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Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Wildscaping North Texas: thinking outside the boxwood

By Anne Meyer

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Have you ever frolicked through your boxwood? Reveled in your nandina? Found splendor in the monkey grass?

If your answers are "no," "no" and "huh?" - then welcome to "Wildscapes: Thinking Outside the Boxwood." In this new feature, we'll explore ways to make your outside space a restful oasis for you by creating a healthy habitat for native birds and butterflies.

Imagine relaxing in your back yard and watching butterflies float by; listening to the twitter of young chickadees; feeling the buzz of a hummingbird checking out your bright red ball cap. Imagine the scent of the flowers and the gentle sound of flowing water. You can have this - if you know which plants and features to choose for your specific area.

Like Pegasus News, wildscaping is hyperlocal. What works in New Jersey or Houston won't necessarily work in North Texas - the different climates support different flora, which in turn support different fauna.

In future segments, we'll discuss plant selection, landscaping tips, birdseed, nest boxes, hummingbird feeders - a wide variety of topics. But for now, to give you a feel, we'll take a very quick tour through one wildlife garden. This garden is visited by fifty native bird species; has raised a dozen species of butterflies; and is considered Nectar Central by the local hummingbirds.

Take a look - and provide your comments!! Wildscaping works best when everyone provides their insight!!



Watch Wildscaping North Texas in Educational & How-To  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Photos by John P. Meyer

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Comments

Travis Bush

Travis Bush Verified

This is a great feature and most appreciated. I'll definitely be sharing with my gardening friends.

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

ch0

ch0 Anonymous

Wildscaping is the wave of the future. Looking forward to the rest of this series.

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Tracy Yost

Tracy Yost Verified

Love this. Also highly recommend Dale Groom's Texas Gardening Guide.

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Tracy Yost

Tracy Yost Verified

P.S. also highly interested in edible landscaping tips for this area.

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Russ Vandeveerdonk

Russ Vandeveerdonk Verified

I like this, a good thing to look forward to in future articles. Good stuff and interesting! I have missed you guys from Peg News, glad to be back, had to re-boot my life. Now I am at the 24 Hour Club on Ross Avenue, re-booting and restarting. Peg news, you guys should do a story on this house,.. here at 4636 Ross Avenue, Bonnie and Clyde stayed here back in the day. Kinda historic and interesting!!

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

John Meyer

John Meyer Staff

Tracy, I'm not familiar with Dale Groom's Guide and will make sure Anne gets this tip - thanks! And Russ, here's hoping reboot goes smoothly.

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Nancy Nichols

Nancy Nichols Verified

This is the best news of the year.

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

jtmbls

jtmbls Anonymous

Hey John, is that the Missus?

How about some advice for us poor suckers who bought Majesty Palms before reading that we were doomed to fail? Any other "beachy" plants that do well in Texas?

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Tracy Yost

Tracy Yost Verified

windmill palms and fan palms, sago palms, also several bananas that are hardy :-)

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

jtmbls

jtmbls Anonymous

Oh, nice. Thanks Tracy!

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

John Meyer

John Meyer Staff

Yes, that is, indeed, the Missus, jtmbls. And I'm going to include some anecdotes (amusing? cautionary?) about what it's like to live with an organic gardener in our next episode. (TEASER: cotton burr compost.)

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

annem Anonymous

Palms and bananas are pretty, and I look forward to reading other people's tips on them. But they don't have any wildscaping value -- no nectar, no berries, no caterpillar food, minimal if any nesting area. So for true wildscaping, you'd use those plants only as a decorative accent.

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

jtmbls

jtmbls Anonymous

Very nice! Looking forward to it!

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

jtmbls

jtmbls Anonymous

I guess that is true annem but personally, I just couldn't have a true "oasis" without a palm.

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

ch0

ch0 Anonymous

Seconding Tracy's comment about edible wildscaping!

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Tracy Yost

Tracy Yost Verified

I have fruited edible bananas, but you have to stand them up in your garage during the winter, takes about 18 months to fruit one.

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

LyleDAL Anonymous

While I no longer live in Dallas I still love my Pegasus news and I LOVE this Wildscaping segment. Now, if I could just find something like that this that applies to my current home in OKC. Still, great idea!

