landscaper and gardener

LANDSCAPER AND GARDENER
thats what i have become
well i was already both before i retired

as you know if youve read this blog much i volunteer for the
habitat for humanity helping build houses in this area
i have worked on my seventh house thats been built in the last 12+ months

on the previous house i became actively involved with the landscaping
trying to eliminate as much grass as possible in the landscape
so the homeowner wouldnt have to water and fertilize and care
for so much lawn
they were being committed to years of expense watering it and
caring for it
70% of municipal water is used in landscapes
folk were running low on water around here

the first house i did we eliminated 75% of the grass in the front yard
and left a nice patch of grass in the front for them to enjoy

in the latest house we were able to eliminate 40% of the front yard
grass by utilizing rock along the yard on one side of the driveway and
along that strip replacing grass between the sidewalk and the street
that no mans land thats hard to keep watered and mowed

we also were able to use mulch to eliminate planting grass around the
new monterey oak we planted in the front yard
the tree wont have to compete with the grass for water and
nutrition

we also were able to utilize the rocks from the rocking of the house
in the landscape making large beds across the back fence covering
it with mulch and along the driveway

here you can see that i was teaching a group of high school kids from
one of the habitat clubs at their high school how to properly plant
a tree
-only as deep as the container
-make sure the root flare is above ground level
-dont pile the mulch around the tree trunk
-mulch the area around the tree and avoid grass under the tree if possible
-use the native soil from the hole to fill the hole around the tree
-add some good garden soil or compost to top it off with
 then cover with mulch
-remove any post holding the tree in place
 i leave the tree free standing without those metal rods or wire ties

in the background in the picture you can see the 1" rocks that were
put in the no man area by the street
several rustic large rocks were placed on top of these rocks

we also planted a spineless cactus salvia greggii dwarf youpon holly and
a prostrate rosemary in the front and a red oak in the back

ive also started to utilize some rain garden techniques in the landscapes
to slow down water runoff from the property which will decrease
the amount of supplemental water thats used

a 2 x 6 ft raised garden bed made from the rock left over from the house
was built that the homeowner will use for herb growth or veggies

they are given the austin grow green book with the list of xeric plants
for the area and a handout on how to care for the yard and plants

overall a successful landscape plan on a limited budget utilizing donated
plants and supplies

now we have to figure out how to collect rainwater on a no budget

twice in the last two weeks the threat of a freeze has occurred
last week it did occur here at the country n
its these freezes that usually sneak up on me and wipe out my
tomatoes
so last week i redid all my row covers over my maters and taters
and peppers and beans and cucumber and eggplants and basil
sure glad i did as they all survived the frost and freeze without
significant damage

then that cold front came through yesterday that dropped the temps from
70 to 40 in a matter of a few minutes
no freeze warning was given for where the country n is but just
west there was freeze warnings
the weatherman said no worry if you are not in that area
herard that before

so i covered up my two keyhole gardens and my tomatoes in
their 5 ft cages and my squash beans cukes cantilope and beans

i knew if i didnt do it that there would definitely be a freeze
and i would have to go to my knees and start crying
as i had put so much effort into growing those maters by
planting them in early february and nursing them along

looks like i am going to be successful since i survived
those two late freezes


i am about to plant a tatume squash thats has some resistance to
that damn squash boerer that will wipe out my zucchini and yellow
squash after the first couple of pickings
hope its successful
its an heirloom one that grows on runners like pumpkins

here is the link to the tamu ag websites article on the tatume

i am sure glad i dont farm for a living
there are so many things that can go wrong to wipe out your crops

the organicgreen doctor

bad plants-the natives are best

BAD PLANTS-THE NATIVES ARE BEST
im always being asked about what plants to buy
and plant in the yard
around this area there are some bad plants to plant here

a friend had a tree blown down in a storm
it was a large tree about 2-3 feet in diameter at its base

it when it was around provided good shade for the house
and the property
however
if you look around her neighborhood you see all these trees
big trees that are dead or have lost most of their limbs
or have left a rotting tree trunk after someone or nature
had taken it down

her tree was an arizona ash
planted probably when the house was built
it was a cheap tree that grew fast and looked good for
a few years then now its gone
i call it the arizona trash tree

so my wife she and i decided to plant a new tree to replace
the old one as a christmas present

she had several cedar elm trees a good native tree
that does well here in her back and side yards

the best shade tree in central texas is  an oak
the live oak is the best but there is some problem with
oak wilt in this area
where i live its rampant and i would never plant one in my yard
here because i know that one day the wilt would get it

so no live oak for her

the red oak is a pretty tree especially in the fall
but it has some susceptibility to oak wilt also
so scratch that one

the lacey oak is a pretty oak but it tends to not get as
big as what she needed in her yard

she needed one that would get large to shade the south and western
side of her house

the choices were down to
burr oak vs white oak or mexican white oak


the burr oak gets larger to 60-80 ft tall
has large i mean large acorns
it loses its leaves which are large in the winter
it grows fast


the white oak or mexican white oak grows to 40-60 ft tall
it has smaller acorns like a live oak
it like the live oak keeps its leaves but does shed some
it grows fast but not as much as the burr oak
its a pretty tree all year round

both are oak wilt resistant

we chose the burr oak for her
it will shade the house in the summer  and will provide
a good shade for the house and will
lose its leaves in the winter to provide sun onto
the house to help warm it

it will increase the value of the property as this tree will be
there unless someone cuts it down when her great great grandkids
are born

then a friend called us
he found these two plants to plant in his yard
they are bushes and are evergreen and look good in the yard
so he was told

the two  plants are on what i call the trash tree bush list
like the arizona ash

they were the wax ligustrum
it is invasive
it is a real problem in wooded areas especially some of the
natural preserves where it will almost take over an area
dont plant them
i dont
i find them frequently here at the coutnry n and i cut them down


the other plant is the red tip photinia
its a pretty tree in the landscape
however
it is highly susceptible to diseases

i know at a previous house we had a line of them
half looked good and the other half hardly had any leaves

there are good native plants that can be substituted for these

here is a link to find what to plant and what not to plant
in central texas
this booklet is free at most nurseries in the area

in my landscape i only plant good natives that are xeric
once established they are on their on
even through the driest november ever
even through the worst drought in 100 years here they are doing
well

the organicgreen doctor