Monthly Archives: April, 2012
Texas tough hell strip
While at the Battle of the Flowers parade in San Antonio yesterday for FIESTA 2012 (amazing), I could not help but notice this tough hell strip. It is under a highway overpass, surrounded by pavement, and highly unlikely it ever gets any irrigation besides natural rainfall. How tough is this hell strip!!!??? And how beautiful!!!??? …
Hello beautiful!
Gardening never ceases to amaze me – I think that is why I love it so. Every day there is something new happening. The wildlife that a garden attracts is incredible – I would NEVER trade this for a boring lawn. When we purchased our home we never saw a lot of birds, bees, butterflies, …
Mason Bee House
What a sweet gift from a sweet friend! I look forward to mason bees finding this beautiful house. I can think of no gift better to a gardener than something beautiful and functional that they can really use. I was going to make a mason bee house, but I know it would never look as …
Centerpiece
Sometimes it is the simple things that are simply the BEST! My neighbor, Jennifer, made this for me. She is a “Jane of all trades” – I just love it. I can see these used on wedding reception tables for an outdoor wedding, among many other places. I love mine outside with wildflowers, it makes …
TIMBERRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!
Hello tree – for the last time! We used this firewood to place along all our metal edging to protect it by absorbing the impact of this 50 foot tree. Tying a rope to direct the fall more precisely….and looking pretty cute doing so… “Hmmmmmm…..what have we gotten ourselves into?!” Come on Carlos….pull pull pull! …
Hell strip heaven…
This San Antonio hell strip is practical and beautiful. Simple and sweet! The dragon’s blood sedum (Sedum spurium) will thrive in this spot. And this blackfoot daisy (Melampodium leucanthum) will laugh at the reflected heat from the street. These are great choices for a Texas hell strip! I would recommend several specimens of pink muhly grass …
Wildflowers still a blazin’
My daily view…it really does take my breath away. Every day there is a new surprise waiting…another flower I have not seen before. The Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja indivisa) show has begun. These flowers are my Texan husband’s favorite wildflower. For me, they remind me of home in Canada, as we have them there too. Although …
Xericstyle makeover – “Palladini Paradise”
When I was asked to XERICSTYLE a friends’ garden I was so excited! Is there anything more thrilling than transforming something? The garden bones were incredible to start, but unfortunately, everything was over-mulched, dying, struggling, or dead. We cleared the gardens to start with a blank slate, although most of the plants were saved and …
VOTE pretty please with sugar on top…
Which one do y’all like the best? Notice I took out the nasty skyrocket juniper that just does not make much sense….and I made my plants look a little bigger than they are. Why not? We live in a world with lovely technology, and I do enjoy using it. How fun!
You have to start somewhere…
…and this is where we started. When we purchased our home we knew we had our work cut out for us. But it has really been a blast (mostly! -ha!)…and we have learned so much. Xericstyle is all about the transformation and the journey… I still need to find another “before” picture for y’all – …
Xericstyle 