Zanthan Gardens
Week by Week in the Garden: Week 01: 1/1 – 1/7

January 7th, 2010
Week 01: 1/1 – 1/7

2006-01-04. Unidentified paperwhites and spider. These paperwhites are short, but pleasantly sweet-smelling, not like some modern ones.

Dateline 2010
The first week of the new year has been blackened by the ominous forecast of the coldest weather since the big ice storm of the first week of February 1996 (when AJM and I were marooned together). Not only will this freeze plunge Austin temperatures to the teens, it will be cold for several days: too long and too cold for plant covers to help much. While the first freeze of the season cleared the garden of overgrown annuals this one threatens to kill long cherished tender perennials. Cue much moaning and gnashing of teeth in the Austin garden blogosphere/Twitter.

I spent Wednesday (1/6) ahead of the front digging up what tender perennials I could: the amaryllis (all but the butterfly amaryllis had died down anyway in lighter freezes), scores of aloe vera, and the largest banana. All these plants needed dividing or moving to a sunnier spot. Nothing like the threat of disaster to focus and motivate.

Some losses will really hurt. I’m going to hate to lose plants I’ve grown over many years from very small plants especially the lemon tree, asparagus fern, and the philodendron–all which I planted out last year after they became too big for pots. I will be sad to lose my rosemary which I was training into a weeping tree form. I lost my first big rosemary in a similar freeze years ago.

Other plants I’m not going to be sorry if they get cut down to size because they’ve been unruly, overcrowding and shading the neighbors: the variegated Agave americana, the three Duranta erecta, the Port St. Johns Creeper (which had already frozen to the roots in earlier freezes). I’m very bad at pulling out something that survives because so little does. So I’ve let these run wild even though they’ve overstayed their welcome.

This hard freeze is particularly frustrating because so many plants put on a lot of growth since September during the rainy period Austin’s had after our 2-year drought. The cilantro and some larkspur are already sending up flower stalks and have buds–two months before normal. The Acanthus mollis has early summer growth already, its new leaves a fresh bright green and glossy. Worst, the fall vegetables were just starting to get growing in the last month after the pecans and oaks finally shed their leaves. We’ve harvested one cutting of Mesclun and that’s it. Goodbye English peas, swiss chard, and various other greens. Luckily these are easily replanted. Also agonizing will be the loss of many plants that I’ve struck from cuttings.

First flower: Narcissus italicus, (1/1). Only one flower. It’s been a very disappointing year for N. italicus and not a single paperwhite bloomed this year.
Blooming (very little after a couple of hard freezes): Lobularia maritima, Lonicera fragrantissima , Oxalis triangularis (white), Narcissus italicus.

Related

If you’re preparing for the oncoming winter storm, read Frost and Freezes from the Travis County Extension Agent.

Dateline: 2009
I love January in Austin. I’ve been analyzing my joy and come to the conclusion that the reason I love this time of year is because a low southern sun pours into my garden. With the high temperatures in the 50s, 60s, or 70s (and sometimes 80s), the sun is not the evil nemesis it is the rest of the year.

As I clear out the last of the fallen leaves, straighten and replant beds, the garden begins to look a little bit like a garden again. I remain very busy transplanting larkspur. Due to Austin’s ongoing drought, I think I’m going for a very short season garden this year: maybe from December to April.

Like 2007, it’s been hot and cold. Saturday (1/3) reached an uncomfortable 83F degrees; Monday (1/5), barely got into the 40s. Austin even got a little rain. The official total on Tuesday (1/6) at Camp Mabry was half an inch…more than we’ve had since November. We’ve gotten a few freezes this winter but not a killing one yet. A little frost damage but plants that typically die back (like the Port St. John’s creeper), haven’t yet.

First flower: winter honeysuckle, Lonicera fragrantissima (1/7).
In bloom: Amaryllis ‘Amoretta’, Duranta erecta, Lobularia maritima ‘Tiny Tim’, Narcissus (unknown paperwhites by pecan tree and in herb garden), Podranea ricasoliana, Rose ‘Blush Noisette’, Rose ‘New Dawn’, rosemary.
Vegetables: eating a lot of arugula and chard. English peas blooming and pods forming. Broccoli almost ready to eat.

