Winter Rye Grass Next Year????

First Signs of Spring

Mountain Laurel

 Red Bud Tree in the Wild

Red Bud Tree

Drip Irrigation Installed by H3O

This week we had our backyard irrigation system retrofitted to drip.  H3O set up a separate system for the vegetable beds, shrubs and the deck.  The shrubs have emitters spaced every 18" on 1/2" tubing.  The veggie beds are spaced 12" on 1/2" tubing and each of the eight beds has its' own shut off value.  The deck pots use 1/4" tubing and I will be able to use the emitters from Lowe's.  We are using the same Rain Bird timer and all the tubing/emitters are also from Rain Bird.  So far so good!  SAWs came out to look at the system and approved us for a rebate.  

Late Winter Beauty

Little Blue Flowers

This is a mystery bulb planted three years ago in the fall.  It comes back each year thicker and thicker.  I have it planted between stepping stones.  It's time to subdivide this fall.

Spring is here!

First signs of Spring in south Texas

 Red bud trees blooming

Texas Mountain Laurel blooming in my yard

Tomatoes!

Tomatoes!  Today I potted up 6 Texas Superstar Cherry Tomatoes and 12 Celebrity tomatoes using fertilize enriched potting soil and a slow release granular fertilizer. My goal is to plant by the end of February if the weather stays warm ----or March 15 if it looks like we will have a freeze.

Today I fertilized annuals and columbine.  Earlier in the week I lightly trimmed my knock out roses and fertilized with slow release lawn fertilize.  This year I want to fertilize the roses every month trading off between a granular and a liquid fertilizer.

Everything has been trimmed and cut back both in the back and front yard.  With our mild weather (and a few record breaking 80+ degree days in January) many shrubs are already sprouting:  fire bush, lantana, Turk's cap, saliva's, blue mist, etc.  Others have not even been damaged by a freeze:  yellow bells,  plumbago, buttercups, Mexican petunias.

No rain this week.  It's been five dry, long weeks since our last significant rain.