Moss Acres Terrarium Kit

I have been collecting Faux Bois pottery for almost 3 years now and have a pretty good collection so far. Right now I have native shade plants of Texas growing in a few of them (hopefully all soon) and I wanted to complete the look and make them look more aged and natural by having moss grow in the pots as well. It is not very easy to find moss around Houston and I did not want to remove any of the little moss I could find from natural areas. After watching Martha and seeing the people from Moss Acres talk about moss I was very interesting in having my own.

Moss Acres sells different varieties and quantities of moss for various projects such as something small like a terrarium setup to an entire moss garden. They also sell a product called Moss Milkshake which comes in a milk jug and is used to grow new moss from the contents inside.

I decided to order the Terrarium kit which comes with three types of moss that are already alive and healthy.

Here is what I got in my package for the Terrarium Kit: 3 types of moss (Rock Cap, Sheet, and Cushion Moss), a brochure with lots of information about Moss Acres and moss, and then my invoice and more information on how to care for the moss.

After unpacking the moss I placed the dry moss in a galvanized tray with about a half inch of water so the moss could rehydrate. This is the picture of the moss right when i placed it in the tray with water.

And after about a half hour. The moss has absorbed the water and becomes much more green and lush.

Here is the Rock Cap moss - Dicranum, planted with my Southern Wood Fern - Dryopteris ludoviciana.

This is the Cushion Moss - Leucobryum, planted with a rhizome of a Sensitive Fern - Onoclea sensiblis.

And last but not least is the Sheet Moss - Hypnum. I have not planted this with anything yet but will definitely do so soon. It looks like a bunch of tiny ferns. I remember this moss from living in Virginia and it growing in many shady spots in the woods and gardens.

Lunch at E-Tao

Yesterday, Tink and I spent some time shopping at the Houston Galleria and we went to eat at E*Tao restaurant. It is located on the second floor near Nordstrom. It is nicely designed and feels open even though the space is actually pretty narrow. The kitchen is behind a glass wall so you can see them cook and see how clean it is. The menus is pretty large and has dishes from all over Asia. The dishes range from more Americanized-Chinese to more authentic. Many of the items don't take so long to cook so its a good place to go if you are on a lunch break and want to get away from the Food Court.

Crispy Eggplant - this was really good! It is a vegetarian dish and has lots of flavor. The eggplant was prepared well.

Dry Vancouver Calamari - also very good. The calamari was nice and soft and not too chewy. The dipping sauce was a good too - sweet and sour.

White Rice - shaped into a pyramid.

So over all it was very good. There are also lots of other things on the menu I'd like to try.

For more information on this restaurant and to see their menu you can visit their website.

etaoasian.com

Summer Seedlings

Planting seeds is a wonderful thing. You can fill a huge area with beautiful flowers from just a small packet. My front yard garden right now is mainly Black-eyed Susan - Rudbeckia hirta and the packet of seeds cost 2$ and I still have extra seeds. I am almost continuously planting seeds. Some of the seedlings are for areas in the garden that need replacement plants and some are to share with friends and family. I even planted some of my seedlings at work around the borders of the parking lot.

This summer I planted a few different species of wildflowers that I recently collected or decided I need more of. It really is not the best time to plant seeds because of the extreme heat and dryness but some have done pretty well. I find it best to start seeds in small pots with a seed starting soil and outside in the shade. It makes it easier to control the conditions which your seedlings need such as the amount of water it gets.

Sanguine Coneflower - Echinacea sanguinea , this one is the furthest along. It is growing pretty well. Some of the other seedlings did die though. Im afraid it could have been the +100*F temperatures...

Whorled Milkweed - Asclepias verticillata , this is my first time growing these plants. The seed is from Prairie Moon Nursery. A lot of the seeds have germinated. They are very skinny looking. :P

Butterfly Milkweed - Asclepias tuberosa , same conditions as the Whorled Milkweed above. I cant wait for these to get big and plant them in the front yard. They're growing fast!

Azure Sage - Salvia azurea , I had very good germination rates with this plant last Spring. They don't seem to like the heat. I will probably have to wait for cooler temperature for them to start germinating.

Rose-Mallow - Hibiscus sp. , I collected the seeds of this Hibiscus in a ditch last time I was in the Beaumont, TX area. The seeds germinated quickly and are growing fast. This will be a nice addition to wetter parts of the garden.

New garden blooms and buys

Hello! Today I wanted to share with you some of my newly acquired and newly blooming wildflowers from this week.

All of the wildflowers from my last My Garden post are still blooming nicely and now are joined by:

Salvia azurea - Azure Sage , I just planted the seeds this spring and they are coming on really nice, all with flower spikes. The foliage is really pretty too because the leaves are perfectly lined up in very neat rows. A mainly fall blooming native wildflower that has nice cool blue flowers to contrast the heat.

Monarda fistulosa - Beebalm , has still not bloomed. I planted the seeds last winter. They seem to be growing nicely but Im a little worried they'll never bloom. If that is the case I am going to collect some seed from the local Monarda citriodora populations that are in every vacant lot around here in SW Houston and bloom like crazy in the Spring.

Liatris pycnostachya - Prairie Blazingstar (no picture) is very close to blooming!! The spikes are getting tall and are loaded with flower buds.

Here are some of my newly acquired wildflowers:

Penstemon tenuis - Gulf Coast Penstemon, I just bought this plant from Joshua's Native Plants Nursery. It is very healthy and has tons of ripening seed -heads and even a few blooms left. I was looking for this plant for a long time!

