Iris hexagona var. savannarum - Dixie Iris

Iris hexagona has the widest range of the Irises in Florida.  It is found throughout much of the state except for the southeast and northwest portions of the state.  I have seen it growing in various places around Manatee County, FL.  Here are some that are growing around the neighborhood:

Iris hexagona, late in the afternoon in a wooded area adjacent to a stream and sometimes floods.  These plants are shaded by Live Oaks (Quercus sp.) but get some filtered light. The plants look very inconspicuous when not in bloom.

Iris hexagona about to bloom - perhaps tomorrow.

Iris hexagona growing in a sunny streamside area.  The soil is very sandy, which you can see in the stream. 

A close up of the same flowers.

Iris hexagona has three varieties.  These are Iris hexagona var. savannarum which hold their flowers above their leaves.  They should also have a smooth circular seed pod when viewed from above (instead of a hexagon) but I have not observed this yet since this is the first time I've seen them flower!

If you live in Florida this would be a great addition to a water garden or pond. My Mom moved a plant up to the garden from our pond and its been growing and blooming without wet conditions - which really surprised me. Just to be safe though, keep it on the moist - wet side.  

Solar Garden Lights

In any space lighting can drastically change the look and feel of the area.  Bringing lights to your outdoor areas can create a feeling of habitation while the sun is down.  Recently many companies offer a wide variety of solar lights for walkways, patios, and the garden areas.  These lights can be simple lanterns or something more whimsical and interesting. 

My first solar lights Tink bought 3 years ago from Ikea.  They were red but have faded in the harsh Texas sun.  I have really enjoyed these!  We placed them near our back window so they are visible while in bed.  It is really nice to see them gently bouncing in the night breeze.  Another great thing about them is that they come on right when it starts to get dark and stay on until the sun comes up while many other solar lights have run out of battery. 

This string of glowing birds is a nice whimsical addition to the back patio.

I clipped them onto my plant stand so I can observe them at night.

These were also from Ikea.

A pretty post light.  These give off a nice warm glow but they do need strong light to get charged up.

Purchased from Target.

Lights for the front walkway.  These come on a string of three. 

Purchased from Ikea.

This is a smaller version of the walkway light like above. I have them under my inland sea oats where it  cast an interesting shadow on the nearby wooden fence.  Purchased from Ikea.

A solar LED spotlight. This shines on my wildflower garden so that it is bright enough to see them without the light being to harsh and overly bright. Purchased from Home Depot.

Growing Nepenthes in Houston, TX

Gardening in Houston, TX is very challenging to say the least.  The best/easiest plant to grow are natives.  Native plants are adapted to the wide variety of weather conditions Houston has.  Naturally growing non-native plants, such as Nepenthes, can be quite challenging.

During the spring, summer, and fall I keep my Nepenthes outside in the shade of a crepe myrtle tree and the wooden gazebo in my backyard. They seem to do well here despite the temperatures being around 100*F for many days.  I keep them in white glazed ceramic pots to help keep their roots from over heating.  I water them every few days with collected rainwater or reverse osmosis water if it doesn't rain.

My Nepenthes.  All these species are native to the Philippines.

As you can see the sunlight is dappled.  I did put the N. truncata (2nd top left) with the Sarracenia for a little while and it was not happy - burned leaves.

Green Anole - Anolis carolinensis, these lizards are pretty smart.  They hang around my carnivorous plants waiting to steel food, drink their water, and rest in their shade.  

Nepenthes sp. #1 Philippines

Nepenthes truncata

Nepenthes alata 'Surigao'

Nepenthes ventricosa "black persistome" 

Nepenthes mira

Nepenthes copelandii

Gulf Fritillary Butterfly

In my backyard I have a single pot of Purple Passionflower - Passiflora incarnata, and every year it host the caterpillars of many Gulf Fritillary Butterflies.  I constantly see the butterflies around my garden throughout the warm months and often times they lay so many eggs on my passionflower that it becomes defoliated. 

Gulf Fritillary egg on the dried tendril of the Passionflower.

Gulf Fritillary caterpillar in search of more food.

This one has munched away all these leaves...

My Passionflower - Passiflora incarnata, it has a few leaves left. 

Gulf Fritillary empty chrysalis with an egg on it. (3 eggs in the pic total)

Another chrysalis about 20 feet away from the Passionflower.

