Gardening on Talk Radio

If you can stand to get up that early, there is a garden show on AM 740 of Houston at 6 o'clock in the morning. I stumbled across it this morning on the radio, while my husband and I were trying to find a traffic report. Sounded like good stuff. :) It's probably old news to people who have lived in this area longer, but it was a pleasant new discovery for me.

Since early in the morning seems to be the only tolerable time to do hard work in the yard during the summer, I expect I might be listening on my trusty walkman (yes, I still have one of those) on occasion. Assuming I can drag myself out of bed.

Hibiscus!

Many varieties of hibiscus grow all over the Texas Gulf region, as well as in Southern California. In fact, the Houston Garden Book has an entire chapter on the origins, propagation, and care of these Chinese natives.

Our winters around here are cold enough that these will often need some heavy pruning after they die back from the winter chill, but they are worth having around just for the spectacular flowers.

Here are three examples (once again from my Grandfather's garden):

Black Beauty (Tentative identification.)


Fiesta


Ross Estey is probably my favorite out of the three. Its petals almost shimmer in the sunlight, and the strips of yellow on the back (pictured below) give this flower interest from every angle.

Growing rare fruit from seed..

Here is a handy reference page I found via Google, including information on Eugenia aggregata, which I will be attempting to grow in the near future.



Read the rest ofmy Eugenia Aggregata posts.

Silk Tree (Albizia julibrissin) a.k.a. "Mimosa"

I have been seeing these all over the place and wondering what they are. Now I know, thanks to a picture of one I found in a book. And I want one!

Photo Source

Click here for more photos

Unfortunately, they set seed, and are considered invasive in places like Texas, so I will have to consider that before I do anything drastic. Like planting one. It may be worth it though, for a pretty tree. :)



For more on this plant see the following:
Duke University
USDA profile for this plant.
Wikipedia

I have also seen them growing happily in Southern California.

Cherry of the Rio Grande (Eugenia aggregata)

This Brazilian native is not named for the Rio Grande river in the United States. :)



It produces an attractive red fruit, which has a flavor resembling cherries and raspberries at the same time. When I tried them myself, I found that they are a little on the tart side, which I like, but if you are into really sweet stuff, these may not be your thing. According to several sources I have read, the fruit is also useful as an ingredient in homemade jams and jellies.

The specimen pictured here is growing happily in my grandfather's yard in Southern California. According to the profile at DavesGarden.com, it also has been known to grow in Arizona, attesting to its tolerance for drought, and in Florida. Given that its native country is known for its tropical climate, it seems very likely that this species would grow in Texas as well.


I will be acquiring seeds soon from my grandfather's plant. We'll see how that goes. It takes about five years for these things to produce fruit--assuming I don't kill them first. :) More on that as it happens.

Links for more Info:

TradewindsFruit.com
Quisqualis.com (Includes pest info)


Read the rest ofmy Eugenia Aggregata posts.

Book Review: The Tropical Look

Full Title: The Tropical Look: An Encyclopedia of Dramatic Landscape Plants
Author: Robert L. Riffle.

I recently had the opportunity to browse through this one, thanks to my Grandfather who has a copy. It is a handy resource for anybody with an interest in Tropical plants, either by choice, or by necessity. It has two sections of good photographs, and plenty of plant information, including many that will grow on the Texas Gulf Coast. It was while thumbing through this book that I learned the identity of a certain tree I like.

Cons: Still not enough pictures!

Seeking inspiration

My husband and I recently made a trip to the South and Central coasts of California. While there, I kept my eyes on the plants, to see what I could find that will grow in coastal Southern California, as well as the coasts of Texas.

One thing is certain: It is tough to be a plant in either place. In California, plants must be highly tolerant of drought, in Texas, they must be high ly tolerant of excess water. Snow is not a problem in either place, but the occasional nasty freeze during winter is an issue in both regions.

Fortunately for me, I have a grandfather whose backyard is practically his own private botanical garden, and he was happy to show me around and point out plants that have potential for a region like this one. The pictures in this post are ones that I took in his garden, which he planted entirely on his own steam, and grew over a period of almost 14 years now.


Over the next several days, I'll be posting pictures of some of the plants I saw on my trip, and information about them as well. Some of them will be no surprise to experience gulf-coast gardeners, but for a newbie like myself, this is all still fascinating.



I'll also do the occasional post on differences between the two regions in terms of the natural landscape. Just for the heck of it.

This is even truer in humid climates:

Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration.
- Lou Erickson

I'm still here!

I've been really busy collecting things to blog about here. I will slowly be adding them over the next few weeks. :)