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Did not mean for the Turks Cap to take up the whole page.  Anyway, that is what a Turks Cap looks like.  The hummingbirds love the little yellow stamen that stick off the bloom.  The honeybees, however, tunnel into the flower to the center.  I did not know this and was watching one in the plant one day and he landed, circled the flower to the edge of the swirl, nosed his way in and disappeared.  It was fascinating.  I also discovered that bumble bees love flat top zinnias.  I watched one on a huge red bloom for over 5 minutes before he left.  I find nature amazing.  I have possums come through my yard.  I have raccoons come through my yard.  They get all the pomgranites.  They also get into my compost bin along with the squirrels.  I have owls visit my yard.  And somewhere in the neighborhood, we have a barn owl and he sound so beautiful early in the evening.  And I have some tiny birds we call teapops.  I don't know what the real name is, but they are tiny and have such a wonderful song. 

I took down the hummingbird feeders,but I am going to put one back up.  A lady in Dallas had one visit her yard this week and it is really cold there.  So I may still have some in my area.  If not, maybe the bees will eat the nectar.  I also need to get an oriole feeder.  We now have those here. 

Back at it.

Finally have some time to do what I want which is garden.  I spent the morning cleaning up my yard from summer, building a brush pile for the birds and trimming up my roses.  I had to take up some Lantana.  I have it all over my yard.  So I dug it up and found a home for it.  I do love that bush.  It does so well here.  It stinks to high heaven, but the butterflies love it.  And the flowers are beautiful.  Turks Caps are another shrub in my yard and both can be invasive if you don't control them. 

Been awhile.

I have been really busy.  I have a large stand of lemon mint, wild, in the back yard.  It comes up every year and I leave it for the bees.  When it first started blooming, no bees.  Now it is covered with young bumblebees.  Add to that, my flower bed is coming along.  I am impatient.  I want it filled now.  But that takes time.  The dianthias are really coming along and covered with blooms.  I planted a hibiscus last year when I first started the bed.  I thought it had died.  Low and behold it did not and it has sprouted from the root and is coming right along.  I have a bunch of roses to put out.  I am going to Lowe's tomorrow and buy a bunch of plants to put in there.  I also have a Texas hibiscus coming up that I thought had died. 

If you are gardening in Texas, please us native plants.  We have such a huge selection of them.  I have tickweed, Lambs ear, standing cypress, salvia, daisies, spider plants.  And I have planted and it is sprouting now, amarath.  It is called Kiss me over the Garden Gate.  It is an heirloom plant.  You will love it.  And a good place to get natives is Wildseed Farms at www.wildseedfarms.com.  It is located in Fredricksburg, Texas.  Also, I buy from High Country Gardens at www.highcountrygardens.com.  You can't beat natives.  As to trees, stay away from Bradford Pear.  It is a trash tree and will take over your yard.  Even when you take it out, you have to kill the root system or every root will sprout hundreds of shoots.  I'm battling that now.  My pick for where I am is the water oaks I have in the front yard.  I talked with an arborist about my trees.  He told me that there is almost nothing that will attack a water oak and they will get 120 feet high.  He also told me that my burr oak is in good shape.  I also have a pecan that my daughter planted about 5 years ago that is doing good.  Point is always use trees suited for your area and consider the mature height as well.  I have no electric lines around my house so that is not a problem for me.  However, my entire front yard is in deep shade.  Not that I mind.  I love it.  Always plant shurbs for the wildlife, you know, the birds.  I have a bunch of holly bushes that offer shelter in winter and I am planting a cedar for them.  My son hates the cedar because he is allergic, but they are great shelter for birds.  Take care of nature and nature will take care of us.

Flower beds

Well, I have one huge flower bed out back now that I no longer have the Bradford pear tree.  However, I do have suckers popping up from the surface roots.  I am going to drill the stump, fill it with Epsom Salts and let those salts take care of the roots.  Safest way to do it.  My front yard is really dense shade.  I love it.  I am planting clover in my back yard tomorrow.  I am tired of the weeds and no decent grass.  Clover will grow close to the ground and still bloom.  Bees love int. 