Here is the mother Gulf Fritillary laying more eggs.

I love the silver on the bottom of the wings!

What's blooming May 2012

The garden is doing wonderfully this year.  Thank goodness for the rain we've got and pretty pleasant spring weather.  It is starting to get hot now in late May; which is to be expected here in Houston.  Almost every specie of flower in the garden are blooming or are getting ready to.  So here is what is blooming:

Columbine - Aquilegia canadensis, Im retrying this species and so far they are doing really well.  I've grown them before from seeds I brought from my garden in Virginia but they kept rotting perhaps because of the heat.  Im guessing these new plants originated in Texas (maybe the Hill Country population) and are adapted to the climate better.  Im so thankful because I've missed having these in my garden so much.

Tropical Sage - Salvia coccinea, continues to go very well.

Turk's Cap - Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii 

Southern Blueflag - Iris virginica var. schrevei, growing in a large undrained glazed ceramic planter.

Gulf Coast Penstemon - Penstemon tenuis

Foxglove Penstemon - Penstemon cobaea

Blue Mistflower - Conoclinium coelestinum 

Spiderwort - Tradescantia ohiensis 

Mealy-cup Sage - Salvia farinacea 

Blue Sage - Salvia azurea 

Gaura - Gaura lindheimeri

Indian Blanket - Gaillardia pulchella 

Sundrops - Calylophus berlandieri

Bitterweed - Helenium amarum 

Lanceleaf Coreopsis - Coreopsis lanceolata 

Mexican Hat - Ratibida columnifera 

Giant Coneflower - Rudbeckia maxima 

Common Sunflower - Helianthus annuus, these and the giant coneflower really grew tall this year because of all the rain!

Bluebonnets are Blooming

Bluebonnets - Lupinus texensis are blooming in my backyard garden.   A few years ago I bought a packet of bluebonnet seeds and planted them.  Only a few grew but each year more and more grow from the seeds of the parent plants.  This year there seems to be twice as many as last year and they are growing great with the rain we've had this spring in Houston.

Bluebonnet - Lupinus texensis , one of the five species of Bluebonnets native to Texas.

All of the native Texas species of Bluebonnet are considered the state flower.

Grey Hairstreak Butterfly - Strymon melinus, a few of these were feeding from the flowers.

Honeybee - Apis sp. was also seen feeding on the Bluebonnet nectar. 

If you live in Texas this is a must have plant for your yard!  It requires no care and provides your garden with beautiful spring time color.

A Few New Native Seedlings

Last month I planted some native plant seeds of wildflowers that I would like more of in my garden.  They have been doing pretty well with the warm wet weather.  I planted them in pots and put them in a shady screened in area on my back patio.  

Gulf Coast Penstemon - Penstemon tenuis, are some tiny seedlings.  I only haver one small clump of this plant but hopefully it will take up a semi-shady area in my front garden planted with a few clumps of Gulf Muhly Grass - Muhlenbergia capillaris.  

Wild Foxglove - Penstemon cobaea, only a few of these seedlings came up.  

Maybe they need a little more sun.

Pitcher or Blue Sage - Salvia azurea, this plant is really easy to grow from seed.

Last year the seedlings I planted did really well and gave a really nice fall display.  I like the geometric pattern the leaves the plant makes and of course the very pretty cool blue flowers during the blazing late summer and fall heat!  I think I might need to plant more of these still...

What's blooming Feb. 2012

Hello!  I haven't posted about my garden plants for a while.  Last years record drought was stressful on many of the plants but many of my natives did okay.  Here in Houston we've had a pretty warm winter so far with some good rainy days.  I have left some of my orchids out almost all winter except on a few below 40 degree F nights.  Some of the flowers in the garden have been blooming throughout winter.

Texas Onion - Allium sp.

Coreopsis lanceolata - Lanceleaf Tickseed, has had a few blooms this winter.

Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii - Turk's Cap

Scarlet Sage - Salvia coccinea, last year these froze back

 to the ground and grew back from the roots and seeds.

Rivina humilis - Pidgeonberry 

Some non-natives that were planted by past home owners of the house.

Cyclamen - we have one of these by our front door that blooms every year. 

Soon it will be covered by the Blue Mistflower.

Paperwhites - Narcissus papyraceus, these usually bloom 

in late January to mid-Feburary.