Yucca

“Running up that Hill”

ESPatch Mar 22, 2014 8 comments

The logistics, design and installation of this next back garden had me “Running up that Hill” more times then I care to mention.

This garden had very narrow access, just wide enough to fit a wheelbarrow.

Once through the initial entryway an immediate hairpin bend to the left needed to be circumnavigated before embarking on the relative luxury of stretch of straight pathway.

A third of the way way down the home straight are some steps that take you up to a patio on the upper level…the hill.

These steps, and the strategically placed double glass door at the bottom of them (just to add to the overall stress levels) in combination with trying to roll rather large and unwieldy slabs of 2″ thick over-sized Oklahoma flagstone up them, provided ample ‘excitement’ during the installation process.

images (3)

The concrete pathway on the lower section terminated in a sticky poorly-draining area at the other end of the house. The dirt from the hill had washed down into the trench and was creating pooling when it rained.

Here is the top plateau receiving a good clear-out, grade leveling and excavation:

This top area lacked definition and had no real function or purpose, a no-man’s land.

Time to hit the drawing board…

I wanted to link the top and bottom areas with a pathway that would connect up with the top patio (and the “stressful steps”) providing a walkable loop around the entire space.

These are the renderings that I used to communicate the design intent to the client, and oh yes…is that another hardy red oleander in the plan TD?…You bet there is!

Although this winter has been hard on even the hardy:

It will soon recover though.

Back to the plan:

Sunken flagstone steps would be required to get to the upper plateau which would be planted with drought tolerant and tough plants on either side of the flagstone. Trailing rosemary and lantana were added to take advantage of the front limestone cliff.

Here are the flagstone steps getting hacked and leveled into the existing limestone shelf:

Before:

And here is the finished top plateau freshly planted:

The alternating trailing rosemary and basket grasses will eventually fill in up to the flagstone, cover and stabilize the limestone rocks and earth on top of the cliff.

Basket grass (Sacahuista)

Nolina texana

works great on dry limestone slopes like this.

Basket grass is not a true grass, it is actually a member of the agave family. It is evergreen, requires no pruning (unless to remove an old flower spike), it is heat, cold and drought tolerant, resistant to deer, slow growing, low maintenance and best of all it can tolerate almost all soil types.

Oh yes, this plant packs an impressive and versatile xeriscape resume.

It is happiest in the rocky soils of West and South Texas – its native habitat.

The silver-blue color pairs well with rosemary and opuntia offering a lot of winter structure and color. Be careful not to plant too close to a pathway as the long flat blades can be quite sharp.

This installation took an intensive four days to complete, the intensity clearly evident by the state of my truck by the end of it:

Urgh!

Back in the Patch:

I am really happy to report that his front pearly whites (both top and bottom) are now in the tiny hands of the fairies and once again I can relax when he approaches me although, I have noticed a substantial increase in wet projectiles as he talks.

Best stay at ‘DEFCON 3’ for the time being.

DEFCON 5: Normal peacetime / home readiness, general and peaceful couch / movie / gaming / relaxing ESP family time.

DEFCON 4: Normal, increased intelligence and strengthened security measures:

This generally relates to screen-time abuse / Minecraft server / WordPress logins / Password and Username issues, DEFCON 4 has a direct effect on weekly allowance and can sometimes involve internal WIFI connectivity issues, domestic bills, Amazon ordering debates and sparrows populating our purple martin box.

sparrows
DEFCON 3: Increase in force readiness above normal readiness:

Including intermittent and unintentional saliva evacuation, flies in the house / on food and gross things found in the garden and pond that are subsequently brought into close proximity and presented on our back deck or worse, inside the house…as in: “Dad…Kumo has a….

“…Lets move to DEFCON3 people!”

Example of a DEFCON 3 incident: http://www.eastsidepatch.com/2012/04/exploding-goldfish/

DEFCON 2: Further Increase in force readiness, but less than maximum readiness:

This includes the wiggling of teeth at obscure angles and involves me directly should a major domestic appliance or vehicle suddenly stop functioning. We ALWAYS move directly to DEFCON 2 should the toilet plunger see some action or the compost bins are full and require immediate evacuation.

DEFCON 1: Maximum force readiness:

Obnoxious odor-emanation at close quarters, instantaneous projectile vomiting, high-fevers and stepping into any unmentionables. Rats, roaches and toilet overflows warrant an immediate DEFCON 1 emergency response.

