Mom gave this to me last year, and it just started blooming! She couldn't remember what color it was, so it was a surprise, lol. The blooms aren't overly showy, but I do think they're kind of exotic looking.
A tropical species native to Southern and Central America, it is not cold hardy and needs to be brought indoors in the wintertime in areas that freeze.
We've had a boatload of rain this year, and the rock garden is loving it! This is year 3 for the rock garden (est. spring 2021).
Mainly 'Moonshine' yarrow and Mexican feather grass with a bit of Spiny Goldenweed and Threadleaf Groundsel mixed in.
Jillie gnawed off several of my Red Yucca spikes, so now they're "weeping," lol.
Grandmother's purple Larkspur in the background.
The lawn gets some evening shade, but the rock garden is full sun all day, every day. Lawn was installed from seed ('Highlander' bermuda) in 2021.
This is year 3 for my new lawn in the back yard. Had a few weeds in the early spring, but I've taken care of those and decided to extend the lawn in the back yard over to the dogs' footpath.
Section 1: Dug and seeded on 5/21/2023
Section 2: Dug and seeded on 6/4/2023; started seeing sprouts in just under one week.
These are 2nd generation 'Mammoth' sunflowers, grown from seeds saved many years ago. I planted them along the fence line behind the rock garden to try to mitigate the reflected heat off the fence. They did okay but did show some heat scald. Nonetheless, they bloomed and put on a nice show!
Now they have gone to seed, and some have already exploded all over the planting area.
To collect seeds, cut the head of the sunflowers off and place them in a paper bag to dry. Seeds will pop off on their own and collect in the bag as they dry, and those that don't can be easily brushed loose by hand later.
Some seeds have already popped loose out of these two!
Senecio douglasii (Asteraceae Sunflower family)
I transplanted this "weed" back in the spring from one spot in my yard into the rock garden. I think it's so pretty with its feathery gray foliage and bright yellow flowers. It is not as heavy a bloomer as the Spiny Goldenweed, but after heavy blooms in the spring, it does bloom sporadically throughout the summer.
More info from the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension:
Threadleaf groundsel is a many-stemmed evergreen composite in the Sunflower family. The stems are herbaceous, although somewhat woody at the base, and may have variable hairiness.
The stems and leaves are gray-green. The leaves are long, threadlike and divided into three to seven segments. They may be hairy or nearly smooth. Showy yellow flowers emerge from March through November.
Threadleaf groundsel is poisonous to livestock and offers poor to fair forage value for wildlife.
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| Threadleaf Groundsel flower |
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| Threadleaf Groundsel foliage |
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| Threadleaf Groundsel flower & seed tuft |
Threadleaf groundsel is a common range plant in Colorado and Utah and south to Texas and Mexico. It is common in the grassland areas of western Texas. Disturbance and overgrazing can cause it to increase in abundance.
'Elberta' freestone peaches harvested today. Beautiful and delicious!
This variety of peach was first introduced to the world around 1875 by Samuel H. Rumph. The tree, which first grew in his family’s orchard in Macon County, Georgia, was a result of an Early Crawford pollenating a Chinese Cling. A visitor had asked the name of the variety. Because Rumph had no answer, she promptly named it after his wife (Clara Elberta Moore).
Xanthisma spinulosum
These are "wildflowers" in Lubbock (our wildflower selection is pretty limited!) that I dug up and relocated into my rock garden. I think they are Spiny Goldenweed.
From Blooming at Academy Village:
Spiny goldenweed is a small, rounded native perennial whose lovely yellow flowers appear in April and then again with the monsoon rains. Growing to no more than a foot, it can be used in a native garden almost as a groundcover. The petals fold in at night but soon open with morning sun.
This plant is probably not available commercially. Cherish the ones you have. Seed can be collected. Simply rake into the ground and wait for new plants to appear. Goldenweed responds well to shearing. Cutting back after the spring flush of flowers will create a compact plant and will not delay summer flowers.
Wildlife value: attracts insects and small butterflies
I dug these up in the spring when they were still fairly small. They went through about a week of mild transplant shock and since then have bloomed repeatedly throughout the summer.
The fine textrued gray-green foliage contrasts nicely with other elements of the garden. Mine is low-growing, about 6" - 8" tall, and as their name suggest, they are somewhat "prickly," though not "stickery" like a cactus. They like it hot and dry!
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| Spiny Goldenweed - Xanthisma spinulosum |
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| Spiny Goldenweed - closeup of leaves |
Yellow Cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus) is blooming and going to seed. It grows 18" - 24" tall, is heat and drought tolerant, self-seeding, and attracts butterflies.
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| Yellow Cosmos |
Seed is easy to collect and save for next year or share with a friend. If uncollected, plants will reseed themselves naturally.
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| Yellow Cosmos going to seed |
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| Yellow Cosmos on both the left and the right of this frame |
Bandana lantana. Not sure the variety, but so pretty!
"Aurora" putting on a show in the rock garden!
'Desperado' Texas Sage
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| 'Desperado' Texas Sage |
Been getting some peaches since about mid-week - delicious!
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| 'Elberta' peach |
These may not be the best pictures since my sunflowers always look
wilty at the end of the day, but I was so excited about the acquisition
of my fabulous new garden sculpture today that I couldn't wait to put
these up! (Updated with better pics where the sunflowers in the background weren't wilted!)
I first saw Ironmonger Artworks several years ago at the Llano Estacado Wine & Clay Festival. With the renovation of my back yard this year, I thought one of his pieces would be perfect for the rock garden and had planned from the start of this project to treat myself to one of his sculptures.
And then he was not at the Wine & Clay Festival this year - BUMMER! (It was cancelled last year due to the pandemic.)
So I stalked him online until I tracked him down, lol...!
I
had a hard time deciding between this and one other piece, but finally
settled on this one. This piece is called "Aurora" which is the Latin
word for dawn. It is made from leaf springs which are the springs used
in vehicle suspension systems. I love how this turned out and think it
is absolutely perfect for this space! It's exactly what I wanted!
The artist, George Gray, is a mechanical engineering professor here in Lubbock at Texas Tech University where he teaches metallurgy and other topics.
HERE is a story that Texas Country Reporter did on him, and HERE is another interesting piece from The Fabricator which includes this bit:
He calls his work “Upcycled Steel Transformations,” a process that he describes as taking old, worn-out scrap components, cleaning them up, and welding them as a part of a metal sculpture. Essentially, Gray said, he’s giving these pieces a second chance at life, much like the one he was given.
LOVE IT!!
7/14/2021 Update: A few more pictures. Also, after looking at a ridiculous amount of "rust patina" pictures online, I have decide to let this develop a natural patina instead of putting a protective clear coat on it. I'm excited to see how it develops!
Artist's signature on the base:
Update 7/16/2021: Slight rust accumulation after 1.5" of rain the night before.
Added this very heavy 24" x 24" concrete paver as a base last night before the rain.
