Spikelets and Seedheads

We are well into the summer and have no more erosion problems and our yard/meadow is lush and green. The Buffalo grass is thriving and spreading with help from the constant septic watering, other less desirable grasses are also thriving -- no monoculture in this yard. In the evenings when the temperature is bearable I can easily fill a cardboard box full of weeds before tiring.

To keep the front looking a little tidier Charles is occasionally trimming the tall grasses with the weed eater. We haven't decided on a good maintenance plan for the backyard yet. It is sloped and probably needs some terracing. For now it is green and wild, and a little scary to walk through.

My new trees are holding their own except for the Possumhaw Hollies. They received a hearty shearing from a large deer that appeared unannounced one evening. The good news is that shiny new leaves are sprouting all over and there doesn't appear to be any permanent damage.

I used the "Grasses of the Hill Country" by Brian and Shirley Loflin as an identification guide for all the spikelets and seedheads in our yard. Look below and see if you agree with my classifications.

Phase 2 - Forestation

The yard is looking quite hairy, er, grassy now. Most of the Buffalo Grass has maintained its green color and is spreading. The "Midway Mix" of seeds is also growing. It is really hard to know what is what. I've got a test pot on the back deck where I planted sample seeds, with the idea that it would help me tell the good from the bad. Good in theory, but only two types of grasses have sprouted so far and I've got lots more going on out front. The Bermuda grass is popping up here and there. I can usually tell it's runners from the Buffalo grass but sometimes I'm not so sure. I dream about it at night. I've also planted some Lindheimer's Muhly and Basket Grass between the house and the garage. They are doing well.

This week Pedro planted our forest out front, between the street and the arroyo. Interspersed between the boulders are Mexican Buckeyes, Possumhaw Hollys, Mountain Laurels, Kidneywoods, and three 'Green Cloud' Cenzios. They add a lot of interest to the yard, and watering them takes my mind off the weeding. I've got pictures below.

Grass

On April 24th Pedro and his crew raked in a thin layer of loose dirt and then spread a blanket of Buffalo grass sod, checker-board style, over our front and back yards. It was a big job and I'm glad it wasn't me hauling all the sod up and down the hill. The next day Charles and I started filling in the bare squares with a "Midway Mix" of seeds from the Native American Seed Company. It took us about a week to get all the seeds down and scratched into the soil. The mix is made up of mostly Buffalo grass, Blue Grama, and Sideoats Grama. It also contains: Texas Cupgrass, Green Sprangletop, Curly Mesquite, White Tridens and Cane Bluestem.

The new sod required daily watering for the first two weeks and the seed also has needed some extra water to start the germination process. Charles' new title is Chief Irrigator. As soon as the grass went down the rains completely stopped. Last night we finally had a gully-washer that, I hope, has put an end to our watering. The goal is to only mow once or twice a year and to never water.

So far we've spotted one type of grass sprouting, and I'm not sure which it is. I hope more will come. It will be interesting to see what grows over the wet septic areas.

Following Jill Nokes suggestions for my front flower bed, I've planted the perennials below:
Mexican Bush Sage, Mexican Mint Marigold, Texas Primrose, Winecup, Mealy Blue Sage, Moss Verbena, Summer Phlox, Jerusalem Sage, Blackfoot Daisy, Autumn Sage, Pink Skullcap, Gaura-sisykiou Pink, Datura, Lantana 'Dallas' Red, Brown-eyed Susan

To keep the costs down I bought small plants from Barton Creek Nursery and from the Wild Flower Center. It will be awhile before the front beds fill out.

Below I've added a few pictures of the latest from Turkey Gulch.

Phase 1 - Dirt

On January 22, 2010, Charles and I, along with the dogs, moved into our new home on Wild Turkey Pass in the eclectic Austin neighborhood of Apache Shores. Over the span of about a year and a half we designed and built a 1,920 square foot contemporary house that took advantage of the canyon land terrain and wide-open views - La Casa del Sol Naciente.

Now that the inside is complete we are ready to focus our attention on the outdoors, project name: Turkey Gulch. Our house sits high above a canyon that is populated with cedars and a sprinkling of Live Oaks, Red Oaks and some yet to be identified vegetation. Our 1/2 acre lot contains almost no level land. The house acts as a big dam, blocking the water as it runs down the slope headed for the wet weather creek below.

Apache Shores has no sewer system so each home is forced to be truly green with its own waste processing system. Our drainage field covers most of our front and side yard and adds all kinds of challenges when you try to plan for erosion control, plant diversity, and natural beauty. So far we have invested in soil from GeoGrowers, much to our builders puzzlement, and sowed Cereal Rye, a cold season annual whose purpose is to hold down the soil while we get our act together and plant a more permanent solution.

Our goal is for the house to look like it was gently plopped down on the hillside of the Balcones Escarpment, much like before the bulldozers, cement trucks and building debris took their toll on the land. Jill Nokes has been a great adviser. Pedro Sanchez does her heavy lifting and we are in the process of evaluating his estimate for the first phase of work.

Below are pictures of our yard as of March 14.

Arroyos and More

On Monday morning Pedro started to work his magic. After two days of labor, he and his team created an arroyo running the full length of our house, about 6 to 8 feet in from the street. The purpose is to channel the rain water away from our house and on to the right side of our property. To insure that the slope below the arroyo also drains correctly, they installed a french drain running all along the front flower beds. It channels that water down a pipe on to the left side of the house. The hole they dug was over two feet deep and about three feet wide, all done without any machinery. In case their was any doubt as to the viability of this plan, Mother Nature sent a huge gully washer of a storm Wednesday night. I'm happy to report that both drains worked perfectly and our major drainage problem is solved.

Pedro is coming back in a week or two to lay Buffalo grass sod, checker board style, over the front, side, and back yard. Charles and I plan to fill in the gaps with a "Midway Mix" of native grasses from the Native American Seed Company.

While we wait for the sod to arrive I've started filling in the front beds. I've included pictures of two interesting bushes that that are a first for me to plant, both native to the region. You'll see pictures below.