More plants

I have a few more plants to share.  The Butterfly Weed is a milkweed and is vital to the Monarch butterfly.  They are easy to grow and like full sun.

There are many types of milkweed.  This happens to be the one that volunteered in my yard and has come back and multiplied.  I love it. 

This a an old fashioned 4-O'Clock.  They are hardy and somewhat invasive.  Where ever a seed falls, it will grow. Hummingbirds and bees love them.

They really do open about 4 o'clock and stay open all night. They close up in the morning after the sun gets up in the sky.  They have the most amazing scent.  A few of these will scent your whole yard.

And don't forget about herbs.  They are a great addition to your garden and do not require any special maintenance.  Rosemary is a great one for Texas gardens.  It loves the heat.  During the epic drought of 2011, mine thrived. 

It has little blue flowers.  Butterflies and bees do love it.  Another good one is onion chives.  They are very hardy, useful in the kitchen as is rosemary, and attract tons of bees. 

I am probably going to populate the neighborhood with these.  But they won't be allowed to grow.  My neighbors are yardners, not gardners.  They want the well manicured St. Augustine grass lawns with a few boxwoods stuck around and a few crape myrtles maybe.  God forbid a wildflower should make a stand in their yards.  And the sprinklers go every day. 

My little world

Yesterday I was in the front and I was walking around the yard, looking at how sparse the grass is under the oak trees.  I have a Texas Yaupon tree at the corner of my house between a water oak and a post oak tree.  As I walked under the Yaupon tree, I heard activity above me.  I looked up and just over my head was a young squirrel.  It had to be this year's crop.  He was fussing at me.  I had apparently disturbed him gathering acorns.  So I calmly moved away from where he was.  He fussed a little more and went on about his business.  I moved over near the humming bird feeders.  I have Turks Cap under the feeders.  There was two humming birds fussing over the feeders.  They would fuss awhile then go to the Turks Cap.  This went on for at least 45 minutes.  I love nature. 

Anyway, I have a few more plants you need in your garden.  The more plants that are not water hogs you have the lower your utility bill will be and the better your yard will be for birds, butterflies, and bees.  And bees are an absolute necessity to our food production. 

Beautyberry bush.  They are beautiful shurbs.  The prefer to grow in partial shade.  They provide food for birds.

Notice how the berries are bright colored and they develop along the stem where the leaves grow.  And the leaves are nice and a pretty green. 

Toxic Plants

I don't have pictures of these, but if you have dogs in your yard, do not plant Sago palms.  These are deadly for dogs.  Also Oleanders.  Every part of the Oleander is poison not only to dogs and cats, but to humans as well.  If handling an Oleander bush, be sure to wash your hands afterwards and do not put your hands near your eyes until you have washed them.  These are only two of the poison plants for your dogs.  Oh, and Elephant Ear is another one. 

My dogs will run through shrubs and play in them.  There is nothing in my huge dog yard except trees, two crepe myrtles, and Turks cap shrubs.  I take no chances with my furry friends.  And I won't have Oleander anywhere in my yard.  I love the flowers, but I have grandkids.  I did have some in my front yard in South Texas, but when I lived down there, my prize was the poinsettias that grew in my yard.  No, they don't bloom at Christmas.  They usually bloom in March and they will make a shrub around 3-4 feet tall.  And contrary to popular belief, they are not poison. 

I will be posting more plants that are safe in the yard and garden.  I have most of my plants in the front because I don't ever have the guys and girls in the front unless I am taking them to the vet.  I have more leeway with my plants there. 

Have a good weekend.

For Texans

Every Texas garden should contain native because they take less water and as everyone knows, Texas has very little water.  There are lots of natives that give you a spectacular show of blooms and that feed bees, hummingbirds and butterflies.  I have a few natives in my yard.  I also have a very shaded yard so I can't grow a lot of the natives I want.  I do have native Lantana.  It is beautiful and I love the candy colored blooms.  A word of caution.  Don't expect and exotic, sweet odor from the blooms.  They have a crappy smell, but the beauty of the blooms makes up for that.  This is an example of the native Lantana.

Notice how delicate the bloom cluster looks.  It is a very hardy plant.  I love it.  The next picture shows you the actual shrub.  This one is still small.  It is only two years old and was planted by the birds.  They will get about 3 feet tall. 

My Lantana lived through the drought of 2011 when most everything else died including my grass.  What survived, stayed.  What did not survive, I did not replace. 

 Another native Texas shrub that every garden should have is the Turks Cap.  It is a hardy shrub and has a really cute bloom that actually looks like a turban. 

Notice the little stamen on the top of the bloom.  These plants are usually upright shrubs and get about 3 feet tall.  The next picture will show you what they do when dealing with dogs in the garden.

These are flat on the ground because Missy and Daisy use them for their "hunting expeditions."  The shrubs adapt and just grow along the ground.  They are really hardy.  You can cut them back and they will just grow again.  And hummingbirds love them.  I also have them in front.  I can sit in my living room and watch the hummer out my window as they feed at these beautiful shrubs.  They also survived the 2011 drought.  And I have yet to see any bugs on them.  Mine were all planted by the birds so they are under the trees in the shade.  I am told that when planted in the sun, they are smaller and more bushy than those in the shade.  I have got to try that and see.  But they are a must if you are interested in feeding the hummers, which I am.

