Yucca Demise.....Yuck!..

Once upon a time, there were two very nice Yuccas, in the new Driveway Bed.

I especially liked this No Name one.  Very pretty, and the centerpiece of the bed.

Then....tragedy struck.  The No Name began to die off.  The top looked good...no drooping.  

Just from the bottom up, it was looking very sad.

I trimmed off the dead leaves.  Checked all around it.  A pup on the side looked pretty good.

Then more leaves began to turn dark, from the outside in.

The Softleaf Yucca, in the pot, had a lot of dead leaves at the bottom, too.

I decided to take the advise of some of you, and put the No Name in a pot to try to nurse it back to health, and replace it with something else....maybe an agave.

Too hot to plant much of anything else right now.

Then yesterday, I tried to straighten the Softleaf......and, it broke right off.

The stem was mush!  I dug down and found several Grub kind of worms.

No photo of them.  I was too busy squishing them.

I went over and pulled on the No Name....it broke right off, too.

The stem is mush.

There were no grubs in that spot.  The leaves never drooped, as I thought would be a symptom

of Yucca Weevils, or Snoutnose Agave Beetle. 

After some research, the grubs in the pot look like the larvae of those two villains. 

The soil in the No Name was a bit more moist than it maybe should have been.

I little too much help with watering maybe.

So, we're taking out the dirt, and discarding it....just in case.

I don't know what to put in their place.  

Between the heat, the deer, and worry about putting another yucca or agave there to be attacked, 

I just don't know.

The agave already in that bed looks ok, for now, though.  

Anyway, I just wanted to whine to my gardening friends about my trials and tribulations.

Hope you're having a better time in your garden.

Happy Gardening....

Stay Cool...Pray for Rain...

~~Linda~~

Canna Get a Witness?....

Thought I'd check in and show you the 

Canna bloom.

Here's one.

Here's the other.

On the same plant.

Now, that's cool.

The bloom stalk was a bit weak, so it looks a little ragged.  Hope the next one does better.

Rain missed us....again.  Let's hope we get some soon.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Slitherin'......

We recently had an unwanted guest, here at Patchwork Garden.

I went out one morning, to get the newspaper, from the driveway.

The Big Dogs, from next door, were looking at something on the other side of the drive.

I went over to investigate....and this was the guy I saw.

Yes...that is a Coral Snake.

'Red on yellow, kill a fellow'

Well...even a poisonous snake might have been OK, if he hadn't headed for the Fenced Yard.

Miss Maggie was watching every move, through the front gate.

I knew, if he made it to that yard, she'd...as my mother would've said...

'be on him, like a duck on a junebug'.

That would NOT be a good thing.

So, I hurried into the garage and grabbed the above mentioned mother's old hoe.

It's a great hoe, by the way.

And, I chopped him in two.

Then, I went inside and had Mr P come out and check it out.

The snake was still moving it's head....so, again with the hoe, he chopped the head off.

Then, the ants took over.  A few hours later, this is what was left.

Here's what I found from researching it.

These snakes' venom is neurotoxic.  That means it attacks the nervous system.

The good news is, their head and fangs are pretty small.  They have to 'chew' in order to inject the venom.  

Can't picture many people letting that happen.  

Most bites to gardeners are while weeding, etc.  

Wearing shoes and gloves is the best defense....also, being aware of what's around.

They eat lizards and other small snakes.  

So, places that attract those, are places theses Coral Snakes would hang out.

Although the bite may not be very painful, it is an emergency.  

Get medical help.

I don't know why he was in our driveway, or if he'd been there before.  

I'm just glad he didn't come in contact with Maggie.  

That could have been deadly.

So...

Happy Gardening...

Be Careful...

~~Linda~~

Wordless Wednesday....Summer Cool Aid...

Foliage Follow-Up...June 2012...

June 16.

The day after Bloomday, we join 

Pam at Digging 

for 

Foliage Follow-Up.

This month, we have the usual suspects, here at

Patchwork Garden.

The front Island Bed is coming along.

The Yucca Rostrata, Mexican Feathergrass and Lantana are doing good.

Artemisia 'Powis Castle' is a reliable foliage plant that adds an airy look, beside the structured plants.

