by Geoff | Dec 15, 2010 | Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, Gardening
I took a couple of shots today in my east Austin yard for Bloom Day. If you don’t know about bloom day, check out May Dreams Gardens
by Geoff | Dec 3, 2010 | Gardening, Recipes
This past spring I planted a small herb and ornamental garden in my front yard. Since I live in Austin with its periodic droughts and water restrictions, I look for plants that thrive without a lot of supplemental watering. Two herbs that did well for me were Mexican Mint Marigold and Mexican Oregano. Two distinct species, Lippia graveolens and Poliomintha longiflora, take the common name Mexican Oregano. I planted the former in my garden. When I planted the...
by Geoff | Oct 18, 2010 | CobraHead, Gardening
Last week I gathered up some folks to help dig a new vegetable garden with friends Natalina and Kiko and their new daughter, Lola. Natalina grew up with gardening in San Antonio and Kiko spent part of his childhood on a coffee farm in Colombia, but this was their first Austin garden. Martin Perna came out to help with the endeavor. Natalina and I used to both volunteer with a youth organization here in Austin. Kiko and Martin are both working musicians and...
by Geoff | Oct 13, 2010 | Gardening
A couple of weeks ago I got rid of the television and canceled cable. Yet I still found myself staring at the empty space that the TV used to occupy. What to do? Time for plant television. Now I can still sit on the couch, stare across the room, bits of drool forming at the corner of my mouth, and in the end feel virtuous about connecting with my bit of indoor nature.
by Geoff | Oct 1, 2010 | Gardening
A few mornings ago I saw a praying mantis just outside my front door. I rushed to get my camera and as I took the pictures, I wondered why she continued to pose for me. Then I realized that a spider web enveloped some of her feet. I broke off the strand of web as best I could and let her climb onto a broom handle to find a new home. I don’t know if the spider had already bitten her or not, but she still seemed to have some of her senses. She chewed off some of...
