Green: The Color of Money

Joshua Green writes in this month's Atlantic Magazine about a California couple who've built what they consider "the world's greenest home."  The two reside in a 5,600 square foot house, complete with 50,000 gallon underground cistern; enough solar panels to run the entire house, charge 5 electric cars and still return power to the grid; sliding glass walls to let in the fresh air; ground-source heat exchanger; and a fancy irrigation system, run by an iPad.  Built of reclaimed Chicago stone, the house also features a bio-filtered "natural swimming pond," surrounded by what looks like concrete.  It's green enough to easily be certified as LEED platinum when it's completed in November.  

Are any of you able to read this stuff without spitting out your coffee?  Who do they think they're kidding, anyway?  I imagine the world's greenest house probably belongs to a subsistence-level tribal family somewhere.  Wouldn't it be greener simply for these two people to live in a more appropriately sized home?  To ride their bicycles to the local pool?  To use building materials that didn't have to be trucked across the country?  To charge one or two electric cars, not 5?

The thought that they are training docents to conduct tours of the house, to "edify" and "inspire" the rest of us, makes me sick.  If this is the future of the green movement, I don't want to have anything to do with it.

Evening Crow

It's hot and I'm retreating from the garden into the sewing room.  This is my latest project:  appliqued crow and fencepost and strip-pieced background.  My sister gave me the strip set for my birthday and I'd been wondering how to use these calming neutrals.  The quilting is a free-motion wing motif and I may or may not do some threadwork on the crow and fencepost.  It's not a big quilt, maybe 60" wide and 72" tall, but for me, that a lot of quilting!  It reminds me of that wonderful time of day, not quite day and not quite evening.  The wind picks up and the temperature drops and the summer's day, just briefly, turns pleasant. 

Telfair

I like to watch what goes on with big, commercial landscape projects.  It affects, at least subliminally, what homeowners look for in the garden center.  And it's fun to see what can be accomplished when you really throw money at a project.

For the past several years, I've been observing the landscaping at Telfair, a master-planned community near Sugar Land.  Overall, I really like how they've combined the planting style of the Old South with plants that are more suitable for the coastal plains.  Most of the plants they've used are common enough:  I'm sure you've seen plenty of Knockout roses lately.  Here they are combined with bulbine, planted along the west side of a brick wall.  Both these plants are well-suited for such a hot location.

Knockout roses are repeated in various hedge formations throughout the development.  Here at the corner of University and New Territory, they've allowed the roses to get up closer to their natural height -- and it's a pretty impressive sight.  Most people don't seem to realize that these roses, if left to their own devices, will easily exceed 6 feet in height. Here, they're planted with magnolias -- more about them later.

Here and there you'll find plots of native and "sort of" native grasses, like Gulf Coast Muhly and Mexican Feather Grass.  I like these grasses massed together like this.  It has more impact, I think, than dotting them here and there in the home landscape.  There are also large plantings of giant liriope and Aztec grass.  The Aztec grass would probably be a bit happier if it were getting some afternoon shade.  I think it struggles here in the full sun.  Maybe when the trees are a little bigger, they'll perk up.

Speaking of trees, I was very worried when Telfair moved in a number of very large sycamore trees.  It always amazes me when landscape architects attempt this.  And frankly, it amazes me that they are so successful when they do it -- a tribute not only to the tree movers, but to someone who's planning the watering.  These sycamores put up with quite a severe drought last summer and then an unusually harsh winter, but only one looks thin and peaked.  Perhaps they'll all survive if we don't have another drought.

I like the red and yellow color scheme too.  They've been able to combine perennials like roses, daylilies, pentas, lantana, and bulbine with the vivid red annual coleus.  Here and there, the red and yellow color scheme is punctuated with a very dark blue agapanathus.  There are also pentas, which may or may not be perennial in our climate.  I imagine they are treating them as annuals.

In keeping with the Old South tradition, there are many different colors of crape myrtles planted at Telfair.  The white ones are possibly Natchez, notable for the beautiful exfoliating bark.  The watermelon-colored ones may be Tuscarora and there are some pretty little pink ones too.  I like this area -- planted more closely than usual, and underplanted with giant liriope.

My favorite thing about the Telfair landscape are these beautiful stands of magnolia trees.  I hear from people who should know that they are a new cultivar called "Miss Chloe."  They've been rapid growers at Telfair and are just lovely.  I'm so glad they are leaving them full to the ground, instead of limbing them up like "normal" trees.  It adds a very stately touch to the overall site plan.

In fact, the trees overall are outstanding.  Baldcypresses are planted near the lakes.  Several different varieties of oaks are planted throughout the development.  Even though the landscape is very young, it already has a lush, mature look.  That's what lots of money for big trees will get you!