Cooperia drummondii - Evening Rain-lily, a relative of the Amaryllis, this plant I bought from Buchanans Native Plant Nursery. It looks like a very thin grass right now but it will have really pretty blooms once it finally rains! I see these all the time roadside around Houston.

Chasmanthium latifolium - River Oats, planted in the shade of a large old Crepe Myrtle. They are a native grass that looks similar to Bamboo. They produce very cute gracefully drooping oats. I bought all four from Buchanan's Native Plant Nursery.

Here is another pic of the River Oats. It is a great plant for a shady area. It is low maintenance and provides food and refuge for birds, butterflies, and other native wildlife.

Summer heat and drought

Everyone is talking about it - the weather!!! It has been too hot to be outside and take pictures and I have been in a summer dormancy so I just wanted to share my thoughts on the extreme weather.

The weather is extremely hot and dry this year. I have wrote about it in many of my blog post lately due to the affects on my garden and the natural landscape. It is a record holding year with record high heat and record low rainfall. Wildlife is suffering, crops are drying up, abundance of wildfires, heat advisories everyday, parts of space shuttles have been found in lakes that are drying up, and even a grave yard was exposed. People around Houston, TX are changing there schedules to avoid the heat by doing things early in the morning or later in the evening.

I myself, who is not a morning person, has had to get up early to water my plants and do any gardening before the sun starts to scorch. My friends and I have not done any outdoor hikes lately nor gone to the beach and we always have water or an iced coffee in hand. Its been a good time to focus on indoor house maintenance, cleaning, and planning the garden for fall plantings. (I just ordered some summer dormant Delphinium plants, Camassia bulbs, and more seeds from Prairie Moon Nursery last night).

Here is a screenshot of my weather bug widget at 8:10pm tonight. It is still hot, although it was reading 106*F earlier.

The heat really makes me ready for fall and the cooler weather. Tink and I can resume our weekly hikes and also look forward to the Holidays!! I've already gotten a catalog in the mail for Halloween decorations, which at first I thought was crazy, but then I saw some must have Halloween items (like this set of Chemistry Drinkware by Martha Stewart <3).

Anyway, I hope that all of you are having a safe, happy, and cool summer and wherever you live is having normal weather conditions! Check back soon because I have a lot of gardening post coming up such as: new seedlings I've planted, newly acquired native wildflowers, and my collection of faux bois pottery. Thanks for reading! ;)

Echinacea sanguinea seedlings

Last week I planted some Echinacea sanguinea seeds and after a few days some of them germinated. The seeds of E. sanguinea are dark brown to black in color and about the same size as other Echinacea species. Once they produce their first true leaves I will carefully transplant them into larger pots so they can develop their taproots.

Here are some seedlings. They are growing in the Burpee Eco-friendly Greenhouse Kit. It comes with a neat piece of biodegradable plastic to cover the tray and keep humidity up which aids in germination. I also added some seed starting soil to the coconut coir that comes with the kit.

Up close of one of the seedlings.

If you live in Houston or East Texas and have a difficult spot under some Pine Trees and/or sandy soil. Try this wildflower! In that situation you could also mix it with: Liatris pycnostachya, Helianthus mollis, and Vernonia texana.

My Garden - Summer 2011

It is mid-summer now and it is HOT! The drought continues and worsens with little to no rain in many areas and record heat. Gardening for many people is very challenging this year. I have seen a lot less native wildflowers blooming and many going dormant or fading away early this year without setting seed. Around the city there are many brown yards, dried up flowers, and dead bushes and trees. Driving past Memorial Park on 610 there are many mature dead trees - mostly Red Oaks. It is a sad sight.

My garden is doing pretty well this year. Which is in part due to the fact that I planted many drought tolerant native plants. I mulched them heavily this spring and water them very little - about once a week or whenever they show signs of wilting. So here is what is blooming at the moment:

Bloodflower - Asclepias curassavica , I bought 3 of these from a native plant nursery but they are actually not historically native. I will switch them out with Asclepias tuberosa, Asclepias verticillata, or Asclepias viridis when I get some good seed. Hopefully I can find an Asclepias viridis roadside this year with seed. Either way, Monarch Butterflies use these as a food source and they are really easy to grow.

Prairie Blazingstar - Liatris pycnostachya, forming flower stalks now.

Missouri Ironweed - Vernonia missurica, has been blooming continuously since Spring and has seeds that are ready to be harvested. It attracts lots of pollinators.


Sneezeweed - Helenium amarum, a common roadside wildflower that makes a pretty nice flower for the garden. It is compact, has attractive continuous blooms, grows in poor soil, and is very drought tolerant. Can you see the small bee on the flower in the picture?

Mexican Hat - Ratibida columnifera, like the Helenium above this plant has many of the same characteristic but is larger and is a perennial. It also comes in half red, half yellow petal and an all red petal form - both of which are found around Houston. My seed came from Prairie Moon Nursery and are all yellow.

Black-eyed Susan - Rudbeckia hirta, I filled the main section of my front yard garden with these and they have been really showy. I have been dead-heading (cutting of the spent flowers) to promote more blooms.

Common Sunflower - Helianthus annuus, still blooming with lots of seed-heads ready to be collected or left for the birds.

Indian Blanket - Gaillardia pulchella, still have lots of blooms! They are loved by all sorts of pollinating insects (especially bees).

Scarlet Sage - Salvia coccinea, fills the shady portion of my front garden under a Live Oak tree. Very pretty flowers and spreads by seed, nicely filling up available space.

Turks Cap - Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii, is also growing nicely in my shade garden. With the red flowers from this and the Scarlet Sage above I have named this shady section my "red garden". Maybe I should add a Coral Honeysuckle - Lonicera sempervirens to this section?.... :)