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Right beneath your nose

Barbara Elmore — Tue, 31 May 2011 00:36:05 GMT

Sometimes the solution to a dilemma is sitting right in front of you and you miss it. For me, it took almost a year to realize that the answer to my question of what to plant to hide the edging around my patio was sitting right in my front yard, under an oak tree.

Artemisia.

I have planted this beauty in several gardens, and repeatedly remind myself to use it more often. Its lacy texture, silvery color and woodsy fragrance are unbeatable. Reportedly deer will make it one of the last items on their menu. Also a plus for those of us gardening in, once again, a summer of extreme drought in Texas: Artemisia is drought-tolerant.

Now I am growing this pretty, fragrant plant around the border of my patio, thanks to a two-for-one sale of 4-inch pots at a local nursery. If you are interested in artemisia, here is a bit of information:

When I went to a landscape workshop a few years back, it populated the garden of the church that hosted the workshop, a good example of what to grow in the sandy soils of the Hill Country. It is in the asteraceae family, which includes the daisy, aster and sunflower. There are between 200 and 400 species of artemisia that we know of.

Artemisia is a native of the Mediterranean and takes its name from a Greek botanist and medical researcher. It is a herbaceous perennial. That means its stems are soft and will die back to the ground in colder areas. In some climates, it is evergreen.

Although it is not a Texas native, don't let that keep you from using it if you are trying to grow plants that do not need much water. It's just too good to pass up, as it looks great next to a variety of plants, requires little care except for cutting back in the spring to keep it from being too leggy, and has the reputation of growing up fast. It can get 2 to 4 feet high and up to 6 feet wide.

It likes full sun but will also tolerate some shade. Just don't give it much water, especially in the shade. In a former landscape, I had it planted in three places. All got full sun but two got more water than the third. Guess which one flourished; yep, the driest one. Try to partner it with companion plants that have similar water needs.

Finally, know that some varieties of artemisia have been used as an insecticide, to treat internal parasites and in liquers. It is also known as wormwood.

'I'm kind of winging it.'

Barbara Elmore — Thu, 26 May 2011 20:34:43 GMT

Not sure if Butterfly Wrangler Liz Cannedy meant to make that pun when she gave me the details about her free Butterfly Gardening Workshop at 10 a.m. Saturday in Austin, but there it is:

"I'm kind of winging it," she told me.

I am guessing she used the term intentionally, knowing her. At any rate, if you are out and about in the Austin area this Saturday morning, May 28, and want excellent information about butterfly gardening, it's worth a trip to Snooper's Nursery, 3602 Kiphen Road. Liz used to manage the Butterfly Haus at Fredericksburg's Wildseed Farms, and although she does not like to be called an "expert," because the word carries so much responsibility, she is an encyclopedia of information. She plans to show bordered patch caterpillars and their host plant, the sunflower. She also may have some pipevines.

The biggest question she will be answering is the one that visitors to Wildseed's butterfly garden used to ask workers most often as they strolled through the magical environment of lush plants and hundreds of colorful butterflies: "How do I attract caterpillars and butterflies to my garden?"

The quick answer is that you grow the right plants for the butterflies to lay eggs on -- plants that you don't mind getting stripped, because that's what caterpillars do -- and the right plants for butterflies to feed on. Often these plants, known as host plants and nectar plants, are different. Occasionally they are the same. For example, the monarch both nectars and lays her eggs on the milkweed plant. But butterflies like lots of different plants for nectar -- blue mist flower comes to mind -- and will even feed on rotten bananas and sap from trees. They are much pickier when it comes to the plants they will lay their eggs on, because once the eggs hatch, the caterpillars will eat this host plant to survive.

So take your questions and take notes to the 10 a.m. Saturday workshop, because this is a rare opportunity. Liz has been successfully raising caterpillars and butterflies since her son was a young child, and he is all grown up now. And ask her what her next step is in raising butterflies. She has big plans.

Asthma doesn't have to rule your life

Barbara Elmore — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 02:27:00 GMT

OK, this is not strictly about gardening, but it does relate. Bear with me and you will see how to connect the dots.

As a lifetime sufferer of asthma, I find myself drawn to research and to stories about children with asthma. My knowledge of asthma, and the desire to tell children who have it that there is something that will help them, prompted me to write a novel for young adults about it -- Breathing Room, published in 1993 by Royal Fireworks Press, which received the Texas Institute of Letters' best book for children award.

The theme of Breathing Room is that asthma doesn't have to rule your life. This is an important message for asthmatic children to hear repeatedly, but adults in their lives -- parents, grandparents, guardians, teachers, counselors, doctors, nurses, etc. -- have to help back up the notion that children can get control over their asthma.

Medicine that controls asthma is a relatively new development. The disease, which is inflammation of the airway that restricts breathing, pretty much did rule my childhood. There were many sick days for me and high medical bills for my parents. I lived for the outdoors, loved animals, and enjoyed running, playing, riding horses and climbing trees. But at certain times of the year, or times of the day, or at night (especially at night), the smallest activity could knock me on my backside. A cedar Christmas tree ruined one Christmas Eve for my family. Stuffed animals had to go. But even inactive in a dust-free home, I often could not breathe. My parents struggled to find answers. Allergy tests revealed that I was allergic to practically everything that moved or grew, and even things that did neither.

