A watched artichoke never blooms

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Tulips and the Curb Strip

More curb strip blooms, but these are from mid-March. From the folder of garden pics that never got around to blogging. But I couldn't not share that amazing yellow center, which reminds me of a Cadbury egg "yolk". Or a child's idea of the sun. Originally, I wanted to plant drumstick allium that would peek up through the Mexican feathergrass in spring...but when I went to order them online last fall, the shipping was three times the price of the bulbs. And on principle, I ended up selecting these tulips instead from Barton Springs Nursery. They're fairly modest, with the exception of that yellow center, 8-10 inches high. I've lost the packaging, but I'm pretty sure they're Lilac Wonder. When I was originally planning this curb strip, I was looking at Piet Oudolf's amazing work and imagining a little strip of prairie running along the street: grasses with verbena bonariensis and white cosmos mixed in...something like this at Olympic Gardens. A lot to ask of a little strip of land next to plenty of foot-, dog-, and bike traffic, but a gardener can dream.

Pocket Lawn

So, who knew after spending years dealing with sprinklers and the gas mower at my old house, and the past year changing my front yard to xeriscape, that I would want to have a lawn again? But here it is, and it's small but wonderful. The sod is Zeon Zoysia, with only filtered and morning sun now that the Pecan has leafed out. I'm hoping once it gets established, it'll be a pretty low water use lawn. Obviously my dog Lloyd is a fan. Before: After: It provides a little breathing space between all the beds and denser areas and is the only outdoor surface that actually feels nice on bare feet (decomposed granite and gravel are not great to walk on without shoes). Next project: even out the concrete paver path And resolve the around and under the stairs landscape

Poppies in the curb strip

The breadseed poppies (Hungarian, Lauren's Grape and hen & chicks) are finally blooming! Between the poppies and the globe mallow, the bees are going wild. Missouri primrose at the other end of the curb strip.

Foliage Follow-up: April 2013

Fig, artichoke, Mexican feathergrass, artemisia Pale yellow firecracker fern, starting to show more red blooms Bronze fennel and blue beard Indian mallow has the softest leaves, a burgundy iris spent bloom Burgundy and green foliage of the mutabilis rose makes a beautiful backdrop to its blooms Pink indigo hiding beneath spring green foliage, partly nibbled Front to back: artemisia, Mexican feathergrass, gaura, artichoke, fig, nandina

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: April 2013

So, I'm a day late for Bloom Day, but there's lots of color in the garden right now. To start off, gaura against a backdrop of Mexican feathergrass. Mutabilis rose Getting to know what kind of irises I have planted around the house, which is very exciting. Now I have to remember to mark them, so I know what I'm dividing in the fall. Larkspur Bougainvillea and cosmos are happy to be ignored near where the cars are parked Globe mallow and blackfoot daisy in the curb strip Missouri primrose, curb strip Iris under the crepe myrtle Copper canyon More deep burgundy iris along the side of the house (my favorite color so far) To see more of what was blooming yesterday, check out May Dreams Gardens.

Old Black Magic in the Garden

So, this was a surprise. I'm not sure if it's actually an Old Black Magic iris, but that's the closest I could find when I searched images on line. The petals are more black than burgundy when not photographed in full sun. This iris is one of the dozens that I dug up right after I bought the house a couple of years ago, as they were right smack in the way of foundation work being done.  Below: The mystery bunch of irises (and daylilies) I inherited with the house, in their original spot.

I have yet to figure out the secret of getting irises to bloom: am I using too much bone meal? too little? are they planted too deep? Exhibit A: these were planted last spring, got a bit of bone meal in the fall, have beautiful strappy foliage, and no sign of a bud anywhere.
But each rare time an iris does bloom, I think: "Oh, so that's the color I planted there." This time, the reveal was delightful, especially next to the pale orange flowers of the Indian mallow.