Tropical Texas

Birds at Los Ebanos Nature Preserve

2007-12-30T01:10:00.000-08:00

This is a common yellow-throat feeding in the reeds next to the resaca.

Here's a long-bill thrasher pushing its way through the leaves for a snack.

This is (my best guess) an orange-crowned warbler.

Here's an ovenbird.

Roseate Spoonbills

2007-12-29T22:20:00.000-08:00

Check out the roseate spoonbills on the resaca at Los Ebanos Nature Preserve on Highway 100.

Trip to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin

2007-10-15T07:33:00.000-07:00

People are mulling around looking for plants to buy at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center on Saturday.

In the front falling over the wall is Gregg dalea (Dalea greggii), to the right and not blooming is Gregg salvia (Salvia greggii), the rosettes on the ground are big red sage (Saliva penstemonoides), the misty like grass behind the Gregg dalea is gulf coast muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris) and behind that is Lindheimer muhly (Muhlenbergia lindheimeri).

This is a plant that should be listed on the Endangered Species List called Texabama croton (Croton alabamensis var. texensis). It was not discovered until 1989, similar to a variety in Alabama and Tennessee. The botanist I talked to thinks the Texas variety is a new species, not just a variety. The Texas variety has a silvery underside to its leaves and it can come back from being burned to the ground, something the ones in Alabama and Tennessee can't do.

This weekend I went to the annual fall plant sale at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin. It is a great native plant sale. I got several wildflowers (and a grass) that I hope do well in my area, including Lindheimer senna, Copper Canyon daisy, Wright's yellowshow, Antelope horn milkweed, Gregg dalea, tree morning glory, skeleton plant, Missouri primrose, blue shrub sage and switch grass. I was hoping to pick up a madrone, but those were all bought during the members' only sale on Friday. I had a good time walking around the wildflower center, talking to an old Austin friend, Dean. If you ever visit Austin (or live there), the wildflower center has a great variety of trails and plants to enjoy and learn about. Being good stewards for nature means we all should fill our gardens up as much as possible with native plants. They are just as beautiful as any plants in the world, but because they are from here, they use fewer resources to keep them thriving, and they are important to the survival of all kinds of wildlife. It would help, however, if we didn't destroy so much of it in the first place. Why can't homebuilders not flatten every square inch. Why does Bermuda grass need to replace little bluestem and prairie flowers or areas of native shrubs and trees?

Trip to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin

2007-10-15T07:21:00.000-07:00

Here is a stand of purple coneflower. It appears to be Echinacea purpurea rather than E. angustifolia, which would be the variety native to this part of Texas.

This looks like spread-leaf aster (Aster patens).

This is one of my favorite Central Texas flowers, eryngo (Eryngium leavenworthii).

I'm not sure which critter is on this Maximilian sunflower (Helianths maximiliani), but my wife mentioned longnose in passing.

Parrots ahoy

2007-09-03T22:10:00.000-07:00

You know when a flock of parrots are nearby with the racket they make. This guy, who is in our neighbor's pecan tree, is a member of a flock of red-crowned parrots.

Blooming in the garden

2007-09-01T21:49:00.000-07:00

You know I love my rain lillies. Ah, there is nothing quite like Zephyranthes sp. 'Grandjax'. It is perhaps the most floriferous rain lilly I've been around.

This wispy plant, called Baja fairy duster or Calliandra californica, grows from California to Texas. I love it.

This is a native volunteer plant we call cowpen daisy, Verbesina encelioides. It is an annual, but it comes back every year. As you can see, it is a star among butterflies.

