Moon Flower

“Hannibal Nector”

ESPatch Nov 13, 2010 14 comments

From a sketchy starting point,

to a rendering…

…to 15 yards of granite, 2 tons of flag and 1.6 tons of boulders that all had to be pushed, carried and coaxed to the back yard on wheelbarrows or manually rolled (employing ancient Egyptian bolder moving techniques).

The Ancient Egyptians apparently adopted the use of iced turbans to excessive degrees when working out in the heat, to think I had the arrogance to think that this was actually my own invention!

Note to self: Must remember not to tie them too tight next summer…(hands frantically feel around skull for any abnormalities)

Plants were chosen,

and stock tanks were filled, oh yes there had to be a stock tank, okay two! Is that artemesia dotted on top of that mound? No it couldn’t be!

This back garden has gone through quite the overhaul in the last two weeks, it now visually flows with the front garden that was finished with the help from numerous iced turbans in the brutal heat of the Texas summer.

http://www.eastsidepatch.com/2010/08/the-final-push-esp-on-tour/

This design scheme has been very rewarding. The home owners signed up for the full ESP treatment – front and back re-design, lawn elimination and design installation, including implementing a new color scheme developed for their house and shed.

Here is the house, masked and almost painted. The home owners were delighted to finally get rid of their lawnmower…no more mowing required here, ever.

While I was working this garden I was required to move a rather large tree stump, underneath it I found a myriad of creatures from the dank underworld…I love moving large structures like this and always have my little point-and-click on macro ready to capture some of the “Brrrs” invariably lurking below. On pushing over the stump, I performed my now customary “Highland (roach) Fling”,

until they had all disgustingly dissipated. I then ventured down into the darkness with my camera to see what I could see…This tree stump did not disappoint:

First encounter came from this very colorful and very energetic millipede, and then this…

Ceuthophillus secretus

hunkered down cave cricket caught my attention. Cave crickets are also known as camel crickets and spider crickets, they belong to the Family Rhaphidophoridae. As their name implies, these crickets are commonly found in caves, although some species (like this one) dwell in cool, damp areas such as beneath rotten logs, damp leaves and stones.

Cave crickets are wingless, brown in color and may measure up to one inch in length. They have large hind legs and a set of long antennae, which serve as guides through their darkened environments. Many cave cricket species live without sufficient food sources and to avoid starvation, they have been known to devour their own extremities, yes folks that is what I said, even though they cannot regenerate limbs.

Obligatory Lector noises

Given their limited vision, cave crickets will often jump towards any perceived threat in an attempt to frighten it away. It appears I got lucky and did not have to break into another ridiculous Highland (cricket) Fling on this particular occasion. A couple more…

This brown chrysalis inscribed with futuristic hieroglyphs looked like an ancient sarcophagus.

The next one looks as if I could have constructed it, lots of “flare” – some type of moth?

Back in the Patch…

I promise this will be my last post on celosia this year, okay promise might be too strong a word. I have to post some images of these regal plants as they adorn their finest end-of-year purple robes.

My front garden and hell-strip is now transformed into a shimmering purple and crimson haze, it has taken on quite a fantasy aesthetic. Everybody who walks past reaches out to touch these seedpods.

The seed husks (after shelling) can also be a lot of fun.

The leaves of the plant turn bright red at this time of year, a stark contrast to the crispy bacon that was once my moon flowers…

“Looking good now ESP!”

This sparkler sedge works well reflecting the random swirling forms of this wizened cedar carcass. I have coveted this plant ever since it was brought to my attention by Pam at http://www.penick.net/digging/ who kindly gave me a small transplant. I then inherited a few more of these plants from the nice folks from the Gardener’s supply company http://www.gardeners.com/.

I recently came across a picture of this part of the Patch when we first moved in. I had forgotten just how wild it was.

If you are like me, right now you and your garden are under siege from…

…tiger moth caterpillars, the infamous woolybears. When these show up in the fall, folk lore denotes that they are thought to indicate the severity of the oncoming winter by the proportion of red-brown to black on the body. They devour anything and everything, but apparently love gopher and dusty miller plants…must be that latex flavored sap! I have never seen so many of these caterpillars.

Nice of them to leave me one top.

There are many different types of tiger moths and caterpillars, this one is a mature saltmarsh caterpillar, Estigmene acrea (Drury). The good news is these formidable munchers complete their life cycle in a matter of weeks, much longer and I would have no plants left.

And just what do these urchins mature into?

Looks like we will be seeing a lot more of these next year.

Finally…

These reflective crystals got lots of attention at this year’s Celtic Festival at Fiesta Gardens.

Faces were painted…she loves this experience, him? Perhaps not so! He held on, white knuckled, like he was in the dentist’s chair.

Then came the hair braiding, I thought she was going to fall asleep, it was like she was having a full day spa-treatment.

The final result was quite impressive but for him naturally it did not last:

He ended the day looking more like a deranged monocled mad scientist then a dalmatian, a look I personally preferred.

