Landscape & Gardening

What’s Blooming Now

Out of the six newly planted lilies, four have started to flower.
Out of the six newly planted lilies, four have started to flower.

Texas Spider Lily (Hymenocallis liriosme [Raf.] Shinners). I’ve always had really good luck with these beauties as a container plant. They have now also been planted in my newly designed front garden. We felt that their vertical spiky foliage would be a good replacement for the Louisiana iris that didn’t perform well outside of two spring months. Eventually these original six plants will multiply and should provide a spectacular show in about three years. If you’re interested in growing these, I recommend purchasing them from The Southern Bulb Company.

Landscape & Gardening

The New Front Garden

The front bed is deeper now.
The front bed is deeper now.

Larger planting beds and less grass means less maintenance. With the exception of three Turk’s Cap shrubs, the front garden is now complete. Because of the newly extended beds, the removal of the not-so-hot-looking plants, the transplanting of some of the original perennials, and the addition of shade tolerant perennials, I’m hoping that I won’t need to be putting in the insane amount of maintenance hours that have been required over the last few summers. Looking at the above and following photos, you may think that things look a bit tiny and insignificant. Just you wait. In July or August, I’ll be taking new photos, and you will definitely see a big difference.

Landscape & Gardening

Mini Sparklers Minus the Fuse

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The Texas Spider Lily. At the end of June, this container plant sends up five bloom stalks just in time for our Fourth of July holiday. Next year I plan to repot it into a bigger container. Unfortunately, once in a bigger pot it will not bloom that summer. For some reason this true Texas native likes to be root bound before it blooms. You can purchase the bulbs from The Southern Bulb Company.

Update! As of the Fourth of July, there are seven sparklers! Not five.