What kind of flower are you?

I am a Sunflower What Flower Are You?

Fort Bend County nurseries re-opening!

Enchanted Forest has been open since Tuesday.  When I went in earlier this week they were still without power, but they were still smiling and happy to help. 

Caldwell's is open as well. CayDee and her staff were also busy cleaning up, but still happy to help. I dropped by for some grafting tape and was quite happy to find that they stock it!

Calling your locally-owned nursery ahead of time can be a good idea, since some of them may be out of certain things that are in high demand after a storm. If they are still without electricity, cash is usually much appreciated. 

If the local places do not have what you need, the big box stores are also open.  If you need fencing material to stake your trees, Lowe's of Richmond/Rosenberg is well-stocked with u-posts.  Home Depot's selection is usually not as good as Lowe's anyway, and this week it has been even worse.  If you need anything sturdier than a bamboo stake for your trees, save yourself the trip.  

Posting Post-Ike

Looks like most of the other Houston area gardeners whose blogs I read have made it, even if some of their plants didn't!

Brenda Beust Smith
Nancy
Herself
Scott Head

Taking Stock after Ike: We're very fortunate.

Well, the important things came through fine (husband, house, cat, electricity, running water).

Some of the fun stuff, not so good. No cable. Which means no internet. Which means I had to find a public place to use the web and e-mail relatives to let them know we haven't been sent tumbling off to Oklahoma by any hurricane force winds.

Most of the damage in the garden was minor. Potted plants were all sheltered and/or turned on their sides, so nothing in containers blew away.

Treewise, things are a little more interesting. Our larger trees (the ones that would be really dangerous if they fell) appear fine, having only dropped a few small to medium-size branches. Amazingly, none of these damaged the house. Other people in our subdivision did not fare so well. Some have similar-sized trees that fell on their homes.

My little trees are interesting cases. The Methley Plum is still shorter than I am, and planted in a protected area, so it appears untouched. The fig and the pomegranate were slightly uprooted, so fixing them should not be too difficult.

The worst damage was to my Saigo (Saijo?) Persimmon tree, which was snapped like a toothpick just above the graft. It was not broken off entirely though. About half of the trunk is still attached. Even though it is nearly four days after the fact, it still looks alive. The rootstock appears fairly healthy, and (as I was told at the plant sale where I got it) has pretty good structure. I hate to let even part of a good plant go to waste.

I have no idea what to do about this. Stand it back up, and see if it heals? Take cuttings and re-graft? (Which means I have to learn how to graft, and fast.) Call a tree expert? Go back to the plant sales and replace?

Since the next major plant sale around here isn't till January (and will likely be very crowded, since I'm sure many people lost fruit trees to Ike), I figure I have nothing to lose by trying.

I just wish I knew what to try.

Ideas, anyone?

Preparing your landscape for a hurricane

Here is a useful article from the Corpus Christi Caller-Times with some advice that makes sense:

http://www.caller.com/news/2008/jul/19/have-a-landscape-plan-in-case-of-hurricane/

At this point, all of the potted plants that I can pick up and carry, along with several ornamental items have been moved into the garage. Those that cannot be moved easily are under our covered porch or in other sheltered areas.

Here in Fort Bend county, we are starting to see more cloud cover, and more breezes. Nothing major yet. I'm sure time will fix that.

Stay safe, everybody.

Y-Ike-s!

It looks to be headed straight for us:

Image source: Weather Underground

We shall see how it goes for those of us southwest of Houston.  Keep an eye on Nancy's blog for news of what's happening to the north.

Looks like I'll probably need to shelter some of my more delicate potted plants. Our more experienced neighbors are planning to ride it out, as are we, with a disaster supply kit for ourselves and our kitten at the ready, of course.

Do it yourself Rain Barrels?

It's getting tempting...



I have looked around for ideas for a do it yourself rain chain as well, but unfortunately tools I do not have, and some I'm not even sure I should use (blowtorch, anyone?) are usually involved. Rats. Gotta keep looking.

Sunny skies!

And a few (slightly curvy) wisps of cloud and a light breeze over here southwest of Houston. Our little kitten Chico is sitting on the windowsill by my desk as I type, birdwatching.

As predicted, Gustav is directing most of his fury at the residents of the Louisiana coastline. Keep them in your prayers!