Duke Solution #23

That's how many solutions I think I've tried to keep him from destroying the backyard.  All I know to do is put everything up high or in big pots.  If this doesn't work, and he has been known to dig out plants from pots, then maybe I'll resort to cactus.  I hate cactus.

Notice I have planted rocks in my flower beds.

The old fallback

When all else fails, plant Lantana. And I should know, because I fail a LOT. Full sun, little to no water, it quadruples in size in a couple months, and it comes back the next year. My kind of plant for the desert. Now if I can just find something that works as a dog repellent.

Morning Glory

Once again this crazy vine grew up through the rotted out seat of this old chair. It's thicker this year and seems to take the shape of the chair. I wish I was a good enough gardener to plan something like this! And it's the only plant Duke hasn't dug up.

The Amateur Gardener

Seems that most of our long distance friends and family live in areas where winter hasn't gotten the message that it's time to move on. And then there's us. We don't have the scenery that most of you have, but I have to say our weather's hard to beat sometimes. (Wednesday's high is expected to be 92.) My plants, the very few I have, started coming up several weeks ago and survived a couple of mild freezes along the way. This Salvia plant comes back bigger and better each year.



The Rose of Sharon in front of the guest house is not much to look at right now, but it just came out of nowhere last year...those quirky acts of nature are usually my favorite. Kind of like last year when a Morning Glory vine started growing up through the rotted seat of an old wooden chair.

And I think this is the first time I've ever planted tomatoes. I bought two different varieties just to see how each one does. I placed them on the scorching hot west side of the house. I eat some version of tomatoes almost every day, so I don't see these going to waste. We'll have salsa all summer long!

Neglect and Renewal

I'm usually particular about having grass and weeds in my flower beds, not to mention renegade vines, but being preoccupied with other things has really taken a toll on our yard and landscaping. Ouch.



I just haven't had the desire or motivation to do anything outside, and the mosquitoes and flies have only been adding to my list of excuses. I haven't even taken the time to fill a jug of water and nourish my potted plants. Poor babies!





So I awoke today with a renewed sense of Destroy and Conquer! The vines are gone, the invasive grass and weeds have been chemically altered (sorry, Mother Earth), and the plants are finally watered. I may even buy some pretty fall mums today and get back to a once favorite pasttime.

A much needed manicure

Most of our weekend consisted of yard work, and we'd let so many things go that there was a ton to do. Between the potato vine explosion and the passion vine that intrudes on anything in its path, it was like Little Shop of Horrors in the backyard. This is the potato vine "under control," but that's a relative term:



We also replaced the mulch in all the flower beds, both front and back, which ended up being two trips to Home Depot and 15 bags of mulch. I'm going to pass on telling about my Home Depot experience, for now. Anyway, I like the new dark brown:



But sometimes the best things in nature are those that happen naturally. We inherited this old chair when we bought the house, but I had nothing to do with the Morning Glory that popped up this year and made its claim:



Sweet!

Entangled

I think I now know why they call it a passion vine. Man, does this vine have some passion! It wants to touch, fondle, and basically get initimate with anything (and anyone, I might add) in the near vicinity. It's cute but sort of annoying at the same time. Kind of like Pepe Le Pew.

And although it loves to bathe in the sun, it's decided to take a new route this year and get lovey-dovey with the light string inside the porch.

Get a room, already.

Yowza!

Over spring break I planted three potato vine plants. I planted one in a flower bed about the same size as this potted one, and blogged that I expected an "explosion" of growth in a few weeks.

HOLY POTATOES! They did not disappoint. This is part of my problem as an inexperienced gardener. I don't anticipate how much the plant will actually grow. I always assume that it won't grow as large as the label says, because I live in a partial desert climate. We'll potentially have had at least ten days with temps between 100-108 by next week. (You know it's hot when you walk outside and your body is so shocked by the heat that you get A CHILL. Weird.)

Banner blooms

The flowers up there on the banner are not bluebonnets, although one of Bailey's friends thought they were. They're called Angelonia and are similar to Salvia, but I think they're a lot prettier and not as weedy looking as Salvia. The best part is they're perennials, which means I didn't have to do a single bit of coaxing or begging to get them to come back. I don't even think they care that Midland hasn't seen rain since....well actually I can't remember the last time it rained. Anyway, they just popped up and have been growing crazy all spring.

Joysticks

If you can find these at your nursery and can grow these in your area, get some! I've seen them called "joysticks," but can't find their real name. They're perennials, require very little care, and will bloom all throughout the year. After a big blooming burst in the spring, the flowers will die and you have to break or twist off the stalk. But give them time and more stems will grow, and I even had a few blooms during the coldest part of the winter. The leafy mound at the bottom stays green ALL year. They really increase in size the second growing season, and I think they look so cool popping out next to other plants in the beds. And if I can't kill it, it must be a hardy plant.

I like dirt.

I should post a picture of my dirty feet and fingernails to prove how much I love digging in the dirt and planting in the spring. But even I have my limitations. No one ever needs to see dirt that has ground into a person's heels. It's never attractive. But people walk around every day of their lives with grungy feet. And then wear sandals! There are inexpensive scrubbers and tools that will take care of such nastiness, not to mention shoes that keep us from having to see your feet.

I digress. Here's a couple of plants that I expect to mass-multiply in a couple months, the tried and true Lantana and the Sweet Potato Vine:

A good day off...

...is one where I get my fingernails dirty in potting soil. I fixed the window box that was sagging from the guest house window and then planted some jasmine in it for the winter. I need a manicure now, but it was worth the fun!

Rust

Looks like tonight we're expecting true Fall temps to blow in. Maybe my mums will appreciate the cooler weather. These were a birthday gift from Alan. Or was it for our anniversary? I never really asked to make sure, since both occasions fall within a day of each other. Either way, I couldn't have chosen a prettier color myself.

The Gay Desert Queen

That's what Alan calls the passion vine. A few weeks ago I was complaining that caterpillars destroyed our beloved and obnoxious vine, but with a couple treatments of rose bush insecticide, it bounced back in all its prissy glory. Now it's splattered with dozens of these gaudy purple blooms. They are a bit "out there" and appear to be quite proud of their reproductive parts!