My Daughter’s Wedding Flowers

My lovely daughter carried a bouquet that was in part grown by me

Recently, my daughter Jessie married her high school sweet heart.  The wedding was OUTSTANDING!  The Deacon that performed the ceremony is a close personal friend.  He has known the bride and groom the entire 12 years that they have dated.  He was their religion teacher in high school and a close, personal mentor as well.  Because of this close relationship with the bride and groom, he was able to perform one of the most personal, spirtual and moving wedding ceremonies I have ever witnessed.  I like to say that it is very good thing to be close to a preacher when you are getting married and buried, and Deacon’s ceremony was a perfect example of why I like to say that. 

A beautiful wedding in a beautiful place – St. Louis Catholic Church Waco, Texas

Besides the 200+ friends and family members that helped us celebrate, the thing that made the wedding special was all of the help we recieved from family and friends.  We could not have pulled this off without a ton of help from a ton of people.  A very BIG THANKS to all of you! 

Their theme was kind of homemade, rustic country with of touch of class.  The wedding was a great example of what happens when many talented, loving people (that spend way too much time on Pintrest and ETSY) come together to create a wedding and reception that is truly special.  The cake was made by one of the bridesmaids (thanks Lydia) and the cutomized cake toppers were made by an autistic artist from Wimberley.  The advice tags were hand made on an authentic 1885 vintage letter press machine in Tulsa, Ok by our dear friends Kathleen and Margaret Hartley.  The sign post was a gift from her brother Chris with help from the groom and their brother in law Moose.  The groom and I built a menu board from an old sreen door and a bar sign that was finished off by an incredible chalk artist.  And finally, our “Thank You” gifts to those in attendance were jars of homemade jalepeno jelly made by the bride, the MOTB (my wife) and the matron of honor (our oldest daughter). 

While not exactly homemade, my main contribution to this homemade celebration were flowers.  I grew zinnias, celosia (Cock’s Comb) and Maximillion sunflowers for her arrangements.  I don’t want to over state my contribution; most of the wedding flowers were bought.  However, I grew enough that our dear friend Carolyn Bruich (with the help of her lovely daughter  Madeline and many other close friends) was able to use some of my flowers in each and every arrangement and bouquet.  Growing these flowers was a labor of love and I love that my daughter wanted to include them in her special day.

Weddings are great.  Not only are they a great way for two people to publicly express their love and committment, they are a great way for all of those who love the bride and groom to come together and create a truly and remarkable day for them.  I am so happy for Cameron and Jessie and I wish them all of the best. 

For all of you that are married or are planning on getting married, I leave you with some very wise words that were shared by the groom’s older brother and best man Colt Bell.  “I hope each of you find, or have found what these two have; being a great person on your own but then finding that other great person that makes you truly amazing”.

© 2012 Tomato Season Wrap Up by Bill Adams

There weren’t many new tomato discoveries to brag about this year.  What started out as a pretty good season with low insect/mite numbers due to last year’s extreme drought combined with the blessing of occasional rains, wound down with persistent heat and a buildup of stinkbugs—both the Leaf-footed variety and the shield-shaped ones.  It does seem curious that the only tomato varieties that are coming back from the spring planting are the hybrids that have nematode resistance and heirlooms that were grafted on nematode resistant rootstock (Emperador from Johnny’s Seeds).  Emperador is not in the 2012 catalog but Colosus F1 is listed as a more productive replacement.

2012 was a bad year for stink bugs

The most outstanding new heirloom for us in 2012 was Marianna’s Peace.  This large, somewhat oblong and cherry-red tomato had some slight folding but not a drastic amount of core typical of these large heirlooms.  It had good acidity and the complex, sweet tomato flavors that we lust for in a tomato.  In short it was “lap over a burger wonderful” and “lick the juice off the plate tasty”.  These large fruits are produced on a potato-leaved plant and production continued into early August.  This variety will definitely be tried on hybrid rootstock this year.

The most outstanding new heirloom for 2012 was Marianna’s Peace. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

I had almost forgotten how good Juliet is.  This small saladette type tomato has excellent flavor and it is extremely productive, often surviving into the fall.  The skin might be a bit tough but it’s really not objectionable.  Restaurants even mention it on the menu—“Bibb lettuce with Juliet tomatoes”.

Viva Italia is almost like a big sister to Juliet, great flavor, bigger and productive long into the season.  Gets some Early Blight in a wet spring but usually recovers for production in late summer and fall.  Fungicides can keep it productive throughout the season.

Jaune Flamme has good nematode resistance. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

Speaking of fall—this year we planted Fourth of July a Campari style tomato (golf ball size/large clusters) with great flavor.  This is one of Burpee’s best and here it produces long before Fourth of July when planted in early spring and it often lasts into late summer and fall.  Planted in June/July it looks like a good fall targeted tomato.

Purple Calabash is a great black heirloom with good nematode resistance. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

Rowdy Red is supposedly a favorite of Clint Eastwood and though not much larger than a baseball with a nipple end it has great flavor and production.  Our plant is still alive in October and trying to produce more fruit.  We would plant it again—maybe I’ll set an empty chair next to it for support.