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Chris Kidd

Chris Kidd Verified

Anne, excellent gardening/landscaping segment. I look forward to many more..

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Scott Miller

Scott Miller Verified

One problem I have living underneath a sprawling canopy of fully mature pecan and oak trees- with a row of mature cedars running along the property line- is all that shade makes growing anything edible almost impossible.

Except pecans. But the damn squirrels seem to prefer those to the over-abundant acorns.

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

ch0

ch0 Anonymous

I've noticed that most city parks are generous in planting edible pansies and kale, although I'm still somewhat scared to try either... The best I can do is the wild raspberries that seem to grow everywhere despite all efforts, leaving stinging thorns in my tender appendages. Every time I try a raw dandelion shoot, I regret it...

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

annem Anonymous

Scott, thank you for your comment -- shade gardening does have special requirements!! There are a lot of wildscape plants for shade, and we'll review that in a future segment.

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

annem Anonymous

LyleDAL: as a TeeSipper I must express condolences re your move to Oklahoma. ;) But I hope you're happy there, and I'm glad you're still plugged in to PegNews. Please keep up with future Wildscaping segments! OKC and DFW are pretty similar in soil type,climate, plants, and critters, so you should be able to apply the info. Let us know what works for you!

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Billusa99

Billusa99 Anonymous

I've bounced through the bluebonnets and rolled through the rosemary. Still haven't bopped through the basil or strummed through the sedum or p--d on a peacock, though.

Lotsa food here...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v72...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v72...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v72...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v72...

5 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

spectre9 Anonymous

Be CAREFUL with the DATURA (photographed). Datura is extremely toxic and POISONOUS, and also happens to be alluringly SWEET smelling. It is a dangerous plant to make accessible to children!

5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Travis Bush

Travis Bush Verified

Yes,the datura is nasty stuff..the seeds when eaten, can cause extremely violent hallucinations and acute paranoia for more than 24 hours..

5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

John Meyer

John Meyer Staff

spectre9, thank you. A valid and important point. Good fodder for hornworms, NOT for kiddoes.

The hallucinogenic qualities of datura take me back to my college readings of Castaneda - and I recall that the plant made him extremely ill before the vision-inducing feature kicked in.

5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Jason Rice

Jason Rice Verified

::extremely violent hallucinations and acute paranoia

It all becomes clear, now.

AhAA!

5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Travis Bush

Travis Bush Verified

That particular hallucination was sold, beyotch! Shhh!..They're listening!

5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Jason Rice

Jason Rice Verified

Ok, I'm officially hijacking the thread to push an update on our chum above, Russ Vandeveerdonk.

Dropped in on Russ this afternoon at 24 Hour Club. Looks in good shape and good spirits. Working hard to put things together.

He's not kidding about that place. Remarkable vibe there. Re-freakin-markable.

He doesn't have a bunch of 'Net access, but wanted to say "Hey" to all the Peggers and thanks for the well-wishing. Keep sending good thoughts that-a-way.

5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Jason Rice

Jason Rice Verified

Oh, and it's right across the street from Cesar Chavez Learning Center.

5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Travis Bush

Travis Bush Verified

Good on you, Jason. Really glad to see Russ taking care of himself.

5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Jason Rice

Jason Rice Verified

Frankly, he looked great. He says that wasn't the case recently.

Seriously, though. That facility is worth visiting just to "feel" it.

5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Travis Bush

Travis Bush Verified

Jason..how long do they leave the drawbridge open for you?

5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Jason Rice

Jason Rice Verified

There are three unpublished tunnels commissioned by the Haggard Dynasty of the 14th Century. Of them, two are extant and one is used as cool stowage for the official Plano stock of Riesling, held in secret in case of worldwide collapse.

The remaining two are available to only the purest of heart, with no outstanding parking citations and a minimum of one "Honor Roll Student" bumper sticker. Even then they are accessible only on days numerology equivalent to at least three true conservative Presidents' names. Needless to say, none recent.

No risk of encroachment. Plano remains secure.

5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

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