Yummy in my tummy

2007-08-06T17:58:00.000-07:00

This mango comes from my first crop off of one of my trees. I'm not sure I ever thought a mango would taste better from my own tree than from a grocery store. The reason I thought that is many tropical fruits ripen off the tree, including mangoes. With this mango, called 'Carrie,' I waited to harvest it until it literally just fell into my hands after touching it. No mango I've ever bought in a grocery store matched up to the 'Carrie' mango I tried this weekend. It really is just a flavor explosion. The mango is mostly green and light yellow on the outside when it is ripe. Maybe that's why my mango is better than the ones in the grocery store. The grocery stores are looking for varieties they think people associate with being good, the red-skinned types. Well, let me tell: You are missing a great culinary experience if you don't look for the more odd looking fruits. The grocery stores also probably pick the fruits weeks before they are ready to be picked.

My sweet mangoes

2007-07-17T06:56:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited that my two 'Carrie' mangoes on my young tree are close to being ready for harvest. Supposedly, it is one of the better tasting varieties of mangoes. We shall see soon. I also have a larger 'Tommy Atkins' that produced one fruit earlier in the season. Unfortunately, we never got to try it. It smelled great, but it got rotten because my wife and I kept waiting to be together to try it. When I cut it open, it was all rotten, but it still omitted a divine smell. Sigh. This is what living in the tropics is all about.

Bringing down the Arizona ash

2007-07-17T06:54:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I last made a post. We've been getting lots of rain. Normally, we don't get much during the summer expect when a hurricane makes an appearance in the Gulf of Mexico. It certainly is a strange weather season. Unfortunately, all this rain we are getting is coming in large gulps. More than an inch or two at a time is not really that beneficial. In my front yard, I've been working on getting rid of this nasty Arizona ash tree, which is an unpleasant nonnative tree that developers plop in the ground when they build homes. This one, which was 30 feet tall when I cut it down, was planted much later. These trees grow very fast. My grandfather planted some Arizona ashes at the home he had built in 1955. These monsters were 60 feet tall and falling apart from disease when my 80-plus-year-old grandfather climbed up in at least one of the trees and cut it down branch by branch. That's pretty much how I cut my ash tree. Now, I'm digging up the bulk of its main roots. Eventually, I'm going to get rid of all the grass in this part of the front yard and make it just one large planting bed of mostly native plants. Near the ash tree, I have two 'Mission' olive trees planted. I'm hoping to one day squeeze some of my own olive oil. I read that you can use a cider press to do that. First, the trees have to produce olives.

More smiles from the rain lilies

2007-05-31T18:03:00.000-07:00

Zephyranthes citrina

Zephyranthes grandiflora

Zephyranthes sp. "Grandjax"

Zephyranthes sp. "Prairie Sunset"

In Uvalde

2007-05-30T06:50:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, my wife and I drove up to Uvalde. My parents and grandparents each own two acres next to each other on the Nueces River northwest of Uvalde. I hadn't visited the property since the mid-1980s when we tubed down the Nueces as a family. The property was quite difficult to find. Access to it was by a measly dirt road that had several side roads, and the end that I needed to get to was blocked by a gate. I eventually found the property on Monday with the help of the people who sold the property to my parents. Whew. It was quite a relief to finally find the spot. It was so beautiful. It is amazing what nature can do when humans don't interfere. I don't think my parents had been there in close to 15 years. The terrain was full of mountain laurel, Texas persimmon, oaks, an occasional pecan, Texas walnut, cenizo, sotol, agarita (one had berries 1/2-inch long!), prickly pear, Ashe juniper, a few oaks, little-leaf sumac, flax-leaf bouchea, coreopsis, prairie larkspur and many others. The riverbanks were in such good condition. There were no invasives in sight. It was mostly carex and desert willow holding up the integrity of the banks. The river was quite swollen and moving fast because of all of the recent rains. I saw so many colorful birds. I'm not a birder. The only one I can tell with certainty that I saw near the property was a vermillion flycatcher. In Laredo on the way up, we saw a hooded oriole and and Western kingbird. I posted many pictures around the property below. Each are titled "In Uvalde."

