patch. Please enjoy the tour and tell me your favorites. These were decorated at home by parents and students for our library. David/ :-)

Mike from Monsters, Inc.

Skippyjon Jones

The Swan from the Ugly Duckling

The Cat in the Hat

Chicken Little

The Very Hungry Caterpillar made by a Kindergarten class

Frankenstein's Pumpkin

The Frog Princess

The Great Pumpkin

Not sure...something about a Kitten

Pinacalicious(?)

Perry the Platypus

One of the Three Little Pigs and The Pigeon

Not sure, but she's cute!

Little Red Riding Hood

and finally.....R2D2 from Star Wars

That's it from this year's Pumpkin Patch. Thanks for visiting.

SMALL FLOWERS THAT GET STEPPED ON~ HAPPY MACRO MONDAY

2011-10-24T20:01:00.002-05:00

Today I went out in the middle of our playground for an activity. From the picnic grounds, our school's field looks like just a field of grass. So you can imagine my surprise when I found these. Take a look!

I think it's a tiny purslane similar to Florida purslane. Isn't that a nice color?

This is a groundcover called Sida. It is in the hibiscus family. Watch your step!

As a kid, I enjoyed touching the leaves of this member of the mimosa family. It's common name is sensitive plant since the leaves fold up as soon as you touch them. I wish I knew the Latin name.

Don't the hairs on these flowers remind you of snow? I have this 'weed' in my garden as well. It's quite pretty up close. Anyone know the name? The stems feel sticky when you pull them up. (Oooops! LOL)

And good old Crow Poison pops up just about anywhere. It was out there as well, but this one is from my garden.

Visit our fantastic host, Lisa, at http://lisaschaos.com/ for more surprises.

And please.....watch where you step! LOL

David/ :-)

DAD BRINGS A SURPRISE!

2011-10-22T10:20:00.001-05:00

This month the chickens are finally old enough to lay eggs. So dad handcrafted a nice surprise for the hens.

That's dad on the left, our family friend Helena from Danevang, and my wife Melanie on the right.

Dad made the girls their own nest boxes! As you can see they loved their cozy new nests from the start. If you look carefully, you'll see Phoebe and Hoot already inside. Gwen (held by my wife) always needs a helping hand. She's talked (in chicken) the whole time saying things like "What's going on?"

I spent the weekend adding another area to the chicken run and hen house. Little Mary Marco Marie de la Boca de Gato inspects the new scratching area. She's a pullet and starting to grow the most beautiful iridescent feathers. She's our rescue chicken from a friend.

The new area will give them room to scratch around and dig during the wintertime. On nice weekends, I'll leave the gate open for them to free range SO THAT they can go back into the wonderful NEST BOXES and LAY EGGS. I learned that it's important to cover the area so that the hens can feel secure from hawks. Any alarm note from neighborhood blue jays send them scurrying for cover. And we DO have hawks in our neighborhood!

Fresh eggs! This week someone started laying brown eggs. Hoot lays the blue/green eggs, Gwen (the Australian Austrolorp) along with the Phoebe and Zeebee (the Barred Plymouth Rocks) will lay brown eggs. Mary Marco Marie will probably lay white eggs.

Here are the eggs for this week. Almost a dozen.

The nest boxes are a huge success along with that fresh country hay. Thanks, dad!

That's all for today.

Thanks for stopping by.

David/ :-)

MACRO MONDAY MYSTERY ~ ANYONE KNOW WHAT THIS IS?

2011-10-16T17:41:00.002-05:00

I'm stumped. This little guy finally bloomed and I had thought all along that it was Partridgeberry. I'm not even certain what family it is in. I think it is evergreen. It is very small and grows very slowly. The blooms have a family resemblence to Crepe Myrtle (Lagerstroemia). My good friend in Katy gave it to me this past summer and I'm hoping she will stop by and end the mystery. Thanks to all who can help. David/ :-)

Update: Thanks to our 4 botanical experts we can now safely say it's a Barbados Cherry. I've never grown one, this should be fun. Thanks all. :-) David

For more mysteries and beautiful Macros, visit our wonderful host Lisa, at http://lisaschaos.com/

Thanks, Lisa. :-)

13 FLOWERS IN BLOOM: HAPPY GBBD FOR OCTOBER

2011-10-15T12:03:00.001-05:00

On the 15th of each month, Carol at May Dreams hosts a flower gardener's dream come true; a visit to gardens all 'round the world. You can find her on my side bar favorites. Thanks, Carol!
Now on with October's show! We got 4 inches of rain last week, so the garden is blooming like crazy!

Oxypetalum 'Heaven Born' is in the milkweed family and has bloomed for 3 months with no problems. I'm growing this one again next summer.

Here's a surprise. Our Golden Rain Tree had its first blooms this week. They 'rain' down onto the ground all month. It's a beautiful little tree called Koelreuteria paniculata.

Beautiful Turk's Cap again in bloom. Wow! Another one from my friend Cindy.

Lantana has my respect after this horrible, dry summer.

Yellow purslane volunteer. What a happy flower.