Dateline: 2007
The weathermen were all excited about our lovely weather Friday (1/5), sunny and 81F degrees. You’d think they were reporting snow on Christmas (something that’s never happened in Austin). “Can you believe a day in the 80s in January!”.

Well yes. Friday’s high did not even break the record of 83F degrees set in 1923. In 2006, we broke two records this week, 85F degrees (1/1) and 86F degrees on (1/3). Temperatures topped 80F degrees seven times in January 2006. On January 4, 1997 the high of 84F degrees broke the 1917 record of 80F degrees.

I’ve come to expect some warm temperatures the first week of January before the coldest part of winter hits. The big news this week was the drenching rain on Wednesday (1/3). Other than that the first week of the year looks about the same as usual: various paperwhites are blooming; the nandina berries are bright red; almost all the oak leaves have finally fallen; and there is more larkspur than I know what to do with. The one piece of bad news is that I lost so many roses that I are usually blooming. I’ve replaced ‘Ducher’ (which was in full flower this week 4 years ago) but not ‘Madame Joseph Schwartz’ or ‘Gruss an Auchen’. The good news is that this year I have a winter vegetable garden and it has been coming along nicely.

First flower: Narcissus tazetta italicus (1/1).

Dateline: 2006
We continue to have beautiful weather…for March. I don’t really mind the record-breaking 86F degrees we hit yesterday (1/3) as much as I mind the drought. According to yesterday’s paper, 2005 was one of the driest years on record and we have nothing to look forward to except more of the same.

Despite the warm temperatures now, the very cold week in early December wiped out my Christmas blooming roses. Nothing is in bloom this week except for a handful of these small narcissus. Typically the larger N. italicus and Grand Primo narcissus are blooming by now and I’ve planted winter annuals.

However, I’m not going to fight the drought. I see 2006 as a battle to just keep going what few plants I still have left but I’m not going to spend this year outside watering. The garden and I are going dormant for awhile.

First flower: Unidentified paperwhites by mailbox (1/3); Chinese Sacred Lily (1/5).

Dateline: 2004
Almost all the leaves have fallen from the red oaks, now, the last leaves to deal with. I’m raking them up and mowing over them with the mulching mower. After that’s done, I’ll be able to use a critical eye to look at the underlying structure of the garden, or rather lack of it. This begins my tenth year of gardening here, and what’s missing is structure.

The year has begun with a mass of moist air rolling up from the Gulf, cloudy and gloomy-looking and yet 70F degrees! Most of the tender plants have been nipped by light freezes. The Neon eggplant is frostbitten on top but has one eggplant growing low, shrouded in leaves. The lantana, salvia, and Pandorea ricasaliona are still blooming.

2004-01-01. Unidentified paperwhite.

The miscellaneous paperwhites are finishing up and the ‘Grand Primo’ opened their first flowers on New Year’s Day, right on schedule in my garden.

2004-01-12. Same paperwhite, in full bloom. I thought it was a ‘Grand Primo until it opened.

Roses in flower now are ‘French Lace’, ‘Gruss an Auchen’, and ‘Madame Joseph Schwartz’.

Dateline: 2003
Early spring? We’ve had a week of “wall-to-wall” sunshine, perfectly clear and dry. Around town I notice that the quince, the jessamine, and irises beginning to flower. I have a couple of bluebonnets that are sending up flower stalks. This is a full month earlier than last year. “Too early!” I think. “This careless exuberance will come to sorrow.. Thanks to El Nino, we haven’t had a freeze yet. But, I bet we do.

The rose ‘Ducher’ continues to bloom magnificently. It must really like the cooler weather; I saw it in full bloom at Barton Springs Nursery as well. Once again this year, ‘Madame Joseph Schwartz’ is also doing well. She has quite a few buds and is forming a lot of new bud growth. ‘Blush Noisette’ (which should be named ‘Old Reliable’) also just blooms and blooms. A flower here and there on ‘Peace’, ‘French Lace’ and ‘Souvenir del Malmaison’.

Some unidentified paperwhites are in full bloom. The ‘Grand Primo’ narcissus have been blooming since December 23rd. And the Salvia farinacea continues to be in full bloom.

The Spanish bluebells are poking up their noses. The summer snowflakes and ‘Trevithian’ daffodils have been up for a couple of weeks now and are about 5 inches of leaf growth.

I can smell the winter jasmine when I weed in the north border, but the bush is covered by the Pandora ricasaliona, which has not frozen back.

