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 John and Anna's Garden
Spring 2010

   John's big project this year has been the construction of two ponds and a waterfall. Anna continues with container plants and upkeep of their extensive garden.

   The new water feature is two "ponds" and a waterfall. John designed the feature and did most of the work himself. The rocks used to create the ponds came from from the "hill" where John and Anna garden. John did require some help wrestling the larger boulders into place. The ponds are lined with standard pond liner material. Water leaves the upper pond, goes over a rock spillway into the lower pond, and a recirculating pump moves the water from the lower pond back to the fall. The amount of water lost to evaporation was a major concern to John. After monitoring the water consumption, John added more pond liner to lessen the loss of water. That is Angelonia blooming beside the pool. Angelonia angustifolia comes from South America and is grown as an annual here in the Hill Country. It is especially heat tolerant and requires very little care. The tall purple flowers bloom on tall spikey stems and continue through fall.

   Curry, parsley, cilantro, lettuce, thyme, oregano, scented geranium, and several different basils fill Anna's raised-bed herb garden.

  Hibiscus, Rosa sinensis, and Blue butterfly, Clerodendrum ugandense, a tender perennial add color. In other pots are zinnias and a bougainvillea.

   Anna says, "I am so proud of this Texas native, Ipomoea lindheimeri, that I got long ago from Betty Winningham at Natives of Texas nursery here in Kerrville. It lasted one season, but it must have set seed. When I cut down a bush which was shading the ground where it had been, all the seeds germinated, and I think I have about five plants now. I will keep a close eye on the seeds this year as it is blooming low to the ground. Last year it bloomed way, way up in the tree."  

American Smoke Tree, cotinus obovatus, in bloom

Patio plants, Scutellaria "Red Fountains" center 

   The small Cork oak, Quercus suber, in the background, was grown from an acorn harvested from the Cork oak tree at Union State Bank, Kerrville. It was given to John and Anna by Jim Rediker of Scenic Hills Nursery. Winecups, Callirhoe involucrata, center, are in full bloom.

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