Zanthan Gardens
Week by Week in the Garden: Week 13: 3/26-4/1

April 1st, 2011
Week 13: 3/26-4/1

2010-04-01. What a difference rain makes. Or the lack of it. Left to shift for themselves the bluebonnets are few and small. A few small pups are sprouting from the frozen Agave americana.

Dateline: 2011

Austin hit its first 90 degree day last week (3/23) and by Saturday night (3/26) it was so hot and muggy we turned on the AC for a few hours. Sunday (3/27) the high dropped 13 degrees to a seasonable 73 and by Monday (3/28) another 9 degrees to a high of 64. Lovely. All the trees except the pecans have their brilliant spring green leaves and these dry days provide an equally brilliant desert blue sky. Dry. Dry. Dry. The larkspur are sending flower stalks which droop before opening in the afternoon sun.

The wild garden blooms despite my neglect. It’s overwhelms the paths. I don’t think I’ll ever manage the strength to get it sorted out again. The pink evening primrose is one of the few flowers that really prefers this drier spring. As does the Nierembergia gracilis ‘Starry Eyes’. The Engelmann daisy and cilantro make a fair showing, too. The Jerusalem sage is in full bloom but the leaves droop when the temperatures reach the 80s. The weeping yaupon which isn’t weeping is covered in tiny flowers and bees. The larkspur and poppies are just beginning to flower. The pathetic bluebonnets are going to seed. The baby blue eyes are also tiny and wizened. I don’t doubt they’ll be back when the weather is more favorable.

Now that the trees have leafed out, the green worms have begun to descend their silken threads. I’ve killed a few but the infestation is mild compared with earlier years. I’m hoping it’s because I’m kind to wasps.

First flower: Ungnadia speciosa, Mexican buckeye (3/26); Hyancinthoides hispanica (3/26); Aristolochia fimbriata dutchman’s pipevine (3/30); Echinacea purpurea (3/30); Papaver ‘Dorothy Cavanaugh’ (4/1), honeysuckle (4/1).

Dateline: 2010

2010-03-30. Ubiquitous photo of Texas bluebonnets three years later at the same spot. With all the rain this year they are three times as big as in 2007 and the nasty yucca is gone.

A perfect spring week here in central Texas. A big storm front blew through last Wednesday night (3/24) dropping half an inch of rain in an hour. So the plants were well watered going into a week of sunny deep blue skies brilliant behind the bright green of all the freshly leafed trees. Yes. It’s suddenly shady. Austin’s starting to hit temperatures in the 80s consistently: 82 (3/26), 83 (3/27), 81, (3/30), 85 (3/31), 82 (4/1). I’d be just as happy if the 80s held off for another month so that all the flowers now in full bloom could look fresh for more than a few days.

My dependable spring favorites, Tulipa clusiana and the rose ‘Souvenir de la Malmaison’ are in full bloom. So are the bluebonnets. (Two whites and two pinks appeared this year.) The rose ‘Ducher’ grew so fast and tall that it fell over on itself in a high wind and is now commandeering the path. The cilantro forms a misty white cloud over the meadow where it completely dominates. (All the larkspur are in the front yard this year and they haven’t started the big show yet.) The baby blue eyes, tradescantia and its cousin, the false dayflower, are hip high and taken over most of the yard. I must remember to keep the false dayflowers out of the bluebell bed as the bluebells have been completely smothered this year.

All the flowers on everything are huge. I can’t remember ever seeing flowers so big here. So all they needed was twice the water they normally get. Hmmm

The list of things blooming is too long to keep track of: white, blue, and yellow irises; ‘Hawera’ daffodils and the single ‘Grand Monarque; white sweet alyssum and yellow snapdragons, the last of the summer snowflakes and the beginning of the Spanish bluebells; Mexican buckeye, cherry laurel, Indian hawthorn, and bridal wreath. But no wisteria in my yard. Elsewhere, yes. But not mine.

Speaking of elsewhere…the Lady Banks roses are as beautiful as I’ve ever seen them all over Austin. I’m sorry that mine died several years ago as did my neighbor’s that used to droop over my back fence.

We’ve eaten salads every night but these 80° days are starting to turn the arugula and lettuce bitter. Our English peas are full of pods. We harvested 5 oz (shelled) tonight and each had a big bowlful for supper. I can tell we’ve had an 80° day by the drooping of the peas. The artichoke, now in its second year, has a flower bud. I just planted potatoes. This time in 2000 we were already eating potatoes.

First flower: Hyacinthoides hispanica (3/26); Nierembergia gracilis ‘Starry Eyes’ (3/26); Engelmann daisy (3/31); yellow heirloom iris (3/31).

Dateline: 2007

2007-03-31. Ubiquitous photo of Texas bluebonnets. Some people think they’re too leggy for the garden but that hasn’t been my experience at all–not if you thin them.

