Bring on the Butterflies and Planning for Next Year

 Ahhh, my favorite time of year.  I know I say that a lot, but it's true!  We get a little respite from the blistering heat of summer and it seems like the garden sighs with relief too.

Much of the zinnia that self-seeded throughout the islands beds is on its way out now, but this patch is still vibrant, and getting lots of attention from butterflies and bees.  I've been busy collecting seeds for next year :-)

It took me a while to get this photo of a gulf fritillary nectaring on the zinnia.  He seemed to be overwhelmed by choice and kept flitting from bloom to bloom before I could focus on him.  Finally he settled down and I was able to get some good shots.

This is the first Buckeye I have seen this year, so I was pleased to be able to watch him for a while and get some photos.  I don't know if it's just my imagination, but it seems like we've had more of them, and earlier in the year in previous years.

I had planted native milkweed roots earlier in the year and some of them came up quite quickly.  But for some reason, they didn't thrive.  Not sure if it was because of too much competition from the zinnias, not enough water, too much water, or what, but only one of them made it, and I wouldn't exactly say that one is thriving.  Luckily, we still have lots of tropical milkweed, as this Monarch butterfly discovered.

Sorry about the bad quality of this photo of what I think is a Pipevine Swallowtail, but the photo was taken through the blinds and a rather grubby bedroom window, zoomed in across the garden to the Vitex tree. This is the first of these I have seen this year.

I haven't seen a hummingbird here at the house since last weekend, but was thrilled to be able to capture this photo of a female ruby-throat at Kleb Woods before they all head south.   
 

I suppose it won't be too much longer before I will be cleaning up in the garden, pulling out the spent plants and prepping the beds for next year.

I've looked back on the successes (and failures) from this year and am making plans for next year.

Our garden always seems to be dominated by orange, red and yellow, so I definitely want to add some more variety next year - more whites, blues, purples and pinks to offset all the orange.

I made a start the other week by ordering some seeds from Park -- Achillea Summer Berries, Cleome Queen (mix) and Agastache. And just this morning I spent a pleasant hour browsing through the Native American Seed catalog and trying to narrow down my list!

What plans do you have for your garden next year?


Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

Mission San Jose - part of San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.

On a recent trip to San Antonio, my husband and I went on a self guided tour of some of the historic Missions that make up the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.

Specifically, we visited Mission San José, where the visitor's Center is located, Mission San Juan and Mission Concepción.

The park was established to preserve the chain of Spanish missions that were built along the San Antonio River in the 1700s.

We started our tour at Mission San Jose, where these photos were taken.

Around the visitor center and throughout the park, native landscape can be seen and there are impressive cacti and succulents, as well as other native plants which were shrugging off the heat and drought as if it were nothing.

 

There were informational signs throughout the park, illustrating what the buildings originally looked like, how they were used and detailing life within the Missions during that time.

This is what I meant by "impressive cacti and succulents." These were everywhere!

Mission San Juan is, I think, the most complete of the missions.  Not only is the church intact (although it's currently undergoing interior renovations) but the surrounding walls, gates, Indian quarters etc. can still be seen.

Here's the front of the church.

 Behind the church are the remains of the convento, where the missionary lived, which had an attractive garden growing in it.

 The exterior walls of the Mission compound contained the Indian Quarters, storage rooms and fortifications.

I'm pretty sure this isn't original, but it certainly made a nice shady place to sit and people-watch for a while :-)

In fact, porches with climbing vines seemed to be quite popular.

The main gate was rather imposing, with heavy doors and a row of ports, I guess you would call them, through which marksmen could fire when necessary.

And what's that on the right?

Yup - more cacti, this time growing on a lean-to roof!

Mission San Jose also has a grist mill, now mostly reproduction, and a 270 yr old acequia, or irrigation system. 

During this drought, there was virtually no water in the grist mill, although the acequia still held water, much to the delight of these birds.

Here are some snippets of information from the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park web site that you might find interesting:

* Spanish missions were not churches. They were Indian towns, with the church as the focus, where, in the 1700s, the native people were learning to become Spanish citizens. In order to become a citizen, they had to be Catholic; that is why the King of Spain sent missionaries to acculturate them.

* The four mission churches within San Antonio Missions National Historical Park are active catholic parishes, and hold regular services. They are open to park visitors during park hours, except for special services, such as weddings and funerals. (The church at Mission San Jose is currently undergoing renovations, but should be open again by the end of the summer).

And finally, I'll leave you with a couple of photos of plantings outside the Visitor Center.

Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

Native Plants Versus Invasive Plants

I read in an article not so long ago that a good way to tell what sort of plants would be likely to grow well in your garden was to head out to a natural area and see what was growing there.

Sounds reasonable, doesn't it?  Well, yes, as long as the natural area you choose to view hasn't been overrun by invasive plants.

We happen to live in a new neighborhood, most of which is still undeveloped, including the lots on either side of us. One one side of us stands a grand liquidambar, or sweet gum, tree and some smaller oaks. It's a natural thicket, with its own understory of large shrubs and vines and it's home to all sorts of birds and other wildlife.

I love it and it will break my heart when they finally get around to building on the lot, but I digress.

You'd think it would make sense that, since I want the kind of garden that attracts wildlife of all sorts, all I would need to do would be to look and see what is growing over there and either dig some up to plant in my yard, or purchase it somewhere...

WRONG!!

I had already smelled the delicious aroma of the japanese honeysuckle Lonicera japonica, which is on the top ten list of Invasives to Avoid  at Houston Grows, and I'm already well aware of how invasive that is, no matter how lovely it smells.

Recently there's been a large shrub blooming that I couldn't identify. I've been seeing it literally everywhere for the past week or two and I had done all kinds of Google searches trying to find it, but couldn't nail it down.

Well, I finally found out what it was.... on that same top ten list of Invasives to Avoid :-(

The photo in that article wasn't very clear, but something made me Google on that particular plant to see if I could find any closer, clearer photos. I found this photo at Dave's Garden.

Am I correct in thinking it's a Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense)? Such a pity, because it's rather attractive.

So where does a novice gardener like myself find the information she needs to keep from making big mistakes?  

First, I have to say that garden bloggers are a great source of information!  Many are Master Gardeners and everyone is so helpful and willing to share their knowledge with newbies like me, I have learned so much (and I know I still have a lot to learn!)

Local nurseries are a great resource too.  I happen to live close to The Arbor Gate in Tomball, which has a great native plants section, and some very knowledgeable employees, Master Gardeners among them.

In addition, there is some great information online.  As I mentioned earlier, there's a list on Houston Grows of Invasives to Avoid.

Also on Houston Grows - Kathy Huber has a list of Texas Superstars, plants that tolerate our extremes with minimal soil preparation and watering and no pesticides.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center has a native plant database and lists of recommended species by location.

Texas A&M has a listing of Texas native trees with details and photos of each tree listed.

And that's just a couple of the online resources I saw.

So, using a combination of these resources, I hope that I'll be able to create a beautiful garden and avoid the invasive species.

Having said that, I probably shouldn't mention my St. Augustine lawn, should I?

Nah.... thought not....


Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.