Ruellia has bloomed for months now.

All three shades of Four O'Clocks are in bloom right now.

This unusual Four O'Clock was growing wild along a river near Utopia, Texas.

Butterflyweed from my friend Cindy at My Corner of Katy.

Lantana 'Fruity Pebbles', an upright Lantana with leaves in sets of three.

Here are the fruity pebbles before eaten by Mockingbirds.

Big surprise. I've watched this volunteer grow all during the drought and now I know what it is: our native Goldenrod. That's nothing to sneeze at. All flowers are a welcome sight after this horrific drought.

Prickly Pear in a sea of lavender Lantana.

Aloe 'Silver Fox' in bloom.

Can you count the chickens? I found this display at our Hobby Lobby in Katy, Texas. I love chicken art since we have 5 live chickens of our own.

We got our first BROWN egg this week.

Well, that's it for this month.

May all your garden dreams come true.

Thanks for stopping by our garden here along the Texas Gulf Coast.

David/ :-)

HOW DO DROUGHTS END? CHEERS!

2011-10-09T20:11:00.002-05:00

Here's the gauge at 3.7" (9.4cm) and it kept raining! By nightfall, it was at 4.0" (10cm) for the day!

That's more rain in one day than all the rain of all the summer months combined!

The Wall of Water started in west Texas last night and slowly swept across the state all night long. By morning another stream of rainstorms had started in Houston as we waited for the main event. Both systems converged here and it never

stopped raining the entire day. Even far South Texas got a nice dose of thunderstorms. Thanks be to God.

Maybe the pattern is shifting.

It had been so long since I'd heard thunder in the morning that my wife and I were both puzzled by the noise. We thought one of our neighbors had dropped a big box.

Perhaps trees will be saved all across our state and hope is on the rise.

David/

HEN HAPPENINGS: OUR FIRST GREEN EGGS BUT NO HAM

2011-10-03T14:25:00.002-05:00

We got our first eggs this week and they are beautiful. Dr. Seuss made GREEN EGGS famous by way of a children's book. But thanks to the Easteregger and the Ameuracana variety from South America, blue (and green) chicken eggs exist.

I couldn't find a carton that said small, green eggs! LOL

Hoot has layed 4 green eggs in one week!

Chickens love fresh greens besides their regular diet. This makes all the difference in the taste!

That's Hoot in the front. Eastereggers carry a blue gene that gives rise to blue, green, pink, and even white eggs from this type of chicken.

Now, would you like to see something funny? I left the lid off the feed bin and guess what?

This is Phoebe; a chicken with personality. She'll tell me all about her day when we sit on the back porch.

She'll also walk right into our house if the backdoor is left open. Phoebe is a beautiful barred Plymouth Rock.

The black and white bands help them to hide from hawks.

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by.

David/ :-)

A Flush of Fall Flowers After a One Inch Rain!

2011-09-25T18:17:00.002-05:00

The desert blooms after a rain. And since we seem to be in an endless cycle of aridity, a number of flowers jumped at the chance to bloom after our recent 3 days of rain. Sadly, the heat and drought are back...until the next rain. For now, we enjoy the flowers.

28 flowers on this Setcreasea were in bloom yesterday morning. A new record for Tropical Texana!

They ramble all over the place and I love it!

This orange Justicia is also blooming at a record pace.

The blackfoot daisy went dormant during the heat, but now is back. I really like this plant!

I worked hard to keep this purple lantana alive and it has paid off. It's sweeping over the agaves in waves.

...and waves. Our car lights were fixed on it one night and we saw a garden fairy moth going from flower to flower. Nice to know that it's a pollen source for that elusive creature.

Of course, the agaves have enjoyed the rain as well and they have had a nice summer...probably the only plants that can say such a thing.

That's it from Tropical Texana.

Special note: I've changed the wallpaper on my website thanks to a lead from my friend over in Miami. If you use blogger, it's free and they have some really nice ones.

I was happy to find one that matched my style. I'm just amazed how something as simple as a background can change the whole feel of a garden blog. Hope you like it.

Thanks for visiting.

David/ :-)

HEN HAPPENINGS: CHICK RESCUE & OUR NEW PECKING ORDER

2011-09-23T23:03:00.002-05:00

My friend at school popped her head inside my door and asked if I wanted a chicken? A chicken?
Yes. Her daughter had rescued a stray chicken from certain death by her cat. It was cute, but she couldn't keep it. The only other option was a coworker who said she'd take it home and fatten it up before cooking it.
I said yes.
Her name is Mary Marco Marie de la Boca de Gato and she was someone's pet.

She has that classic Spanish name because she actually reminds me of a baby Caracara or Majestic Mexican Eagle.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Of course the odds of finding a baby Caracara roaming the neighborhood is

just a bit remote.

The first night it looked more like a baby black vulture. But there again, I don't

think black vulture babies are all that common for your cat to find.

Mary Marco Marie is very tame and loving but was not well taken care of.

It was probably just fed bread. Already, after just 4 days on a good diet of high protein chick feed, the 'vulture' skin is growing tiny feathers. The other stiff, ragged feathers will also recover.