The yellow snapdragons in the winter garden are finally looking great. I’m glad they decided to bloom during Mamoff’s visit.

Dateline: 2002
Thursday January 3, 2002
Hard freeze at last. I think this is the latest killing freeze we’ve ever had. Finally the basil, tomatoes, eggplant, Tecoma stans, Mexican heather, the lantana, and purple Wandering Jew succumb. Gone is the polka dot plant [Note: it came back.]. Some of the roses are frostbitten, as is the Japanese aurelia.

Yesterday began with a thunderstorm and by the time we woke up it looked as if it was going to be nice. It was wet, and warmer, and the sun started to come out. Then by noon it was cold, windy, with low dreary clouds moving in. I felt cheated and grumpy all day.

Today has treated us with weather as perfect as it can get, with the promise of continued sun and warmth all next week. The forecast for next Wednesday is a high of 71 degrees!

Saturday January 5, 2002
Thunderstorms through last night and when we get up the rain barrel is full again and the air wetter and warmer. By noon, though, it changes to cold, windy, with low gray clouds.

Sunday January 6, 2002
A glorious day to be outside, finally. It is clear, still, and sunny and currently 62F degrees. I spend all day in the garden, in short sleeves, cleaning up. A bright green lizard is sunning itself on a tree trunk. I agree with him; it’s so good to be in the sun and breathe fresh air. I could never stand to garden in the north. I could never stand months of the kind of cold dreary weather we’ve had these last two weeks.

I’m very pleased with my new rose, ‘Madame Joseph Schwartz’. She’s forming a dense little bush and is covered with buds which froze this week. But she does not seem discouraged by this and is putting out more buds. The David Austin rose ‘Heritage’ had some buds freeze, but two flowers are about to open.

I start digging up spots to stick larkspur plants which, as usual, are coming up all through the mulched paths. The biggest larkspur are about 5 inches tall now. The nigella is already a foot tall. And some of the bluebonnets that sprouted in September, now have rosettes the size of dinner plates.

The ‘Trevithian’ daffodils are poking their noses up and so are the summer snowflakes. The ‘Hawera’ and the ‘Quail’ have been up since December and are about 8 inches tall.

Weather-wise this week has had it all. On the evening of New Year’s Day we were teased with some snow flurries. I saw it on the news and AJM saw them when he was driving JQS home, but none fell here. The storm moved east and dumped snow and ice on the Deep South.

Dateline: 2001
Saturday January 6, 2001
Finally a perfect sunny day. I’m sorry that Mamoff left on Wednesday; it’s gotten warmer and sunnier each day since. The Indian hawthorn has one pink flower. I’ve never seen it flower so early; perhaps this is the result of all the rain this winter.

First flower: Rhaphiolepis indica (1/6).

Dateline: 2000
Tuesday January 4, 2000
Throughout the holidays the weather was in the 70s and low 80s. I started making a winter garden on the south side of the house; AJM helped tear down the fence there. Tonight it’s going to be in the 20s.

Wednesday January 5, 2000
A hard freeze last night. The Acanthus mollis, which had about 2 1/2 feet of new growth since fall looks like it died completely back to the ground. Both the datura plants died back.

Dateline: 1999
Friday January 1, 1999
Very foggy in the morning and then a warm wet day.

Dateline: 1998
Sunday January 4, 1998
Warm and wet with highs in the 70s. Spent most of the weekend cleaning up the beds and “editing”; that is, pulling up or moving around volunteer bluebonnets and larkspur and weeding.

Wednesday January 6, 1998
Warmer wet air from the Gulf. By noon the sun reappears. I uncover the plants I covered on the 2nd. Everything looks fine. One Narcissus tazetta italicus in group 98c-13 has its first flower.

First flower: Narcissus tazetta italicus (1/6).

Dateline: 1997
Saturday January 4, 1997
The high of 84F degrees breaks the 1917 record of 80. The weather is wonderfully hot. I want to do nothing but lie in a hammock and read. (Note 1997-05-18: We get a hammock for my birthday.) Instead AJM chops down the dead cherry laurel and I cut back the wild ruellia in the west border and mow the meadow at 1.0.

First flower: Narcissus tazetta italicus (1/1).
Flowering quince. See the first flowering quince in bloom on 38th street.

by M Sinclair Stevens