The week ended with a perfect weekend, blue skies and low humidity after a drenching of rain on Friday (3/30). March 2007 ended up being very wet although northwest Austin (lucky Annie!) got more rain than we did south of the river. Everyone is celebrating the possibility that we’re coming out of the drought. I see that last year was the wettest March in Austin history–and we remained smack in the middle of the drought for another year.

Nonetheless Zanthan Gardens currently looks like it’s on steroids. If this were the height of summer, I’d be perfectly happy. I could sit on the lawn and sip lemondade (okay, red wine) and enjoy the garden. Of course, the weeds are on steroids, too. The henbit is finished but the cranesbill and the hated horseherb is flourishing. Chinaberry and cedar elm seedlings have popped up everywhere in the bark-mulched paths.

Allium Neapolitanum (Naples onion)

First Flower: Allium neapolitanum (3/26), Phlomis lanata (3/27); rose ‘Penelope’ (3/28), Iris flavescens? (3/30), Crinum (3/31), Oenothera speciosa (4/1).

Full Bloom: Commelinantia anomala, Coriandrum sativum, Lupinus texensis, Nemophila insignis, Rhaphiolepis indica, rose ‘Souvenir de la Malmaison’, tradescantia, yaupon holly, viola.

Also Flowering: Centaurea cyanus ‘Black Magic’, Consolida ambigua, Hyacinthoides hispanica (fading), Lathyrus odoratus ‘Regal Robe’, Lathyrus odoratus ‘Velvet Elegance’, Lavandula heterophylla ‘Goodwin Creek Grey, Meyer lemon, Muscari neglectum, Narcissus jonquilla ‘Quail’, oxalis (purple, white, pink), persimmons (both Texas and Japanese), rose ‘Blush Noisette’, rose ‘Ducher’, rose ‘Heritage’, rose ‘Madame Alfred Carriere’, rose ‘New Dawn’, Salvia greggii ‘Raspberry’, Spiraea bridal wreath,Tulipa clusiana (pummeled by rains early in the week), Verbena canadensis. And the messy, invasive chinaberry trees.

Dateline: 2006
Sunday (3/26) is delightfully clear and cool with morning temperatures in the 30s. We walk over to Zilker Botanical Gardens for Flora Rama (I’m a traditionalist…I’m not going to call it by its new boring name.) Monday (3/27) we had light rain on and off in the afternoon. Then Tuesday (3/28) morning boom! thunder, lightning, heavy rain. The surge protectors are beeping like crazy. I am coming home from school and got soaked walking from the bus stop. And I’m singing in the rain (while hoping I wasn’t going to get struck by lightning). This is our favorite forecast: a front has stalled over central Texas. We get 3.26 inches of rain in as many hours; closer to 4 inches in the downtown neighborhoods. It is the most rain on any day in March that has ever been recorded. And this one morning of rain is enough to make this the wettest March on record for Austin.

The rest of the week it really feels like Austin spring weather, warm and muggy. As long as the cloud cover doesn’t burn off it’s bearable. When the sun comes out, you might as well be in the steam room.

This is the week that the meadow garden is at its height; the flowers manage to hide the many weeds and so the garden looks almost presentable. I have less bluebonnets than most years, and more yellows (Engelmann’s daisy and Tulipa clusiana) and pinks (Oenothera speciosa) mixed in. The cilantro is providing dainty white filler. Every year I let it self-seed and so every year is a surprise. But now there’s enough variety that it looks passable. Oddly absent this year is the Nigella. Maybe the rain will bring it out.

First Flower: rose ‘Prosperity’ (3/26), Iris flavescens (3/31), raspberry salvia (3/28), rose ‘Buff Beauty’ (4/1).

In Bloom: Aquilegia hinckleyana, bridal wreath spiraea, cilantro, Engelmann’s daisy, Hyacinthoides hispanica (fading in the heat). lavender, Lantana (white and gold), Lupinus texensis. Nemophila insignis, Oenothera speciosa, Oxalis (various). Rhaphiolepis indica, rose ‘Ducher’, rose ‘New Dawn’, rose ‘Madame Alfred Carriere’, rose ‘Madame Joseph Schwartz’, rose ‘Penelope’, rose ‘Prosperity’, Salvia farinacea, St. Joseph’s lily, Tradescantia, Tulipa clusiana, false dayflowers, larkspur, yaupon holly.

As soon as we got some rain, the roses ‘Ducher’, ‘Souvenir de la Malmaison’, and ‘Prosperity’ were overcome with mildew.

Dateline: 2005
Not a lot new happening in the garden, but lots of weather as a couple of fronts roll in: one last Saturday, one yesterday. We alternate between hot and humid days when the south wind is dominant and cool, dry days when the north wind is. In between we get wild thunderstorms with hail whenever they switch. Looking back, I see that whenever the temperatures reach the mid-80s, I start worrying about rain and water.

It seems, no matter how many times I note it in my journal, I’m always surprised at how dark the yard gets this week after all the trees leaf out.

I spent three hours weeding Johnson grass out of the lawn Monday (the one perfect day) while listening to Yes on my iPod. Actually it was just an excuse to be outside.