She'll also gain weight.

She looks very small and young, but she acts much older than her appearance.

She's got a great, loving personality and of course, she IS a chicken.

I 'Caracara' a lot for her.
And who knows, maybe someday with care she'll soar all the way across the garden!

That's it for this episode of Hen Happenings.

Hope to post 'Rainfall Happenings' soon, but that's not likely.

The cold front was a flop and we're back to dry and hot weather. Ugh!

David/ :-)

TODAY'S RAINFALL IN HARRIS COUNTY: ALL STATIONS GOT RAIN!

2011-09-19T11:22:00.001-05:00

The last cloud of the day.

HARRIS COUNTY TEXAS

It was hit or miss. The red areas got the most, but even those areas had dramatic differences. Click to enlarge. The link to this data is on my left sidebar for future use. :-)

Woke up to thunder and a storm today. We got .70" here at Tropical Texana...one of the red areas.

Lots of storms around the Texas Gulf Coast these past 3 days. It's a start. Maybe by Thursday more parts of Texas will see rain. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

About 80% of the pine trees are dead at the Arboretum due to the 2011 drought.

David/

WHAT SIN LOOKS LIKE DURING A DROUGHT...

2011-09-18T17:12:00.002-05:00

I turn the water off while I brush my teeth. This saves about 1/10 of a gallon of our precious water during this hideous drought.
I use as little as possible to water my drought tolerant plants. This saves water as well.
So...
please tell me why the city workers do this?

Oh, might I add...we ate out at 12:00 and went back down the SAME street at 12:45. It was still going.
I looked up the flow rate for something like this...it's a minimum of 250GPM (gallons per minute). In one hour that would be 15,000 gallons of water down the strom sewer...more than 2 months of water for my family of four! They say it's to clean out rust, but for how long? Won't running it a few minutes do the same?
Watson Street in the Woodland Heights Addition.

I'M NOW A MEMBER OF THE LONE STAR CHAPTER OF GARDENERS WHO JUMP FOR JOY TO GET .32" OF RAIN

2011-09-17T14:46:00.001-05:00

I was so excited I put this image on my header!

The black bamboo glistens in the rare rainfall. The tenacity of bamboo has gained my respect

during this drought. As a member of the grass family, it has both a shallow and deep set of roots

that can cope with extremes. It's one of the few tropicals that look good right now.

I'm not feeling bad about this runoff. Every drop ran along our foundation and soaked in in minutes. Many Houston

homes have cracked foundations since this drought has dried out the soil unevenly.

The chickens were thrilled to see rain since the bugs get active and provide a snack.

This Arrowhead groundcover (Syngonium podophyllum) is another plant that somehow endures

extreme conditions and utilizes every drop of rain. It comes back from hard freezes if covered with a leaf mulch.

I could show you all the dead plants from the drought, but instead I'll show you this remarkable

Spearmint plant that continues to amaze me. Its buddies are all in pots that...yes...have

been watered weekly in order to survive.

May we all get rain soon!

Thanks for stopping by.

David/ :-)

GARDEN SNAPSHOT: WHAT'S ON MY MIND TODAY

2011-09-13T21:55:00.003-05:00

NOTE: This is mostly for my own benefit, but if you want to take a look inside my brain, read on:

Funny balloon we used for helium payload experiments in my classroom today.

This will be my expression when it rains!

Not so funny...another wildfire on my way home from work. This one was at George Bush Park west of the city.

IT'S ALMOST THE MIDDLE OF SEPTEMBER AND THIS IS WHAT'S ON MY MIND TODAY:

1)Why was it 102 degrees this afternoon?
2) My beautiful camphor tree is wilted and the leaves are turning brown. The head of landscaping at U of H says it takes 500 gallons of water per week to keep larger trees alive at this point in the drought. I don't have that much water to spend. The 2 loquats are still being watered and hanging on though wilted.
3) My neighbor's Alaskan Malamute got out and into my yard while I had my 4 chickens out for their daily 'free range' time. The dog ran out the gate while I threw Hoot and Phoebe into the house and scooped up Zeebee and threw her into the hen house. I chased Gwen around since she was panic stricken. Got her safely into the hen house but I bumped her head on a board when I stuffed her into the pop door. She said 'Squaaaack!' The two chickens stuck in our house for awhile were baffled by the tile floor. My neighbor has to fix the hole in his fence.
4) Saw another fire today near my school. It was in a wooded area in a large park west of the city.
5) It is forecast to rain 5 days in a row later this month. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.6) My water bill is the highest ever at 12,000 gallons. We've had .05 inches of rain this month....about equal to nothing.
7) I have listed about 35 tropical looking plants that still look good despite the drought...a list I'll use if we have another drought year in 2012. The agaves all look fine.
8) I'm turning most of my yard into gravel if we have 11 inches of rain next year. I will pretend I live in Marfa, Texas far to the west.
9) Rain or shine,
drought or flood,
freeze or heat wave,
I will continue to write a Garden Blog.

