Rosemary

“Tickling Leopards”

ESPatch Feb 18, 2011 11 comments

I tickled this giant leopard moth

Ecpantheria scribonia

caterpillar into submission today with a feather, it screamed a tiny scream and thrashed it’s multiple legs,

before it submissively rolled into it’s customary protective posture, predominately displaying it’s brightly colored bands. Woolly bear or fuzzy bear caterpillars are often found in the fall and winter in Texas after they have left their food-plants in search of a dark and sheltered spot where they can hibernate as larvae for the winter, usually under a deep layer of leaves. When spring kicks in, these caterpillars will become active, feeding then fashioning cocoons out of silk and body hairs…

And what fine creatures these huge cocoons turn into…

The Great Leopard Moth.

Hypercompe scribonia

Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

The ESPatch has been very quiet of late, like it has had the wind knocked out of it with the recent harsh weather and is in a period of shock, denial and I hope complete recovery. Very few creatures are seen roaming the plains and I have witnessed distinct signs that the Naboo are once again heavily into their cannibalistic tendencies. Worst of all, the Botox lady has lost half her bottom lip to frost bite, she is totally devastated as you can imagine.

Remember this frozen scene?

These are my tropical Madame Ganna Walska water lilies, submersed under a rather thick layer of ice, not their preferred habitat of choice.

Oh yes, they came out the thaw looking a little shocked to say the least. While I pulled on the worst hit slushy pads, I happened to dislodge one of these sci-fi abominations…

“Number one, we need to try and establish communications…see what it wants, determine what its needs are”!

These very odd stems are affectionately known as, and casually referred to in the Patch nonchalantly as brains, as in…“Look dad, there is a brain!” “Oh yes, well spotted! 2 points for…” These reproductive lily pods rank up there as some of the strangest phenomena to grace the interior of the Patch pond, very primordial, and they never fail to induce a conniption when one unexpectedly decides to roll over the back of my hand. I cannot tell you how many times I have slapped and tore at my own hands when one accidentally alights on it.

Unwell, agaves.

Also looking very primordial right now are the remains of my agave americana. The recent freezes really took a toll on these once magnificent plants. All of the foliage has been decimated but the singular vertical spike dictates that the plant’s core still is alive and kicking. I trimmed back all of the soggy foliage to allow the plants to focus their energy on new foliage replenishment…these singular tusks, dotted all around the Patch look very odd, to say the least.

This one prematurely aged in the freezes.

At least the americana are doing better than my octopuses.

“Shaken, and most certainly stirred”.

No need for the gun here Roger! Out of all of the pups that I painstakingly planted from: http://www.eastsidepatch.com/2008/07/backyard-ocd/, very few have made it due to the last two years of harsh winter freezes.

I come across them dotted here and there, oozing onto the granite like beached mythical creatures.

Just when I thought that my Mexican lime tree could not get any brighter:

There is still some green in the branches so I am hoping I will not have to cut it back to the base like I did last year.

Even my satsuma is showing some strain this year, unheard of.

My Buddha’s Belly Bamboo also looks bad right now but it will quickly green-up come the spring’s warming temperatures.

On a brighter note…

all my small sedums breezed through the freeze with ease,

and the rising bluebonnets offer a visual reminder that color is once again around the corner. (Thanks Jenny).

And I am ready for spring. My trusty steeds have been having quite the workout of late implementing this design scheme:

The front has been simply re-structured to match the new back aesthetic…

And the back has had a bit of a nip and a tuck…

…the back beds are now fully prepped and ready for planting. The circular feature is the future home of an Arizona ‘blue ice’ cypress, what else! The two curved kidney beds will incorporate prostrate rosemary, a weaving line of bush sages and dotted dwarf miscanthus.

Last and most certainly not least:

Happy 6th Miss P. xxx

Stay Tuned for:

“Mad Birds and Englishmen”

All material © 2011 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.

“Bedding Down”

ESPatch Feb 4, 2011 12 comments

Every garden design presents its own unique set of challenges, both physically, spatially, aesthetically, emotionally and of course financially.

