Fall Roses and Flowers in North Texas Before First Freeze in November 2013

We have had almost 4" of rain at my house beginning in October 2013 here in North Texas.  Here is a good link to rainfall data.

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/?n=dmoprecip

A friend of mine gave me the seeds for these beautiful flowers.  They bloom in the fall - I took these pics about 2 weeks ago.  I have heard them call naked ladies because there is no foliage when they are blooming.  I think the typical name for them though is Red Spider Lilies.

I ordered most of my antique roses seen in the pictures below from the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham, TX.  I think fall is the best time to plant roses.

https://www.antiqueroseemporium.com/

This is one of several large antique climbing roses on my back fence.  All of the pictures in this blog post were taken now, in fall 2013.  You can see pictures of the roses in the spring in my earlier blog posts for comparison.

Mutabulis.  The roses go through different colors as they age and look like butterflies from a distance.  For reference on the size of the bush, the fence is 6' feet tall.

Blue Salvia.

 Festus is posing with the Salvia.


My largest antique climbing rose.  This the most healthy one - no problems with black spot.  I don't know the name, but remember that the fence is just 6' tall!

My husband just built this footpath to the vegetable garden.  We are loving it - no more muddy feet.

Two Belinda's Dream (pink) and two Red Knock Out roses behind the pool.

Pics of some porch pots before the first freeze tonight.  This is Cuban Oregano in bloom.  A large Rosemary plant is behind it. 

Asparagus fern

This is a beautiful antique rose bush that it very healthy and has no trouble with black spot.  A Knock Out rose is in the back.  Red Salvia Greggi is also still blooming although the hummingbirds are long gone in November.

This small antique rose bush has serious issues with black spot.  However, it has pretty blooms and beautiful rose hips so I am not cutting it down.

Mexican marigold in the front always blooms in the fall and is a perennial.  I cut it back after the freeze.  Considered an herb, its foliage has a beautiful fragrance.  A Red Knock Out rose is in the back and Rosemary further back.

Belinda's Dream Rose with red Salvia Greggii and Mexican Marigold in the bed next to my driveway.

Close up shots of Belinda's Dream. 

This white antique rose in the front yard.  This rose has serious trouble with black spot.  However, it has such beautiful spring and fall blooms that I can't bring myself to cut it down.  See Festus checking out the garden.


Up close shot of this beautiful white rose.

I'll finish this post with a picture of my front porch in fall.  I bought two beautiful hanging baskets this Spring at the Dallas Farmer's Market.  They have looked wonderful all season, even during the hot summer.  The baskets are full of different varieties of Wandering Jew and Swedish Ivy.  All are in bloom.  Experience has shown me that these plants will take a little freezing weather but cannot sustain several days of sub freezing temperatures.  I'll be sad when the cold weather eventually kills them.  I just don't have room in my garage to over winter them.  The large Aloe Vera on the left will overwinter in the garage.

Garden Harvest and Clean Up Before First Freeze Hits on 11/12/13

Our forecast portends our first freeze hitting North Texas on Tuesday, November 12, 2013.  The low is projected for 30 degrees.  So this is the last weekend I have to harvest the warm weather vegetables and fruit and get them inside.  

Here is a link to an interactive map which shows typical first frost dates.

http://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-texas-first-frost-date-map.php

These are pictures of our fall harvest and garden clean up day - at least we are lucky that today is so nice outside.

Pulling up tomato plants.

The cleaned up vegetable bed after the tomatoes were removed.


First large broccoli head of the season.  About ready to pick.

Bell Peppers.

Sugar snap peas and spinach planted from seed.

Beans.

Broccoli - back bed.

Digging up parsnips.  See wild asparagus in foreground.

Harvested parsnips.  We didn't get much of a yield - they were planted on the top of one of the strawberry planters.  It took all season to get to this size.  We aren't sure they are worth growing.
 


Broccoli - front bed.

Asian persimmon tree.  Although the fruit is hard as a rock and not yet ripe, we always pick it before the first freeze.  The fruit ripens well in the house.

Close up shot of the pretty fruit.  They are very heavy.  When they are ripe, they are very sweet to eat.  I also scoop out the pulp for use in pumpkin bread and cookie recipes.

This is the first year our Russian Quince tree produced fruit (2).  They are also hard but I brought them in because of the impending freeze.

Beans in front bed.

Harvested fruit.  Asian Persimmons in the back, Pomegranates and Russian Quince in the front.

Harvested green tomatoes, bell and banana peppers.
I found a web site link that has 25 ideas for green tomatoes.  I think tonight I'm going to fry up some "Green Fried Tomatoes".  See link for recipes.

http://tipnut.com/green-tomato-recipes/

Zucchini - time for zucchini bread!

 http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/zucchini-nut-bread 

Butterflies Visiting My North Texas Yard in Fall 2013

October is the season of butterflies here in North Texas - and we have several types - I am dismayed because I've not seen the quantity of butterflies as in previous years.  I'm concerned about pesticide and herbicide overuse resulting in declining numbers of these pollinators (at least around my house).  I left the back half of my property un-mowed so that wildflowers (wild asters) could attract them.  I also have lantana, salvia, and turk's cap which are also favorites of these winged insects.  

I purchased a wonderful butterfly identifier wheel many years ago that I keep on my refrigerator.   You can see that it also identifies each distinct caterpillar.

If you have time to watch it, I found a terrific video from PBS Central Texas Gardener on Butterfly Gardening.  It is very inspirational.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YocWNkvUbYg


I noticed migrating Monarchs began coming through my yard on Sunday, October 6, 2013.  Here is a link to a web site discussing their route to Mexico with a map showing their migration route.

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/News.html

Monarch on wild aster.

Sipping nectar on aster.

Swallowtail on Vitex.  Check out the butterfly's body.  The stripes match up with the wings.  I had never noticed this before on a butterfly - I wonder if they are all this way regardless of the type of butterfly?

Note the 2 striped caterpillars on the most right flower in the photo below.  I think they are webworms and are the caterpillar of a moth.  I'll update the post when I confirm.

 Gulf Fritillary on wild aster.

Outer wings of Gray Hairstreak on aster.

Back of Gray Hairstreak 

 2 shades of black Swallowtail - note that one has a lot of blue.  All are on lantana.

I found a photograph I took this spring of the black swallowtail caterpillar on my dill plant.

I usually see lots of Painted Ladies.  This is one of 2 I have seen this year - worrisome.

Buckeye on aster.

Outside wings of a buckeye.

And finally I got a picture of an Alfalfa Butterfly, although the pictures are not the best.