Kosovo was a great tasting oxheart but the plants faded in the heat. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

Kosovo, a big Oxheart type was a surprise.  It not only grew well and was fairly productive, it tasted great too.  Might have to try this one on nematode-resistant rootstock since it did fade out in the heat.  Thinking about using Celebrity or Better Boy since the seed is cheaper compared to the specialty rootstock varieties from Johnny’s.

Tycoon looks like it could be our new mainstay tomato variety.  Grown commercially and harvested green, is not much to brag about.  But vine ripe out of the garden, it is delicious.  My Champion tomatoes got ringspot virus rather quickly this year so they may not be a good main crop choice anymore where you’ve grown tomatoes for a long time.  Celebrity is still a good main variety too.

Cherokee Purple is a great tasting heirloom with good nematode resistance. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

Some other good candidates for hybrid/nematode resistant roots include Persimmon, Cherokee Purple, German Johnson, Flamme, any of the black tomatoes like Black from Tula, Purple Calabash, etc.  Brandywine has been a disappointment in this area—on its own roots or when grafted.  Even some standard and hybrid varieties don’t claim nematode resistance anymore—perhaps too much emphasis on breeding for virus resistance—so don’t rule them out for nematode-resistant roots either.  Check out Johnny’s website for tomato grafting info, pick up some single edge razor blades and order some clips from Johnny’s.

German Johnson was another great tasing tomato with good nematode resistance. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

The 2013 catalogs will start arriving soon.  Don’t wait until after December 21 to order (word is the Mayan’s ran out of rock and scientists have found an addendum calendar rock) or you may not get the varieties you want.  If you plant early (Mid-February in south-central Texas) you need to start seed in January.

Black From Tula is a great tasting slicer. Plus, it is very resistant to nematodes. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

Turk’s Cap (Malvaviscus drummondii)

This past weekend, the weather was so nice that my wife and I decided to take a ride in the country.  We went down a long gravel road that had a “No Exit” sign posted just to see where it would go.  The road was lovely.  It slowly snaked uphill through pastures divided by creeks that were crossed on old-fashioned wooden bridges.  As the road worked its way through this rough country, we were taken by two things; the views of Washington County from the top of the hill and the ditches full of Turk’s Cap.

With it’s whorled petals and long stamens, the flowers of the Turk’s Cap are are irristible to hummingbirds

In my opinion, Turk’s cap (Malvaviscus drummondii) is the most attractive and useful ornamental of all of the Texas natives.  This plant produces a large, woody bush that is literally covered in its characteristic red “whorled” blooms from late spring through first frost.  It is a joy to look at and a magnet for wildlife

My first Turk’s Cap plants came from the mark down rack at a local big box. When I bought them (in late July), they looked so bad that my wife thought that the $1 I paid for them was way too much.  I took those sad looking plants home and planted them along the outside fence of my potager.  Since it was July, and they were in such poor shape, I made sure that they got ample water through August.  While I lost one, the other four are still doing well three years later.

This year, my wife pointed out that fewer and fewer hummingbirds were coming to our feeders.  Our neighbors had them, but we were just not seeing them.  The missing hummingbirds bothered us both since we enjoy watching them.  One morning while weeding in the potager, I was startled by the unmistakable sound of hummingbird wings all around me.  I stopped what I was doing and was amazed to see a dozen or more hummingbirds feeding on the bright red flowers of my Turk’s Cap.  In that moment I knew why we had no hummers at our feeders; they prefer the taste of Turk’s Cap nectar to the taste of watered down sugar.  

Hummers aren’t the only thing that feed on Turk’s Cap.  My plants always have a wide variety of moths, butterflies and bumblebees flitting around them.  Plus, all of those lovely little flowers make a lot of “pulpy” seed pods that birds (especially mockingbirds) love.

The fruits and the seeds of Turk’s Cap are irresitable to a variety of wildlife

Two legged creatures can also enjoy Turk’s Cap fruits and flowers.  The raw fruit tastes a little like an apple or watermelon. You can also cook down the fruit to create a very tasty syrup that can be used to make a nice jelly.   Both the fruits and flowers can be boiled to make a good herbal tea.

If you want to try Turk’s Cap in your garden, you are no longer limited to plants with red flowers.  There is a native white variety that is available at several retailers in out area.  While pretty, the white one has not proven to be as durable or prolific for me as the red varieties.  If you like pink, then you have two great choices that have both been developed by my buddy Greg Grant. 

 

A tangle of Turk’s Cap (on the left), Cassia and Salvia coccinea in and around my potager

Greg was encouraged to create an improved variety of Turk’s Cap by one of the first female graduates of A&M (and fellow Rose Rustler), Pam Puryear.  He crossed one of our native reds with a tropical pink.  His first try yielded a large shrub with flowers that were twice as big as those of our native varieties.  Greg called this cross “Big Momma”.  “Big Momma” is a stunning plant but for me it has been hard to find.  If you find it, take cuttings (and call me) since Turk’s Cap is fairly easy to propagate. 