Jalapenos en Escabeche

There was a time (and I didn't think it was that long ago) when you'd be just as likely to encounter a dish of escabeche with crackers or tortillas as the ubiquitous chips and salsa, at any local Mexican restaurant worthy of the name.  "En escabeche" means pickled in Spanish -- these vegetables are lightly sauteed and then pickled with spices in white vinegar.  Everyone had their favorite -- I always liked the carrots best.

I've taken advantage of the great jalapeno crop to mix up this retro Mexican favorite.  It's based on a recipe I found on the Homesick Texan blog, but feel free to add or subtract ingredients as desired.  A mix of red and green jalapenos would be pretty, but I didn't want to wait for them to ripen that long.  Lisa's recipe is made to be kept in the refrigerator, for as long as a month.  If you process in a boiling water bath for 10-15 minutes after sealing the jars, it should last longer.  Once opened, though, use within 2-4 weeks.  Cheers!

Where's The Research?

Have you come across these in catalogs and magazines?  It's a dechlorinating garden filter, designed to "reduce free chlorine or chloramine at ambient temperatures."  The sales pitch is that watering plants with water from the tap (treated with chlorine or chloramine) is harmful to your plants and to soil microbes.  The problem:  I can't find any research, peer-reviewed or otherwise, that suggests this is true.  I can believe that salts used to treat municipal water may accumulate in the soil for a time.  Perhaps during periods of prolonged drought, when plants must be watered frequently, and rain isn't present to wash away those salts, plants may show signs of stress.  I don't know if I'd be able to tell the difference between drought-stress and presumed chlorinated-water stress.  Maybe it has more of an effect on houseplants -- they never get a flush from rainwater. 

If you know of any research-based evidence that watering from municipal supplies can harm plants, drop me a note.  I'd like to read it.


By the way, the dechlorinator is expensive -- $59.99.  Plus you have to replace the cartridges every growing season (twice a year here?), and those are 2 for $34.99.  There's an optional chlorine test kit for $15.99 to confirm whether or not the cartridge actually needs to be replaced.

Almost Time For Figs

This is the time of year when I would really like to have a fig tree.  All my local trees are just FULL of plump, green fruit and I know it's only a matter of time before they are ripe and ready to eat.

Figs are among the easiest fruit crops to grow here in Fort Bend County.  They are widely adapted throughout Texas, tolerate various soil conditions, and are almost always pest-free.  They require neither winter chill nor winter protection, and only need pruning for size and shape.  Figs produce fruit without cross-pollinators and rarely need fertilization.  Look for "closed eye: varieties like Celeste, Alma, LSU Gold, LSU Purple and Texas Everbearing.  Make sure to provide plenty of water during the summer.  Even the slightest bit of drought stress can cause trees to drop their fruit.  Mulching heavily all the way to the drip line to help relieve summer water stress.  Figs produce crops within a year or two of planting -- my kind of fruit tree!

What to do with figs?  Fig preserves, of course!

Mix 3 cups cut or mashed figs, 3 cups sugar and 2 3-oz packages of berry-flavored gelatin.  Cook for about 25 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened.  Line jars with thin slices of lemon or short cinnamon sticks.  Ladle preserves into jars, leaving a half-inch headroom at the top.  Seal and process as desired.

Hello Squash Vine Borer!

And goodbye zucchini!

When squash leaves start to wilt inexplicably, no matter how much water is provided, I look for a hole in the stem somewhere.  It may be a small hole, or a huge gaping wound like this one:

Sadly, this most often happens to mature, fruiting plants.  I usually miss the first signs or forget all about them, and just assume the plants need more water.  Not so!  This terrible little beastie is the larva of a small orange and black moth with green wings that flies in the day.  On first glance, the moth looks like a wasp, so it's hard to notice.  It lays eggs on the leaves and stems of squash plants.  The larvae then bore into the vines of all kinds of cucurbits, but squash are highly susceptible.  The little caterpillar looks a lot like a 1" grub worm!

 Unfortunately, it's very hard to control squash vine borers once they get a foothold in your garden.  You can apply a carbaryl or permethrin product in the spring just as the blooms appear, as a preventative measure.  For fall-planted squash, you may need to apply as soon as you plant.  The treatment must be repeated per label instructions.  Once the borers are inside the vine, they are hard to control with chemical measures.  If you notice them quickly enough, you can slit the stem and carefully remove the borer.  Then, you just have to hope that the plant will form new roots where you made the cut.

Alas!  Only 2 zucchini harvested.  That's what I get for not paying closer attention!