poppies

Agricultural Apocalypse

ESPatch Jun 25, 2021 1 comment

Still cleaning up from the perfect storm!!!

I left most of my plants well alone after the big freeze, and some are only now returning to life, with new growth tentatively pushing through now that the summer heat is on.

Oh, and the heat is on!

new growth on sago palm The cycads, who never do anything fast, started with new growth at the base (which I immediately cut back like I usually do) before they finally sprouted from the top. To think I almost pulled out the one on the right, as the base felt and looked rotten.

The needle palms in the background took no damage at all.

This agave was left with some really unusual markings from the freeze.

Re’mark’able.

Can you guess what this once was?

This is all that was left of my 20 year old barrel cactus after I had drained the carcass and retired its crumpled flesh to the compost bin. (I will spare you that particular Facebook video) – no I wont:

https://www.facebook.com/100001224482768/videos/4041816729202437/

All that remained was the central, stinky core.

“Aye, it is a’ways the core Espatch, a’ways the core, at least ye didnae have tae jettison yers inta space!”

“Shut-up Scotty.”

RIP old friends…we had some fun together:

https://www.eastsidepatch.com/2009/02/yo-ho-ho-and-a-barrow-of-cactus/

Some changes afoot in The Patch:

This area used to have a large, dying Afghan pine in it (now destined for future firewood), and a rather large clump of Buda’s Belly bamboo. It all had to go.

Digging up a mature Buda’s Belly it not something I would recommend…at all. In fact this may have been one of the toughest plants I have ever extracted to date. Giant Timber bamboo was easier to take out than this beast.

The roots were so strong, and so incredibly dense, that the only way to get this thing out of the ground was to tunnel all the way under it, and that is what I did…over the course of three days!

“I say, Espatch is making rather slim progress on that Bamboo root-ball Sergeant, are we still on schedule for the escape?”

The root ball was so heavy, even getting it to the street (for bulk pick-up) presented severe logistical, and physical problems.

I was convinced the city wouldn’t process it…but thankfully they did.

“And why do all of this removal”?

Well,

a) I was sick of looking at a browning and continually depressed Afghan Pine.

b) I was sick of constantly grooming the Buda’s Belly over the course of a year.

Afghan Pine and the Belly taken a few years ago when the pine still looked relatively healthy.

Don’t get me wrong, it is a stunning clumping bamboo, but it constitutes a lot of work on a regular basis to keep it looking on form.

Also this particular stretch of The Patch receives really good sunlight.

Perfect for some raised vegetable beds!

Wateringcan Leviosa!

A few warm solar lights make the beds pop at night.

These Rostrata punks also got their hair in the spotlight.

To go along with the raised beds, we constructed a platform deck, privacy fence, and strung three disco balls onto the pecan trees. Well you have to have those don’t you?

I have a lot of staining to do in my future. These two mister fans blast the deck and do a good job of cooling things down…if only the mosquitos would just back-off.

Five minutes out here right now and I look like Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.

Focus!

I recently purchased this small, inexpensive clip-on macro lens attachment for my iPhone, just to mess around with it.

I am quite impressed with the results:

Dolichopodidae, Genus Condylostylus.

These tiny Long Legged flies make good subjects for a macro lens as they are not prone to spook easily. It still requires a very steady hand though, if you were shooting freehand on high zoom like I was here.

All of these images would have been much better with a tripod.

Fire ants busy at work.

Tiny grasshopper on canna.

I can’t even remember what this was! Perhaps a white poppy?

This Hackberry or Tawny Emperor (I cant tell) looked liked it was a natural part of the graphics on the front page of this novel.

Post Agricultural Apocalypse Summary:

frost damage on cactus tree I ended up losing all my barrel cactus, half of my opuntia tree, yes half, a Med. Fan Palm, two agave, and one Jerusalem sage to the ice storm.

All my citrus, pittosporums, loquats, cycads and bamboos are returning from the base / top.

The best surprise was this Bauhinia corymbosa vine.

I was convinced it was dead after been dormant for such an extended period of time. Then, only a couple of weeks ago, a tiny hint of green.

Overall it could have been a lot worse.

Now, lets see what will make it through August?

Finally:

I will leave you with a few visuals of a rather large design I am sporadically working on in South Austin.

It is a stunning property located on a natural creek and pool. The future house and studio will be a new build and aesthetically very modern, lots of industrial concrete, rivets, glass, and steel elements.