Doctors began a routine of allergy shot therapy that lasted for years. My father learned to give me shots weekly, which helped somewhat, and I am on allergy therapy to this day. But my asthma was not managed until one of many allergists I have known prescribed a preventive inhaler and showed me how to use it. I believe now as I did then that it was a miracle drug.

So I am dismayed, in 2011, to see both adults and children who don't know about this miracle. The only reason that I can think of for this is lack of key information. And, perhaps, the expense of the medicine.

By the time I wrote Breathing Room, my asthma was managed. The inhalers I use to manage it are not the same as "rescue" inhalers. Those are medicines that open the airways immediately when you are having an attack. Corticosteroids, which I take, are designed to prevent an attack. Although I always keep a rescue inhaler, most of them expire before I can use them more than once or twice.

New types of inhalers have come out since my first introduction to them. I've used several kinds. But the bottom line is that they prevent the attacks that chronic asthma sufferers experience. They make you feel well. In fact, I once believed that my asthma was "cured" because I had not had an attack in years. So I delayed filling a prescription, only to find out quickly that not only was my asthma NOT cured, but that I had been extremely foolish to think so.

Fast forward to 2011. More people have asthma now. While I knew almost no one else who had it when I was a child, now I regularly read and hear about children suffering from it. A former colleague had asthma and used a deadly over-the-counter spray to relieve his symptoms. When I told him about my preventive inhaler, he replied that nothing ever worked for him.

How many others believe that? The Centers for Disease Control say there are 17.5 million "non-institutionalized" adults in the United States with asthma and more than seven million children. We all probably know someone with asthma. So, if you know a child -- or even an adult -- with uncontrolled asthma that is ruling his or her life, will you please tell that person that it doesn't have to be that way?

For the stalwarts who stuck with this essay to see if it really DID relate to gardening, here is the connection: I would not be a gardener if it were not for my asthma medicine. I would not have dogs. I would not be able to hike routinely. I might not be a writer because it's pretty hard to do anything when you are struggling to breathe. I might even be dead, because uncontrolled asthma does kill people. It is bad for the heart and other organs.

One last note for researchers studying the effects of inhaled steroids on children: I am glad you are looking at the side effects of long-term use of these medicines on children, and I hope you eventually find a cure for asthma. But please do keep in mind that most asthmatic children would probably trade several inches in height for being able to breathe well enough to walk up a flight of stairs. And most adults would probably greet the news of osteoporosis with the same attitude I did. I can strengthen my bones -- and my lungs -- if only I can breathe.

Another class for Central Texas gardeners

Barbara Elmore — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 16:42:00 GMT

For Texas gardeners who want to know how to grow better tomatoes and other edibles, a mid-February seminar in Austin, Texas, comes to the rescue.

And it's FREE.

"Planning and Planting the Spring Vegetable Garden" will be from 10 a.m. to noon Feb. 12 at Sunshine Community Gardens , 4814 Sunshine Drive, near the intersection of Lamar Boulevard and 45th Street. Park on the street.

The seminar is described as a "hands-on" session covering plant and seed selection, tips for increased germination, spacing and other practices that help ensure gardening success.

A nurseryman tells me that although his business has been down the last few years, he is seeing an increase in vegetable-growing customers and has planted his grounds to accommodate them. People are buying seeds, onions and potatoes, he said. The practice of growing your own food will likely increase as more people plant fruits and vegetables to save money and to provide their family with safe foods that have not been contaminated in the growing, handling or shipping process.

Sunshine Community Gardens, a nonprofit, occupies about 3 acres in north central Austin. Look for its spring plant sale of tomatoes, peppers and eggplant from 9-5 on March 5.

What to do about grass burrs

Barbara Elmore — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 22:37:00 GMT

A reader sent an SOS this week asking if I knew of an organic solution to the grass burrs that have overtaken her "back 40."

I personally have not communed with grass burrs since I was a barefoot child. We called them stickers, and they are a big part of the ecosystem in the Texas Hill Country.

When you are young and barefoot, you learn that running very fast through stickers reduces the risk of getting them in your feet. There is probably a sage explanation for this, but I don't know what it is. I just know this from years of childhood experience.

Once I moved away from the "country," I did not need this information. And I don't feel like it's a very promising answer to give people now. Meanwhile, I have noticed that stickers are plentiful here and are especially bad during the fall and winter. Walking my dogs around town, I try to avoid certain "wild" places that they like to sniff. In turn, they have learned to lift up their paws for me to pull out the unavoidable stickers.

A garden expert has told me that corn gluten meal, applied in April, should help reduce the stickers next fall and winter. He also passed along a tip about enhancing the soil as well as an idea for collecting these little thorns when you mow.

But I am still researching grass burr solutions, so if any gardening readers have an idea that has worked, please leave your comments here or send an e-mail to barbara@digandletdig.com

More details on this topic will be coming in the Jan. 31 newsletter.

Growing avocados

Barbara Elmore — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 03:38:00 GMT

Here's another garden event for people in the San Antonio-Hill Country area: At 7 p.m. Jan. 20, Bill Schneider of Devine will talk to Guadalupe County Master Gardeners about how to grow avocados. He's been growing them since 1983.

