The other morning I walked outside and we had actually had some rain in Central Texas during the night.
I walked over to my “Callahan’s” rain water collection tank under my gutter and was surprised to see it full to the brim. I lingered at the rare spectacle, then noticed the dripping from the gutter…big drops. I went for my camera like a gunslinger, but could I capture the moment of impact, being the geek that I am?
I have to say this was one tough subject.
The top one is my favorite with the sunlight reflected in the middle of the explosion.
This one was like atomic shock waves.
Also sparkling after the rains like pink champagne were these succulents. They look good enough to eat, so I did.
I washed them down with a nice chianti. (More obligatory Lector noises).
Here is my new middle bed with its contouring. I was planning to wait until the spring to plant anything else in here, but as usual I could not wait. I had a thought this morning to raid my defunct waterfall area (to be a stonecrop waterfall this year) of all it’s remaining lava rocks, what I didn’t realize was just how many were buried in there. I found them under leaves, under a layer of dirt, under other stones…the sheer luxury. I had totally forgotten how many of these rocks I had originally picked up from a work colleague’s house some years ago. I love when projects are spontaneous like this, one thing leads to another, and before you know it the layers are coming off and the work (if you can call it that) begins…rocks were layed and some transplants were going in.
I managed to get a whole line of these sedums from one container
that I divided. I am planning large swaths of similar plants that
conform with the mound contours. That is the plan, I await
the reality.
Final moss boulders were placed around the perimeter to finish defining the bed.
Then on with the lava rocks. Many of these rocks already have small stonecrop plants growing from puddles of soil that, over the years, have gathered in their nooks and crannies. I think these will spread fast when the warmer weather hits this year.
It takes a while for stone placement to “feel right,” so I know I will be moving and generally fidgeting with a few of these boulders before all the limestone dust settles… ah, all part of the fun. The rocks will look a lot more embedded when the small plants grow and “naturalize” the landscape and the rock edges around them.
I finished the scene up with a couple of cedar carcasses and a gazing ball. Now I really do have to wait for the last frost to do my planting. In the meantime I will get some recycled tumbled glass for a shiny top mulch finish.
Okay, so I did transplant one soft leafed yucca – well it was looking really unhealthy trapped in it’s container, it was the humane thing to do, and anyway, I was sick and tired of it groaning and wheezing every time I walked past it.
“What is this place sis”?
“I am not sure, perhaps an ancient megalith? Lets eat before we absail off the nostril area”.
I have transplanted more of the champagne succulents around this megalith’s “botoxed” face
to look hopefully like a future bizarre hair-do.
What? You get the idea, this one is from the Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall, England.
(Thank you for the link Monomom).
Here is a view of my new middle bed taken half way up the ladder into my post oak.
Some other backyard oddities:
I cut my giant elephants ears off about a week ago (a painful thing for all involved), and now look at it.
It looks like some abstract art piece…
Or perhaps a Taro sushi roll! A fried shrimp roll (courtesy, Wikipedia) Have you seen the full “Wolf” moon as of late. The wolf moon arrives amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, a time when the wolf packs would howl hungrily outside native indian villages. Thus, the name for January’s full moon. Sometimes it was also referred to as the Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes applied that name to the next Moon.
“Dude look at that Wolf Moon! And get that man some Listerine, immediately!”
“Dude gargle”!
This was the disturbing scene I encountered at my Giant Timber Bamboo at the bottom of my yard…I am concerned.
Either a cat, a racoon or perhaps…
Angelina?
More likely…
“Arrrgh! Naughty paw, m-m-must stop scratching at ESP’s
Giant Timber bamboo”!
Bambusa oldhamii.
Dead Post Oak leaf lying on top of one of my red chairs. I shot this image a couple of months back on a barn in Salado, Texas.
Interesting use of old saws. I wish my shed was a little larger!
One more new arrival in the patch to finish. I have been looking out for this one for about a year. I first saw it at the Natural Gardener, (back toward the chickens). They have three of them that shroud some AC units. It makes a really great (and super dense) privacy shield, about 10-15ft high.
“So many saws, saws within saws, spiraling saws”!
The bamboo is called
Bamboo ‘Alphonse Karr’
Bambusa Multiplex ‘Alphonse Karr’
What caught my attention about this bamboo was the green on yellow
striped stems. Armed with a christmas gift card, it was most
definitely a must have. It is already in the ground.
Stay Tuned For:
“Thyme Lords”
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