In Uvalde

2007-05-30T06:43:00.000-07:00

Mealy blue sage (Salvia farinacea)

In Uvalde

2007-05-30T06:42:00.001-07:00

Little-leaf sumac (Rhus microphylla)

In Uvalde

2007-05-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

A vermillion flycatcher

In Uvalde

2007-05-30T06:41:00.000-07:00

A pretty cluster of oaks on a small mound.

In Uvalde

2007-05-30T06:40:00.000-07:00

Pearl milkweed vine (Matelea reticulata)

In Uvalde

2007-05-30T06:39:00.000-07:00

Cardinal feather (Acalypha radians)

In Uvalde

2007-05-30T06:38:00.001-07:00

This is bearded swallow-wort (Cynanchum barbigerum) with a butterfly and assassin bug.

In Uvalde

2007-05-30T06:38:00.000-07:00

On the bottom of the picture, there's green thread (Thelesperma filifolium), in the middle there's flaxleaf bouchea (Bouchea linifolia), prickly pear (Optunia sp.) and Texas sotol (Dasylirion texanum), and at the top, there's desert willow (Chilopsis linearis).

In Uvalde

2007-05-30T06:36:00.001-07:00

Plains coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria)

In Uvalde

2007-05-30T06:36:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure which kind of Mormon tea (Ephedra sp.) this is. It is more vining than I'm used to and is full of berries.

In Uvalde

2007-05-30T06:35:00.000-07:00

Prairie larkspur (Delphinium carolinianum ssp. vimineum)

In Uvalde

2007-05-30T06:34:00.000-07:00

Scarlet musk flower (Nyctaginia capitata)

In Uvalde

2007-05-30T06:33:00.001-07:00

White rock lettuce (Pinaropappus roseus)

In Uvalde

2007-05-30T06:33:00.000-07:00

Fragrant mimosa (Mimosa borealis)

In Uvalde

2007-05-30T06:32:00.000-07:00

Catclaw acacia (Acacia gregii)

In Uvalde

2007-05-30T06:31:00.000-07:00

American basket flower (Centaurea americana)

In Uvalde

2007-05-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

Ccenizo (Leucophyllum frutescens)

And it rains some more

2007-05-29T06:30:00.000-07:00

After getting between 6-7 inches of rain on Friday, I thought surely, this is it with the rain for a while. Nope. On Sunday, we got another 2 inches of rain, and I had some more mulch and compost loses for my plants along the street. Since the streets don't have drainage underneath them, the roadway can become a small river with enough rain. This is getting ridiculous. We live in an semi-arid climate with an average of about 27 inches of rain a year. In a three-day period, we got a third of our yearly allotment of rain? Most of that water was simply runoff. The ground can only absorb so much in a short period of time. Sigh. Anyway, on the positive side, I didn't lose any plants -- yet. Our Zephranthes sp. "Labuffarosa," as you can see from the picture above, is going nuts over all this extra moisture.

When it rains, it pours

2007-05-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

When I left for work on Friday, I was ecstatic. We got just less than 1.5 inches of rain after months without much. I left the water in the rain gauge to see if we collected any more during the day. Boy, did it ever! The gauge reads up to 5 inches, and it overflowed while I was gone. At Valley International Airport in Harlingen, they recorded 6.73 inches. I'm sure it was pretty close to that total at the house. My plants fared pretty well considering. The street in front of our home became a small river for a while, ripping off the mulch and some top soil of the plants along the curb. The recently planted roses (pictured above) used to have a nice layer of mulch and compost around them. I had to make an emergency visit to the home improvement store to buy mulch. The pond overflowed, but it is fine. Lizard tail (Saururus cernuus) can be seen blooming in the pond. Overall, I'm glad it rained, but why do we need a fifth of our yearly total in one day? At least we weren't in Central Texas. Many lost their lives there from the flooding.

Rain at last!