First flower: Allium neapolitanum (3/27), rose ‘Souvenir de St. Anne’s’. Hippaestrum x Johnsonii (3/31), Engelmann daisy (3/31), Iris flavescens (4/1).

Full Bloom: rose ‘Madame Joseph Schwartz’ (I keep taking pictures of her, but I can’t capture how gorgeous she looks this week), bluebonnets, Spanish bluebells, baby blue eyes, (I was drawn to blue flowers when I started gardening and now I have an overabundance) Tulipa clusiana, columbine, rose ‘Prosperity’, rose ‘Madame Alfred Carriere’ (finally!), rose ‘Blush Noisette’, rose ‘Souvenir del Malmaison’, Rhaphiolepis indica, bridal wreath, oxalis, cilantro, tradescantia, and false dayflowers. (Noting that last year the Lady Banks rose was in full bloom this week makes me miss her all the more.)

Also flowering: Dianthus chinensis, verbena, Muscari neglectum, yaupon hollies, Japanese persimmon (on new growth), chinaberry trees, lavender, rose ‘Ducher’ (which has caught a bad case of mildew), wisteria, and one lonely larkspur. ‘Hawera’ is winding down.

Dateline: 2004

2004-03-30. Our mini-meadow of bluebonnets is dwarfed by the trees which focus our eyes skyward. That’s our neighbor’s house, not ours. [2005-04-01. Looks just like this this year, too.]

Dry, clear and already edging toward hot with temperatures in the high 80s. All that is supposed to change tomorrow when a couple of bands of thunderstorms roll in. Yesterday (3/31), set a all-time record high for oak pollen.

Austin seems incredibly and unbelievably green. Lot’s of things blooming now, but a lot of things are immediately wilting, too. The tulips have had it and some roses, like ‘Madame Alfred Carriere‘ open and wilt in one day. I’ve had to start watering. But the bluebonnets are finally here in force. And I have rain to look forward to.

This is the first year that the oleander wasn’t frozen back to its roots and it began blooming today (4/1). The persimmon trees and the yaupon hollies are flowering. I notice that the hollies flower on last year’s growth.

First Flower: Allium neapolitanum (3/29), rose ‘French Lace’ (3/30), Oenothera speciosa (4/1), Nerium oleander (4/1), Nigella damascena (4/1).

Full Bloom: bluebonnets, tradescantia, false dayflower, oxalis, bluebells, Aquilegia, Lobularia maritima, Rhaphiolepis indica, rose Lady Banks ‘Lutea’, rose ‘Ducher’, rose ‘Souvenir de la Malmaison’, rose ‘Madame Joseph Schwartz’, raspberry salvia, salvia ‘Indigo Spires’, lavender, cilantro, baby blue eyes, spiraea, Dianthus chinensis.

Dateline: 2002
The wisteria (Wisteria sinensis ‘Texas White’) is in full bloom. It is only three years old and this is the first year it has been really heavy in bloom. I see it from indoors both in the morning, from my bed, and in the evening, when watching television. I want to train it as a tree, rather than let it clamber uncontrollably as a vine. 2006-03-28. This wisteria was a complete dud this year: it had only two flowers.

The garden is in transition. The early spring flowers (daffodils, summer snowflakes, Spanish bluebells, and grape hyacinths) are fading. The late spring flowers (larkspur, iris, and roses) are opening shyly, one here, one there.

My attention, however, is focused on a little, green worm (actually a caterpillar) which flings itself from the trees on a thread and when it finds a very young and tender leaf, encloses itself in a webby cocoon and wraps the leaf around it, munching all the way.

Dateline: 2000
Wednesday March 28, 2000
Continues in the 80s, causing the potatoes to droop and the bluebonnets to quickly fade to seed. This is very much the pattern of last year (1999), but much warmer than the previous years. Even the larkspur may have already peaked. [2005-03-28. Strange. This year only one has begun flowering so far.]

First flower: Datura inoxia (3/28).
First harvest: Potato (3/30).

Dateline: 1999
Saturday March 27, 1999
A 40% chance of rain: the most we’ve had all week. Overcast and cool all day. Mowed the back yard in anticipation.The rain finally comes about 9PM. We probably got about an inch. The sweetpeas really needed it. Although the plants look healthy, the buds keep yellowing before they open. The bluebonnets need it too, as they are water stressed and going to seed very rapidly.

Dateline: 1998
First Flower: Allium neapolitanum (3/28).

Monday March 30, 1998
It is a warm and sulty day, almost oppressive. At 8:30, it begins to rain, sometimes quite heavily. By morning we got 3/4 of an inch. The meadow is beautifully punctuated with islands and drifts of spiky larkspur.

Dateline: 1996
Tuesday March 26, 1996
Some rain at last. It rained from 7:PM to about 7:20. Probably only 1/4 inch or less. But a promise of more tomorrow.

by M Sinclair Stevens