Charisma

That's the name of this beautiful amaryllis.  You may remember that I heroically limited myself to one amaryllis bulb this year at the Garden Club of Houston's Bulb and Plant Mart.  I'm in the habit of forcing the amaryllis bulbs for the holiday season, then planting them in the garden to bloom forever more.  This usually results in blooms for Thanksgiving (if I've chosen a South African variety) or Christmas (if I've chosen a Dutch variety).  'Charisma,' as it turns out, is a Dutch amaryllis, but bloomed just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday -- and I was grateful. 

Amaryllis 'Charisma'

Truthfully, I never consider whether the bulbs are European or South African, though.  I look for a color that I don't already  have, and, to some degree, for height.  I like shorter, fatter stems that might not have to be staked once they are blooming on their own in the garden.

Growing amaryllis is as tradition in my family that goes back a century or more.  Some of the bulbs in my garden were handed down from my great-grandmother.  These long-lived plants are easy to propagate by division and also set seed, so once established, an amaryllis bed can carry on for a long, long time.  So whenever an amaryllis gardener in my family has to move, we dig up the bulbs before the house ever goes on the market and move them to a safe harbor.  Then we plant them in a new home, keeping the circle unbroken, if you will.

Amaryllis 'Charisma,' right before fully open

I have probably 150 or more individual amaryllis plants in my backyard, which is entirely too many.  I'm breaking all the garden design rules for texture and leaf shape.  I have one: long, sword-shaped foliage, which indicates a severe case of bulb mania.  I sometimes think I should try to restrain myself, maybe plant something else, maybe give away some of the amaryllis.  After all, they only bloom once a year and it would be nice to have something showy in other seasons, too.  But when all is said and done, I can't resist.  This is the first year, in fact, that I've been able to stop at just one!

Oh, well.  When I am all covered up in amaryllis leaves, just put a plaque on the front door and we'll call it a living memorial to my generations of gardening women forebears.

Black Friday: How We Made It Through

I don't know what possessed me.  I had the carpet cleaners come Wednesday evening.  We went to my in-laws Thursday for lunch.  And when we got home in the late afternoon, I decided to sell my car on craigslist.  Not quite realizing that it might conflict with the dinner for 10 I'd planned on Friday.

Stand back, please!

So in between simmering and stirring, sweeping and dusting, moving furniture, chopping onions and setting tables, I reached out for a bit of good old-fashioned spirits, in the form of sangria.  It was a cold, windy, blustery day, but a batch of sangria always makes it feel like summer.  Here's the recipe:

60 ml (2 ounces) brandy
.5  liter (or about 2 cups) Triple Sec
1 liter (34 ounces) Tom Collins mix
1-1.5 liters red wine (1-2 bottles)
1 orange, thinly sliced
2 apples, cored and thinly sliced

Combine and pour over ice in pitchers.  Apply as needed to stressful day.  As for craigslist, you're on your own!

Birdwatching: Minor Challenges, Major Thrills

Red-Shouldered Hawk?

I believe this beauty is a Red-Shouldered Hawk.  I'm forever getting them confused with Red-Tailed Hawks and part of the problem is that birds are named after their least conspicuous marking!  I mean, really!  Wouldn't you call this one a Red-Chested Hawk?  It's also pretty difficult to see the shoulders of a hawk, if you want to know the truth.  I was lucky with this one.  Usually they are perched above my head or flying.

Red-Tailed Hawk?

 Here's the picture of what I think is a Red-Tailed Hawk, from an earlier blog entry.  You can't really see the tail in this picture, but I can promise you, it doesn't look red.  Not to me at least.  Maybe we could call this one the "White-Chested Hawk."  If the names were more descriptive, I could probably remember them better!

