Design

“On The Chain Gang”

ESPatch Aug 1, 2010 12 comments

My Pride of Barbados have put on a terrific show this year, getting, along with my amaranth, the tallest I have ever seen them.

Here are a couple of them (and I do not mean the hobbits) that start off in the shade, then, fight their way up and up until they find the full sunlight…a good incentive for them to stretch their legs it seems.

That blue tee shirt was actually my tee shirt when I was his age, they don’t make them like that anymore, 100% polyester and a potent concoction of petrochemicals…still, I have to admit that it has held up well enough to now become an heirloom!

There it is, in the early 70’s, on holiday in a caravan park in Wales, UK.

That hat is a winner big sis, do you still wear it around town? …You should :-)

“Look aunt sally, she be wearin’ my Welsh vacation ‘oliday hat”

“Strangely, I thinks I knows that Caravan Park ESP”.

As you can see my sister had a matching tee shirt with her name emblazoned on it, it was apparently the craze back then for families to occasionally dress in the same outfits. (Or perhaps we just couldn’t remember who we were?)

If memory serves me correct…I believe we also had matching ponchos at one point, yes I said ponchos, but I flat-out refuse to post that picture.

This is the amaranth that is apparently on some form of steroids in my hell-strip. I have never seen amaranth this size at this time of year, even the seedpods are at a late September length.

The fungi have also been reveling in our (so far) moist-for-Texas summer:

I said fungi!…

This moist storybook scene sprouted up in my papyrus stock tank.

I have a couple of these moon-flowers growing up some large bamboo poles at the entrance to the back garden, they have loved the late afternoon rains and frequent soakings, one has even reached the top of the pole. I grew these from seed planted out early May, they have and continue to put up a great night time show as a backdrop…

to my datura.

This is the twisted ice-cream cone of the moon-flower, just before blooming.

Moving on…

I feel like I have been “On the Chain Gang” this past week, initially digging my way through the earth to prep three fall planting beds, then this familiar sight rounded the corner…it could only mean a couple of things…

Pain and sweat!

A full truck load consisting of 12 yards of my “favorite” substrate, decomposed granite, and another truck loaded with boulders, beach pebbles, and mulch turned up on the previously posted design scheme I am currently in the process of implementing.

http://www.eastsidepatch.com/2010/07/12555/

I thought the rounded blue-white rocks would work well strewn around the base of this young Spanish oak tree. I love these Mexican beach pebbles, in fact I like them so much I have ordered another 1/4 ton! They also totally change character when wet, going to a much darker shiny dark gray/blue state. I need these in the Patch!

I strangely felt some granite already stuck in my teeth before I even started to hack at the granite mound’s snow-capped peak that at this point looked insurmountable. I made a makeshift base camp on a lower shelf and started to mentally prepare myself.

The wheel guard on my wheelbarrow immediately fell off and it’s tire once again deflated in its now customary defiant manner. (It always does this when a delivery from Custom Stone pulls onto a work site.)

I need a new wheelbarrow, though with the amount of sweat, blood and toil I have gone through with my “old unfaithful” I could never get rid of it…oh no, it will end up having holes drilled into it and perhaps planted? Or maybe I will mount it on hooks and attach it to an elaborate pulley system where I can hoist it up high on my living room wall… like a moose head?

“Naturally I prefer the hook idea ESP”

The digging began and continued and continued and con…, with frequent resting points in “base camp” to cool off with a traditional iced turban or ten. More on this excavation next week, if my arms and hands are still capable of typing.

Here are a few creatures that were spotted in the Patch this week (sadly, no more Naboo sightings): http://www.eastsidepatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/ESP-garden-2-copy.jpg

A dragonfly and an anole not talking to each other. I wonder what they argued about?

I tried the newer sinking dunks today (left) to kill a few thousand of these wigglers…

A day or two later I noticed a greasy, oily film had appeared on top of the water. I think I will revert back to the doughnut brand. I also like that you can see these floating dunks disintegrate over time, they sort of let you know when another application is required.

I bet you already know that the oldest known mosquito with an anatomy similar to our modern species was found in 79 million year old Canadian amber, 79 million!

While I was inspecting all my rosemary plants, I noticed this jumbo jet of a moth, hanging down on one of my prostrate…prostate…oh whatever…rosemary sprigs.

This is the stout body of the Nessus Sphinx Moth.

Amphion floridensis

These are a class of day-flying moths sometimes known as Hummingbird moths because of their flight characteristics. The median band may be very pale or almost absent, or it can be wide and even double banded. The rustic brown coloration and wing shape of this bird is superb.

Moi Grande Hibiscus and phlox still putting out blooms!

Stay Tuned for:

“It Ain’t Half Hot Mum!…ESP on Tour”

All material © 2010 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.

