Around the Garden | Late April 2022

Despite the delay in spring, things are slowly waking up and moving along in the garden. I still haven’t mulched all of the flower beds nor have I caught up on clearing the paths of weeds, but I’m doing what I can. Frankly, I look back at the energy I had even with a newborn and a toddler and can’t believe I managed to stay mostly (ok, not really) on top of what I did. These days I do what I can and say boo to the rest. At some point the paths will be weeded and I’ll get some more mulch down but until then…

This gulf coast toad was very glad to have a bit of water sprinkled over them last week as I watered. It’s been a dry spring and rumors abound about a 2011-like drought for this summer and fall. Thankfully we were blessed with a lot of rain on Monday that will tamper that down a bit. But when will the next rain be? And living in Houston do we even want to wish for rain?? Because we all know what wishing for rain means.

Our stand of Texas ragwort looks stunning this year and I enjoy seeing it when we drive in and out every day. Some are starting to go to seed so they won’t be lasting that much longer, through May, and then we will mow them down. I do wish I could turn this into some kind of perpetual meadow with other species filling in when others go to seed.

Chickasaw plums!

It doesn’t look like much but I’m working hard on getting the native plant bed going. Eventually I’ll move the Penstemon laxiflorus you see towards the back and intersperse it better throughout the bed but when I planted them last fall I was assuming I’d only do half a bed of native plants. Now I’m not, though I am doing zinnias in the front portion this year and am currently working to intersperse other native plants I’ve grown from seed into the front as well to establish roots and hopefully bloom next year. I’ll still do zinnias in the future but probably in the perimeter beds one we get those built.

Borage is lovely as always.

The penstemon…love it so much! It is mostly starting to go to seed now. If you would like some, leave a message and we can converse and I can get your address to send some when they are ready. I will have *plenty*.

Baptisias are rebounding—and I’m just waiting for the perimeter beds to finish because I think they would look good on the side of one of those. But, maybe in the yard. I just don’t know if the deer will eat them or not (probably).

And a few of my Viburnum dentatum seedlings I upgraded to larger pots. I need to do the others I have in smaller 4″ pots but haven’t gotten to those yet.

There’s so much more going on in the garden but this is what I managed to get last Thursday evening. The seasons keep ticking on by…where did April go?