I’ve been slacking on the garden blog lately—mostly because it’s still hotter than hell here in North Texas, and there’s not a lot going on outside. I’ve been trying to work outside an hour or two late in the day this week, but it’s still pretty miserable. I come in a hot, sweaty mess. However, […]
Author: Lisa
North Central Texas Gardening
Gardening in North Central Texas can be a real challenge. We have long, ridiculously hot summers, and can get some pretty cold, icy winter weather. In between are about fifteen minutes each of lovely spring weather and mild fall temperatures. Add to that our horrible clay soil, and it’s a wonder anything can grow here […]
The Annual Munch of the Monarchs
Today, as I was walking out to my truck, I checked the butterfly weed. Sure enough, I spotted a little striped caterpillar, munching away. When I got home, I took a moment to check the whole plant over, and discovered two more, parked underneath a leaf. These little guys are monarch caterpillars. Each September, they […]
Tonight’s Dinner
Fresh from the garden and into a pan.
The Eggplant Cometh
After roughly 120 days of growing from seeds to enormous bushes, my eggplant jungle finally bestowed upon me today these three Black Beauties: They are eggplant perfection. Avert your eyes. They’re also tomorrow night’s dinner. I see one more eggplant amongst the four bushes, which are still producing a ridiculous number of flowers. I’ve tried […]
Bloom Day
It’s the 15th of the month, so it’s time for another Bloom Day post. It got blazingly hot here in North Texas, way before it’s supposed to happen, so that garden has been in a bit of a shutdown. We did get about a week of slow, drenching rain that helped, but seriously, the plants […]
The Wonders of Nature
I worked in the garden for a few hours this afternoon, mostly putting together my new tumble composter, which I didn’t remember to photograph before the sun went down. It’s pretty nifty. I did snap a few pics of things that are weird and wonderful…The purple coneflowers are just about spent. I should probably cut […]
Independence Day
Continuing my independence from inferior supermarket tomatoes, I planted the fall crop today. Three Romas, and two Husky Cherries. Both varieties have done well for me in the past. Getting plants, soaker hoses and cages in place was sort of a comedy act, but none of the neighbors were working in their yards today, because […]
Never Underestimate a Woman Who Owns Power Tools…
Today was a sort of fix it day in the backyard vegetable garden. One of the things that bugged me about the spring veggies was the way the cucumbers sort of sprawled all over the place, quickly outgrowing the flimsy bamboo stakes I provided for growing upward. I’ve been wanting to expand the vegetable patch […]
A Few Garden Oddities
Since I was taking photos for today’s Bloom Day post, I decided to shoot a few things that showcase the not so pretty things happening in my garden… Trellis failure. I don’t know what I was thinking when I used tiny little bamboo stakes to make cone trellises for the cucumbers. They’re WAY too small, […]
June Bloom Day
It’s the 15th, and time for another Bloom Day. We’ve had a string of days over 90 degrees in June, so a lot of plants have shed their blooms for the moment. Here are pics of those few hearty souls that are still hanging in there…In the backyard, the vegetable garden is producing, even when […]
Today in the Backyard
I finally snapped a few long shots of the backyard garden this morning. Here’s what’s happening in amongst the weeds… I replaced last year’s single row of cinder blocks surrounding the herb garden with this new wood box planter. My plan is to do the same thing, reversed, to the south, and then some plain […]