2007-05-25T06:32:00.000-07:00

We finally got our first decent rain in months in the wee hours of this morning. I can't tell you how relieved I am. It's so hard getting used to only sporadic rain in the springtime at best. This is when the plants want the moisture most -- at least the plants not indigenous to this area. I have five recent rose transplants and several others, including a few natives, that I'm trying to get established. The ground has been so hard and dry lately that I feel like when I'm watering those new plants, I'm just barely keeping them going until a refreshing rain comes along. Now, I'm breathing a little easier. I was so excited when I woke up. I rushed to the rain gauge, and it registered almost 1 1/2 inches -- a very good pour indeed! Since the rain lifted my spirits, I got out my camera and took a few shots before I had to head off to work. The top picture is of an Amorpha fruticosa bloom. The middle picture of Salvia darcyi, which is growing beneath an Acacia wrightii, and the last one is a papaya.

Ode to the madrone

2007-05-22T06:40:00.000-07:00

Long before I started to become aware of the names of plants and before I ever started growing them myself, I dreamed about the Texas madrone, Arbutus xalapensis var. texana (Pictures above are from Big Bend National Park.) This striking tree can be found in the Texas Hill County and in the hills and mountains of West Texas. It’s related to the strawberry tree, Arbutus unedo of Europe, and the Pacific madrone, Arbutus menziesii. Texas madrone has been called naked Indian or lady’s legs because its reddish bark peels back showing a pinkish to whitish inner bark depending on where you see the tree. The peeling bark of the madrone is perhaps one of the most beautiful displays in nature. Its light wood is extremely strong, which might explain why it used to be harvested for tool handles and for saddles. The berries are red, and they are edible. I haven’t tried them, so I can’t tell you how good they are. I’ll do that one of these days if I can beat the birds to one. Years after I had seen my first madrone, I had no problem identifying in a plant book what took over my imagination. The leaves are tropical in appearance, and the creamy white flowers look like tiny bells, which illustrate its membership in the blueberry or heath family of plants. It can grow in some tough places, often poking right of rocky locations, but usually can be found near its nursery plant, the juniper, Juniperus ashei. While the Texas madrone is notoriously tough, nurserymen have a hard time selling them because of their high transplant failure rate. I’ve tried to grow a few of them. No matter what strategy I took, the plant just ups and dies on me. They are obviously sensitive to the level of moisture in the soil, and some speculate that there is a special mycorrhizal fungus in the soil that forms a symbiotic relationship with the tree’s roots to supply it with a necessary amount of nutrients. Natives of Texas near Medina sells madrones, and they tell you to cut the pot away from the plant so you don’t disturb the root ball. They also tell you to put some juniper mulch to increase its chance of survival. The hope is to inoculate the plant with that special mycorrhizal fungus and to provide it with some nutrients it prefers. I’ve been a highly successful gardener, but I’ve yet to elevate myself to the challenge of a madrone. I will try again, and I’m plotting some new strategies. I want to build an elevated bed with juniper mulch on top of a limestone undersoil. I just have to convince my wife to let me fork out the big bucks for another madrone seedling. We’ll see. In the meantime, I’m dreaming of going back to West Texas to see the madrones growing amongst the junipers, the big tooth maples (Acer grandidentatum), agave havardiana, sotol (Dasylierion leiophyllum), Thompson yucca (Yucca thompsoniana) and many others.

Don't panic: Transplant victims alive and healthy

2007-05-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

When I moved to South Texas, I dug up my cherished Zephranthes sp. lilies in my old garden in Central Texas and moved them to my new garden. I gave the lilies prestigious locations in the new garden. I expect the lilies to blow people's minds with their their frequent blooming habit and amazingly beautiful flowers. Instead, I noticed a rapid decline in the lilies' health. I suspected the salt content in the soil was the culprit. It could have been something else, but I wasn't prepared to fool around with potentially losing these garden gems. The solution I came up with was these metal tubs (pictured above). I punctured many holes in the bottom of the tubs for drainage, and I filled them up with good quality soil. As you can see, the lilies are quite healthy. Unfortunately, it is dry, dry in South Texas right now, so I don't have any blooms to show you right now. Next time they bloom, I will give an updated picture.