“Withering Sights”

ESPatch Jul 17, 2010 19 comments

The head of this dragonfly looks like a futuristic piece of hardware, amazing coloration and detail on this Eastern Pondhawk.

Erythemis simplicollis

This dragonfly has a bit of a reputation for praying on insects of its own size, as well as for cannibalism, yes cannibalism…a habit I fear it may have picked up from the Naboo.

“A cannibal flying around in the sky? Where is it? Where is it? I’m out in the open for Pete’s sake!!”

(Obligatory Lector noises)

“Where is it? I know it is up there somewhere, waiting to dive down and get…”

…crunch…ang, ang, ang, ang. “Grasshoppers are a great source of protein out in the wild, blah,blah,blah.”

This green lynx spider,

Peucetia viridans

(the largest North American lynx spider) took refuge from the lightening-fast-hand of Bear Grylls under this sunflower leaf.

Thanks for the cheerful sunflower and the great garden-related songs Annie…Keep them coming!: http://annieinaustin.blogspot.com/…

Lynx spiders are hunting spiders that spend their lives practically motionless on plants, flowers and shrubs. Don’t be fooled though, the common name refers to their quickness and agile-lynx-like nature. These oddly shaped characters are extremely nimble runners, jumpers and cross-country skiers, they rely on their keen eyesight to stalk, chase or ambush prey. Six of their eight eyes are arranged in a hexagon-like pattern, a characteristic that identifies them as members of the family Oxyopidae. Did I mention that it also has really hairy legs, reminiscent of the stalk of the sunflower it is currently inhabiting?

“Ach man, ma’ legs are mere hairy than that Peucetia viridans”!

“www.ohshutyourpieholewilliam.com”

Moving silently on…

Luurvley!

I think I can safely say that I have recreated in my sunken – zero drainage stock tank, conditions that I like to imagine, rival that of the banks of the Nile. I will try not to mention the multitudes of wavering and extremely disturbing tiny “worms” that were poking out of this swamp the other day, waving their upper torsos in perfect synchronicity, brrr, (slight right knee quiver, right big toe points involuntary north) …What ARE they?

What used to grow in abundance along the banks of the Nile, my favorite wetland sedge…

…King Tut, Egyptian Papyrus,

Cyperus papyrus

is reportedly not so prevalent as it once used to be down the river banks these days.

“Dense belts of papyrus growing along the Nile in Southern Sudan, viewed from a river boat”.

I have only had ten visitors from Egypt to the East Side Patch, ever…so I turn my head to you now my ten visitors, (I know you all live along the Nile)!…Is this true? Surely papyrus still prevails, with its aggressive growth habits?

My papyrus are blooming right now, something I can’t say I have ever witnessed before, I will be gathering seeds! This is a fantastic plant that offers a unique presence and movement in the Patch, papyrus grows 8-10 ft. tall as an impressive, weeping specimen plant. It withstands weather stresses, thrives in full sun, and can basically handle anything that the elements throw at it…Texas tough. Mine dependably comes back every spring.

Moving to the front Patch…

Almost all of the atemesia that I snapped off from my rear hills and planted in the spring has taken, and is starting to fill in the decomposed granite mounds with their frosty foliage. The slow-growing sapphire skies yucca I planted on the top of this mound accents the adjacent palm and will form a crazy trunk over time…starts drumming fingers…

“Finally it is up to four feet!”

Talking of “frosty”…

Here are some before and after shots of a design scheme I am currently working up for a client. I cannot wait to plant the ‘blue ice’ cypress / artemesia and santolina combo, perhaps with a couple of gopher plants for elevated measure?

Back in the Patch:

Sun lovers, now basking in our almost 100 degree Texas temperatures.

Withering sights…has anybody out there got this problem on their rosemary plants?

Pretty bad! By the time I noticed this young rosemary was under siege it was completely covered in these webs…this happened very fast indeed, and I have noticed the same infestation, to a lesser degree on three other, more mature rosemary plants. This warranted further investigated.

I believe this to be a tent caterpillar of some sort? A tent caterpillar that has a tiny tent that is not practical to break open for the wasps, or even camp in, who knows how many of these hard to spot ctitters there are infesting this plant! Has anybody had this issue and successfully treated it? Perhaps with all of our rains the conditions have been favorable for these annoying worms, I also witnessed a lot of them on my mountain laurels this year, a first.

Finishing on a lighter note:

My pokeweed fruit starting to ripen. (Thank you Jenn for the plant ID)

Phytolacca americana

The ripe berries (that look like they have been poked) of this plant yield a crimson juice that was used as a substitute for red ink, the juice was also used to enhance the color of pale wines, an activity that is no longer adopted because the berries are, well, poisonous!

The young leaves and shoots may be cooked and eaten like spinach, (if prepared correctly). The greens are also called poke salet…

Stay Tuned for:

“Nose Boulder”

All material © 2010 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.