HOW TO MAKE A SODA CAN HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER

2011-09-10T21:51:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I visited Cindy at My Corner of Katy and was delighted to see hummingbirds in her beautiful garden. She's got one of their favorite plants in bloom ~Turk's Cap. Today I saw a hummer in my yard, but due to the drought, I have no red flowers in bloom. So, during this emergency, I fall back on making some quick soda can hummingbird feeders.

My first customer...a honeybee.

Cut an upsidedown "U" shape about 1 inch (2 1/2 cm) from the bottom. Make 3 of these around the can.

Push in the metal so that it forms an opening as shown above. Be careful not to scratch yourself on the edges. Hang it outside, then fill it until it overflows.

You do not need to add red color to the sugar water.

As long as there's some red on the can, you can leave it "plain" or make a "Deluxe" model with red paper and stickers.

I use red paper and stickers if it is a green can. Flower shaped red stickers would be nice, but I didn't have any handy.

I hope to see some hummingbirds tomorrow.

I got this idea from some people camping in a state park in Arkansas. They had made 10 of them and hung them all over their camping area as a temporary attraction for these lovely birds. The hummingbirds swarmed around them endlessly.

Try it! David/ :-)

EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT WILDFIRES IN TEXAS~ BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK

2011-09-09T23:47:00.003-05:00

We woke up to smoke from the tri-county Riley Road Fire this week. No outdoor cooking fires allowed in city parks as of today! Drought continues with no rain in the forecast for the next week.

I drove through smoke two times this week. At school, recess was cancelled one day due to poor air quality and smoke. Drought is a nasty business for gardeners. But it's much worse than that. Once forests get to a certain level, the dry conditions and wind can fan even the smallest fire into a roaring blaze. All of these fires are monitored by the Texas Forest Service. I have friends there, so I know how profoundly sad it must be for them to file these reports. I was shocked at the number of homes destroyed so far. If you want to read more, click on their first hand situation reports. The fine people at the Texas Forest Service are devoted to ending these fires and work tirelessly with local fire departments to do so.

http://ticc.tamu.edu/Documents/Home/tx_sitrep.pdf

WOW! WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT? HAPPY MACRO MONDAY

2011-09-04T17:26:00.002-05:00

The bare fence next to our church parking lot is never reason to look up. But this morning after services, I was dumbfounded. What was that across the parking lot blooming in all its glory!!!!

No hint of distress after a week of temperatures from 100 to 109F. I'm taking notice!

Let's review: I have a tropical garden, a fence, and a sunny spot. Hmmm....now would I want to see this scene from a chair in my backyard? Uh....why yes, I would.

Beautiful leaves, graceful trailing vines, multicolored exotic flowers. Heat tolerant.

I'll be buying a RANGOON CREEPER next year...drought or no drought.

It's got a cool Latin name, but I don't know it. Anyone know?

Happy Macro Monday

Visit Lisa, our gracious host, at http://lisaschaos.com/ for more beautiful surprises.

David/ :-)

MY AGAVE COLLECTION PART 1: THE SOFTER SIDE OF AGAVES

2011-09-03T17:08:00.004-05:00

I divide my agave collection into 3 kinds according to what happens when you fall on one:
Soft Agaves ~ You say 'oops' and keep gardening.
Specialty Agaves ~ You say 'Ouch!' and get a bandaid.
Serious Agaves ~ We don't let small children or pets near these. Burglar deterrent.

SOFT AGAVES
These are my favorites. You will have a difficult time finding them in nurseries along the Texas coast. Rarely offered and some are mail order only. Austin, Texas will have some and so will California and Arizona. You will need to protect most of these from freeze damage and some from excessive watering.

Agave attenuata

The beautiful, oval powdery green leaves are almost surrealistic. Very frost tender and brittle leaves are the downside to this one. Rarely offsets here in Houston. I've read it grows commonly in San Diego, California. Mine is in dappled light and a clay pot with quick draining, sandy loam soil. Forms a stem over time. Likes to be pot bound. Stays in a sunny southern window in the winter. A similar plant called 'Nova' is shown below.

Both versions are worth all the fuss!

Agave celsii

Similar to attenuata but armed with a harmless row of tiny teeth. Likes to grow in bright shade. Can take frost down to 26 degrees here. Offsets slowly. Turns yellowish and less attractive in Houston's full sun. Prefers more water than most. I lost this one to the agave weevil, but will try to grow this again. Very beautiful in clusters or as a single specimen. There are some growing along Sunset Blvd across the street from Rice University.

Rarely offered in Houston, but found mine at Wal-mart.

Agave celsii 'Nova'

One of the parents of this hybrid is celsii; the other is unknown. Notice that it has a tiny row of teeth. A bit stronger than the parent and less susceptible to frost damage (still, I'm taking no chances). Looks very delicate, but grows quickly and can take temperatures up to 109. Not sure if it offsets, but I hope it does.

The other parent is a subject of discussion by Agave experts and plantsmen.

Loves dappled light and water if in a well-drained clay pot. Very similar to attenuata.

Agave 'Unknown'

I took lots of these little plantlets off a bloom stem in my brother's yard in College Station, Texas.