Schneider is a retired state employee and one of several people growing avocados in Texas.

The program will be at the Texas AgriLife Extension Office at 210 East Live Oak in Seguin. Call 830-303-3889 for more information.

You can read more about avocados as a Texas crop here .

2nd annual Peach Tree Planting Day

Barbara Elmore — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 17:07:00 GMT

Are you within the sound of my voice?

Second annual Peach Tree Planting Day will begin at 9 a.m. Feb. 26 at Vogel Orchard in Fredericksburg, Texas. If you are interested in attending, call the orchard at 830-456-2337. You can also send an e-mail to info@vogelorchard.com

Dig and Let Dig is planning to be there. We attended the first one last year and almost froze our toes off at the (mostly) outdoor event. But we learned lots of valuable lessons, and the peach trees we planted are thriving.

Registration for this year's event cost $45 and includes information, a barbecue lunch and three bare-root peach trees. Additional trees are available for sale. If you want to bring a family member or friend, pay an additional $17.50 and they can come, too. Registration slots are limited to allow for better interaction. Reservations are taken on a first-come, first-served basis, and the Vogels say they had to turn away some people last year.

The picture of a blooming peach tree on DALD's home page came from last year's Peach Tree Planting Day.

Red pepper chairs

Barbara Elmore — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 20:51:00 GMT

If you have anything plastic, you should know about Fusion paint for plastic. It's a great way to give old furniture, toys, decor -- just about anything you can think of -- a new look.

Fusion appeared on Dig and Let Dig's radar when fellow gardeners talked about how well it covered the neon blue shade of the rain collection barrels, formerly soft drink barrels, that we had purchased. Many of them found a shade of Fusion that blended with their homes.

If you are intimidated by spray paint, practice on small things first. Get some instruction from an expert if you can. Then just do it.

The cool thing about spray paint is that it can be forgiving if you are, like some people (me!) a spray-paint goofup. The paint either globs on or does not cover. But I had help from the spray-paint guru in my family -- my spouse.

With about 30 colors available, Dig and Let Dig chose Red Pepper for the redo of two plastic patio chairs and a small table. Energized by the name and encouraged by limited globby mistakes, we worked our way through it. The project took five cans of paint, and the results include two brand-new looking, bright red chairs and matching table. They are cheerful. The paint job is not uniformly perfect, but it works.

See the repainted red chairs above. The faded green chairs, pre-Red Pepper spray paint, are in a photo here. .
Here is what you should know about Fusion Paint for Plastic if you want to try it:

The surface requires cleaning, but no priming.

You can also use Fusion on wood, metal, wicker, wrought iron, glass, plaster, ceramic, paper and papier mache.

Fusion is quick and easy for a spray-paint beginner to use. The paint dries to the touch in 15 minutes and is chip-resistant after seven days.

Paint outdoors if possible, to avoid prolonged exposure to paint fumes.

Spray paint on a windless day.

Wear a mask if you have one.

Fusion comes in diverse colors. A can costs between $5 and $6. It took one can to finish the small table, and two cans for each chair -- less than $30 and a few minutes painting.

Pace-yourself patio

Barbara Elmore — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:38:00 GMT

We are a society consumed by how much time something takes, and I am as consumed as the next person. I realized this as I kept reading articles about how to build my own patio. My eyes were continually drawn to the paragraphs that said I could finish in one or two weekends.

Wow! Start on a Friday and enjoy the patio by Monday. It sounded too good to be true.

It was. But as I realized during the building process, the getting there was as good as the going -- much like gardening. And after adding up the person-hours that my building partner (my sister) and I spent building the 10-by-20-foot patio, we noted that we could have completed the project in two days as it took about 40 hours. We just didn't want to kill ourselves doing it. So our patio took about five weeks from start to finish with two people working two or three hours at a time, several days a week. Some weeks we found no time to work at all.

I learned that although it is good to know how long a task should take so that you can make sure you are not leaving out or adding steps, time is not the most important aspect. Learning to do something, discovering what you are good and not-so-good at, and spending time with someone you enjoy all share equal importance.

Want to do your own? Here is what we did:

Determine where you want to build your patio and what size you want it to be. You will use this size when purchasing materials. Some people excavate soil to build. Since ours adjoins an existing back porch, we did not excavate but built on top of the soil.

If you are building over warm-season grass, do it in the winter or early spring, before your grass is growing. You will need weed cloth, edging material, rock, sand and gravel.

Buy weed cloth in a bulk roll so you can overlap the edges. Roll it out to desired size and cut to fit. Anchor with landscape pins. Try to leave at least 1 inch on the outside of the edging.

Install edging. We used a recycled material that resembles plastic and comes in a roll. We had to buy extra anchor pins for it; too few came with the package. Use anchor pins about every foot. You may think you can use the pins that come with the weed cloth. We found them to be too lightweight to hold edging in place.

Put sand on top of the weed cloth about 2-3 inches deep, depending on how tall you want your patio to be, and rake smooth. Spray sand with water, then tamp down. Note: Patio builders argue about whether to compact the sand before laying the rocks. We compacted ours somewhat to keep it from shifting. If you have enough muscle, you can use a roller to compact it. My husband built a tool for tamping -- a pole with a large wooden rectangle on the bottom -- that I could use, rather than a heavy roller.

