After derecho devastation, a garden blazes beautifully

The derecho successful Houston past May snapped successful fractional a gangly histrion that shaded my sister’s tiny Heights backyard. Miraculously, portion it caused immoderate damage, the breached histrion didn’t instrumentality retired the house, swimming pool, oregon patio seating connected the mode down. And present there’s a bonus metallic — oregon should I accidental crimson? — lining. The plot has responded exuberantly to the melodramatic summation successful airy with an detonation of fiery flowers and lush growth.

I visited past play and was captivated by a gorgeous Rangoon creeper vine (Combretum indicum) successful afloat bloom. I’d ne'er adjacent noticed the vine before, which swags a woody pergola supra a occurrence pit patio. It was lone ever green, arsenic acold arsenic I tin remember. But present it’s lush and afloat and dripping with clusters of fragrant reddish and pinkish flowers.

What a showboat!

The flowers commencement retired achromatic and past blush pinkish and yet red. You tin person each 3 colors astatine once.

I’d ever thought Rangoon creeper, a tropical Asian vine, would turn good successful Houston’s 9b hardiness portion but wouldn’t past successful Austin’s 9a. But I’m learning that it does turn successful Central Texas and adjacent survived Snowpocalypse for immoderate Austin gardeners.

Does anyone speechmaking this successful Austin person idiosyncratic acquisition with it? I americium coveting.

Along the pool, firecracker fern (Russelia equisetiformis) sparkles with ember-like flowers — a beauteous opposition with the bluish pool. A silvery bluish agave — I’m not definite what benignant — successful a gangly Corten cookware echoes the bluish h2o and makes a focal constituent crossed the pool.

The histrion mislaid to the derecho stood down the bumped retired conception of obstruction down the agave. Now, unhampered by its shade, elephant ears connected each broadside person exploded with growth. My sister says they didn’t adjacent works them — they conscionable appeared. Y’all, Houston gardening is simply a full antithetic satellite from Austin gardening, acknowledgment to importantly much rainfall (50 inches a twelvemonth versus 36 inches) that’s much evenly doled out, positive a milder winter.

That’s not to accidental gardeners successful Houston don’t person their upwind challenges. They definite do: floods, hurricanes, vigor waves, the occasional heavy freeze, and adjacent drought. Weather extremes are a information of beingness for each of america everyplace now. But successful my sister’s plot I was reminded that adjacent amid devastating loss, beingness and quality and quality find a way. Keep your eyes and bosom open, friends.

I invited your comments. Please scroll to the extremity of this station to permission one. If you’re speechmaking successful an email, click present to sojourn Digging and find the remark container astatine the extremity of each post. And hey, did idiosyncratic guardant this email to you, and you privation to subscribe? Click present to get Digging delivered straight to your inbox!

__________________________

Digging Deeper

Come larn astir gardening and plan astatine Garden Spark! I signifier in-person talks by inspiring designers, scenery architects, authors, and gardeners a fewer times a twelvemonth successful Austin. These are limited-attendance events that merchantability retired quickly, truthful articulation the Garden Spark email database to beryllium notified successful advance; simply click this nexus and inquire to beryllium added. Read each astir the Season 8 lineup here!

All worldly © 2024 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The station After derecho devastation, a plot blazes beautifully appeared archetypal connected Digging.