Herself’s Houston Garden

This month’s Lone Star Gardener put out by the Texas Garden Clubs had a couple of interesting over lapping articles. One was on ‘pocket gardens’. I found little to no information on line about pocket gardens so I guess we’ll have to start.

A pocket garden is a small growing area that usually has a theme or a purpose. There are butterfly pocket gardens, guerrilla pocket gardens, mail box pocket gardens &c. A butterfly pocket garden might have a tall feeding plant for butterflies and smaller host plants around it all wedged into some small corner of your yard. A mail box pocket garden might be a few flowers and a flowering shrub to brighten up your mail box area. What a great idea for all our tiny lots we now live on.

I’ve already been doing that a bit; I’ve a rose pocket garden, a fern pocket garden, a wetland pocket garden, an herb pocket garden and a vegetable pocket garden. I just didn’t call them pocket gardens.

Guerrilla pocket gardens are gardens set up on public property to brighten an spot. Some are planted in the dark of night by flashlight to surprise the natives in the morning, some are done during daylight to enlist the community to help care for the garden. Signs are usually left saying something like ‘This garden brought to you by YourTown Guerrilla Garden Club — please water me”. I noticed Houston does not yet have a group. Right now it seems more popular in Europe and the North East. Maybe this post will catch a few eyes and that will change?

More information:
Guerrilla Gardening
Make: Guerrilla flowerboxes
Conscious Urbanism: Guerrilla Gardening

This too was picked up as a bee, hummingbird and butterfly attractor. Not only does pentas come in red, but also white, purple and pink. It can reach 3′ tall and 2′ wide. The flower clusters can reach 4″ across, flowers are quite tiny individually. Dead head frequently to keep pentas blooming.

The more sun the pentas receives, the more blooms you will receive. It will bloom all summer. Pentas loves the heat and humidity.

Moist soil is preferred. If you see yours wilting, give it some water.

Pentas can be easily rooted from cuttings placed in a glass of water.

It prefers basic not acidic soil. Which shouldn’t be a problem anywhere you water frequently since tap water is so basic. If you just rely on rain you may want to add a bit of lime around this plant. Leaf tips tend to brown when soil is too acidic.

Pentas are from Africa and distant cousins of gardenias.

Pentas can reach 3′ tall when happy. It may get tall enough that stems refuse to remain upright and need to be trimmed.

Somewhat cold sensitive, rated for zones 8-11, should survive winter in Houston with out protection.

Occasionally some sphinx moth caterpillars will find your plant and eat it to the ground. Not too worry the Sphinx moths are beautiful and the plant will come back.  Keep an eye out for spider mites and aphids.

More information:
Floridata: Pentas lanceolata

The plant has wonderful long, bright orange flowers. I purchased it as an addition to my bee pocket garden. Butterflies and hummingbirds will also be attracted to this plant. I’m told hummingbirds love this plant so much they will fight over it.  The name comes from the flowers which look like the burning end of a long cigar. This is a shrub which will grow to about 3′ tall and about 3′ across.

Pinch back stems occasionally to keep it from getting leggy.

Cuphea prefers moist soil, but will tolerate drier soil once established.  It is often found growing along the edge of streams so it is a good choice for the wetter parts of your garden.

Cuphea prefers full sun, it will tolerate some shade. It will become fuller and busier the more sun it receives.

Flowers will appear sporadically in the spring, then profusely late summer into fall.

Cuphea is very cold sensitive, it seems to only grow well in California, Texas and Florida. I’m told it will come back in the spring after a minor cold spell. Tips of the plant may freeze if the temperature drops to 20′F.   It is rated for zones 10-12 only. So if you are in north west Houston like me, you’ll be pushing the edge a bit with this plant. It’s so cool I figured I’d take a chance on it.

More information:
Floridata: Cuphea ignea

See also:
Cuphea lluvea