The owners wanted some high-level visualizations to help define some of the spaces, and identify structural elements that may be incorporated into the final scheme.

A cocktail deck and naturalistic firepit with large limestone boulder seating. There is no shortage of large boulders around here. Understory shade and deer resistant planting scheme with vantage points and seating.

Turn-around driveway concept.

Entryway and expanded driveway.

Stay Tuned For:

“Martins and Monsters”

All material © 2021 for East Side Patch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.

Hi, its me, Poppy…

ESPatch Feb 13, 2020 0 comments

…Oh.

https://youtu.be/Kb4dd_aWmok

Last year I let some poppies turn super brown and crusty at the front of the Patch.

When I couldn’t stand to look at them any more I pulled them from the ground, and started to flay them to facilitate seed dispersion. The over the shoulder technique I adopted from a distance resembled some masochistic religious affair, especially when combined with the sporadic lurching and occasional incantation that I would blurt out whenever a scooter would pass close by…(pre-lock-down obviously).

If someone gets too close to the house now, we start shooting them with my son’s Nerf-guns whilst I jump on my trucks PA to yell at the good folks to move right along.

When I say “yell”, it is more of a mumble due to general discomfort and facial irritation of my new fuzzy Mullein Mask™ .

I cannot imagine wearing this AND an iced-turban™.

Having 4 very large Mullein plants (top) means we also have plenty of cowboy toilet paper.

“There’s no way I’m wiping with that, Dad!”

“I would suggest picking it early morning when there is a hint of dew on the leaves, get the smaller new leaves in the middle they are softer?” (Besides, everyone knows you are not really clean without water).

…Walks away in disgust.

The poppies have completely taken over the front of the Patch, I wonder how the little barrel cacti are doing under there?

The Yucca Rostrata are struggling to keep their punk heads above water.

Long after they have finished blooming – which is a pretty quick cycle – the small crowns keep adding their own unique aesthetic.

Prolific seeders, one poppy crown has about this many seeds!

After cleaning the poppies out, a bit more flaying around, and sweating behind my Mullein Mask™, the area was almost back to its normal self.

I plan to add flagstone throughout this area.

Note to self…also wear some Mullein Mufflers™ next year to avoid wayward seeds getting into ears.

Moving Along…

I accidentally uncovered this caterpillar as I was picking up leaves under my post-oak. When uncovered, it went into really quick spasms like a shrimp.

Feet and pincers a-wigglin’.

The underside was really exotic looking.

I believe this is the caterpillar of an Underwing Moth (not sure which one, maybe Catocala ilia?).

They are large moths that rest on tree trunks during the day, blending right into the bark (just like the topside of the caterpillar).

Here is something I have been painfully tracking on one of my needle palms…they don’t call it needle or hedgehog palm for nothing.

Rhapidophyllum hystrix

Greek meaning sharp (rhapis) and leaf (phylum).

This palm is as tough as it is lethal. I go in knowing to be careful around it, but it always gets me regardless. The needles facing straight on are practically invisible.

It started off as a small pale shell,

then it split open, a furry paw clawing out of it.

Over the last week or so, it continued to grow with the initial shell darkening in color.

It looks like a piece of coral but they are in fact the flowers of the palm, the male inflorescence to be precise.

After flicking around with a stick in my other needle palm, I uncovered what I suspect is the female inflorescence?

This palm is supposed to be dioecious (male and female flowers on separate plants).

“Look at all that inflorescence lads!”

Finally:

Temperatures are starting to rise, and air-plants are starting to fall…

This was a particularly fine example. It had been perched on top of my wind chimes for the longest time, I guess the recent storm dislodged it.

Edit: Leah knocked it out of the chimes.

I will finish with a recent design I executed for a backyard in Northwest Austin.

The property was on a seriously steep slope, a slope with seriously bad soil, in fact hardly any soil at all! (Say that 5x fast wearing a Mullein Mask™!)

You can see the ‘before’ images (lower-right).

The intent here was to design a solution to allow the home owner, and their dogs to access the lower reaches of their yard, currently inaccessible.

The project was a logistic challenge. Due to the particularly harsh terrain, the design revolves around elevated structures, and raised planters. The goal was instead to work with the terrain instead trying to fight it.

A series of steel planters and panels are positioned throughout the scheme to visually screen utilities whilst providing an industrial aesthetic and backdrop.