It was a tall bloom stem with many yellow sessile buds opening a few at time all the way up to the top.

It might be close to an A. bracteosa bloom spike, but not sure.

Very slow growing and really needs to be kept from frost. I let mine fight it out both winters and they took an entire year to regrow.

Agave bracteosa ~ Squid agave

Can grow in dappled light under a tree. This one took temperatures down to 25F with no freeze damage.

Leaves are very brittle, so leave lots of space around it. Slow growing, but keeps adding those cool leaves year round.

Agave desmettiana (Regular version)

I lost my beautiful, full grown plants during the heavy freezes. All I have are these little ones. I'll try to find a picture of the full grown parent.

Agave desmettiana (toothed cultivar)

I have seen these offered in Houston. Offsets freely. Protect from frost. Nice blue green color.

Agave desmettiana variegata ( usual variegation pattern on edge)

Agave desmettiana variegata (highly variegated patterns)

This is one of the most beautiful desmettianas I have and I was lucky to find it. This one offsets freely, but the variegation patterns of the babies are not set until they grow older. I'm not sure if this parent transfers its bold pattern. I hope so.

Agave 'NOT SURE'

I thought it was Agave weberi until I found a weberi for sale. It's a beautiful plant, takes heavy freezes with NO damage, and offsets like there's no tomorrow. Can tolerate flooding, but prefers it dry.

Never for sale at nurseries, but passed along from people in Mexico to their friends. Found in many parts of Houston.

Agave weberi

Agave desmettiana 'Joe Hoak'

Very beautiful and rare here in Houston. I had to buy it mail order from Florida. Grow it in bright shade the first 3 years. Grows very slowly. Beautiful variegation patterns make it stand out from a distance.

For comparisons: Regular variegated desmettiana on top, 'Joe Hoak' on the bottom. It looks whitish green.

Agave 'Nova' on the right.

Whew! So there you have it. Hope you enjoyed the tour.

Thanks for stopping by.

David/ :-)

GARDEN IMPRESSIONISM: WET & COOL & GREEN

2011-08-28T15:36:00.001-05:00

"Green Monet"

"Lightning Roots"

"Window into Another World"

Where I'm Finding These

Happy Macro Monday!

To visit more, visit Lisa at http://lisaschaos.com/

DANCES WITH DEATH AND WATER RATIONING

2011-08-27T11:14:00.008-05:00

Today we hit 109F...that's 42.7 Celsius...a new all time record high.NOTE: I have lived in Texas all my life. I remember the summer of 1980. I was at the airport when it reached 108. The airport A/C went out and they had all the doors open. I had lived in Seattle that entire summer and the contrast was overpowering. And now I ask myself, "I garden here?"

Our normal high for today is 95 degrees.
From the Houston National Weather Service DISCUSSION...

ALL TIME RECORD HIGH OF 109 HAS BEEN TIED AT IAH (PREVIOUSLY SET
ON 9/4/2000) @ 244 PM. TEMP SPIKED THEN WENT BACK DOWN. STILL HAVE
A FEW HOURS TO BREAK THAT. SADLY...DON`T SEE MUCH OF A CHANGE
TOMORROW WITH A REALLY DRY AIRMASS REMAINING IN PLACE. WRF/NAM12
SHOW ABOUT THE SAME READINGS AS TODAY. (GLS MIGHT SEE A SLIGHTLY
EARLIER START W/ SOUTH WINDS THEREFORE LOWER TEMPS). A LIGHT S/SE
FLOW RESUMES AREAWIDE MONDAY ALLOWING TEMPS TO PLUMMET BACK DOWN

TO 100-106.

GOOD NEWS: You can garden even in this drought. Dry gravel beds in my front garden are worry free even with extreme heat and dry conditions.

I always liked the names in the movie Dances With Wolves. So I've decided to give myself the name "Dances With Death" while I water my drought stricken garden. It sure feels appropros.
Guess what? Since the mayor has gone to a LEVEL 2 water rationing scenario, the water usage for the city has gone....UP!
Of course it has. It's called the hoarding effect. In general, when people think a commodity will grow scarce they will immediately start to use their share. Suddenly, EVERYONE starts watering on their day....even non-gardeners. You can also watch the hoarding effect when a hurricane MIGHT hit Texas. Suddenly, there's no more bottled water on the shelf in all the stores.

The most severe casualities are the trees in our city parks

I REALLY do not like how long this drought has dragged on and I'm now trying to decide what lives and what to let go. I really can't afford a higher water bill than what I used last month...a new record..I'm trying to keep trees alive at this point. I don't feel bad about my number because one of my friends who powerwashed her sidewalks and house for hours used 40,000 gallons in one month! That included topping off her swimming pool daily!
My normal usage for a family of 4 is around 7,000 gallons.