A Tour of Brownsville

2007-05-15T07:10:00.000-07:00

I decided to walk around Brownsville with my brand-spanking new camera. The following "Tour of Brownsville" pictures gives you an idea of the plants you may see around Brownsville. Why South Texas is not ever mentioned along with Hawaii, South Florida and Southern California as one of the tropical areas of the United States is beyond me.

A Tour of Bronwsville

2007-05-15T07:07:00.000-07:00

This tree is a workhorse. I don't think there is month, let alone a day, without Cordia boisseri (Mexican olive) blooming its heart out.

A Tour of Brownsville

2007-05-15T07:04:00.000-07:00

A Washingtonia sp. palm is waving at you. Wave back!

A Tour of Brownsville

2007-05-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of colorful birds in Brownsville, but the grackle is king. For Texans who think pecans only grow in Central, North and East Texas, this grackle is perched under a wild pecan. Unfortunately for us humans, the parrots love to eat the nuts and often get to them before we do.

A Tour of Brownsville

2007-05-15T06:57:00.000-07:00

A young fruit forming on an avocado tree near my work.

A Tour of Brownsville

2007-05-15T06:55:00.000-07:00

If a fig doesn't make you hungry, I don't know what would.

A Tour of Brownsville

2007-05-15T06:49:00.000-07:00

Another tropical staple, a bougainvillea's colorful trait is not a flower, it is a modified bract. Needless to say, they are the most beautiful bracts you ever see.

A Tour of Brownsville

2007-05-15T06:45:00.000-07:00

Oleanders are planted in just about every other yard and by most of the municipalities in the Rio Grande Valley. They have such a profussion of flowers that you probably haven't taken notice of the details of just one.

A Tour of Brownsville

2007-05-15T06:41:00.000-07:00

Trees and bushes aside, Ruellia nudiflora (common wild petunia) is probably the unofficial wildflower of Brownsville. It is just about everywhere. Unfortunately, we don't have bluebonnets in this part of South Texas.

A Tour of Brownsville

2007-05-15T06:35:00.000-07:00

Most gardens in Brownsville are flavored with at least one hibiscus. There's probably no other plant that says tropical more than a hibiscus.

My Croton

2007-05-14T07:18:00.000-07:00

Many wonderful species of croton grow in South Texas. This is probably my favorite. It is Croton ciliatoglandulifer, which has fuzzy leaves. The fuzz resembles cilia, hense the name.

Getting Started

2007-05-14T06:30:00.000-07:00

When I first moved to South Texas in October 2005, I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into as I prepared to start my new garden. Coming from the Austin area of Central Texas, I had grown used to a certain way of gardening. There, I knew how much I had to water plants to get them started, and I knew how much water some plants would need to keep them going as 100 degree temperatures and a relentless sun beat down on them during the high part of summer. When I first started gardening in Central Texas, I thought I was cursed with the worst soil. I had five feet deep of clay. This former prairie had been abused, first being over farmed and then being compacted as heavy equipment established a new subdivision. Once I had started adding compost and green sand, the soil burst to life. By the time we left, I could stick just about anything anywhere in the garden, and it would more likely than not thrive. When I first started my garden in Harlingen, I began by gardening like how I did when I left Salado. It should not have been a big surprise when my stingy watering habits and austere soil supplementation practices killed more than a few plants. I had to begin from ground zero in building up a good soil. It needed lots of compost and green sand. Plants needed a little more water to get going than in Salado. Another big change for my new garden was the absence of spring rain. In Salado, the spring rain would send everything into a growing frenzy. In this part of South Texas, spring is a dry season. Plants want that springtime boast, but they never get it. It was shocking to me when I realized I would have to work for what I had taken for granted in Central Texas. Slowly, but surely, the garden is taking shape, and it looks better each bag of compost is dumped on it. The soil and plants act like the Cookie Monster on "Sesame Street" and hungrily slurp up whatever nutrients I provide.