June 11 , 2015
Water solutions + East Austin Succulents home garden
Some of our xeric plants were n’t big fans of our generous rain . But that ’s not what chance to this cenizo ( Texas sage ) , though too much piss and big drainage can do them in . Nope , what happen toAmber Simon ’s cenizo shrubsare star sign painters who chopped them to sticks!Daphne excuse how to encourage them back : Lightly prune out some of the branches to increase sun into the centre to help bourgeon new leave all around , not just at the top .
Here ’s Daphne ’s tipsto rationalize healthy cenizo shrubsand why NOT to hedge them!My babyAloe maculatas made it through douse just fine ! I finally took the plunge after realise them bloom since February atin.gredients(here with aboriginal , fragrant vine Carolina jessamine ) . Plus , Eric Pedley from East Austin Succulentsconfirmed for us their cold hardiness . Daphne reach Aloe maculataPlant of the Weekfor its drought rebelliousness in well - drained gardens , a staring familiar to agave and globe mallow . And yes , winter cold hardiness!Also calledAloe saponaria , or soap aloe , it grows in a tight cluster at the base , unadulterated for small garden , too . Wildlife witness never tire of the bees , butterfly , moth and hummingbirds that cluster on its blossom . Drought was on our minds when month ago I booked Christopher Charles , Conservation Program Associate atAustin Water . By tap time , our eye were glue to weather report on damaging inundation and more rain on the way . Christopher tours us through garden rainfall management , like terracing , to slacken down swooshing water before it collects at curbside . Rain garden are an easy task to let racing water system seep into soil mildly , rather than eat at your garden or pool next to the house . Create your rain garden by digging out a natural depression — or swale — in the earth where body of water devolve from trough , the cap , or hardscape . Many plants shape well in rainfall gardens , like recurrent native Turk ’s crown and bamboo muhly ( foreground).Native evergreen sedges likeCarex retroflexaneed little guardianship and go along with wry - wet - dry condition . Summertime eye - pop crinum lily are gracious about Texas weather , too . notice out rain garden from Austin ’s Grow Green .
To conserve water — now that we ’re back to dry out — Christopher takes a quick spirit at wicking beds . Like Christopher , John Dromgoole notes that body of water controland conservation start by ameliorate your soil ’s permeableness . And , since fresh plant need water assistance their first class , he ’s got confidential information on handy dandy timer and ollas . Viewer picture goes to Jon and Kristy in Boerne , who built a head high protective structure to resist off vegetable pests in summer with gauze . Using recycled cedar ( ashe juniper ) as posts , they attached PVC pipe that ’s rated for above and below reason after paint it to blend in . Small eye hooks allow them to anchor mantle when those frosty days arrive again !
On tour , Julie Patton and Eric Pedley put some pizazz into their pocket-size yard , once home to dozens of lawn . Slowly , they ’re moving out the lawn for lots and lots of succulent . Eric ’s passionateness for succulent jump with a class from a friend and later a trip to theAustin Cactus and Succulent Societyshow . He dumped his day job as a bartender and startedEast Austin Succulents . Perhaps you ’ve met the greenhouse ’s mascot , Frankie , when he go to work with Eric . In back , Eric grows some plants for the nursery in a wicket menage . A more saved homemade glasshouse harbors many of his transplant succulents . by and by this summer , I ’ll post vane extras on how he built them , so you ’re ready for winter!Their home ’s former owner was a mason who populated the yards with his creations , but he left his clinker block wall unfinished . Julie and Eric add on to it , layer it with stucco , painted it orangish and added tiles . On the ends , he turned clinker blocks around to hold succulent like Graptosedum ‘ Blaze’ . They have n’t quite cypher out the stonemason ’s brick smoker but it makes expectant staging for succulent containers . To pep up their outdoor living way , they stained the floor a deep flame orange to go along with the wall . When Julie lucked into a free chiminea , she pumped it up with spray paint . With lots of pallets on bridge player , Julie build their coffee table and chairman . Is n’t that cool?She even used one in the kitchen for their compost bin ( outside to demo).Julie keep back an out on craigslist , throwing away , or inexpensive finds to finish her furnishing with a few creative dab of paint . Eric ’s a woodsman , too , like his Adirondack chair . From a Bastrop mill , he bought a sawed off redolent cedar log . Its patina richens with each sanding . Cat Judas is literally blind to its beauty , except as a good alight situation . He recycles honest-to-god filing cabinet into planter . His top for filling up large containers : buckets turned upside down or Styrofoam pulley-block . When their succulents want body of water , they guide for the rainwater drum . Eric habituate a sump heart for effective urine pressure . Plus , it ’s a great way to impart fertilizer . Eric take that he ’s not a designer . He ’s a plant guy . Even in container , though , he apply “ thriller , makeweight , shedder ” proficiency . In the narrow masonry raise bed in front , firecracker fern ( Russelia equisetiformis ) spills contrast against tidy succulent conformation . He likes to use Ghost works ( Graptopetalum paraguayense ) to buffer spikier textures . To finish his textural picture , scavenged rock candy butt against the mete , while other flagstones turn upright operate as miniature statue . Julie and Eric trust in the power of finishing pinch , like gravel — not only for pretty but to wait on drainage for these dispirited - water lover . The mason ’s letter box purpose was perfect for succulent that like confined roots . Well , you ’ve just get to see it all for yourself !
Thanks for stopping by ! See you next week , Linda
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