Agaves, Yuccas, and Aloes do fine in arid conditions

BASED ON HAVING NO RAIN FOR THE MONTH (we've had .09" in August), here are my numbers for just keeping things alive. I'll do this twice a week to keep us from going to LEVEL 3 and NO outside watering:
DRY ROCK BEDS (three areas with many plants)..........60 gallons
WESTSIDE AGAVE AREA & SEGO PALM.............. 50 gallons
SMALL LAWN ............................................................60 gallons (lawn looks stressed)
WOODLAND GARDEN (large area) .......................... 80 gallons
ENTRY GARDEN with GRAVEL ................................40 gallons
TOTAL FOR FRONT YARD.....................................290 GALLONS X 2 = ~ 600 GALLONS/WK

Basically Tucson Arizona gets more rain on average than the amount we've received during this drought in Houston.

Tucson, Arizona (average rainfall) Feb-August = 6.82"

Houston (2011 drought) Feb-August= 5.90"

THE GOOD NEWS~ TEMPERATURES ARE FINALLY GOING DOWN after today and tomorrow!

According to the latest NWS weather report (just out this morning), we will go from the extreme temps of 108 today to a steady progression downward EACH DAY and end the week with a high of only 93 degrees and a 40% chance of rain by next Friday!

THESE GREEN SEDGES OFFER HOPE FOR A NEW LAWN

I've been studying these native sedges for over a year now and have let them take over the gravel garden. I have about 60 now and plan to transplant these to form new colonies in the front yard.

So far, they transplant well, take half the water of St. Augustine grass (Pam at Digging also confirms this on her post) and can take temperatures up to ~~105~~ 109 with no damage.

It's a new look that takes some getting used to. But it's much better on my conscience.

I think it is the species Carex retroflexa, but that's not certain without some more research.

All for now. Hang in there garden and Texas gardeners!

David/ Tropical Texana :-)

HOT ENOUGH FOR YA? FUNNY DIARY OF A NEWCOMER TO TEXAS

2011-08-23T19:35:00.001-05:00

With our new record for most consecutive 100+ days in Houston (we made National news), it only seems appropriate to share this sadly funny Diary from a newcomer to Texas. This was sent to me by a friend and I took out some of the more 'colorful' language to make things a bit milder. :-) David

(Not my Garden)

Ahhh, Home Sweet Home!
from a friend in Colorado

Dear Diary,

Just moved to Texas! Now this is a state that knows how to live!! Beautiful sunny days and warm balmy evenings. It is beautiful. I've finally found my home. I love it here.

June 14th:
Really heating up. Got to 100 today. Not a problem. Live in an air-conditioned home, drive an air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun everyday like this. I'm turning into a sun worshiper.

June 30th:
Had the backyard landscaped with western plants today. Lots of cactus and rocks. What a breeze to maintain. No more mowing the lawn for me. Another scorcher today, but I love it here.

July 10th:
The temperature hasn't been below 100 all week. How do people get used to this kind of heat? At least, it's kind of windy though. But getting used to the heat is taking longer than I expected. Forgot and walked barefoot on a sidewalk today. The blisters will be OK by tomorrow, I think.

July 15th:
Fell asleep by the community pool. Got 3rd degree burns over 60% of my body. Missed 3 days of work. What a dumb thing to do. I learned my lesson though. Got to respect the ol' sun in a climate like this.

July 20th:
I missed Lomita (my cat) sneaking into the car when I left this morning. By the time I got to the hot car at noon, Lomita had died and swollen up to the size of a shopping bag, then popped like a water balloon. The car now smells like dead Kibbles and Bits. I learned my lesson though. No more pets in this heat. Good ol' Mr. Sun strikes again.

July 25th:
The wind sucks. It feels like a giant freaking blow dryer!! And it's hot as h**l. The home air-conditioner is on the fritz and the AC repairman charged $200 just to drive by and tell me he needed to order parts. The locusts in the trees never shut up.

July 30th:
Been sleeping outside on the patio for 3 nights now, $225,000 house and I can't even go inside. Lomita is the lucky one. Why did I ever come here? A buzzing locust landed on me in the middle of the night and I peed in my pants.

Aug. 4th:
Its 115 degrees. Finally got the air-conditioner fixed today. It cost $500 and gets the temperature down to 85. I hate this stupid state.

Aug. 6th: Opened the closet and looked at my sweater and coat. Why? Why? Why did I even bring this stuff? Got Fall Fashion catalog in the mail today with pictures of beautiful sweaters. Threw the catalog out the window. Bought more tank tops in different colors.

Aug. 8th:
If another wise guy cracks, 'Hot enough for you today?' I'm going to strangle him. Dang heat. By the time I get to work, the radiator is boiling over, my clothes are soaking wet, and I smell like baked cat!!

Aug. 9th:
Tried to run some errands after work. Wore shorts, and when I sat on the seats in the car, I thought my rear was on fire. My legs accidentally touched the leather and melted to the seat. I lost 2 layers of flesh and all the hair on the back of my legs and rear end . . . Now my car smells like burnt hair and baked cat.

Aug 10th:
The weather report might as well be a dang recording. Hot and sunny. Hot and sunny. Hot and sunny. It's been too hot to do anything but sit by a fan for 2 darn months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. Doesn't it ever rain in this state? Water rationing will be next, so my $1700 worth of cactus will just dry up and blow over. Even the cactus can't live here.