The fun stuff! Begin putting in the rocks. You decide the shape and size. We alternated sizes and placed the rocks about 1/2 inch to an inch apart. Sometimes we left more space, sometimes less.

Level rocks as you go, using a carpenter's level. Determine whether you have low spaces and build up low spots with sand. Note: When built, patio and edging should be the same height. If not, people will trip.

Once your rocks are in place, tamp down again.

Haul in decomposed granite. You can also use this to level if you need to. Place it in the cracks between the rocks. Once you have swept it all in, spray with water and tamp again if necessary. Note: Your rocks should not move once the granite dries. Let sit overnight to let granite and rocks settle. Add more granite as necessary to make sure rocks, dirt and edging are the same height. Spray again with water. Granite dries very hard. Keep some on hand for repairs.

Wondering if you are physically able to do this? My sister and I proved that two women of average size and ability can lift heavy rocks if they work together and pace themselves.

You can see pictures of the completed patio here.

Not in my front yard!

Barbara Elmore — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:56:00 GMT

It's that time of year when rueful gardeners look at their front yards and wished they'd remembered which plants die in the cold of winter and which one are evergreen. Not that you don't plant things that winter kills...but I like my landscape a lot better if the dead plants (the ones that look like kelp right now,according to an apt description from a gardening friend) spend the winter in a less obvious spot than abutting the front sidewalk.

Dead plants in the front yard were not a problem for me until lately. The front bed at a previous house was shaded by a giant oak on one side and a giant pecan on the other. Lariope, which outlined the bed in a scalloped pattern, grew tall enough to hide almost any plant that died back in the winter.

But I had such a hard time getting any plant I liked to grow in the partial sun of that bed that it remained bare, off and on, until the last year we lived there. That's when my sister thinned her cast iron plants and we loaded big muddy buckets of them in my car for transplanting.

When we moved in the summer, the cast iron was thriving although growing slowly. I assume it is still, although I have not checked lately.

When the weather turned sunny and warm over the weekend, I went to work with the bypass loppers, whacking everything back--the Mexican petunias (which some people don't like because they are invasive), the lantana, the Texas Star hibiscus, the Mexican firespike, the Lady in Red sage, the Mexican mint marigold--even the Russian sage. Earlier I had cut back the Maximilian sunflower because it had gotten quite lazy, lying prone as if inviting the dogs to munch on its leaves. Although I won't move my tall, purple-blooming Mexican petunias to another part of the yard, I will try to plant some evergreens nearby next year.

In fairness, I have to note the plants that do not look like kelp, despite the sub-20 temperatures of last week: Jerusalem sage, which is a new plant for me this year, remains a happy green. So I will forgive it for not blooming as much this spring as its relatives planted elsewhere. Maybe next year?

Others that still bear green foliage: Mexican oregano, rosemary, winecup, columbine, cherry sage, El Dorado sage, ice plant (although it looks a bit anemic), and even the day lilies I transplanted to the front yard. I'm not sure which of these will make it to late March, however. As always, gardening is an experiment.

Red berries on the fence

Barbara Elmore — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:36:00 GMT

The ruby-red berries of the Carolina Snailseed vine catch your attention first. They look juicy and inviting, much like the summer-ripening agarita berries my grandmother loved to gather for jelly.

Beware. Snailseed berries are for the birds--not good for people, some sources say. I won't be testing the accuracy of that, but will gladly leave them to the wildlife that needs them. Isn't it interesting, though, that I could easily gather these not-so-good berries but had to wear heavy gloves and long sleeves (in summer!) to pick the tasty agarita beauties, as their leaves will pierce the skin.

Carolina Snailseed vine, aka Cocculus carolinus, leapt into our consciousness this fall because the berries appeared in showy clusters on a section of backyard fence we share with neighbors. We didn't notice them last fall, our first one here, perhaps because of the drought...or maybe they were there and we were just too busy to see. The green and glossy heart-shaped leaves of the vine are pretty, too, but they play a supporting role to the berries' star status.

After reading about the vine and taking its picture, I discovered it featured in Jan Wrede's Trees, Shrubs and Vines of the Texas Hill Country. Then, as if it were a recently discovered friend, I began to see it all over as I walked the streets of my neighborhood. It mostly climbs untended fences and grows in sections of yards that have been left to nature. A brief description on the Dirt Doctor site notes that the plant is nice-looking but can be invasive and advises not to get it started in the first place. But Wrede describes it as "an important food source for migrant songbirds," and adds that cedar waxwings will strip the berries clean in early spring.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, in its plant information database, says Carolina Snailseed likes both sun and a sun-shade mix; is a semi-evergreen perennial; is drought, insect and disease tolerant; is easy to propagate; and provides food and cover for for upland game birds, waterfowl and nongame birds. Its range, says Wrede, is Texas east to Florida and north to Kansas and Illinois. You can also find it in northern Mexico.

Once again I find "invasive" to be in the eye of the beholder. My plan is to transplant this pretty,thornless vine in the front yard in the spring. Maybe in a few years it will be climbing the fence there, too.