These are two of our most common hawks, so I'll have plenty more opportunities to practice!  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

Crape Myrtles Treat Us To Fall Color

Crape Myrtle leaf

Last year, it seemed like the Bradford pear trees were unusually colorful.  This year, it's the crape myrtles.  All around my neighborhood, these lovely ornamental trees area covering themselves in shades of red and gold.  Most of them, that is.  My trees, 'Basham's Party Pink,' do not seem particularly lovely, perhaps when compared to the neighbors' trees.

Within yards of my nondescript trees.

I'm not sure what variety of crape myrtles are planted in our common areas.  They're a small to medium-statured tree with pinky-lilac flowers, perhaps 'Muskogee.'  They're all in various stages of fall coloration and it's beautiful, especially on days like this when it's overcast.

They have a lovely, smooth bark, too!

Crape myrtles were introduced (from Asia) in 1747, and are common throughout the southern US.  We like to say they are "the lilic of the South," but having lived in northern climes, I have to disagree.  Crape myrtles lack the scent, which seems to me to be the main thing about lilacs.  But their bloom season is very, very long -- almost all summer.

Happy fall!

And then, too, we occasionally get these wonderful autumn days when the crape myrtles form a blazing backdrop for a few bare branches.  Enjoy!

My Favorite Fall Flower: Calendula

Keeps going and going!

No, not chrysanthemum. Calendula, or pot marigold. These cool-weather favorites are just the right cheery shades for fall. For me, they're untroubled by disease or insects and tend to reseed generously. The new seedlings don't often make it through our hot seasons, but I've got to give them credit for trying.

Stems are long enough for cutting flowers.

Calendulas are very tough flowers and really only need protection during severe (for us!) cold weather.  To tell the truth, I don't cover mine at all.  Most years, they keep on blooming right up through June before they start to look raggedy and spent.  If I were conscientious, I'd collect seed. But I'm not.  I buy them in the fall at the garden center and pop them in.  

Tend to sprawl -- not for the regimented gardener!

Calendulas perform best for me in full sun, although these seem pretty happy in morning sun.  They tend to spread out or sprawl, so I plant them about 12" apart.  They rebloom best if you deadhead them, but I never do.  You saw those dianthus back on Bloom Day:  they went into complete horticultural shock because I deadheaded them for their photo opportunity.  Never happened to them before and probably never will again!

Fencing keeps out garden predator dogs!

All parts of the calendula are edible, and I grow mine in the vegetable garden.  You can sprinkle the petals in salads or use them to give a yellow tint to icings, rice, egg dishes or sauces.  The leaves taste bitter to me, but you can eat them if you want to!

Triangle Flashback, I think...

Look for varieties like Art Shades, which are double or semi-double; Bon Bon, a fully double variety with a little dark center; Neon, whose orange petal-tips are edged with burgundy; and Triangle Flashback, my favorite, with a large, showy dark center.  Here's a hint:  calendulas look far better at home in your flowerbed than they sometimes do at the nursery.  Don't be afraid to buy them if they're full, lush and green but aren't blooming yet.  They will!  And they'll last and last and last.

Thanksgiving color scheme

Foliage Friday: Dianella tasmanica variegata

This is one of my favorite foliage plants.  Don't be fooled: the plant label will mention a flower, but it's insignificant.  The main attraction is the bright, clear variegated pattern of the leaves.  You may read that this plant can take full sun, but I think it performs better in morning sun or light shade. The variegated one seems especially sensitive to full sun and may suffer from burning on the margins if left to bake in the August heat.

See the tiny flowers?

Dianella tasmanica is more often called Flax Lily and is almost always evergreen here in zone 9A.  If you want to avoid freezer burn, cover the newly planted ones on frosty nights.  This species of Dianella gets about 2 feet tall and is getting more and more popular as a landscape plant.  You should be able to find it at most area nurseries.  Start with a rather larger plant, because it tends to grow rather slowly.  Dianella is a tough little plant, though, and should be relatively trouble-free once established.

Wonderful massed as a groundcover.

Some sources claim that Dianella is named after Diana, the Roman goddess of nature and hunting.  Maybe so!