Internally we classify the degree of a DEFCON 1 incident by the height of the reactionary jump:

Moving more sensibly along:

‘Cactus Man Jr’ is now in a somewhat unnerving state of perpetual winking, and

his acne is getting alarmingly worse.

For anyone who does not know this somewhat disturbing story, I killed the original Cactus Man in a horrible, overtly aggressive face-carving incident which, in turn, killed all the other paddles in the adjacent area (his family).

Some time later the paddles started growing again and Cactus Man (Jr) popped up in exactly the same place where the mutilation originally occurred, only this time the paddle had already grown some eyes!

The recent winking transformation is like his way of acknowledging the botanical irony.

Finally:

Yes once again I got bullied, as I do every year around this time, into buying another ice-plant from the nursery.

I tucked it into a secluded spot around this yucca where it was was not in my direct line of sight.

Out of sight – out of mind.

The first Walsker lily pads are showing up in my ponds, these early pads always carry some of the most vivid coloration.

This sand cherry does a pretty good job also.

I need some burgundy canna around the base of this shrub.

I will leave you with a couple of performances on Saint Patrick’s Day:

http://youtu.be/WAAth4KMqyQ

Stay Tuned for:

“Blooming Canthas!”

All material © 2014 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques

“Blast from the Past”

ESPatch Jul 28, 2013 10 comments

I found some old photographs while I was in Scotland…and took pictures of them.

This is me, on one of the many occasions my sister took advantage of the fact that I did not really mind being taken advantage of.

Note: Mud-pie bucket…fantastic!

Sweet big sis…mostly ;-)

My sister had an affinity for training animals at a young age.

This was our first dog, “Amber”.

My dog encounters unfortunately involved receiving a lot of puncture wounds.

Amber apparently did not care too much for having her juicy bones removed involuntarily from her jaws by a small child uttering complete gibberish.

I cannot blame her.

trip_to_beach

I had to include this photo with my cousins just because it communicates the “tolerance and general demeanor” of the average British seaside excursion…(character-building stuff a trip to the seaside : no iPhones /iPads back then).

Ah yes, I remember the days as if yesterday…freezing-cold North Sea water, crunchy sand-filled sandwiches, windbreaks, flasks of tea, and the ever-present sensation of always being just a little “too cold”, even on the hottest days of summer,

a sensation I cannot say I have ever had in our Texas summers…

…”Only one more planting-bed to go honey”.

I think I must have been auditioning for a part in The Nutcracker in this one.

Note: Background windbreak.

Moving Less Nostalgically Along:

Back in the Patch:

More rain storms this week…and it is almost August!

This storm front arrived packing a serious light show, thank goodness this bolt missed my post oak on the left.

The barometer sages

Leucophyllum frutescens

had correctly predicted the weather change once again. It is said that heavy pruning can diminish the blooms on these plants, but I have never noticed any degradation and I keep these two pruned tightly to reduce legginess and central splaying.

These two will be getting an aggressive haircut as soon as they finish showing off,

and the plants are not completely covered in bees and hoverflies.

Other observations this week:

Blue Dashers and many other dragonflies are busy posturing and performing some quite “risky” meter high antics.

The waxy Moy Grande (Texas Star Hibiscus) has thrown out some massive blooms this week.

On a contrasting note:

Remember these fine “cowboy toilet paper,” mullein?

Well they are not so fine any more.

If this is what happens to them in the summer it must have been an inconvenient and a rough

(and I do mean “rough” ahem)

few months for the cowboy on a strict bean diet.

Enough said.

Now onto some critters:

Stepping into this sandal would have also been an uncomfortable experience.

This is a great leopard moth caterpillar and it cast a long shadow as it quickly crossed our carpet the other night.

It was huge.

Some friends of ours found this rhinoceros beetle,

Dynastinae

They are also called elephant beetles, Hercules beetles, or Atlas beetles some of which are among the largest beetles on Earth.

This one is a male as it is sporting the “tusk” which is used for fighting both over females and for feeding sites and rites on trees, logs, and crops.

In spite of their fierce appearance, these beetles are harmless and feed only upon plant material.

Finally:

Laziness, procrastination, heat and an unwillingness to wield my pick axe resulted in a great result this week.

After my strange yucca tumbling and sawing of the trunk at the base, it was my intention to dig out the tap root and replace the plant with something else. I even tried a shovel on it a few times but it wasn’t moving, so in the ground it stayed.

After the rain I walked past the stump and yes there it was, not one, not two but numerous new yuccas on the rise.

…In fact, a scary amount.

I am looking forward to seeing what will happen here.