Moving around to the side of the house, Dusty Miller in containers add another silver, airy touch.

The Inland Sea Oats are filling in, in a shady corner beside the garage.

Inside the Fenced Yard, Liriope is a good old stand-by.

Lamb's Ear and Purple heart make a good combination.

The striped leaves on this Canna, give the garden interest, 

even when there are none of those great blooms.

On the deck step, a pot of deer resistant Blue Fescue grass is working.

The old firepit-turned-planter holds an Agave lophantha.  It's growing and putting out pups.

I'll soon need to cut out the pups, and move them somewhere else.

Inside the Veggie Garden, the grapevine we got on the Wine Trail last year, is looking healthy, 

and growing up the fence.

Outside that fence, the Prickly Pear I moved from the shade of the Deer Grove,

is loving the extra sunshine.

And, the Mexican Feathergrass here is taking off.  And...there are lots of little baby

Feathergrasses, too.  I'll be moving them all around the place.

This Agave I rescued from our neighbor Elli's redo last year,

is beginning to grow.  Another one is not doing as well.  

But, the deer have left them alone...for now.

Lastly, I don't know what is happening to this new Yucca.
It hasn't been watered too much...and, I hope not too little.  But, it's not looking so good.

It's supposed to look like this.  

Any ideas?

So....show us your foliage.

Hop over to Pam's, and see some great plants.

Have a Great Weekend...
~~Linda~~

GBBD....June 2012

June.

Already.

Can you believe it?

And, the middle of June.

The middle is when we join 

May Dreams Garden  

and show what's blooming in our gardens.

Begonias

I always feel like there's not much blooming here, until I get out and start taking photos.

Then it seems like there is plenty.

Salvia guaranitica

It's been heating up here...lots of sun.

 Maybe not enough sun for this Purple Coneflower.  It probably needs to be moved.

There's one sunny corner in the fenced yard.  And, it's getting pretty crowded.

 Orange Esperanza

 Mexican Flame Vine..Senecio confusus

 Mexican Oregano

 Orange Cosmos

Hyacinth Bean

In the Deck Bed, the Knockout Roses are blooming again...finally.

The striped leaf canna has some buds.  They're heavy & almost broke off.

Hope they hold up.  This one's a beauty.

Up on the deck, more sun.  These narrow leaf zinnias are beginning to take off.

And, the Purslane likes the sun.

Along the back of the fenced yard, one corner gets a little sun.

Enough to let the Thryallis have some blooms.

We planted some Turk's Cap here, too.  It can take the shade.

Both of these are supposed to be 'deer resistant'.  Deer always ate the Turk's Cap blooms,

and I don't trust putting the Thryallis to the test.

In what I call the Air Conditioner Bed...the Fireworks Gomphrena is doing well.

There's a bit of midday sun in this bed.

And, the daylilies are liking it.

Over on the other side of the house, in the Rock Bed, this old fashioned 

'Ham & Eggs' lantana, is finally beginning to look good.

It was moved down here, from our old garden.  This is the FOURTH spot for it.

Last year it struggled, just to stay alive.  But, this years it's blooming.

This is the kind you see growing on the roadside in some places in Texas.

So far, the deer are leaving it alone.

In the Veggie Garden, the 'volunteer' Zinnias have been blooming a while.

I let them stay.  The bees and butterflies and even the hummers like them....

luring them in to pollinate the veggies.

They also make nice little bouquets.

So, what is blooming in your garden?

Head over to Carol's and see some pretty June blooms.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Monday Musings...

Hope you're having a great Monday.

Summer has set in.  It's hot.  And again, we need rain.

So, I've been staying inside and playing with pixels, again.

You've seen this photo before.  It was taken at the
San Antonio Botanical Gardens.

I love the way it came out.

But, just like with the garden, photos can't always be left well enough alone.

 Sepia                                          Black & White                                 Cinerama

By now, you've probably heard of PicMonkey.
It's a new online photo editing site.  So far, it's free to use.
 I think they're ramping up to charge subscription fees for certain applications, just as Picnik did.

                     

            Dusk                                            Gritty                                          Intrepid

It's fun to play with all the different looks you can get from one photo.

I'm not advertising this site.  Just thought I'd show you what it can do.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~