Greening of South Texas

Barbara Elmore — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:11:48 GMT

Lake Wood recreational area near Gonzales

Crisscrossing the highways and farm-to-market roads in South Texas this week, I saw newly green fields and standing water in ditches. September has been a good month for rain. More is needed to fill up the rivers, lakes and ponds, but as one person said, it will happen. I've heard reports of an inch or two or more here and there, but nothing like the treacherous waters in other parts of the state and country.

In Fredericksburg, my rain gauge has registered more than 11 inches since Sept. 11. That includes more than four inches just this week, when a cool front brought storms just as the soil was drying out from heavy rains Sept. 10-12.

The first rainfall prompted me to break out the beneficial nematodes, bought last May and kept in the refrigerator. They control numerous bugs, from borers and beetles to maggots and weevils, but I wanted them for fire ant control. The directions said to apply them to wet grass after sundown (they are apparently related to vampires since sunlight kills them), and then to water them in. Since we were getting showers regularly, I soaked them for a half hour as the directions said and applied two boxes on different nights.

Applying the first batch, I could see I had more mounds than sparkly-muddy nematode mix to treat them with, so I used too little on too many mounds. The mounds that got the strongest dose disappeared. The latter ones just looked like busy ant mounds decorated with sparkles. With another box of nematodes waiting, I used it a few days later. Most of the treated mounds disappeared, but new ones popped up. Frustrated, I next used spinosad. That worked, too, where applied. Mounds are still appearing, however, and I have just about expended all my patience, not to mention money, on this problem.

One of the sources I interviewed for a story about a completely different subject advised me to try corn meal. That's next on my list. When I find a non-toxic answer to these fiery little pests--other than boiling water, which is effective but has several downsides--I will post it here. If you want to try the nematodes, check them out at the Orcon website. You will find other products there too.

With cooler weather, it's time to make a list of fall gardening goals--or just get going. My list includes seed planting, shade gardening and fire ant moving. The heirloom pink poppy seeds an old friend gave me are on the ground. I followed his instructions to the letter: "Just throw them out the end of September and leave them alone. And don't pull them up thinking they are weeds next spring." A light shower followed my devil-may-care tossing.

Also, this is a good time to get in on the rain barrel movement. Hill Country Master Gardeners is still making and selling them. So are other groups. If you don't have a barrel yet, search out the deals. You can get barrels only or barrels fitted to rain harvester specs.

Frogs and toads and things

Barbara Elmore — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:52:00 GMT

OK, let's just say for purposes of discussion that I was going to catch a toad or a frog in my very wet back yard. More about the wetness later, because that's big news for us. It's the toads I am thinking about now. I have seen four in the last two days. Well, maybe only three, because I have not gotten close enough in the evening twilight nor the pre-dawn darkness to introduce myself. But I know I have seen at least three and probably four because of their different sizes and where they've been hiding.

Since I have not seen toads in ever so long, I went hunting for frog information. That's when I found compelling facts about how to catch one if you are inclined to do so. According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's "rules of frogging," you should hold them by the top of the legs. That's where the leg meets the body.

Don't know why I would want to hold one, as they are a bit slimy and their skins hold toxins, but I will file this fact away for future reference. Who knows when it may come in handy?

Mostly what I wanted to know is why I am seeing more toads now, and what I found was that they come out more when it's wet. They are also an indicator of a healthy environment, which is what we strive for here, using chemicals sparingly if at all.

If you are a teacher or parent of young children, here's a website with a fun test you can give your students/children about how frogs and toads tell us if the environment is healthy.

Other facts, if you are interested:

Is it a frog or a toad? According to tooter4kids.com, frogs are moist and slimy and toads are dry and warty. Frogs jump, toads walk. There are more similarities and differences, but I think my tenants are toads.
Not much is known about the frog's lifespan, but some estimates say it's between four and 15 years.
Frogs hibernate in the winter and they don't freeze because of glucose in their vital organs. This, according to Scientific American.com
Frogs help us by eating insects, by donating their bodies to science so that young students learn anatomy, and by providing researchers with a place to test drugs. Also, some people like to eat frog legs. I don't, but that's just me.

About the wetness that brought out the frogs in the first place...it's been wet off and on here in the Texas Hill County for several days--no really big downpours. But after two hours this afternoon, my rain gauge held 4.5 inches. It runneth over at 6. Stay tuned. Soon as the water in the back yard goes down, I'm going out to look for more frogs.

Wear gloves and carry a big hoe

Barbara Elmore — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:23:00 GMT

Those who attended my mother's wake a couple years ago heard the story about her killing rattlesnakes in her veggie garden and hanging their dead carcasses on the fence, perhaps as a warning to others. I don't know why she hung them there or how long they stayed. I just knew that she killed them with a hoe and went on with her weeding, and that I was particularly glad at that moment in time not to be a rattlesnake. It's fun to romanticize Tillie as one of a dying breed, and she was. But honestly, there are women out there just as strong today in other ways.

What makes me think of biting things is the less-lethal grasshopper that bit me yesterday at work. I can hear you now. "A biting grasshopper? Really?"

That's what my co-worker, Emily, said, when I told her. "Really? So THAT'S what I heard," she said, referring to my yell. (And how glad I am that I was yelling out of startlement and not because I needed help.)

