Herself’s Houston Garden

Growing tomatoes was so easy back in New England. On May 31st you stuck some plants in the ground, in August you began to harvest tomatoes. The plants would get 6′-12′ tall and you could count on 20-30 tomatoes a plant.

Last year DH did the tomatoes and we didn’t get a single one. The vines grew to a good healthy size with lots of leaves and flowers but nary a single tomato set.

This year, I learned that tomatoes do not set fruit once the temperature stays above 75′ for the low. I put in the tomatoes early and that last cold spell caught them. I should’ve canned them then and traded them in for new ones. Never up north did tomato plants that had been chilled do well. I thought it was so warm down here these ones would recover. Of 4 plants 2 are the same as they were 6 weeks ago and two have grown. I’ve harvested 2 tomatoes this week and none of the plants have flowers.

Now it may be if the sun ever comes back out I’ll get some tomatoes but it doesn’t look hopeful. The extension office gives a yearly talk here on growing tomatoes in Texas and I’ll be sure to attend next year’s class. In the meantime, summer is not yet here and I’m still hoping.

I’ve moved my Peacock flower for the second time. I fell in love with these when we first arrived here and stalked the nurseries till I found one. No blooms the first year but some times things don’t bloom the first year. It spent its second year in a sunnier, wetter spot. But no flowers again. Many of these have been blooming for over a month about town. So it made its third move today to a still sunnier location and a little drier location. It will be condemned to the yard waste recycling if I don’t see blooms next spring. Life’s too short for stubborn plants and this yard is too small to give up valuable bed space to plants that refuse to behave.

The Oleanders seem to be fading and I’ve noticed some Crepe Myrtles beginning to bloom around the area. The Passion flower and Roses are steadily blooming as are the Magnolias now. The Mother-in-Law’s tongues all have new growth. It’ll be so cool growing those outside here. A few of the calla lilies are blooming too.

I’ve been reading the Digital Photography School blog and learning how to better take pictures. I’ve only been practicing new techniques a month and I can already see a difference in my photos.

I found about a new local gardening blog Transplanted, this one from a transplanted California gardener. The blog is new but it looks promising. It’ll be interesting seeing how a transplant from the opposite side of the country from me does. There is also a link on the local garden blogs page.

I also ran across a Washington state wine making blogger Washington Winemaker. This is also a new blog but has a recipe for Mead I hope to try this fall.

See also:
Oleander
Little Gem Magnolia

Mercer Gardens summer plant sale is Saturday June 2; 9am-4pm.

I went to the March Mart and am so sorry I skipped it previous years. This sale is only one day and will be of tropicals and gingers. I haven’t been to the summer sale before, I’m sure it’s worth a trip.

There will also be experts at the sale to answer questions and give you suggestions about your garden, gingers and growning tropicals here.

Houston Garden Events Calendar

* The Mercer summer sale is a very small sale. It is worth a trip in that we found some unusual plants there. But don’t expect to see lots of plants.

This started life as one of those Christmas tree shaped rosemaries you see in the stores in December. After Christmas I planted it out in the herb bed and it is settling in just fine.

Rosemary will grow 3′-5′ tall down here. It can be trained upright or coaxed into trailing. And like most herbs wants lots of sun.

Rosemary needs a lot of water when it is settling in, then not much once established, but will be happier with occasional waterings. It grows well in desert climates and is one of the recommended landscape plants for desert climates.

Fertilizer is not needed or wanted for rosemary. Once a year I put out worm castings in the garden.

Rosemary does not like being moved, pick its location carefully.

I use a lot of fresh herbs in cooking. I find herb gardens are very difficult to establish, but once established need little care.

It took me three tries to get a rosemary plant established in my herb garden.  The larger the plants were when I started the better they did.  So if you want to add rosemary to your garden, start with a good sized, gallon or larger, plant.

In downtown Huntsville rosemary is found growing along the sidewalks.  It handles the traffic of the busy roads, the baking sun, the dry ground and grows about 3′ tall there.

Ancient Greeks considered it a mind stimulant. It was used in the middle ages as medicine.  And a gift of rosemary was a symbol of love. It is also associated with death and a sprig of rosemary is often placed in the hands of the dead.

I attended a talk last night given by Mercer Garden’s director. It was a wonderful talk, attend it if you can. I’ve seen it offered in various places around Houston. “Turning up the heat in the garden” or “What’s hot: Preparing & Planning for Houston Heat”.

Some interesting highlights from the talk were about preparing soil and some specific plants that do well in the heat down here.

Soil prep: The clay around your home was put there by the contractor to level out the homesite and help keep your home from sinking. It might be a few inches thick or a few feet thick. There is real dirt underneath the clay. That is what you want to plant in. So rototill it up or add at least 4″ of real soil before planting.

Use pine bark mulch, not hardwood. The pine will rot and add to the soil, the hardwoods add tannic acid to the soil which poisons it for plants.

Add sharp sand ( not play sand ) to the soil to help with drainage. This is also known as masonary sand.

There were several plants recommended for Houston. I’ll just list them with short notes. Google can serve up pictures and more information if you are interested. I’ll do specific notes on the ones I add to my gardens as I add them.

Perennials & Woodies:
Calibrachoa aka Mission Bells – These want full sun, well drained soil and will bloom all summer long. They come in several colors.

Clerodendrum speciossisimum ( I really liked this one ) This is a shade loving plant, with bright deep red flowers.

Firmiana simplex aka Chinese parasol Tree

Hibiscus rosa-sinesis aka Tropical hibiscus. On hibiscus the plants with multi-colored blooms only bloom in cool weather.

Jacarana mimosifolia aka Blue Jacaranda – all legume/pea plants need excellent drainage to do well, they are very prone to rotting.

Malvaviscus mexicanus aka Mexican Turk’s Cap. This is a large evergreen that is good for hiding things like mechanical equipment. It has the oddest red flowers on it too. Prune it heavily for best flowering, which occurs in Dec. and Jan.

Lysimachia congestiflora aka Variegated Golden Globes

Phlox paniculata aka Old Fashioned garden Phlox. Be careful when buying phlox to buy only the southern varieties. Northern versions will get powdery mildew down here.

Plectranthus aka Mona Lavendar this is an ivy with purple flowers which flower all summer. It needs part shade.

Scabiosa columbaria ‘Butterfly Blue’ aka Pincushion flower, must be well drained, drought tolerant.

Scaevol ‘New Wonder’ aka Fan flower

Bamboo – Arrow, Buddha Belly, Mexican Weeping and Weavers These are all clumping bamboos so your neighbors won’t want to lynch you in a few years. They take about 3 years to reach full height. Shoots grow one year, then leaf out following year.

Gingers – Curcuma ( elata, Laddawan, Purple Prince, Rainbow and Scarlet Fever ) I really liked the rainbow one. In the cool weather the leaves turn yellow and you should cut them to the ground.

- Kaempferia ( Alva, RAven, rotunda ) These gingers will bloom all summer for you.

- Hedychium ( corrals, ‘Double Eagle’, Tara )

Vines:
Manettia inflata – a good plant for humming birds and a very delicate vine

Passiflora ( Lavendar lady, Incense )

June 2nd will be the ginger and tropical plant sale at Mercer, where all of these will be offered.

Houston Garden Events Calendar