These are some of the plants I have in the back.  I planted them last fall.  I never expected them to last through the winter, but they did. Didn't even blink when it froze.  And now they are in bloom along with the wild flowers I have planted. 

Spring planting

I had planted broccoli plants in a huge pot because I knew that as soon as it turns hot here in Texas, the broccoli will go.  So I had about 8 plants in this pot.  The heads were beginning to make.  I saw jock laying on the ground eating something and went out to see what it was.  He will eat anything so I have to always watch him.  He had pulled up one of the broccoli plants and was having a feast on the broccoli.  He loves veggies and this is not the first time he has done this.  Last year I planted strawberries in pots.  I had about 10 large pots of strawberries and they were blooming and beginning to make berries.  I was watching them and figured I would get quite a few fresh berries.  Then I noticed as soon as they were ripe, they disappeared.  I thought it could not be birds because they would leave the stem.  And I didn't think squirrels would get them.  Then I caught Jock with his nose in one of the pots looking for berries.  He and Honey ate all the strawberries. 

I put out a lot of plants for the bees.  I have Coneflowers, zinnias, a lot of various flowers and I planted a butterfly bush today.  I already have bee balm filling a front flowerbed.  I also have Lemon Mint that comes up in the back yard and bees love it.  I have several Lantanas, hibiscus, hollys.  Everything I have put in my year is for the bees and butterflies.  I even tolerate butterfly weed and my momma hated it.  I am thinking I may get a mason bee house.  I don't use any poisons in my yard because bumblebees live in the ground and spraying the yard will kill them.  I  am trying to do my bit to save the planet.  Now if everyone would pitch in, we could do it. 

texas weather.

Texas weather, like the weather across the south, kinda does what it wants.  We have winter one  day, spring the next.  And we are still  very wet.  My yard was just dry enough to run the lawnmower over, yes we mow our lawns in winter here, and it rained again.  I have never seen it this wet in this area before.  From September through December, we had as much rainfall as we would normally get in an entire year.  We had around 40 inches of rain.  That is our yearly total.  Anyway, now some trees are putting out pollen and new leaves.  Easter is not until April 21 this year so another freeze could happen and if it does, it will damage those trees.  And that is another first.  I have never seen Easter this late in the spring before.  Climate change is already causing havoc with our plant life and I suspect with animal life as well.  We are seeing things grow here that would not have grown in the past.

On an upnote, all my snowdrops are blooming along with my daffodils.  I have put out a ton of daylillies as well.  Hopefully they will all bloom.  And my roses are blooming.  I dragged all my poinsettas inside.  We had one or two nights of freezing weather.  Now they are back out on the patio.  They make wonderful potted plants.  They will grow and bloom every year if you give them the right amount of water and light.  They like bright light and moist, but not wet soil.  The blooms will not be as spectacular as the greenhouse ones, but they will be vivid red.  And they will make a small shrub in that pot.  They can reach 3 feet or better and no they are not poisonous to cats contrary to popular belief.  The most they will do is cause vomiting.  So keep those Christmas plants and enjoy for years.

Getting ready for spring.

I am writing this for Texas gardners.  Now is the time to get everything ready for spring planting.  Or you can put out winter vegetables.  I have broccoli, spinach, swiss chard, garlic, bunching onions and have planted mustard.  These are all cool weather plants.  Farther north, you can plant sweet peas.  They will grow and produce in the cold.  They will not grow in the Texas heat.  However, most herbs will grow in the heat of Texas.  I have a pot of Sage and it has weathered one freeze.  So did my garlic chives.  I have parley growing but I bought it already started.  I have never had much luck with parsley, so we will see.  I just planted a pot of basil.  It is coming up nicely.  I have a sun room that I keep the basil and lemon tree in along with my poinsettas and Christmas cactus.  Every thing else is left out on the patio.  So get growing, people.  I will list a bunch of so-called weeds that are very nutritious.  The most common one is dandelion.  All parts of the plant are useful.  Use the blooms and leaves in salads.  Dig the root, dry it and grind it up for tea.  You can also dry Yaupon leaves for tea.  It makes a great tea.  But do not use the Yaupon berries.  To humans they are poison.  Birds love them.