Greg’s second attempt produced a lovely pink flowered plant that was very similar in size and structure to our Texas native.  He named this plant in honor of the woman that encouraged him to develop it.  Pam Puryear’s Turk’s Cap has been very popular in the nursery trade.  It was also honored in 2011 with its inclusion on the list of Texas Superstars. 

If you can beat the mockingbirds to the seeds you can easily use them to grow more plants. Turk’s Cap is also easy to propagate through cuttings.

In my mind, Turk’s Cap is the ultimate bedding plant.  It is perennial south of the Red River and can be grown as annual further north.  I know of no other plant that is as adaptable or durable as this plant.  It is tolerant of a wide variety of growing conditions and even has a natural resistance to Roundup.  Turk’s Cap is that rare plant that does almost as well in the shade as it does in full sun.   It grows as well in the dense clay of the Central Texas river bottoms as it does in the thin, rocky, limestone rich soils of the Texas Hill Country or the acidic sandy soils of East Texas.  It thrives in average rainfall and it easily survives the worst droughts Texas has to offer.  Basically, all you have to do is get Turk’s Cap in the ground and it will grow for you.

Edible Landscape Tour

Currently, one of the hottest trends in landscape design is called “Edible Landscapes”.  Edible landscapes seek to incorporate vegetable, herbs, berries and fruit trees into urban and suburban landscapes. 

The backyard of one of the homes on the tour. Photo by Bruce Leander

I can attest that it is pretty easy to create an attractive outdoor space using a mix of fruiting plants and ornamentals.  Each season my little potager contains lots of vegetables mixed in with daylilies, salvias, justicias and dianthus.  The structure and color that these ornamentals add make the less showy vegetables much more attractive to look at.

I strive to make my spring and fall potager as attractive as possible.  While the aesthetics are important, there are a couple of side benefits to this combination of plants that make the garden much more efficient and productive.

Pansy, viola, carrots and shallots in my 2011 fall garden

First, since this is a vegetable garden, I mulch everything fairly well.  This mulch moderates soil temperatures and reduces water lost to evaporation.  Because of this, I am able to keep a fairly large amount of plants alive on MUCH less water than would be required to keep up a lush lawn of the same size.

Increased pollination is another side benefit of mixing vegetables and ornamentals.  Since I have a wide range of flowers that bloom throughout the year, my potager is always full of bees and other pollinators.  In addition to giving me something else to watch while I am in the garden, these pollinators make sure that I get lots tomatoes, squash and cucumbers every season.

Another yard on the edible landscape tour. Photo by Bruce Leander

If you would like to learn more about edible landscapes, you can join my wife and I at the Travis County “Edible Gardens Tour” In Austin.  My friend (and fellow MOH blogger and Texas Gardener writer) Patty Leander will be giving a presentation on the healthy aspects of vegetable gardening at the Agrilife Extension Center.  If you don’t want to start your tour at the Extension office, feel free to start at any of seven houses that are on the tour.  You can get your tickets, schedule and map to the houses online.  The tour kicks off at 9:00 and there will be short presentations at each one.  This is a great opportunity to see and learn from some very good gardeners that are doing great things by combining edibles and ornamentals in their yards and gardens.  As an added bonus, some of houses on the tour also use water wise gardening practices.  With the constant threat of water restricitions, this will be a great opportunity to pick up some of the tips and tricks you need to continue growing food when the rains don’t come.

The tour costs $15 per person in advance and you can reserve your tickets on the event website (Click Here).  The tour will start at the Travis County Agrilife Extension Center located at 1600-B Smith Road in Austin.  Hope to see you there!

P.S.  If you can’t make the tour in person be sure to watch KLRU’s “Central Texas Gardener”.   Their October 13 show will feature many of the gardens and the gardeners that are featured on the tour.  Their schedule is below.

Channel Day Date Time
KLRU    SaturdaySunday

Monday

Oct. 13Oct. 14

Oct. 15

Noon & 49 a.m.

5:30 a.m.

KLRU Q (18/3) TuesdayWednesday

Friday

Oct. 16Oct. 17

Oct. 19

6:30 p.m.7:00 a.m.

9:30 a.m.

KLRN (San Antonio) Saturday Oct. 13 11 a.m.
KNCT (Killeen & Waco) Saturday  Oct. 13  1:30 p.m.
KBDI (Denver, CO) SundayTuesday Oct. 14Oct. 16 2 p.m.2:30 p.m.
KPBT Midland (Permian Basin) Monday Oct. 15  12:30 p.m.
KAMU (College Station) Saturday Oct. 13 5:00 p.m.
KRSC (Claremore, OK) SaturdayTuesday Oct. 13Oct. 16

 

10:30 a.m.1:30 p.m.
KTWU (Topeka, KS) multiple days & times    

also on UNCMX Raleigh-Durham and K32EO Colorado Springs