Out of Control Plants

Three plants come to mind when people talk about a plant going out of control.
The first one is bamboo which really depends on the variety of bamboo and who you ask. Some people claim you can just kick over the new sprouts when you see them and it keeps it in check. I don't think I want to find out the hard way.
The second is kudzu. A very green and fast growing vine that has taken over many highways in Louisiana and is listed as an invasive plant in many of the southern states. It just doesn't get cold enough to keep it in check.
Asian jasmine though has to make the list as well. Although easy enough to pull up and get out of the pond when it creeps in, it's hard to get rid of every root if you are trying to get rid of it completely. It will come back with only one root and fill a bed in a season if you let it.

Of these I only grow a little bamboo in a pot since it won't try climbing over the edge and trail across the yard or up a tree or through the holes in my fence.

Bamboo in the Tropics

Although growing bamboo in your yard at home might not be the best of ideas, you probably won't have them get this out of hand. Here they use them as furniture though and view this kind of growth as a new dining room table more than a problem.

The bamboo I have growing in the back yard isn't nearly this large and is contained in a pot. My wife thinks there might be some kind of city ordinance against bamboo of this size.

Tamarind Tree

Although it is grown in zones 10-11 the tamarind tree has survived it's first day outside. I planted it yesterday in one of the pots that had beets in it before. I have since eaten the beets.
It looks a little wilted but not badly. I have watered it twice a day like everything else.
I'm also working on two other projects. The first one is setting the tile around the planter boxes. I'm putting the tiles down first to kill off most of the grass and then I'm going to level it better and reset them.
The second project that I have been putting off for some time is making a fence panel out of bamboo. Since it looks like I really only have enough to make one with a few pieces left over it might turn into a shade canopy for tomato or other plants that need to be shaded in the hot part of the day. Time will tell.
Unfortunately I don't have the ability to put up any pictures of the projects since my wife has the camera and she's in Pennsylvania. She'll be back soon though and after a couple days I should have pics of it all.

Spring Fling

Ok, so I cheated on my garden with other gardens. I don't think that is as serious as it might sound. My wife would rather me visit a bamboo forest than plant one in our back yard.



We were really out to get some photos for her upcoming book on using botanicals to enhance everyday life which she will be selling on the cruise with Royal Caribbean sailing out of San Diego on the 23rd of April after her lectures aboard ship.
If you are interested in a copy please let me know. My email is easy enough to find on my contact page.

While we were out an adorable kitten began following us around, probably because I kept petting it and calling it to follow us. There were unfortunately no interesting plants blooming at the time.

Summer progress

This spring I had so many ideas about what I wanted to do with the yard and so far very few of them have come about.

I was looking back at some of the posts only to see some of them. The bamboo fence is not up. It's still a pile of bamboo in the backyard waiting for me to figure out how to put them together. They haven't gone to waste though. I used some of them for proping up the beans, and one for a retaining wall of sorts by the squash and pepper plot.

The mimosa tree isn't entirely cut down. It knows it too and is trying to sprout all over. I'm just going to have to get the chainsaw and axe back out and get it finished.

The shed in the back still needs paint and probably a new door. The entire thing should be lifted up off the ground but that's a separate day.

I HAVE kept lots of plants alive through the hot part of summer. Things have started to cool off and things are starting to flower and produce again.

A winter project is to jet my tomato plants to produce inside. I'll probably have to cut out the top of the plant hutch so the light will work better. Right now it shines through a screen and isn't quite doing what I want.

Solar projects are hopefully going to work well this winter. The backyard was comfortable last winter due to the mirrors. Out in 40 degree temps in short sleeves because I was getting too hot working in the yard.

Austin Trip Botanical Gardens

I went to see my brother in Austin while my wife attended a writing conference there, which seemed to go well.

They took me around to see the usual suspects for a plant type, the Botanical Gardens and a really neat nursery. I picked up a plumeria there, which I never realized that it was the same as a frangipani, a yellow one. I brought him a couple key lime trees which he already had one but it went through a tough winter and shrank a little. While I was there I picked some really nasty leaf eaters off of his key lime tree and took pictures of his lemon tree.

While at the gardens I saw some great hibiscus and bamboo, both of which I adore, but my wife says that invading the city with bamboo is somehting that probably wouldn't be appreciated.

I know this is a gardneing blog but upon leaving Panera Bread I saw a most lovely flower named thing that can only be appreciated by seeing it, too bad I coudn't drive it.