Aug. 14th:
Welcome to HADES! Temperature got to 115 today. Cactus are dead. Forgot to crack the window and blew the darn windshield out of the car. The installer came to fix it and guess what he asked me??? "Hot enough for you today?" My sister had to spend $1,500 to bail me out of jail. Freaking Texas. What kind of a sick demented idiot would want to live in this state ?? Will write later to let you know how the trial goes.

Love,

Sunny :-)

GARDEN SURPRISE: I CAUGHT A WILD DOVE TODAY

2011-08-22T21:17:00.002-05:00

Today was my first day back at school. Usually after a long day at work, I'm eager to get home and see the garden. But this drought wears on endlessly and there's nothing pretty to look at except the birds. So how did I catch this wild dove? Scroll down to find out.

Here's the little guy in my enclosed hen house waiting for me to arrive home!

It wasn't upset, just a bit confused....sorta like the song Welcome to the Hotel California..."you can enter but you can never leave".

After I went inside the chicken run, the dove flew to the ground and the hens started chasing the doves and I started chasing the hens.

I'm sure to a bystander it was quite amusing.

The dove is now free, but here's the question: will I find the same dove in the hen house tomorrow?

I put bird seed out for doves, but apparently the chicken feed is better tasting.

David/ Tropical Texana/ :-)

HEN HAPPENINGS: Secret Roosters and Happy Hens

2011-08-20T20:51:00.006-05:00

I'm learning a lot about the world of chickens. For instance, sexing chicks (by the way..not a good choice for google keywords, but this IS the term farmers use in the industry) is not an exact science. Feed stores have two categories to choose from: pullets and straight run. Pullets are guaranteed 90% hens. Straight run is 50/50 and you could do better playing the Lottery. Sadly, I bought 6 pullets and 2 turned out to be roosters! So today we said good-bye to....
BELLA our Buff Orpington. She's going back to the store.

BELLA..or should we say BILL?

The secret to taming roosters...feed them wheat bread while you sit with them! It's an irresistible treat.

Personality: Though sold as a hen, Bella never acted like one. The charming, docile, even loveable personality that Buff Orpington hens are famous for never materialized. Instead, she was distrusting of people, wary, keen on hunting for food, and a loner. And now I know why...she (he) was always a rooster. You see, you can't really tell hens and roosters apart until the age of 4 months. Then dramatic changes occur in the roosters while the hens stay docile and even enjoy being picked up and petted.

Bella starting crowing this week, got her (his) feathers ruffled a lot, and got pretty bold about taking first place in the pecking order. I wish I could keep roosters, but our neighborhood and my wife don't appreciate Mother Nature's Alarm Clock.

Roosters are beautiful, but not too practical for city folks.

(image source: wikipedia)

So, who's left? Time for some fun hen humor.

THE 4 HENS

Today I put some mysterious items in their hen house. As you can see, they studied these carefully and are now deep in thought as to what they could possibly mean. Come on girls, you can figure this out. :-)

By next month we should get our first eggs from Hoot (brown), Zeebee & Phoebe (zebra stripes), and Gwen (black).

I'll post the first egg sometime in the future.

HAPPY HENS EXTRA: MY 5 MOST POPULAR CHICKEN TREATS to feed to your hens:

1. wheat breat

2. watermelon rinds

3. corn on the cob leftover cobs

4. pulled up St. Augustine grass (they eat the entire leaf & stems!)

5. popcorn

Thanks for stopping by.

David/ :-)

NEW EASY TO READ GARDEN ZONE MAP FOR NORTH AMERICA

2011-08-18T21:47:00.000-05:00

As you can see, the drought is getting to me psychologically.

The red x's mark the weather stations I keep up with in hopes of seeing a cooling trend.

I'm not letting any cool weather sneak up on me. I'll be ready and smiling.

#1 Alert,Canada

#2 Resolute, Canada

#3 Eureka, Canada

#4 Baker Lake, Canada

#5 Leaf Rapids, Manitoba, Canada

#6 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (2,000 miles north of Houston)

#7 Omaha, Nebraska (1,000 miles north of Houston)

#8 Houston

Someday it will be cooler! Today it was 104 degrees here in the Bayou City.

PLANTS THAT YOU CAN GROW IN HOUSTON TEXAS

Dead Grass

CLOUDY DAY IN HOUSTON TEXAS

We get excited when we see clouds. It's that bad.

All for now. Thanks for stopping by. David/

GBBD MEETS MACRO MONDAY: PURPLE,BLUE,VIOLET & PINK AT TROPICAL TEXANA

2011-08-14T14:43:00.004-05:00

Agaves with Blue Daze (Evolvulus nuttallianus) and Pink skullcap (Scutellaria suffrutescens)

Since this is the only time Macro Monday and GBBD both fall on a Monday, I thought it fitting to do a lot of close-up shots.

Purple, blue, and violet/pink are my color mainstays. I mix a few yellows for a nice balance.

Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens & Lisa at Lisa's Chaos for hosting. Both are on my 44 Fabulous Flora Fanatics Blog Roll. Go visit when you get the chance!

