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| Entire family taking turns sporting Clark Kent glasses (with Superman emblems on the side!) at a local Mexican food restaurant |
The real superhero at our house is my SIL, who he-manned these 200-300 pound landscaping rocks boulders across the yard by hand while my daughter and I stood by watching and making suggestions...and Grandsons #1 and #2 tried to "help." (Yes, he's the guy we call on when anything heavy needs to be moved.)
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| Huge landscaping rocks surrounded by newly emerging inland sea oats. |
A few weeks ago we saw similar large rocks with small plants growing out of holes drilled in them. We need to make a trip to our favorite local nursery to find out what plant choices we have. Moss rose will be planted in the spaces between rocks for lots of color. The perennial plants coming up around the rocks are inland sea oats, which were cut back to the ground a few weeks ago. The bare spots will fill in soon, and they will form a compact mound around the rocks that reaches a height of about 24" (although they can get much taller in shadier spots). The plants will be covered with graceful seed heads like the ones in this photo.
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| picsora.com |
Here's a look at another part of the front yard beds.
NOTES
1) No, my daughter hasn't relented on the issue of the small tree in front of the house. She thinks we need it for privacy.
2) And for those of you who come from other parts of the world and are unfamiliar with Cinco de Mayo, it's a celebration held on May 5 that commemorates a major Mexican military victory. In Texas, in addition to attending more traditional events, many of us go out for Mexican food and drink lots of margaritas, which we certainly did last night.
The plant with the graceful seed heads is Northern sea oats, Chasmanthium latifolium. It can be invasive because the numerous seed heads self-sows and make numerous seedlings. Trust me, I planted 1 plant and to this day am still pulling out seedlings all over my garden.
ReplyDeleteJenjen, I wonder if you are in a different USDA Plant Hardiness Zone. We're in Fort Worth, Texas, which is in 8a. The plant is indeed Chasmanthium latifolium, which here is commonly called inland sea oats or broadleaf woodoats, although I understand it is called northern sea oats in other parts of the country. The plant is native to Texas, and because of our dry climate, it behaves a little differently in our location than in other parts of the country, tending to stay more contained here, even though it can be aggressive in a place that stays moist, such as a creek bank. I had it at my previous house, and it stayed put nicely in the flower bed there. We Texas gardeners usually bemoan our dry 100+ degree summer weather, but I guess our climate has some perks after all. However, I do feel your pain about invasive plants. Here it's trumpet vine (Campsis radicans), which can take over your yard if you're not careful...and its shoots are very difficult to pull up.
DeleteHoney could you move the rock two inches to the left? I've always been interested in the way Japanese gardens use rocks. If you go online I'm sure you would see the ideas are useful today. The use of odd numbers, negative space, exactly how deep they should buried and the animal names given to stone formations. The architect I.M Pei had rocks moved inches in his design for a Chinese museum.
ReplyDeleteI had originally envisioned three rocks, but by the time my SIL started moving the fourth one (Did I mention this had been a totally impromptu "honey do" right before we went out to dinner, AND it had started to rain?), we had already been asked...gently but firmly...to stop standing idly on the sidelines making suggestions, so I thought it prudent not to say anything about odd numbers, but I've found a cool clay pot that would make a nice #5. I doubt that we'll bury these, since they're definitely not going anywhere, and the bases will be covered by plants (and because I'm sure my SIL would tell me to be quiet again if I suggested it.) :)
DeleteThe idea of animal names being given to stone formations is fascinating. I'll look for information on that.
There is the swan and turtle that I can think of and there are islands and waterfalls made entirely of stone and sand.
DeleteWe're about to start planting/decorating the atrium. My daughter and SIL might love some of those ideas.
DeleteThe landscaping is wow. And the house looks nice. Can't wait to see more. I think like your daughter, I would've insisted on a "privacy tree" as well!
ReplyDeleteThe interior is coming along nicely. Painters are hard at work, measurements have been taken for new countertops, furniture has been ordered, and new art is being dropped off for framing. Shouldn't be long now.
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