Hummers

I don't just concentrate on my little guys.  I also have a lot of wildlife in my yard.  I wish that I could move to the country because I would have more wildlife.  I have lots of hummingbirds and it is wonderful to watch them fighting over the feeders.  They are amazing.  I have two feeders hung now.  I had five and they would only use two of them so I took down three and I have discovered that they really do not like the red feeders.  They prefer the clear ones and ones with a base for perching.  I have two of those up now. 

I also have about 10 Rose of Sharon shurbs.  If you are not familiar with them, they are a part of the hydrangea family and come in several colors.  They get about 6-8 feet tall in my area of Central Texas.  They are prone to mold and will have to be treated if they get it.  I use Dawn to spray mine.  I mix a couple drops of Dawn with some compost tea or tobacco tea and hand spray them.  It works for me.  Mine, however, have bugs.  So Dawn is all that I will need and that chore will be taken care of asap. 

These are Mexican petunias and you will probably not find them outside of Texas or the Southwest.  They are very hardy, invasive, and will keep you busy keeping them under control, but there are not many bugs that will bother them.  Except for keeping them contained, they are an easy plant for your garden.  The come in the the smaller version as well and the smaller ones only get about 5 inches high and they too form clumps.  I have found these smaller ones to not be as invasive as the larger one.  Maybe it is just in my yard.  Don't know. 

This above bloom is the Rose of Sharon, or Althea, They are not native to Texas and do take more care than the Mexican Petunia.  They need more water and nutrients.  I love them, but am more partial to natives.  Research the natives in your area and you will be much happier with them.  Using natives in a garden make for a fuss free garden and gives you more time to enjoy your garden. 

Daisy

Daisy is getting 1/2 steroid pill every morning and 5ml of benadryl every night.  But it is still not taking care of her allergies.  The vet is supposed to be getting allergy shots for her.  I hope they work.  Several mornings I have had to clean blood off my cabinets from her nose.  I feel so sorry for her.  Most of the time she is just full of energy, but I can tell when she is not feeling good and today is one of those days.  She is lethargic and I know it is from the allergies.  Poor Daisy.

Missy

I talked to Dr. Don yesterday.  We are going to put Missy on Metacam for her arthritis.  She seemed to do great on it and she needs to be on something.  So Metacam it is.  She is doing great for 16 years old.  Love her to pieces.

Missy

My Missy is having some trouble with joint pain now.  She is 16 and fine except for some arthritis.  Her heart and lungs are good.  She can't see much now, but she can still hear.  She seems to see only light.  But she is my baby.  She will be with me until she tells me she is ready to join Abby and Max.  And I will cry my eyes out when that time comes. 

This is Missy making herself at home on my grandson's bed.  I had to separate her from Daisy.  I guess Daisy realizes Missy is getting old because she has now tried to bully her a few times.  Daisy got time out in the crate, but I will not trust her unless I am right there.  Missy deserves to not have to be afraid.  And Daisy deserves to not be allowed to be a bully. 

My guys and gals

I just realized today that my furry friends are the only ones that have never tried to take advantage of me, never tried to manipulate me, never lied to me.  They are the only ones that I can really count on, well, except for my kids of course.  They are there no matter what.  If I need to cry, they are there to comfort me.  If I am happy, they are happy with me. I much prefer the animals that are not homo sapiens. 

I have two hummingbird feeders out front.  I have two hummingbirds that spend the day fighting over them.  I hung one in back thinking it would help.  Not.  They fought over it.  They are very aggressive.  On a lighter note, I have noticed the bees drinking from the feeders.  I sat out a pie plate of sugar water and it was covered with bees.  Tomorrow I will put out some overripe apples and oranges for them.

Duncan

This is Duncan now.  He is healthy.  He is happy.  He no longer crab walks when there is someone here.  He no longer hides when someone is here.  He sleeps with Jock and me.  He is a totally different dog from the one that came to me in 2011.  That little guy was scared of even being picked up.  He did not know what a bed was.  The first time I made him a bed on the floor, I folded blankets and soft towels for him.  He stood and watched me fix it and did not make a move to get on it.  I picked him up and put him on the bed.  He was so scared.  I turned away like I was leaving the room.  I heard him scratching on the bed.  He was making it his.  For months, when someone would walk down that hall towards that bedroom, he would run ahead and get on his bed.  It was the first bed he had ever had.  Well, he needed that bed only about 2-3 months.  Then he was on the big bed with Jock, Abby and me.  Abby has since gone on to the Rainbow Bridge and it is just Jock and Duncan as my little guys. 

He is no longer shy.  He is no longer scared.  While I am working around the house, he sleeps on the big bed.  When he wakes up and wants down, he barks for me to come and get him.  He went from a throwaway that had no social skills at all to one really spoiled little dog.  And I love him.