salvia1

salvia1
Originally uploaded by topochicovase

Salvia greggii; I get kind of giddy about this plant. It's what started a lot of the xeriscaping movement and I first learned about it when I volunteered at the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute near Fort Davis. I think the red's my favorite, though this fuchsia is a toss-up, and I'm hoping for hummingbirds! :)

More dirt & mulch.

pedro1
Originally uploaded by topochicovase

You can see the start of the side yard (and some of the brush I removed) and I'm not sure if we're going to try for some native grasses in there or not. Going to see how the investment on the opposite side does for the next month (I won't be home for at least three or four weekends) and if it holds up well, I may just repeat the wildscaping on the other side and save some clump grasses for up underneath the young Spanish oak, which is directly behind the camera.

Those are Radiance, Confetti, maybe? and Texas Flame and lantanas up against the stones, and a Mexican honeysuckle in the foreground.

Spent Thursday night, most of Friday, and probably this upcoming evening planting my parents' backyard. Three young dogs and a lack of somebody young to do any gardening has reduced what was once planted, grassy, and full of rosemary bushes and mint to dirt, weeds, and one voracious red-tip photinia and a Spanish oak we planted from an acorn. And my mom's bougainvilleas. I went out late on Thursday and broke ground the prepared half the yard for planting --not a particularly easy job, but did a good job replacing the workouts I've been skipping for a week. Brought back memories from my trail-building days with TPWD-- and designed a rough plan with plants and guides and my folks sprang for a bunch of plants on Friday morning. It's looking good (small, but good! we've got several months before it's going to look fuller) and all very water-savvy; lots of Mexican sages, blackfood daisies, lantanas, etc. I may take pictures tomorrow, or I may not.. it simply does not look impressive, and my parents would kill me if they knew I was posting pictures of the tragedy that was our backyard.

Also convinced my parents to switch to premium, non-HEB-aisle dog food. That took some selling. Rembrandt and Pedro have skin issues and I'm thinking their nasty Beneful is to blame.

Feeling pretty excited about the thought of a revitalized rail system in the U.S. Also fairly annoyed about the Somali pirates. We're spending X amount of dollars on ridiculous amounts of defense, yet a lifeboat without fuel is beyond our capabilities? Hmm.

Also, this marks the first Easter I think I've been home since High School! And so I'm feeling quite inclined to eat Cadbury eggs and decorate the table with fresh lavender asters. :)