Silvers

“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/

“I Caught a Live One!”

ESPatch Dec 22, 2010 4 comments

In 1977 NASA’s Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft launched into space carrying phonographs called the Golden Records containing pictures and sounds meant to show extraterrestrials a glimpse of life on Earth and where we are located in space. Credit: NASA

“This is a present from a small, distant world, a token of our sounds, our science, our music, our thoughts and our feelings. We are attempting to survive our time so we may live into yours”.

President Jimmy Carter

clack…click, click..etc.etc.

(“So that’s where they live! Buckle up lads, “beaks” at the ready, these humans are almost all liquid already so save your enzymes!”)

What are the chances?…Last week I found a dead wheel bug on the Patch steps, then, who did I see slowly (and I mean slowly) walking across a new pathway I was laying at a client’s house?

No wonder that “beak” is so painful if it spikes an unsuspecting hand, look at that thing, lethal…a fact I was very conscious of, as my camera hand almost touched this very “Alien” looking assassin bug.

“Game over, man, game over!…”

It was also using it’s beak to probe the ground as it walked. If you look really carefully you can see the 2nd set of eyes behind the main ones, oh yes, with a creature as bizarre as this, two eyes would just be way too normal? I was happy though, to finally get to see one of these insects in motion…slow motion.

“And that’s all I gotta to say about them wheel bugs Jenny”.

“That’s a good thing Forrest…we were all kinda tired of hearing about them assassins anyways.”

“Jeennny”!

Moving On:

Ornamental grasses have their brown and purple winter clothes on, even though we touched the mid-eighties this week in the Patch. (Sorry all my UK readers).

The brown and purple colors in this dwarf miscanthus contrast well with the silver of artemesia.

The seed heads form many different shapes,

and look great set against shady areas, in areas they can catch the sun…Texas snow.

With the warmer temperatures this week, my Madame Ganna Walska decided to throw out what has to be the final water lily of the year (I keep saying this, I know I do). The purple on the lily is much more pronounced at this time of year as it is on this…

…oh, I don’t need to tell you by now! I really should put these fallen celosia on the compost pile, but there are seeds in there, seeds I tell you…

“Hey, get off that swing seat…there is shelling to be done”!

We have all gathered so much celosia seed this year I now use the prospect of more shelling as a threat, that and the ever vigilant Santa, naturally! …“Clean up your toys NOW, or do you want to shell a tray’s worth”?

…Works every time.

This festive was a pass-along from Bob at Draco Gardens, it has grown into quite the snow drift. Behind it is…

…one of three basket grasses I have planted in the Patch, this is the oldest one. I like the way this plant looks flanked with prostate rosemary, the rosemary looks great in bloom set against this succulent, it’s pale blue flowers are almost the same color.

Nolina microcarpa

Nolinas are actually members of the Agave family and they are native to the Southwestern U.S.

They easy to grow, heat & drought tolerant, evergreen, deer proof, not fussy about soil & hardy down to 10 degrees F, what more can we ask for? It is amazing how underutilized these succulents are in our landscapes, they look excellent when planted in raised beds and allowed to “spill” over the edge like this one. Nolina microcarpa requires absolutely no Summer water once established. The leaves were used by Native Americans for weaving baskets & mats, hence the common name.

After last years prolonged freezes I was sure these unprotected barrel cacti would be for the compost pile, but I was wrong. They had a little discoloration on their marginal edges but other than that, they were surprisingly just fine, even the little ones. These leaves are going to be a joy to pick up.

Finally:

“Winter” in the Patch: