Day 1: planting things that were already purchased

Well, I successfully planted a number of bulbs that I purchased at Lowe's and from eBay this noontime. They were mostly lilies that are supposed to do well in the hill country climate and soil type. We are currently experiencing a drought, so I will water them each day to make sure they get a good start before they are left to their own devices - live or die!

I started by planting two honeysuckle plants along the edge of the property near some cedar trees that mark the property line that my neighbor and I share. Honeysuckle, if it is in the right environment, will grow 8-10 feet high here in Texas. This should fill in the bare spots where the cedars to do not and give the backyard a little more privacy.

pink honeysuckle

red honeysuckle

Day lilies are supposed to do well here according to Texas A&M's horticulture website. I found that interesting because they did really well on Cape Cod and that is a completely different climate. The ones I chose are supposed to be drought tolerant. The first ones I planted were dwarf and I am already considering buying some more. I love yellow flowers and I hope these are as pretty as they appear in the photos.

dwarf rebloomer MiniStella daylilies

I have a number of young (i.e. not very tall yet) crepe myrtle bushes that have deep red flowers. In front of them I placed two types of pink/red day lilies.

rose passion daylilies

rebloomer Rosie Meyer

On Texas A&M's website I found a heirloom lily that is supposed to do really well here, but is hard to find these days. I was able purchase some bulbs on eBay and have put them on the far end corners of the fire pit.

oxblood lilies (Rhodophiala bifida)

I also put down some wild flower seed in the area behind the pool where there are a few standing rocks and some existing plantings including Mexican Oregano (which has nice, small flowers).

A day gardening in Texas is not complete without getting bitten by fire ants, and today was no exception. Now for a poach in the spa...