Now, I know it's Fall. Not only are the mornings cool, days shorter (I have to put the chickens up earlier in the evening...), the cat is sleeping on the bed instead of outdoors all night, and.... the Schoolhouse Lilies are blooming!! These lilies are found all over Texas, not only in gardens, but in abandoned homesteads, school houses and cemeteries.

In the Fall, they shoot up "naked" stalks and open up their dark red, "ox-blood" color flowers. Another name for these is Ox-blood Lilies. They are so hardy and reliable. In beds that have had no supplemental water in my landscape, they have come up and started blooming in the last couple of days. Of course, we did have 0.8" of rain the other day, which, I suspect, sparked them to bloom.

Here's hoping for more rain this fall. I've been seeding lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower for fall/winter crops. Ever the optimist!!

Till next time... 

Urban Landscaping Guide

For those of us in Texas living with drought, here's an excellent guide from Texas A&M on Urban Landscaping solutions. There is a section for Home Gardening, Landscapers and Nursery Professionals. All the information is free and easy to comprehend. 

Urban Landscape Guide

For the record... we had a brief, and I mean brief, shower yesterday. Then, rain all around us later in the evening with not one drop here on the farm. Very disappointing.

Here are a couple of pics from our front porch--

Facing East. You can see the little rosemary bush in the planter... and the lump in the center of the photo is cat, Amity. She's almost the same color as the dry grass now.

Facing South... just so desolate looking.

In the almost 25 years we've lived on this farm, we've never seen it this dry. This, too, shall pass... the question is, when?

Some Rain

IT RAINED! I can hardly believe it! Yes... only about 0.18 inches so far, but it's cloudy, dark and very humid this morning, so I believe we will get more rain today.

Even though it's been dry, the days are shorter and a little cooler than August. The plants can tell the Autumnal Equinox is near. Plants that have refused to bloom during the searing summer temps are putting on buds. 

Clerodendron 'Musical Notes'

Clerodendron 'Musical Notes'- This plant usually blooms off and on all Summer with bright white flowers which resemble musical notes... hence the name.

New leaves are showing up on stressed basil plants 

Basil, showing new growth

Stressed out Comfrey with new growth showing in the leaf litter

and even my comfrey which is a mere shadow of its Spring Time self is perking up.

With a little more rain, who knows, maybe the Passion Vine and Queen's Wreath on my fence line will perk up. It's been a very long and hot summer here in Texas, but as with all things, this, too, will change.

Until Next Time, 

Herb of the Year 2012

The beautiful, useful, fragrant Rose is the Herb of the Year for 2012. Check out the enclosed link for lots of info about using rosewater, rose hips and rose petals. 

http://herboftheyear.blogspot.com/

August Newsletter from The Herb Cottage

Hello Everyone,

I've posted my August Newsletter: Stevia, The Sweet Herb...  You Can Grow It!!! 

You can find it here: http://theherbcottage.com/news_arch_2009.html

Hope everyone in the path of Irene is doing OK. We're hot as Hades here... still with no rain.

A Little Rain

A little rain fell last night here at The Herb Cottage. It was only 0.29", but as I lay in bed listening to it, I felt refreshed. There was even accompanying thunder and lightening. It had been almost 30 days since our last meager rainfall and with the extreme heat we've been having, everything is sere and brown around the farm. Just the sound of the rain made me feel nourished and refreshed.

As a bonus, I found myself at rather loose ends this morning as I did not have to engage in my morning watering schedule. What to do with myself?? 

The upcoming weekend is forecast to be very hot and dry, so this little rain will disappear into the ether. My memory of it, however, will not.

Popsicles to Beat the Heat

It's so hot here in Texas, you really could fry and egg on the sidewalk- not to mention the roof of your truck. So, when I saw this on Epicurious, I thought- what a great idea! When I was a kid waaaaay back in the 1950's my Mom used to make Kool-Aid popsicles for us in the summer time. We didn't have a fancy mold or even sticks. She just made them up in the aluminum ice cube trays and we sucked and chewed them from a plastic cup. 

These popsicles are much more healthy than the ones I had as a kid- made with fresh or frozen fruit. For a sweetener you can use agave nectar or even honey, if you like.  And, for an adult treat, some of the recipes have a little vodka or rum added.... hmmm... banana rum popsicle... 

So, have a look at the recipes and try one or two. It'll surely cool you down a bit. 

Until Next time....