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Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Wildscaping North Texas: thinking outside the boxwood

by Anne Meyer

Wildscaping: a sample back yard

Anne Meyer's Old Lake Highlands back yard is a bee and butterfly paradise.

(Click photo to see entire gallery)

Hackberry. About a 40-year lifespan. This one's about 50, though, and (knock wood) still going strong.

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

Staff
Verified User
Anonymous

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

Travis Bush Verified

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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Wildscaping is the wave of the future. Looking forward to the rest of this series.

ch0 Anonymous

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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Love this. Also highly recommend Dale Groom's Texas Gardening Guide.

Tracy Yost Verified

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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P.S. also highly interested in edible landscaping tips for this area.

Tracy Yost Verified

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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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!!

Russ Vandeveerdonk Verified

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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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.

John Meyer Staff

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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This is the best news of the year.

Nancy Nichols Verified

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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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?

jtmbls Anonymous

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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windmill palms and fan palms, sago palms, also several bananas that are hardy :-)

Tracy Yost Verified

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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Oh, nice. Thanks Tracy!

jtmbls Anonymous

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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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.)

John Meyer Staff

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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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.

annem Anonymous

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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Very nice! Looking forward to it!

jtmbls Anonymous

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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I guess that is true annem but personally, I just couldn't have a true "oasis" without a palm.

jtmbls Anonymous

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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Seconding Tracy's comment about edible wildscaping!

ch0 Anonymous

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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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.

Tracy Yost Verified

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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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!

LyleDAL Anonymous

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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Anne, excellent gardening/landscaping segment. I look forward to many more..

Chris Kidd Verified

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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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.

Scott Miller Verified

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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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...

ch0 Anonymous

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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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.

annem Anonymous

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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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!

annem Anonymous

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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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...

Billusa99 Anonymous

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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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!

spectre9 Anonymous

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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Yes,the datura is nasty stuff..the seeds when eaten, can cause extremely violent hallucinations and acute paranoia for more than 24 hours..

Travis Bush Verified

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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<p>spectre9, thank you. A valid and important point. Good fodder for hornworms, NOT for kiddoes.</p>

<p>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.</p>

John Meyer Staff

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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::extremely violent hallucinations and acute paranoia

It all becomes clear, now.

AhAA!

Jason Rice Verified

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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That particular hallucination was sold, beyotch! Shhh!..They're listening!

Travis Bush Verified

5 months, 3 weeks ago
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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.

Jason Rice Verified

5 months, 2 weeks ago
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Oh, and it's right across the street from Cesar Chavez Learning Center.

Jason Rice Verified

5 months, 2 weeks ago
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Good on you, Jason. Really glad to see Russ taking care of himself.

Travis Bush Verified

5 months, 2 weeks ago
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Frankly, he looked great. He says that wasn't the case recently.

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

Jason Rice Verified

5 months, 2 weeks ago
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Jason..how long do they leave the drawbridge open for you?

Travis Bush Verified

5 months, 2 weeks ago
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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.