MANY THINGS ARE SENT TO TRY US

Years ago a garden acquaintance was walking around the garden with her husband. "And what's wrong with this plant" he asked, "too much sun? too little sun? too much rain? too little rain?" Of course this is Texas and what else do you expect. You might add to that list, a late frost, hail, devoured by snails, slugs and pill bugs, plants mounded up by fire ants, attacked by aphids, mealy bugs, scale, bagrada bugs, harlequin bugs and leaf footed bugs, tomato horn worms and deer.
My garden has been visited by all of the above and for one second I throw my hands up in the air and say "I'm giving up gardening" It never lasts. Whatever you call it, passion or addiction,  I can't keep my hands out of the soil. And with all that frustrates me about gardening in Texas there is always a reward around the corner.

The agarita, Mahonia trifoliata, never produced a single berry last year because it was hit by hail but this year it is putting on a show and I am hoping this will be a fruitful year.

The hellebore I bought in 2011 and hasn't bloomed once since then is blooming this year. Do you remove the leaves from your hellebore? I read that many gardeners in England do.

Among many orange California poppies I have a white one.

When I picked up , on impulse, a bag of freesias in the fall I had no idea that they would put on such a show. Planted in pots as well as in the ground their strappy broken foliage may not be much but the flowers are heavenly.

Two of my lemon trees and the lime all filled with flowers. But where are the bees? The few I have seen have been on the alyssum although I saw two solitary bees on there yesterday feeding on pollen.

And the ever faithful chocolate daisy, Berlandiera lyrata, is back for its 10th year.

The Aloe X 'David Verity' has produced a successful bloom as a result of our mild winter

And despite the fact that we were away when my Texas mountain laurel, Sophora secundiflora, bloomed. I am so proud that I grew this one from seed.

And when the fire ants start mounding their soil around my succulents I just shrug my shoulders and get on with hosing them off.

 Not that they need any more rain after the 4" we received over the last 3 days.

GARDEN BLOGGERS' BLOOM DAY MARCH 2014

Welcome to March in my garden, which is far from being its normal self following a terrible freeze just over a week ago. We are not used to having a temperature as low as 20° at this time of the year and it has taken its toll on Southern gardens. Despite this, there are some plants who just don't care and they are the ones blooming today.

In the early morning Tulipa clusiana Lady Jane showing her underskirts.

An hour later she begins her show,

Until finally her petals are fully open. In Texas these are the only tulips that can be grown successfully, naturalizing and returning whatever the weather. I think they are sorely under utilized.

This large agarita bush, Mahonia trifoliata, was just a little behind some of the others and so her blossoms managed to survive unscathed. There is an intense honey fragrance on the air today.

A cluster of unknown narcissi on the corner of the once named Spanish oak garden. I shall be sorry when their blooming finishes because they have just been magnificent this year. I think the spring bulbs have benefited from our very cold winter.

Viburnum 'Spring bouquet' Has been its most magnificent this year.

Close up of viburnum flowers.

Ipheion

Summer snowfake, Leucojum aestivum.

Narcissi with California poppy.

First buds on the stocks.

Gopher plant, Euphorbia rigida

Erigeron daisy.

The first of many bluebonnets to come. Please join Carol at Maydreams to share your March blooms.

A SPLASH OF YELLOW IN THE WINTER GARDEN

It's still winter here in central Texas and she let it be known this last week when the nighttime  temperatures plummeted to 20° It was bad news for many of our plants that had leafed out, some already with blooms.

 Here's one plant whose blooms were not affected by the events of that evening, Gopher plant or Euphorbia rigida.
This plant was new to my garden last year and I am thrilled with how it withstood summer heat and a very cold winter. Its long trailing stems seem to be just perfect for trailing over the limestone ledge rocks in the sunken garden.

I already have plans to add more to this garden. Several seedling have shown up in places remote from the original plant.

The milky latex sap found in the stems of euphorbias mean that the plant is not attractive to wildlife, a bonus in a garden where deer visit. It is in my plans to add more outside the walls where deer roam freely.

There are blooms on another unknown Euphorbia species, this one wintered over in the house. The tiny blooms show up like little beacons on the stems.
The Euphorbias comprise a family of over 2000 species, many of which will be recognized in the garden by their milky sap. Known sometimes a spurge most gardeners have one plant in their mind when we say spurge-that terrible spreading or upright summertime weed.

The blossoms of at least one of my agaritas, Mahonia trifoliata, was spared from the freeze. Tucked in a corner of the house and twisting around a live oak tree may just have saved this years berry crop. Because of its extremely prickly foliage it is best grown in wild areas of the garden.

Gerbera daisies are not flowers I ever buy, unless tempted by a sale tag. Who could resist a $1 sale tag for really healthy looking plants with many buds hiding in the crown of the leaves. I couldn't. And I was sorely in need of some larger pots to pot up the pepper plants I had bought.
We had just over 1½" rain yesterday and a chill wind is blowing today. I'm not feeling much enthusiasm to go out into the garden today.

AGARITA

I'm sorry I missed seeing the agarita, Mahonia trifoliolata, blooming on Garden Boggers' Bloom Day because I'm sure it was. It is growing underneath a live oak tree down the side of the house and is often overlooked. In the shade they may grow a little rangy but in sun they form a rounded shrub. Even with only morning sun and under the oak tree this plant has lots of blooms with many more buds to open.

The agaritas I have are all growing outside the walls of my garden. They occur naturally. This is not a plant that is often found in the nurseries. The plant should be made more available to the gardener because, besides being low maintenance, it is also drought tolerant. It is evergreen and friendly to wildlife for the natural protection its holly-like leaves provide. The flowers are followed by small small berries which are a source of food for birds. Homesteaders would collect the berries by laying a sheet underneath the bush and hitting the bush until the berries fell off.

ONLY THE MORNING WILL TELL

I will only know tomorrow morning whether I am to see the first bloom of this Texas Mountain Laurel, Sophoraa secundiflora, lovingly grown from seed. Actually all I did was put the seeds in the ground and left it to its own devices.

Now it is a 6' tree and was to bloom for the first time this year. It will now depend upon how cold it gets tonight. Judging by how cold it is out there right now I think it is a pretty good bet that the feeze they are promising for the Hill Country will happen.

The tree is growing in the native areas outside the walls with only the cedar beside it to protect it.

Close by, the Texas agarita, Mahonia trifoliata, also is in full bud.

And buds on the Lady Banks rose. Only tomorrow will tell.