Gulf Coast Greenie

Wordless Wednesday: Curve-billed Thrasher with Cholla and Ocotillo

Snow in the Forecast Again Already?* (Updated)

* Wednesday night the forecasts called for snow, by Thursday morning that had changed. Weather expert Stan Blazyk of the Galveston Daily News writes that it can't be completely ruled out yet, but "there are many unknowns."

Update 12/11: The Chronicle's SciGuy is now reporting on the potential for additional snow in the Houston Area.

Gambel's Quail in New Mexico last week

I missed the last snow because I was in New Mexico again. (I'll explain why pretty soon.) But two different extended Houston forecasts tonight, Wednesday, give high chances of snow for December 18th or 19th! I know extended forecasts are unreliable, but I'm excited anyway. Since it might change, I figure I ought to enjoy the possibility while I can.

It snowed on us in New Mexico last week, and it was really pretty, but I'm dying to experience snow at home. I've missed the last three of three.

In 2008 when we were away during the snow, our plants didn't get much damage at all. This time we had a lot of leaf damage, but only some herbs, peppers, begonias and coleus were total losses. The top survivors were shrimp plants, crotons, and camellias. They look every bit as content as before the frost.

Still alive but begging to be put out of its misery: A bed of lantana in our front yard looked spray-painted black. I've been wanting to replace it, and this was the motivation I needed. I dug them up today.

The red leaves are from our sweet gum.

Ripe and Blooming for the Holiday

I'll get back soon to writing about the Bosque del Apache, but here's a quick look at what's happening in my garden right now:

Our very first satsumas were ready just in time for Thanksgiving. We planted the tree last spring and removed most of the fruit early because it was too heavy. The only three that we left came though spectacularly. (The banana peppers are probably the last for the year.)

We also have lots of food for the birds. We have an exceptional amount of acorns and yaupon berries this year. Has anyone else noticed an explosion in acorn numbers? I think we still have so many yaupon berries left because the squirrels are occupied with the nuts.

The nandinas are also heavy with berries, but they're mostly for looks. Nothing ever seems to eat them.

Many flowers are also coming into their own now that the weather is cooler.

The pineapple sage is at its peak and covered with bees.

And our 'Yuletide' camellias are already set for Christmas. We planted these to replace an old ligustrum hedge that died after Ike. What a happy improvement!

 I hope you and yours had a very blessed holiday.

FW: A Canadian goose has sent you a greeting

From the Bosque del Apache:

Crane Party (with video)

When I made my last post, I did not know it would take so long to follow-up on my promises; I got swept up into another adventure that I'll write about another time. I apologize for having disappeared without notice.

I'm back now, and, whoo-ee, I have a lot to show you.

Last week at the Bosque del Apache near Socorro, New Mexico, hundreds of people gathered to celebrate a spectacular yearly event: The visit of thousands of sandhill cranes that spent their summer in Canada.

The cranes start to arrive along the Middle Rio Grande Valley in late October, but their numbers grow more impressive toward the end of November. We visited the bosque (Spanish for forest) after the cranes began to arrive but before the other twitchers (British for birdwatchers) became too numerous. That meant that we missed some wonderful activities at the yearly Festival of the Cranes. Even so, it was very special to have so little human traffic during our time there. The roads in the refuge are unpaved, so dust can be an issue, in addition to the more common ones, such as noise.

As we stopped to photograph one group, another group would come from elsewhere.

 

Sometimes they landed as gracefully as any bird I've ever seen.

At other times, it was difficult to tell what was happening.

 
Once they were on the ground, they seemed as comfortable as if they were our hosts. Sometimes they even walked along with us on the road. (Okay, they were usually walking ahead of us, but they usually seemed at ease.)

  My favorite part about my experience of them, however, was their calling to each other.

You can hear them in this video taken by my husband:

(We also have an HD widesreen version on YouTube.)

The cranes are the star attraction in the Bosque del Apache this time of year, but we also saw many other fascinating birds and other creatures. Stay tuned for swarming snow geese, demure quail, vibrant pheasants, and much more.

Tuesday Teaser (or an early almost-wordless Wednesday), Updated

Can anyone guess which wildlife refuge I just visited?

 

I'll post much more about it in coming days.