Melochia tomentosa (in the chocolate family)

Setcreasea pallida with green leaf & purple edge.

Young Crepe Myrtle shoot blooms in front of Arkansas yucca. When you cut through a Crepe Myrtle root, the damaged root sends up shoots that are the same mature age as the parent. They can bloom as a one foot sprig! These are a beautiful nusance.

Kaempferia pulchra, also known as Peacock Ginger blooms all summer here.

Lantana trifolia 'Fruity Pebbles'

The unusual Oxalis triangularis grows wild in my zone 9 woodland garden. It needs a dormant period, then suddenly pops up again.

Ruellia nudiflora. I'm convinced there are two wild varieties ~ both a light and dark purple type. Or maybe we have two species growing side by side along the highways.

A new flower (Oxypetalum caeruleum) I'm trying with soft fuzzy leaves and these heavenly blue flowers. It sprawls all over the other plants. A drought tolerant member of the milkweed family.

A bromeliad called Neoregellia 'Midnight'.

Probably native Ruellia humilis (groundcover with hairy leaves and stems)

More purple leaves of Tradescantia.

Angelonia reminds me of tiny orchids. I love this plant!

Wisteria is blooming for a third time this year.

Here's one of the yellows I talked about. This is Mussaenda luteola.

My Blue Agave garden. I want to mention that Houston is now on mandatory lawn watering restrictions(twice weekly). Good-bye green grass. Though small, I have one of the last green lawns on our street. I will still water the flower beds. The 2011 drought is breaking all known records and has now surpassed the drought of 1917 by 5 fewer inches of rainfall at this point in the calendar.

Normal yearly rainfall: 48 inches. So far this year: 10.83 inches.

AND FINALLY......

"The Secret Rooster?"

This week, we've heard a muffled 'ur-ur-ur-ur-errrrrrrrrrrrrr' first thing in the morning and suspect that our Nina is really a NED!

We'll have to give Ned back if those feathers turn into rooster feathers. That leaves us 5 hens...as long as there are no more surprises!

David/ :-)

Houston, Texas

FROM THE BOTANY BOOKSHELF: THREE GARDEN BOOKS FOR A TEXAS NATURAL STYLE

2011-08-12T00:12:00.002-05:00

Texas gardens seldom make their way into mainstream landscaping books. However, here are 3 books that give you a glimpse at what I would call an emerging Texas garden style. Only a portion of the first two books contain Texas gardens. The third is an older book containing Texas gardens.

My own Texas garden ~ a blend of many textures with an ever increasing shift to the west

This is my favorite. I don't own it yet, so I check it out from the public library. Every page is filled with landscaping that resonates with my own views of natural garden design.

284 pages/ over 300 color photos/ over 30 plant lists!/ Timber Press 2008

by Scott Ogden & Lauren Springer Ogden

Additional comments: I remember the first time I got this book I turned each page and smiled in delight at the landscaping. I really could not imagine a more beautiful set of photos. The Ogdens garden in Austin and in Colorado.

Pam at Digging introduced us to this book and I am so thankful she did. I tracked it down at a local bookstore and sat mesmorized for the next 30 minutes. Have you ever lost yourself in a book before?

It's a small book, but packs over 295 fantastic illustrations into 234 pages, some of which are from Texas gardens. The text and topics are excellent. I'm definitely getting this book!

by Stephen Orr

Rodale Press 2011

This is probably where it all began and the title tells all. This book has stood the test of time and was published in 1997. It's still in print! That's saying a lot for a landscaping book. I must warn you that these are not gardens with over-the-top flower scenes. The gardens pictured are filled with the subtle beauty of native plants. Many of the flowers are smaller and at first you think the gardens need more. But the point of the book is this: you CAN have an all native flower and foliage garden. Most of us have opted for a blended garden, but it's nice to see where the native path will take you.

by Sally & Andy Wasowski

188 pages/ 274 illustrations/ Taylor Trade Publishing 1997/ reprinted and now in paperback

That's it! Happy Gardening.

David/ :-)

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY ~ MY FANTASY FORECAST MAP FOR THIS REGION

2011-08-10T09:19:00.001-05:00

My Fantasy Forecast for August.... A rare cold front pushing in from Canada collides with Tropical Storm "Flora" in the Gulf of Mexico. A second Pacific low pressure system moves in from Mexico and dumps even more rain on the area. There's a 100% chance of rain for the next two weeks. Temperatures will struggle to reach 80 each day. Happy Dreaming. :-) David

map courtesy of Wikipedia

Note: We've had only 10.82" of our normal 50" for the year.

IF YOU LIVE IN TEXAS, YOU MAY WANT TO BUY AGAVES & SUCCULENTS & NATIVE GRASSES

2011-08-09T22:06:00.001-05:00

I think brown is my least favorite color right now. I guess those of us in Houston, Corpus Christi, and Brownsville should at least be thankful for the green stripes.

For Lancashire Rose:

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS LONGHORN VERSION OF MAP:

BURNT ORANGE AREA NEAR AUSTIN

:-)