Stay Tuned for:

“Starsky and Husk”

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

“Maverick”

ESPatch Oct 8, 2010 12 comments

The flaps are up, the landing gear is down, please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts, we are on our final approach to the you know what, you know when. I am now in a constant battle with this pilot, as fast as I clean an area up for the http://gardenconservancy.org/opendays/, this maverick is tearing it up and scraping it down.

As fast as he keeps landing his highly efficient plastic airplane, creating deep gauges in my granite pathways, I am there covering them back up with some frantic boot scraping and very dark muttering. It is as though he senses that the conservancy tour is looming ever closer and has upped his destructive tendencies accordingly…of course, I may just be a little more sensitive then usual in these “final days”!

“It’s the Yellow Bells ‘Esperanza’!...they are late again!!!”

I have no idea why mine seem to bloom so late in the year, but they do.

This stressed out shield bug cringes deep inside this yellow bell every time the plastic jet careens around the decomposed granite pathway in its immediate vicinity. His antenna says it all, is he biting his fingernails behind there?

And after a fighter pilot’s day is finished, what better then a debriefing near a stock tank with a neighborhood cat (yes, we have a few)…this cat drinks deeply from my stock tank on a daily basis, it’s stare all the while unwavering on the fish swimming just out of claw’s reach.

Moving up even higher into the cosmos, my moon flowers at the entrance to the Patch are also in full flight at the moment.

Resembling flattened datura blooms, and equally as large. I started this vine from a seed earlier this year, I thought the summer heat was going to fry it to a crisp, but it pulled through.

Very elegant. The underside of this plant is as dramatic as the top…a moon and a star!

From the waxy bold to the feather spikes on this black fountain grass:

Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Moudry’

Picture courtesy of De Groot, Inc.

Pennisetum translates as “feather bristle”, referring to the bristly structures surrounding the flowers on the inflorescence, in maturity it looks like water spraying from a fountain (hence its common name). This is my first year with this grass, I got a bit of a late start with it, but in the words of Captain Picard…“It has performed admirably”.

The plant has its origins in Japan and East Asia and it will readily self seed. I have read that it is better to cut the stems before flowers go to seed to control growth, naturally I will ignore this until it begins to be a problem. My palm grass was also a prolific self-seeder, I had quite a few for a few years and after last years freezes I now have none!

“Seed yourself freely young Moudry”!

Mexican bush sage and purple fountain grass orientating themselves at the sun. I like fountain, in fact I like all grasses, can you tell? The view from my front window (right) as I type this, really is quite something. Zzzz.

All manner of dwarf miscanthus are shooting out different shaped seed heads right now…great set against broad-leafed burgundy canna lilies.

Another rather unusual grass:

Chrysopogon zizanioides

or Vetiver Grass.

Vetiver’s roots grow downward (naturally) to an amazing 2-4 meters in depth. This makes vetiver an excellent stabilizing hedge for stream banks, terraces, and rice paddies, it is used for erosion control as this company in Hawaii demonstrates: http://vetiversystems.com/

Anita Cooper’s water color of vetiver grass

I planted it precisely for this attribute on one of my mounds and it has worked out a treat.

Vetiver is mainly cultivated for the fragrant essential oil distilled from its roots. Due to its excellent fixative properties, vetiver is used widely in perfumes. It is contained in a staggering 90% of all western perfumes (Lavania).

In perfumery, the older French spelling, vetyver, is often used.

Another use for the grass is to make mats, these are constructed by weaving vetiver roots and binding them with ropes and cords, these are typically used in India to cool rooms in a house during the summer months. The mats are typically hung in a doorway and kept moist by spraying with water periodically, this cools the passing air and emits a refreshing aroma.

Moving on:

Oh don’t you dare! Don’t be a complete aster…you have to wait another week!

I have my fingers crossed that these short lived fall aster blooms will still be going in the next week or so, after all, we all know how attractive they look after they have bloomed!

Inland sea oats are looking seasonally festive right now.

The oats got huge this year almost to the point that they are falling over.

Can someone identify this:

A really difficult plant to get a decent shot, this is about as good as it gets!

The next image can only mean one thing…the ESP witches are once again on the move, no doubt gathering herbs and all manner of poisonous plant parts (of which I have many) in preparation for their obscene Halloween shenanigans.

“There was three horrible ladies daddy, sitting on the bench…they looked like “motners”! I knew exactly what he meant, he went on…

“One of them had a big…”

My intuitive eldest also sensed their despicable presence, channeling her concerns into her art as she usually does in such situations.

Finally:

Oh no, I haven’t forgotten!

Did you think you would escape the next “light” installment of the ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ ?

So go grab a bottle of rum, take yet a few deep nautical breaths…here is part two of the slimy, rather depressing mariner’s affair…You better watch it all, there WILL be a written test at the end of the series, oh and a fake gold sovereign for the winner, naturally.