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Texas Wildflowers | Rosa bracteata, McCartney Rose
We initially saw these roses growing along Texas Point NWR and later discovered they are an invasive rose. Originally from China they join a host of other roses that have naturalized across the south, including the Cherokee rose and prairie rose. While they are beautiful, they are like other invasives and smother out native vegetation. Definitely think twice before planting or starting these plants in your own yard and opt for a non-invasive rose! This guy in Tampa had a tree sized McCartney rose! Yikes! More information: +Texas invasives +Galveston Bay invasives +USDA plant database
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June in the Garden
I had to go home a few weeks ago for an interview so I snagged a few photos of my parent’s backyard while I was at it. The tomatoes were doing great and had a ‘doh’ moment and forgot to take any back with me to Beaumont. Anyway here’s a mini-tour. Hoping some are still on the vines when I get home at the end of next week. A tiny little spider hanging with the four o’clocks I started from seed. The corner bed has become a jungle so I wanted to see how it felt looking up. Part of the tomatoes… Moss rose that reseeded itself in one of…
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Florida Trail Tales 14: Navarre to Fort Pickens
As we crossed over the bridge at Navarre, across Santa Rosa sound, to Santa Rosa island, we had to squish against the side railing of the bridge for bicyclists who couldn’t manage to get off and walk their bike and share the path and fisherman reluctant to move their poles. Where’s the common courtesy?! We picked our poles up off the grate that was beneath our feet and I pretended I couldn’t see below and notice the ocean. Somehow over the years I’ve developed a small fear of heights, nothing big, only if I think hard about it do I get a little nutty. I was glad to get off…
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Watson Rare Native Plant Preserve | Part 2
For the first installment: go here There will definitely be at least one more, if not two, posts about this tiny little preserve. Had to do some digging to come up with names for some plants and then I still don’t know a few! Had some fun chasing this ant around on what I believe is Rhynchosia tomentosa. And then I spied this Passiflora lutea growing under the taller herb layer. Didn’t see a flowering plant. And while I was down checking the passionvine out I decided to see how an ant feels and show how it looked like a mini-forest under there. Looking down towards the pond in front…
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Critters and Canoes
Our project here in the Big Thicket will be wrapping up here in a week or so. Here are some of the cooler things I’ve dug out of our camera. We’re constantly seeing strange and interesting things, though the heat is getting to us now and by mid day we wish we were indoors! A bit out of focus but a cool mantis nonetheless. A creepy spider protecting her eggs A variegated violet Some worm or caterpillar was in this cypress needle covered thing and it must’ve fallen loose from the limbs above because we found it dangling at about 5′ above ground. By the time we left it had…
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2011 Summer Interview Series | Renee Garner at Wolfie and the Sneak
I first found Renee several years ago writing at You Grow Girl when Chris and I started getting into gardening more in Florida. I think she was giving away some seeds and I was lucky enough to get some from her. I wish I could remember what they were! Anyway, from there I found her blog and then made her a contact on Flickr and subsequently the rest is history as I became an avid blog reader of hers, even if I’m not always commenting, I’m always reading! Lately she’s been busting out the garden inspiration and I thought she’d be a great addition to the interview series, plus Renee…
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Dad and Me
To celebrate Father’s Day here’s a few good photos of my dad and me! A bit blurry but coming down the aisle 9 years ago! Backpacking at Texoma a few years ago. At Saguaro National Park in Tucson. At Bahia Honda State Park in the Keys on one of Dad’s annual trip to the Keys when we lived in Florida. Just Dad when we went to Glacier for a quick evening because we both had trips that coincided with each other to that area. Another Keys trip! And a Christmas trip to Florida. See ya soon Dad! 🙂 Love ya!
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Texas Wildflowers: Saururus cernuus, Lizard’s tail
This plant is one of my favorite wetland plants. They offer beautiful texture to the marsh and smell pretty good, too! A wetland plant, they are a perennial and range to approximately 2′ in height. Lizard’s tail is native to much of the U.S. and can be found in freshwater to brackish marshes. The plant mainly spreads by rhizomes so it would be easy to divide and spread in a garden. Apparently in Connecticut and Rhode Island the plant is considered endangered! More information: +Missouri Plants information +USDA page +Wildflower.org +Connecticut Botanical Society +Pond Megastore potential place to buy it for your garden. +Water Garden.org another potential place to buy…
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Florida Trail Tales 13: Crestview to Navarre
After leaving the more congested area around Crestview we set off on a mostly quiet walk along U.S. 90. Sure there were large semi trucks driving passed but the shoulder was wide enough for us to follow and jump off when needed. The sky went from looking to clear up to getting dark again as clouds passed over continuously throughout the afternoon. Shortly outside of town, before crossing the Yellow River, we stopped at a gas station for a bathroom break and I asked the cashier if she knew of any camping areas nearby after she questioned what we were doing. After I told her about the Florida Trail and…
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McGuire Tract @ Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge
A few weekends ago Chris and I ventured out to the McGuire Tract of the Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge. It was a hot and humid day by the time we arrived so there wasn’t a lot out on the trail. We had to drive through some back roads to even reach this tract and I wondered how often it was even used. Luckily the ‘trail’, a wide grassy road of sorts, was mowed so we didn’t have to deal with itchy grasses. I’d love to explore more of this area and paddle around on the Trinity too…some day! Next time we’ll attempt it in a non-heat and buggy season.…