Latest garden blog posts

• Our new home! Our new Garden! We just moved into our new old 1955 house in Austin Texas. Here's a photo of the backyard. It's basically a blank canvas although we have some nice Magnolia trees and a garden shed. Notice the "mini golf" style pond just off of the back porch. Not exactly... 01-01-2009, 11:06 AM by phempton to Patrick

• I'm a newbie..... I'm starting a garden but it's in a lot of shade. Any recommendation for blooming plants or flowers that do well in these conditions... i'm really just learning. F... 12-18-2008, 6:59 PM by FOehmke to FOehmke

• Duranta erecta (Saphire Shower) Wow! Another great shrub for attracting butterflies that I discovered at the local nursery. It has many names: Saphire shower, Golden dewdrops, Pigeonberry, Sky Flower, Golden Dewdrop and comes in blue and white I think. The flowers of Duranta erecta... 11-25-2008, 6:49 AM by phempton to Patrick

• What kind of tree is this? I'll post this on the Plant Identification gadget, but here are a couple photos of a tree that have in my new backyard. And the trunk.... 11-07-2008, 2:38 PM by phempton to Patrick

• Vivero's Garden Centres and Nurseries. Theses are places where I should never be let loose. We have been gardening over the weekend and found a hole in which we decided that a medium sized deep red oleander would go nicely. This morning I set off to buy one. I infact came home with the boot... 11-04-2008, 6:05 AM by EvieSpain to EvieSpain

• An incredible butterfly bush - Eupatorium coelestinum or Mist Flower No not a Buddleia. Those are pretty amazing plants to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. I'm talking about Eupatorium coelestinum or Mist Flower . I was at a great nursery in Austin called The Natural Gardener and took a stroll through their butterfly... 11-01-2008, 7:24 PM by phempton to Patrick

• How to add interest to a pillar or post or tree trunk I mentioned before about using old bricks like this in a rosette pattern. My mind keeps coming back to this because I think that round shapes are just pleasant to look at. A post is just a post but when you decorate it with other flanking materials, it... 10-31-2008, 4:24 PM by phempton to Patrick

• My new favorite perennial vine I saw this at the garden center used as an arbor vine. It is Quisqualis indica or Rangoon Creeper . Apparently it's an aggressive vine that originates in Southeast Asia and is used quite a bit down in Austin. It dies back each winter but keeps coming... 10-29-2008, 3:53 PM by phempton to Patrick Tagged with: "Quisqualis indica", "Rangoon Creeper"

• Creating pathways in my garden No this isn't really about my chicken legs! Living down in a very warm climate takes some special consideration when it comes to gardening. I suppose it does anywhere. Zones are important anywhere, but here the heat is the primary concern. So my style... 10-27-2008, 11:55 AM by phempton to Patrick

• A simple wire composting system A simple composting system using three bins. These are coated metal basket types and work very well. This is one such setup at The Natural Gardener nursery in Austin. The first bin is the rough stuff and you can see food scraps, branches, grass and leaves... 10-27-2008, 10:53 AM by phempton to Patrick

• A couple of great container gardening ideas This simple idea struck my wife and I as a nice way to break up a broad surface. We've got a little shed that could use some shelves like this. I like how they are staggered and use old rough cut boards. And these two are kind of simple. The first is... 10-26-2008, 8:14 PM by phempton to Patrick

• More gardening ideas Another idea that I just love. Reclaimed bricks put down as a pathway. Then a rosette pattern with seasonal annuals as a focal point. Here they used a half whiskey barrel and filled it with all kinds of nice flowers. So here's a closeup of the circle... 10-26-2008, 8:05 PM by phempton to Patrick

• Gruene Texas - dance hall and gardening Gruene Texas is a great little slice of southern heaven. Here's the water tower from inside the dance hall The Gruene dance hall is the real deal. Every well known country artist has played in that little hall. Back to gardening. I like this container... 10-26-2008, 7:55 PM by phempton to Patrick

• Austin Texas on a Fall Evening Man I love being back in Austin. An October evening and it's still warm.... 10-26-2008, 7:48 PM by phempton to Patrick

• "Quiet in the Desert!" Hello again everyone! In response to the comment on my 1st posting here, I must agree that indeed, the Sonoran Desert CAN be one of the quietest places left on this planet. As my wife Donna and I live only a few miles away from Davis monthan AirForce... 10-01-2008, 12:55 PM by dv1396r to dv1396r

• Hi to all!! Ok so this is my first blog! We moved to this house in 2005 one month after my youngest daughter was born. I have always had a love for Gardening, and it started here when i seperated the iris bed in the fron of the house. It looked choked, and the neighbors... 10-01-2008, 6:09 AM by Shanna Stevens to Shanna

• Hello from Greenfingers Hello everyone i`m a new member from S.W.Wales/UK 64 years of age and disabled, I operate from a power chair and most of my gardening is in containers and a greenhouse. I hope to get to know some of you gardening lovers. johnwyn.... 08-25-2008, 12:36 AM by johnwyn to johnwyn

• We Just Moved To Tucson, AZ! Hello Everyone! Recently my wife Donna and I moved to Tucson Arizona from near Battle Creek Michigan. I have to say I sure do love it out here! Way back in the early 80's I was stationed out in the Mojave desert, and by comparison, this Sonoran desert... 08-13-2008, 5:09 PM by dv1396r to dv1396r

• my garden I started this garden in may 08, I moved to my new home in November of 07. So far my garden consists of sunflowers, cannas, asiatic lilies, daylilies, liatris, crocus, tulips, black eyed susan, coreopsis, roses, sedum, delphinium, peonies, gladiolus,... 08-05-2008, 12:23 PM by minnesota_girl to minnesota_girl

• Gardener's help save the environment This is my first blog entry here and I am really excited. I love gardening and I have been doing it for years together now. Here are few tips I jotted down for other gardeners out there. These tips will help you save energy and also help the environment... 08-04-2008, 12:09 PM by greenguy to greenguy Tagged with: gardening, trees

• Hi, New here Hi everyone I just wanted to stop by and tell you a few things about myself. I have grown up in the south my hole life and right now living in an apt..with my two sons and soon to be hubby Scott...i love plants and so does my new found friend that lives... 07-30-2008, 5:45 AM by Robin to Robin

• Latest plants to consider Alrightee....saw these great plants in the conservatory and need to take note for when we return to Austin: Alocasia odora - Much bigger and more upright than colocasia esculenta. I need to find this one and plant it in a wet area of the future yard.... 06-22-2008, 8:24 PM by phempton to Patrick

• Photo attached Hi all- This is the photo I was going to send to Ikram but I can't upload to his mail so I'm going to post it here. Talk to you guys soon and PLEASEEEEE put some photos on the world map under the Gardens tab. I want to see where all of you are from and... 05-27-2008, 5:20 AM by sherry to sherryl Tagged with: world map, gardens, everyone everywhere, attached photo

• oops never mind that didn't work... 05-08-2008, 10:24 AM by sherry to sherryl

• My garden finally waking up! These are a few pics of my garden coming alive.... 05-08-2008, 10:11 AM by sherry to sherryl Tagged with: photos, waking up, garden