Some impressive roots

In April 2011, we planted a coralbean (Erythrina herbacea) in the front yard. It survived year to year but barely. We decided that it'd do better in the back yard so in March 2016 James transplanted it. That year, it grew well and bloomed. But the next spring, it didn't come back. So in May 2017, we bought a new one to replace it. Like before, our coralbean bloomed happily. AND like before, it refused to come back this past spring. 

So, OKAY, WE GIVE UP ON CORALBEANS! No more! In the meantime, take a look at their roots! Yesterday, James dug up both root skeletons, and I had to get some photos. Impressive!

Making Milkweeds

I thought it'd be handy to share this article, recently published in the Wildflower, 2018, Volume 35, No. 1 issue:

Butterflyweed saga

I love my milkweeds (along with my passionflowers, mallows and everyone else). In the backyard, I had two butterflyweeds (Asclepias tuberosa) that I thought were happy and well rooted. This past spring, however, one came back up, and the other didn't. I waited, and I waited, and I WAITED. No sign of the second butterflyweed. Meanwhile, the first butterflyweed BLOOMED.

Finally, I gave up May 3 and dug down in the ground to check on the uncooperative root.  The photo above is what I brought back up. Rotted from overwatering, I thought. Dang it. I hate to lose any of my plants friends. Always pains me. So I wrote off the second butterflyweed.... 

And then....

Look what I spied May 28! My friend was ALIVE! I shared the photo above on my "Window on a Texas Wildscape" page on Facebook. I was SO ELATED! And now look at my butterfly friend below. It's happily blooming! 

Moral of this story: Never Give Up.

Meadow mowed

I was gone over the weekend to a writing conference. James took advantage of the situation and mowed the Meadow. When the neighbors got back from a long trip, upon seeing the mowed Meadow, one asked the other, "Does Sheryl KNOW?"

Seems I have acquired a reputation in these parts. :-) 

Tiny robber fly

I'm so glad I didn't trim all ALL the dead salvia stems today! After supper, I was in the back yard, enjoying the cooler temperatures (not much rain to speak of, alas) and trimming dead foliage. A tiny something caught my eye, perched at the tip of a salvia stem. I pulled out my iPhone and snapped an iNaturalist observation. A robber fly, I asked other observers. 

"Wish you could have made it larger for more detail," commented ericisley, "but we have at least two small robber flies like this in Texas, Hadrokolos texanus and Holopogon snowi. The snowi has more hair than this one looks to have so most likely this is a Hadrokolos texanus."

One of only two kinds in Texas, and ONE'S in our Wildscape? Well, needless to say, I grabbed my digital DSLR camera and headed outside. Sure enough, I found my tiny friend, lurking on another salvia stem, but it took off when I tried to hold the stem still. I returned later and found it again on another stem. This time, I was more cautious with my picture taking. Out of 94 images, I snagged a few good ones. Pretty darn cool, eh?

Spreading seeds

Yellow flax

With rain in our forecast today and tomorrow, I decided this morning would be as good as time as any to spread seeds that I've been collecting this year. My stash included antelope horn, bluebonnet, yellow flax, standing cypress, skeleton-plant, and probably a few others that I can't remember. Fingers crossed for a spectacular spring 2019 wildflower show in the Meadow! (Thanks for the photos, James! And a video, too?)

Bluebonnet seeds

Madrone update

Take a look at our Texas madrone (Arbutus xalapensis), gifted to us March 2017 by Mike Prochoroff at The Madrone Way. Doesn't she look GREAT?

Yesterday, I took a closer look and was amazed to discover, that at just a little over one year old, our madrone has already begun to peel her bark. I'll have to ask Mike about that.

Mike's reply: "She is doing superb. Yes, they can exfoliate very young when they get the water and are healthy. Otherwise they just grit their teeth and try to get through it all, like this drought. You are doing fine and are an inspiration."