We often catch grasshoppers in the butterfly garden with our bare hands because fast work is needed. These guys prey on other insects, like butterflies. They can jump 10 times their length if they are going vertical and 20 times their length if leaping laterally. A person who could do this could clear a five-story building, or bound the length of a football field in three jumps, according to an article on Time.com. So, we butterfly belles see a grasshopper and grab--whether we are wearing garden gloves or not. We might try to play tricks on each other--like handing it off--but we don't do that twice with any success.

Anyway, I was not wearing gloves and happened to see the offending insect outside the entrance to our climate-controlled chrysalis room. He was small, and I grabbed without thinking. And I likely will not do that again because the little guy bit me in the V of the hand between the thumb and index finger. It did not draw blood but it left a red mark and it hurt.

I am ashamed to say what happened next was not butterfly garden behavior at its finest. I yelled, flung him off, spotted him in the dirt and stepped on him. We are more Zen than this, usually. Much bigger hoppers than this one have sat quietly in my hand while I have carried them outside, to freedom. Had this one done the same, he would be alive today. In fact, a large one I caught later in a butterfly net and set free is probably hopping happily as I write this.

So, all your gardeners who did not know that grasshoppers bite--be forewarned. Wear gloves. And carry a big hoe, if it suits you.

The devil's in the details

Barbara Elmore — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 18:42:00 GMT

I have laughed with one of my coworkers at our off-work behavior after spending endless days in the butterfly garden: We find ourselves chasing after small flying insects even in our cars, lest they be threatening parasites. We keep a watchful eye out for ants, grasshoppers and lizards--all threats to butterflies. And I have repeated these words so often this summer that I find myself thinking them as I drift off to sleep: "Please stay on the path; please don't touch the butterflies...stay on the path...don't touch the butterflies....stay on the path...don't touch the butterflies."

Almost seven months into my stint as a butterfly garden attendant, I have gone from loving the job to liking it. Two reasons for that: 1. The relentless Texas heat. 2. Visitors who forget or ignore the rules, and (ok, 2.5 reasons) 2B: children who compete to see who can "catch" the most butterflies.

2 and 2B make up the minority of visitors, but they what they don't have in numbers, they overcompensate for with intensity. Their behavior is powerful enough to sap all the joy from their visits--and I am sure they think of me in similar terms as I follow them through the garden like a store cop watching for shoplifters. All that's missing is my uniform, badge and shoulder radio.

I don't like being a garden cop any more than they like being followed by one. But my job is to protect the butterflies, whose wings are essentially made of dust and whose legs make toothpicks look robust. This is why, when we see hands hovering or grabbing over the flowers, trying to snatch a butterfly off a bloom, we announce in a voice that's as friendly as possible: "We don't take the butterflies off the plants."

The reaction varies. Some people immediately stop and apologize, often saying they didn't know. Others pretend not to hear and keep at it. Some get mad and walk out.

Here's a positive memory and a lesson learned: A woman with small children brought them into the garden. The children, hypnotized by close-flying butterflies, began reaching for them. Before I could open my mouth, the woman said: "Remember, we don't touch with our hands. We touch with our eyes only." The effect on the children was immediate. They withdrew their hands and walked without grabbing. The woman stayed in control of them throughout their visit. Talking to them about the plants and the butterflies was enjoyable for all.

Of human behavior, I know these things:

Correcting adult actions is uncomfortable for other adults.
Adults who misbehave sometimes pretend not to hear if called out. Children act the same way.
An enjoyable event often turns sour when someone behaves badly and their behavior is noted.
Some parents and grandparents depend on strangers to make their children/grandchildren behave.
And, finally, some adults don't want their children saddled with rules. These are often the most frustrating, because no matter how many times you ask them not to do something, you can bet money that you will find them and /or their children repeating the behavior around the next corner.

I don't know that someone who flouts the simple rules of a butterfly garden will scoff at other, more important, rules of life. But I do have to wonder. As a colleague of mine used to say, "The devil's in the details."

St. Augustine's return

Barbara Elmore — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 17:18:00 GMT

Gardeners with crispy lawns, don't despair. If you believe that the drought will end, then you must also believe your grass will come back.

Of course worrying about the grass seems shallow when wells are dry and people are concerned about having enough water for all of us to drink. But grass is important, too, for rolling around in and walking barefoot on. We can't all go to parks for that. Also, many people bought houses with established lawns that are too expensive or difficult to replace. So we wait. And we hope.

This do-not-despair, grass-will-come-back message comes from personal experience.

About this time last year, we had lived in our home a month and the St. Augustine lawn was showing the ravages of the South Texas drought complicated by two playful dogs and a broken sprinkler system control. The control was 16 years old and not wonderful brand-new. It required the user to press tiny little buttons when trying to reprogram it. Someone, who shall go nameless, pressed too hard and it all fell apart.

Before installing a new control, we watered the lawn with hose-end sprinklers. Lots of grumbling ensued. Mostly we grumbled not because of the physical exertion of dragging a hose and sprinklers around, but because watering with manual sprinklers is a job for only the most skilled. I would explain it this way to someone new to U.S. culture: "The majority of the population uses this method to get extremely drenched while trying to adjust the spray according to directions in an ancient language printed in tiny type on the sprinkler head. Once the sprinkler is appropriately adjusted, it waters so that the grass grows a foot tall in one area and dies in another. This is one of the ways we expand our vocabulary."