_________________________________________________________________
In response to Cheybean:

They're coots and geese in the above photo. Cranes were in the area too. And there is an upcoming festival to celebrate the arrival of the cranes.

Halloween Poll

If you don't eat your fruits and veggies . . .

(I wish I could take credit for creating these, but they're a neighbor's.)

Clay Carrington of the Nature Conservancy points out in his article "Halloween doesn't have to be an econightmare" that the compost bin is a fine destination for old pumpkins.

Time for Propagifts

Gardeners are accustomed to planning ahead for future seasons. Many of us have recently placed bulbs and wildflower seeds in the ground as deposits for spring blooms. Even so, one season can sneak up on us if we get carried away planning for spring: The holiday season.

I try throughout the year to gather presents to give during the holidays, but there are always some on the list that slip by me. And I always need extras for last-minute reciprocation, etc. Plants are ideal to keep on hand as back-up gifts (if not primary gifts) because you can never have too many for yourself, right?

Horticulture Magazine has a great article by Pam Baggett about propagating and gathering plants to give. She suggests potting bulbs and taking cuttings from succulents.

If you have outdoor plants that do well wintering indoors, consider sharing some of them too. Tom MacCubbin of the Orlando Sentinel has good suggestions for preparing them for the change.

I have found coleus to be a festive plant for holiday decorating and usually bring in cuttings from my favorites anyway, in case we have a freeze. They will root in water alone, but I've found they stay healthier in soil. If they happen to get spider mites, I wash the leaves thoroughly in the sink.

Mixing red and green succulents together would be pretty too.

I'd love to hear your gardening gift ideas. Please write them in below.

Hot Volcanoes in Clear Lake!

I recently came upon a devastating scene in my neighborhood: The unnatural occurrence of hot volcanoes in a suburb on our beloved coastal prairie.

I present them here in my own rendering to preserve the anonymity of the property owners.

Fresh wood chips flow inexplicably from tree to tree, piled against each trunk as high as two feet

The "tree volcano" is not a new phenomenon, and I am not the first to refer to them as such. Before seeing those depicted above, I had already heard of the unfortunate practice but had not seen them created with hot mulch.

Hot mulch is mulch that has not decomposed sufficiently, that might pose a chemical danger to desirable plants. My (most-likely unwitting) neighbors used freshly chipped wood of another tree to create pyramidal stacks of potentially toxic material around their beautiful trees. To what purpose?

Last year, The Chronicle's Kathy Huber responded to a poignant letter from a resident of a sister community who wrote, "Houstonians are enthusiastic mulchers and have a 'style' of mulching trees. The mulch [. . . is] piled against the bark at the base of the tree. Doesn't this practice rot the bark?"

Her reply aptly begins, "It's not wise [. . . ]" (Read Kathy's full response here.) Carol Brouwer, PhD, of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service - Harris County seems to agree with that summation and teaches residents to use partially decomposed mulch that is placed wide rather than deep (2"-4" deep).

Young trees should be mulched to the drip line, which is as far as the outermost leaves reach, because trees compete with other plants for moisture and nutrients.

In this time of drought and bark beetle threats, it is particularly important that we give trees what they need rather than what we may want for our turf.

Below is my depiction of what a turf lover with mature trees who waters the tree roots adequately during a drought might be able to get away with:

The mulch is only wide enough to protect from a lawnmower, but it is not too deep. The root flare is visible, and nothing clings to the trunk.

If that doesn't look good to you, and you have mature trees you care for properly otherwise, there is another option: The natural one.

Whatever you do, please keep volcanoes out of the Gulf Coast. Hurricanes are quite enough.

Let me know your thoughts.

New White Blooms This Week

In addition to long-awaited flowers like those of this Plumeria,

recent rains encouraged some flash-flowering by others. The Tahitian wedding veil appeared like a blanket of stars in the gloom.

We also had many mushrooms we've never seen before appear overnight. All three of these varieties were much better-behaved visitors than the yellowish, mushy ones we've had before. I enjoyed these as much as flowers.

This brand new crown of thorns seems to be adjusting to its new surroundings despite the odd weather. I knocked off its nursery peat as Cindy of From My Corner of Katy suggested, and I really think that helped.

This Brugmansia bloom seemed happy near the ground, showing off its elegant texture.

 

We have many colorful blooms this week too, but the above held up best through the recent deluges.