Carrollton Yard – June 2023

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June is the ‘getting hot’ month in Carrollton, Texas…leading into more frequent 100-degree-plus days in the following months. It is already obvious which yards in the neighborhood are getting watered. My parents have a sprinkler system that my sister keeps tuned to maximize the watering where it is needed most. In the backyard the Queen Anne’s Lace, cosmos, hibiscus, and day lilies are lush – flowers and lots of green. In the front yard there are dusty miller plants in bloom, the last of the daisies, and the red yuccas with blooms and lots of green seed pods. The red oak planted there is finally getting a lot of light and growing well since the ancient mulberry has been cut down.

There is still grass to mow and weed eating/edging – a continuing chore – even though the years of gardening have reduced the area maintained in that way. Pulling ‘trash trees’ that emerge in the flowerbeds requires more finesse by the person doing the work (distinguishing what needs to be pulled from the plants that should be in the flower beds) and is always on the ‘to do’ list for the yard!

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Wishing everyone an enjoyable 4th of July…Independence Day in the US…a day for fireworks, parades, and watermelon!

Carrollton Yard – May 2023

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My parent’s yard was transitioning from spring to summer when I was there in late May. My sister had taken away the naked lady lily leaves that had turned brown; the bulbs have the stored energy for their bloom later in the summer. I put the stainless-steel iris I bought at the Springfield Artsfest in the hydrangea plot. It looked like it belonged there and will provide some color visible from the garden room during the winter.

The Queen Anne’s Lace is beginning to boom…and the cosmos. In the front yard the red yucca is the most colorful. The daisies are dispersing their seeds. The ferns are lush and there are still fiddleheads unfurling.

The lamb’s ear is blooming. When I got home, the ones in my yard were too!

Now I am beginning to think about whether I want to propagate some of these plants in my yard. My challenge right now is a lack of gardening space and the need to clear out plants that didn’t make it through the winter in some of the beds. On the plus side…that clearing could leave some places that I could plant some Carrollton transplants.

Carrollton Yard – April 2023

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I took pictures between rain showers…tended to do zoomed images because it was too breezy for macro photography. The irises were past their peak…but there were still plenty to photograph.

What a difference light makes! The two images below were taken less than a minute apart with clouds moving rapidly through the sky.

The glass orb among the oxalis and Queen Anne’s Lace just missed being spotlighted in the same situation!

Other flowers were blooming as well. The white daisies were photographed with different lighting…but enough to freeze their movement caused by the breeze.

It was still cool enough for roses to be blooming too.

Of course – there were the ‘always there’ subjects…dandelions and red yucca pods.

Overall – lots of beauty in the yard to photograph…cool temps and rain made it a little harder to be out and about.

Carrollton Yard – March 2023 (2)

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Continuing the report on my parents’ yard….

It’s not just flowers that were blooming. The crane flies emerged while I was there. They seemed to be everywhere. One got in the house and stayed put near the door…posing for portraits. Later I saw one on a plant. These short-lived adults are eaten by birds (as are the larvae in the soil)!

Of course – there are still flowering bulbs, sage, wisteria, and daisies blooming around the yard too.

The pecan tree had tuffs of leaves and blooms. It’s a young tree…maybe this year I will make pecans.

The sweet gum was also leafing out. It is fruitless variety (i.e. no spikey seeds). The tips of its branches are still very complex.

My favorite picture of the yard this month was some red yucca seed pods from last year….still holding the black seeds….the old stalk bent almost to ground level so that the leaves of the plant form the background.

I am looking forward to seeing the changes that April brings…