The Flickr Gardeningintexas Image Generatr

Southern Magnolia Magnolia grandiflora 12" flower in my yard. The debris on the lower petal is broken stamens. Houston, Texas. June 2008.

[update: it's July now and I've started selling these here in Fort Worth. I've met some cool local gardening folks so far :) If anyone in the area's interested in swinging by, shoot me a message and we'll chat. Looking to make space in my garden quick, so I'm not selling them for very much, just trying to cover my costs. thanks!]

The euc seedlings are still hangin in there! Since the beginning of the month, I've also had a Ginkgo pop up once, sometimes twice, a day. so happy to see their numbers continuing to grow too! spent a lot of time cleaning those seeds a few weeks ago, was going to be pretty depressed if none of them grew.

Took this pic looking through some of the rainbow euc pots which gave it some neat DOF combined with the loving glow from the grow light ;)

Happy gardening all. I'm kinda wishing I could close my allergy-stricken eyes & wake up to Spring :) Doesn't help that I went to the Fort Worth rodeo this past week even though I'm terribly allergic to basically everything there. it was fun anyways though. haha.

part of my gardening set

- - Adansonia digitata - -
I've been slightly hesitant to post this pic because I'm so nervous at my new tiny Baobab seedlings. After planting this latest batch of seeds, I had my first one germinate a little over a week ago on 8/27. Since the first, I've had 6 more as well. I'm so freakin excited to try and keep these guys alive. So for the moment, all's looking good. They've adjusted into new pots very well and I feel like I have them in a good spot in my yard. It's hot as hell here in Austin this week and they've dealt with the temperature nicely.

Updates to come, but for the moment, I've got a few of these special little ones workin it. It was a pretty quick germination time for these few. It can take a while for them to germinate and if you do get some sprouts, it can be at least a few months in between the first & the last in the batch to sprout. anyways. fingers are crossed as hard as they've been in a while, hoping they make it these first few weeks :)

part of My Gardening set

Out of all the seeds I've planted over the past couple years, I'm so happy that the ones that germinated the most successfully, ended up being such tough trees. It's seriously hot here in Austin, Tx and there aren't a lot of plants that can deal with this texas sun. This is one of my Ficus religiosa seedlings. Most of my trees are in much smaller pots, but I got my hands on a very large recycled pot and decided to put one of my seedlings in it & just wait to see how big it could get in a few months.

When I put it in this larger pot, it was already 5'1". I measured yesterday and in 8 weeks it's grown to 8'6". such a stud :)

part of My Gardening set

Ray from Laporte, TX said "Many of my green beans are 7-8 inches and the flavor is fantastic. I mix Spray-N-Grow and Bill's Perfect Fertilizer and am well pleased with the success."

Autumn Clematis close-up. Houston, Texas. Sept. 2011.

A small volunteer Autumn Clematis decorating a tree. Houston, Texas. Sept. 2011.

The plants at the zoo were as interesting as the animals. Many plants grown only as houseplants in most of the world thrive outside in the semi-arid tropical environment of Brownsville, Texas. Nov. 2008.

In my garden. Almost 6' tall! George L. Tabor variety. Houston, Texas. April 2010.

Waiting to see if this vine returns from the roots. Frozen to the ground this winter! Nov. 2009.

Just to remind myself how they looked before the freeze! Hopefully these will return. Houston, Texas. Nov. 2009.

Only 3 short months away - this will be blooming in my garden. The waiting makes it even more spectacular. Mar. 2009.

Small shrubby Thunbergia, "Black Knight" variety. Will bloom in semi-shade. In my garden. Houston, Texas. May 2009.

My Loquat tree blooming. Eriobotrya japonica Bees love it. In my garden, Houston, Texas. Nov. 2009.

Mexican Bird of Paradise flower in my garden. Caesalpinia pulcherrima Houston, Texas. Nov. 2009.

Caesalpinia flower in my garden. Caesalpinia pulcherrima Houston, Texas. Nov. 2009.

Alocosia bloom in my garden. Houston, Texas 2009.

Passionflower in my garden. Texas native, Passiflora foetida Houston, Texas. Nov. 2009.

Color not enhanced! I bought this one at a nursery. In my garden. Houston, Texas. Nov. 2009.

Vine growing in my garden. Houston, Texas. Dec. 2007.