The designers role is to synthesize emotions, set expectations and ultimately deliver the most creative, appropriate and optimized design scheme within the scope of the project to the best of his or her abilities, and then successfully execute it.

This design process sounds quite straightforward, but in reality, it remains very organic in nature, planned…yes, but organic, as it should be. The most ‘developed’ design, as pretty as it may appear on paper or LCD, mutates as you grit teeth, grab an iced turban (if it is summer), long johns (in winter), and start working into it, armed with a shovel, a strong will,…

…and an ever roaming, critical eye. I always adorn the toy version of Mad Eye Moodie’s roaming eye on initial site consultations, as I survey the area making notes. Most people interestingly choose to ignore it.

This garden had attempted to make some sense of splitting up the space, it just struggled with the fundamental questions: why? And for what exactly? The homeowner communicated early on that he wanted a low maintenance, low water needs solution and that he wanted to eliminate his mostly dead and weedy grass…sweet music to my ears.

RIP Zelda

The first port of call in this scheme was an exorcism to purge the space of all preexisting metal and rubber edging (you all know what I think of this) to

(a) stop me tripping over it as I moved through the property and

(b) well, it just makes me feel better.

The plan that I settled on integrates and plays off the existing oak tree, drawing visual attention away from the expansive rectilinear perimeter, focusing it to a formalized, and centrally concentrated planting scheme. Why? Well this has the effect of visually shrinking the space (and cost) associated with heavily planting up the perimeter (not an option in this case). A simple and sparse planting of loquats and a couple of large corner miscanthus will visually and quietly soften up the perimeter, pulling in the focus to the centralized and more densely planted, arching salvia leucantha and rosemary planting beds. These curved beds enclose the space and create a more intimate environment, helping to direct the eye to the end focal point…two smallish crepe myrtles (different colors) . These myrtles are guarded on both sides with my favorite evergreen, yes, you guessed it, Arizona ‘blue ice’ cypress.

These cypress trees will ultimately end up like nightclub bouncers, bodyguards protecting the star.

Here is a rendering (left) on top of digital photography that was used to convey the scheme looking back toward the house and here is the reality of the design (right) in the midst of implementation, (the bricks have not been bedded yet). With all the metal edging taken up, and a new, more organic flow through the property introduced, the space already feels more natural. The beds will be planted up when the weather is not quite so restless.

Oh give it a rest Jack.

Staying with the weather a moment, I took a walk down to my large stock tank to check on my fish early this morning.

It was a little more extreme out there then I had anticipated.

We are currently hunkered down inside the Patch with an Arctic front whistling through our long-leaf pine walls, and the oven open and set to 350! It is quite possible we were the cause of the rolling Austin blackouts. The good news is that my halflings got to witness this week just how brilliant hot water bottles actually are when Texas temperatures dip…one of Britain’s best exports.

…Precisely.

A thin layer of ice had formed,

encapsulating this water lily that actually bloomed only last week.

This lone, motionless goldfish looked like the waters had frozen around it.

Moving quickly indoors…remember that hair sap?

Lucky for him his mother is a hairdresser who just said “oh, lets just cut that out”!

His reward for this test of endurance?

“Cargo bay doors are open Captain…

excepting delivery…

Cargo bay lock re-engaged sir”.

A dinner at his favorite ‘sarcophagus’ restaurant. Oh yes, you are in for a real treat if you get a table anywhere around us! Your fine dining experience may indeed be compromised.

Finally:

I will leave you with a little freezing damage already visible.

My last tiger aloe has turned dark purple, never a good sign,

and my Mexican lime tree is once again looking decidedly ill, I feel another mammoth leaf drop is around the corner.

Cold little hands and fingers have been exploring and prodding their way around this new icy world.

And then this morning?

A Texas winter wonderland!

No school today.

This cannot be a good environment for “tropical” water lilies!

Stay Tuned for:

“Ice Ice Baby”

All material © 2011 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant) 14th century planet Earth techniques.

Check out this “Rangers” site: http://www.wildliferanger.co.uk/