Late in the summer or early fall, the sprinkler repairman installed our new control. But the repairs came too late for a small patch of grass in the back yard that gets full sun all afternoon. For some reason, this circular spot attracts the interest of our canine friends Katy and Sam. To wit, they chase each other around this small patch as if stepping outside its boundary would land them in a hot tarpit.

In short, the grass there didn't merely die. Worked over by eight little feet and nothing to drink, it left for greener pastures. And we left it alone until spring.

In April, we did three things: We transplated grass there that we dug up from newly planted flower beds; we erected a neon-orange construction fence to keep dog feet out; and we fertilized with Medina. The last was a compromise. I don't believe in fertilizing the grass because fertilizer poisons pets and wildlife and runs off into the water system. Besides, it's expensive. I believe good lawn care and mulching in grass clippings gives grass all the food it needs.

But when three close relatives, one of whom also lives here, said that fertilizer would help the new sprigs of grass grow in the bare patches--especially the dog's patch--I reconsidered. I researched organic fertilizers online. I called Woerner's, a local feed and garden store, and they recommended Medina, which the label and the folks at Woerner's said was safe and effective. I didn't know if "safe" meant ok for pets, and the label did not spell it out, so I called the company and got a thumbs up. In April I fertilized the whole yard with Medina and applied it again about a month later. Nothing died, and the grass grew.

Our bare patch started disappearing about the same time we took down the fence; the dogs learned that they could chew through it to get to the other side. We've had a little more rain this year and watered responsibly. Very little dust swirled up today when Katy and Sam tore around on their racetrack. We will likely use the last of the Medina in the fall, or perhaps early next spring.

May this little story of St. Augustine's return make your day a little brighter and your worries about the drought fewer. And may I remind you that fall is coming and you can start planting in your head.

The not-so-secret garden

Barbara Elmore — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 17:55:00 GMT

News reports a few weeks back noted that South Texas gardeners, perhaps responding to the drought, were not planting as much as usual. Perhaps that's true. But my first thought was "Don't count us out yet." Because it's also likely that South Texas gardeners were responding to the heat.

It's harder to get plants established and keep them alive when the mercury hits north of 90 degrees day after day. Gardeners traditionally don't plant things in the heat of the summer. They putter and plan for fall.

Diehard gardeners have too many good reasons not to quit: Shoveling, weeding and planting benefit our mental and physical health. Gardens contribute to our property's beauty and value. Weeding and planting lets us work out problems.

And one of the most important virtues of gardening is that it is the perfect way to meet your neighbors. In our previous home, our most public garden sat on a busy street adjacent to a street corner. In a previous essay, I called this public planting "My Secret Garden" because it harbored many secrets -- for example, the history of some of the plants.

Most came from an organic nursery, but some came from friends and neighbors. One gift in the latter category is a large showing of purple coneflowers. They came courtesy of an eccentric friend who called them “pink daisies.” She apparently gave the seeds to several people, because her pink daisies blanket the neighborhood every spring and summer. She died some years ago, but the flowers make me think of her.

Many a tidbit of interest is passed and many connections take place in gardens. I’ve learned political affiliations, how marriages are doing, where kids are going to college and who is ill. People feel free to talk in the garden. Plants don’t spread secrets.

Gardening continues at our new home, which we moved into last year. For years, with help from my sister and brother-in-law, my parents--the former residents--planted trees and beds. When we moved in, we chopped down photinia hedges too close to the house (again with the help of my sister and brother-in-law) and in the spring I made the first small attempts at planting decorative beds. Some of the flowers are new and some are trusty standbys we brought with us.

And the gardening stories have have begun anew. Nearby neighbors cross the street to ask about new plants, and vice versa. Dogs drop by to visit. We've traded tales of new adventures with next-door residents. A fellow gardener gave me a cactus from her mother's garden. A woman invited us to her church.

I drove by my old secret garden recently and noticed the lantana were celebrating with bright yellow blooms despite the August heat. So add one more thing to add to the "Why garden?" list: Gardens outlive us. Given a chance.

Gorillas and snakes in the garden

Barbara Elmore — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 17:17:00 GMT

A garden art story in today's newspaper prompts humorous memories of a plastic snake and a big gorilla. The snake has gone to plastic heaven but the gorilla, as far as I know, still graces the front yard of a graceful home.

My mother wanted the plastic snake. After my sister and I took great pains to scrub the bird poop from her porch, Mom decreed that we should position the plastic snake behind a dignified Victorian light fixture. This would fool the birds, she reasoned. Why she imagined an unmoving snake in an odd place would psych the birds was beyond our comprehension.

Turns out she was right. Birds don't take chances on snakes. After the snake began guard duty, the bird poop diminished. Now I live in the house and one of the first things I did was remove the snake, which startled me each time I entered the front door. (So yes, I took Mom's point.) These days a bird keeps trying to build a nest in the pot of an ivy plant that's in roughly the same vicinity. I merely remove the nesting material a couple times a week, hoping the bird will get the message. The bird persists, as do I.

