Category: vintage

“Where flowers bloom, so does hope.” Lady Bird Johnson

Texas is well known, and rightly so, for their springtime display of wildflowers. From the highways to the back roads, the state seems to be awash in blue this time of year. But look a bit closer and one is apt to pick out other, lesser known, wildflowers. Pale pink primrose. Bright orange Indian paintbrush. Hot pink winecups. With more than 5,000 different varieties of wildflowers throughout the state, it would be hard for anyone to list their favorites or for any gardener to grow even a fraction of them. Still one wildflower is often overlooked, which is a shame because it certainly deserves a spot in any top ten or top twenty Texas wildflower list.

Penstemon tenuis, shown above, sports dainty lavender blossoms that dance in the spring breeze. It is highly adaptable to the cultivated garden, which is not the case with all wildflowers. It is equally at home in a cottage style garden as it is in a meadow. Isn’t it gorgeous with the apricot colored bearded irises in the background? I would love to take credit for that color combination, but I can’t. You see, after Penstemon tenuis is done blooming, I let the seedheads form and dry, then take the seeds and scatter them about. I never know where they might pop up the following year and I love it that way! (Photograph below: Dried seedheads of Penstemon tenuis in late summer, with garlic chive blossom.)

Yes. Sometimes the flower will sprout up in an odd place, such as directly under my native buttonbush, shown below. Thankfully they are great companions and neither one bothers the other. Penstemon tenuis grows best in partial to full sun, so will bloom and flourish just fine in this area of my melodious garden.

Other times, Penstemon tenuis pops up in just the perfect spot, such as in front of an antique plow, shown below. This gardener loves that whimsical side of Mother Nature.

Penstemon tenuis grows to about 2 1/2 feet tall and is airy enough that it can be grown along pathways or the front of formal garden beds. Typical bloom time is from April to June in North Texas. It is a good nectar source for bees and butterflies. Its native range is the Gulf Coast prairies and marshes from Texas to Mississippi and up to Arkansas. Penstemon tenuis is said to be a great cut flower, though I have not personally use it in arrangements.

While not widely available in the nursery trade, it can be found at garden centers that specialize in native plants and seeds can be acquired from fellow gardeners.

Y’all know the saying… If you don’t like the weather in (enter your region), just wait a minute… Though too much a cliche, no truer words have ever been spoken about this week’s weather here in North Texas.

Six days ago, we were battening down the hatches and filling our pantries and readying ourselves for a good old fashioned Texas ice storm. Most of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex hung out the “closed” sign as three rounds of sleet and freezing rain made the region one large ice skating rink.

Today? Wearing shorts and a T-shirt and giving thanks for making it through the past week unscathed, thankyouverymuch. But please bear with me as I share a few more photographs from my frozen melodious garden, taken this past week.

I know.

The ice storm is behind us now; let’s move on and look ahead to spring! But it is always a good reminder that even a few days of severe weather impacts our gardens and the wildlife that inhabit our gardens, long after we humans have moved on.

No croquet games played last week.

Even my meditating gnome (below) seemed cold.

I have collected Campania statuary since I worked at Redenta’s Garden 20plus years ago. I love picking out pieces that represent who I am, my interests and my hobbies. Each piece is so special to me. The gnome and fairy, shown above and below, are both Campania pieces. (Sadly, I dropped something on the bowl of the fairy a few years ago and broke a chunk off. It just reminds me that while we are all broken in some way, we are still beautiful.)

More vintage around the garden. I love using bed frames as trellises or to mark off different areas of the garden. (Above photograph.)

Bear with me while I prattle on a bit about the messy photograph above…

When my now adult age son was much younger, we read together Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden. My son was enthralled with the idea of having his very own secret garden, though he quickly decided he wanted the area to be his very own observation point for wildlife. Thus began “The Secret Biology Lab.” I happily obliged in helping him set up his own space in my overfilled garden. (Read: as in the book, my own garden was somewhat untended, thanks to motherhood…) We crawled to the back fence line, hidden by years of shrubbery left to grow wild. Among the accessories that went in to the secret biology lab, the basket (above) attached to the fence and for years filled with acorns and dried corn on the cob.

Last year I undertook a massive garden deconstruction and renovation project. That line of shrubbery was slated to be removed, having long outlived their usefulness and not in alignment with my current desires. But first, I had to text my son, away at college, and ask him if he would mind if I dismantled his secret biology lab. His response? “Uh… You still have that?” I think he was a tad embarrassed…

Having cleared that hurdle, I shed a few tears, reflected back on those younger days, removed my son’s discarded Tonka truck and the pink flamingo “Welcome” sign he wanted to mark the entrance to his secret biology lab… then I ordered my trusty garden assistant, the dear husband, to take the chainsaw to the shrubs.

To new beginnings! It is never too late to start over, redo, undo, move on!

I decided to leave the basket on the fence and do find it rather useful to hold assorted garden items. The fencing and landscaping pins landed there “for another day, for another project…” Until then – it is a great juxtaposition. The past – the basket – and the future – what project next? – frozen in time. Or frozen in ice, as it is. Someday I will reflect more on the dismantling of the secret biology lab. Good lessons to be learned. Good reasons to never cement anything in place. Until then… A few more frozen photographs!

I love this little… bird? chicken? Not quite sure what it is, but I love it all the same. (Above photo.)

I love to mix different elements and pieces of color around the garden. A very modern, very boho windchime. (Above)

Two frozen cherubs, acquired at an auction. Auctions, estate sales, antique markets and thrift stores are all great sources for unique garden items. A garden, like a home, should be filled with treasures, lovingly collected!

Happy gardening. And remember: It is only February. Yes, we are wearing shorts now, but our average last freeze date isn’t until mid-March. A lot can happen between now and then, so Keep Calm and Garden On! But keep the frost cloth handy and don’t plant those tomatoes outside just yet!