A luminous meadow

I spent some time this afternoon cleaning up and 'editing' the front meadow. 

It needed to be freed of the weedy annuals that had popped up in late summer, the remnants of vines that had clambered around (including the passionvine, Passiflora incarnata), and generally tidied up -- the Helianthus hirsutus (Rough-stemmed Sunflower) was downright ugly, even to a wildlife-friendly gardener, and I'm confident the goldfinches have long since eaten its seeds.  And the Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), which is such a great host for monarch caterpillars, is in decline as well, and most monarchs are well south at this point, too, and any stragglers are not going to be successful in reproducing here, before the first frost.

Front meadow in evening

It was satisfying work, even if driven by thinking I might have the Osher Lifelong Learning class come visit next after the Gardening for Nature class that I like doing for them.  I think I'll describe what our next projects are, and our real-life challenges as natural gardeners (hmm, full-time work, two gardens at the moment, we have other things to do, etc.)

Actually, our garden in the Upstate is a testament to the toughness of natives and well-adapted plants over a summer of brutal heat and no rain in the last third of the summer, with minimal 'care' on a couple of short visits and supplemental water only to recently planted things.

Gardens, traveling, and challenges

Heading off to attend the Garden Writers Association annual conference in Dallas, I took a pre-conference detour to Austin, Texas, where I grew up. 

Austin is a great city, but not the place that I remember.  

My mom's house (our family home) was in Northwest Austin, but my dad (and his wife) and my sister (and her husband) now live well outside of anything that I'd call 'in Austin' today, outside the Highway 360 loop.

Lobelia cardinalis along Hill Country Stream

I mention this in talks; where I rambled as a young teenager, poking around in natural landscapes, is now completely developed.  From where our family home was, once open space, is filled with houses to where my sister lives, a considerable distance away.

But, I was encouraged by the sense of place that many residential and commercial landscapes had. 

Central Texas sees the convergence of the Edwards Plateau,  black land prairie and other ecosystems.  It makes a great mix, both for vegetation and wildlife.

And a visit to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center was an encouraging reminder of the power of native plants.  I've been a member for many years, but the last time I'd visited their site was about five years ago, on tour with a Botanical Society of America conference, as best as I remember.

 

an inspiring wildlife pond

It looks great now, and I was totally impressed.  I loved all of the landscapes around their historically appropriate buildings. And the plantings, mature now, are wonderful.

Planting native perennials

The Botanical Gardens of Asheville Spring Plant Sale and the WNC Herb Festival were full of cool plants this weekend. We snagged all sorts of interesting natives, from Wild Quinine (Parthenium integrifolium), Goldenseal, American Ginseng, and ramps, along with Golden ragwort (Senecio aureus), Anise-scented Goldenrod (Solidago odora), Wild Yam, a Gaillardia cultivar, (Rough Blazing Star) Liatris aspera, and a lovely Carex spp.

Added to the Penstemons, Coreopsis, Centaurea, and Achillea that came as trial complimentary plants from Blooms of Bressingham (I'd signed up for them at the Garden Writer's Association annual conference), we had lots to plant in the front perennial bed at our small mountain house!