The Part-Time Gardener

Greetings from Dripping Springs, Texas, 13 miles or so west of Austin, where my young family and I live in a house on a hill (well, more like a limestone ledge sloping down the front of the property), nestled into the Hill Country. There's an acre of land on our property, with about half of it developed and the other half mostly wild. This is where I'm a part-time gardener.

When my oldest was born, 9 years ago today, I not only became a parent at home, I slowly but surely became a gardener. It was key to my sanity. My husband and I had three kids within a span of 5 years. Homebound with babies and toddlers for most of the day, gardening offered me a creative outlet and nature therapy at home.

I could be outside with my kids, observing the changes in plants and the parade of critters--song birds and hummingbirds, butterflies, squirrels, lizards, the occasional possum sightings (in Austin, I haven't seen one yet in Dripping Springs) made it that much more delightful to be a witness to nature. In Dripping Springs, the critters are a bit different--the resident jackrabbits and roadrunners, lots of deer, occasional armadillo sightings, Scrub Jays instead of Blue Jays, hawks and owls, more lizards, and snakes, to name a few. Oh, and scorpions, and all manner of interesting spiders. There's a great variety of bugs out here.

I savor my garden time, but I know I can't do it full time in this season of my life. I have to choose plants that can take care of themselves most of the time.

It's summer now, which in Texas means I'm up early moving dripping hoses around the base of trees and shrubs so that I don't lose any of them during our scorching days of heat, stretching into weeks and months. Right now is the coolest part of the day, and I get to water in my pajamas, so I don't mind too much.

We moved to Dripping Springs 3-1/2 years ago from Austin. Here's a shot of the front walk from May 2018:

I've done little more than maintain the front yard, and even that's a bit shaggy most of the time. I'd love to rent a backhoe and scoop out the invasive Nandina hedge along the front porch, but until I save up the money for that renovation, I'm focusing my efforts on the backyard.

The Mexican Feathergrass (Nassella tenuissima) and Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii) are most welcome. The sage is even more overdue for a trim now than it was back in May, and once August rolls around, I'm heading out there to give it a loving haircut. Fortunately for the bees and hummingbirds, there are more salvias and lovely things blooming in the back.

Here's the fenced-in backyard area:

Variegated privet came with the house. Showing in this photo: We removed an overgrown standard Privet, and added the flagstone walk and pergola, and the Texas Redbud (Cercis canadensis var. Texensis), Silver Ponyfoot (Dichondra argentea), lots of bulbs that bloom Fall-Spring (dormant here), Fall Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium), Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), Mealy Blue Sage (Salvia farinacea), and a few Liriope (Liriope muscari).

Desperately seeking shade, I sheet-mulched this bed and planted Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa), along with fall color in the form of Fall Aster  (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) and American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), and evergreen texture with Gopher Plant (Euphorbia rigida) and Variegated Spanish Dagger Yucca (Yucca gloriosa 'Variegata').

There was no fence when we moved here, and none of this hardscape or playscape was there yet, either. Our son was 6 months old when we moved in, and our girls were 4 and 5-1/2. When the boy started walking, boy howdy, his favorite thing to do was to take off down the street as fast as his wobbly legs would take him. I convinced my husband that we needed to corral at least part of the yard for the sake of my sanity.

The wire and metal post fence was inspired by my neighbor's fence and the look of many fences around the hill country. More than I wanted privacy, I wanted to be able to see through the fence and train vines on it.

I learned the hard way that while native and well-adapted perennial vines are hardy and lovely when they bloom, it takes a long time for them to really fill out and give much privacy. We do have enough tree screen that the property feels pretty private, thanks to native live oaks and Ashe juniper (a.k.a. "cedar" in Texas).

I also want our property to feel inviting and welcoming, and I think being able to catch glimpses of the other side of the fence enhances that feeling.

There's a Carolina Jessamine vine (Gelsemium sempervirens) languishing in the corner there. It's actually pretty tough and gets by with minimal water in this spot, but it's going to take years to fill out at this rate.

Here are two more Carolina Jessamine vines, and on the right, a Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata 'Tangerine Beauty') on the fence behind the Cedar Elm (Ulmus crassifolia) I planted Fall 2016, in my quest for shade.

I have so much more to show and tell you; these photos are the tip of the iceberg. There's a wealth of plants that came with the property, that are endemic to this area. There are oodles of plants in pots, indoors and out, bulbs, succulents, roses, annuals and perennials, grasses, wildflowers... if it's a plant, I will try it at some point.

Thanks for stopping by! And special thanks to all the garden bloggers and authors out there who have helped me learn the craft over the years.