The gorilla, a tall fellow someone dubbed Darwin, lived in the front yard of an uppercrust neighborhood as a humorous protest of neighborhood politics. He saluted each season and holiday in costume; the most timely and appropriate was a gas mask and air tank when smoke from fires set in Mexico encroached into all parts of Texas.

One of my favorite gardens in my new hometown features little creatures that wear not fur nor feathers but carefully painted resin or concrete. Yes, they are fake, but strategically placed. Yes, they are kitschy, but still interesting. If it's true that your garden art should support your garden's personality, this works. Some of the flowers are fake, too, but they look at home. Fake and real flowers seem to grow together.

Lest someone think my taste is too lenient or accepting, I cast my vote against toilet bowl art. Like an old toilet bowl stuffed with fake flowers. This questionable salute to...what?...actually sits on an important highway in Texas. Maybe its purpose is to awaken drivers on a boring road.

Why don't birds build nests in that?

Rain barrel-making 101

Barbara Elmore — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 23:03:00 GMT

Imagine the delight at our house when our newly adapted rain catchment "system" (a 55-gallon barrel) actually filled up this morning. It caught roof runoff from the 3 inches of rain we received in the wee hours, and began running out the pipe we installed as an overflow valve.

We put the barrel in place July 16, used about 10 gallons of the water on our landscape plants so far, and it's full of precious water. This is an almost immediate return on a small investment of time and money.

So it's time to get your barrels and craft your own raincatcher. You can find instructions online at different sites (Google rain barrels) or buy one already fitted with proper parts. But if you're in the DIY mode, here's a list of what you will need for a barrel like the ones that Hill Country Master Gardeners made last month in Kerrville:

55-gallon food grade poly barrel. Ours came at a good price from Dave the Barrel Man in San Antonio.
3/4-inch outdoor hose bib faucet
Roll of window screen fabric
Tube of silicone sealer
3/4-inch PVC threaded elbow
1-gallon black nursery pot

Your tools should include:

1-inch paddle drill bit
Rock wall saw
Electric drill

Step 1: Clean the container. Simply rinsing it out with water should be sufficient.

Step 2: Place the gallon nursery pot in the location you designate to catch the water flow from the roof, downspout, rain chain, etc. Trace the pot bottom and cut the hole using your saw. The cutout should be about 6 inches and the pot should fit snugly in the hole if it has a lip on the top. Do not glue or otherwise attach the pot to the barrel because you'll need to remove it to clean it or replace it.

Step 3: Cut out a piece of window screen fabric to fit in the bottom of the pot. You can also put rocks on top of the screen. The purpose of the screen is to keep debris out of your rain water. A gardening friend told me she adds rocks to help reduce mosquito larva going into the water.

Step 4: With the paddle drill, make a 1-inch hole for the hose bib or spigot. This hole should be about 4 inches from the bottom of the barrel. Thread the spigot into the hole. Then remove it, cover the thread with silicon sealant, and reinstall. Let dry.

Step 5: Install an overflow vent about an inch below the bottom of the nursery pot. Thread the 3/4-inch PVC elbow into the hole. Remove the elbow and place sealant on the threads. Reinstall. Let dry. Make sure the vent faces down instead of up, since this makes the mosquito's job of paddling around inside a bit harder.

Step. 6. Put your barrel under the downspout and wait for the rain.

Tip 1: Putting your barrel on cinderblocks or some other platform makes getting the water out easier and allows for easier access in case you need to make repairs. Do it before the rain comes because a 50-gallon barrel of water weighs about 400 pounds.

Tip 2: If you want a multi-barrel system, you can connect them using 3/4-inch PVC pipe and male and female adaptors. Place them so that the water goes into the first barrel, and position the overflow pipes to connect the barrels.

For someone who knows how to use tools, this operation should take about 45 minutes. Might take more or less time with a helper...depends on the quality of the help. Remember, not only will you save money by watering with rainwater you collect--if you happen to live in one of the more than 200 areas in Texas currently under water restrictions, you can use your barrel to keep your plants alive during the drought which is currently frying South Texas.

A star in the garden

Barbara Elmore — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:12:00 GMT

After several days working away from home, I devoted this morning to dogs and watering. My pace slowed. Perhaps that's why this Texas Star Hibiscus, Hibiscus coccineus, decided to bloom--but I like to think I would have seen it anyway since it's a show-stopper.

My cousin in California, who has not been able to grow hibiscus, asked me how big the bloom was after I sent her the photo. It's 6 inches across and almost 6 from top to bottom. Anyone reading that who grows blooms 7 inches or more will know that this is my first one. This flower went into the ground sometime in June after I bought it from a nursery owner after a program she presented to our master gardene group. I didn't think it would bloom this year, but my sister, who came to visit Sunday evening, peered at it and said a bloom was imminent.

Information from Dave's Garden also calls this plant Swamp Hibiscus, Scarlet Rose Mallow and Scarlet Hibiscus. It can take partial shade, but most of those who posted information on the plant said they have it in full sun and it grows better there. Mine is also in full sun but I did not realize until I read the information there that it takes more water than my other plants in that area. My plan is to collect the seeds and plant them in an area that gets more water, just to compare the growth. The plant is supposed to bloom from midsummer to early fall. Some people report blooms from spring through fall.

See Dave's Garden for more details, and brace yourself for knockout blooms if you decide to plant.