![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Today I went on the Gardens On Tour 2007, presented by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. This included a roof garden, the wildflower center, and a bunch of people's yards. Every single place was in west Austin by which I don't just mean west of Congress, but also west of MoPac.
I'd forgotten how beautiful west Austin is. I drove the entire length of Westlake Drive, for example, and I drove across the 360 bridge. It's very hilly, and has water and views. However, I am not really a water loving person (except when it's hot) and I don't like driving on hills at all. I don't like it with a standard because I don't quite know what to do, but I don't like it with an automatic transmission either. Plus, hills means two-lane roads which means people who know the maximum safe speed are all backing up behind me wishing I would speed up already. So I pull over a lot to let them by.
I learned many interesting things. I like crushed granite walkways. They have a nice sound as you crunch by on them. And I've heard that just walking on them cuts up weed seedlings. I learned that I'm not wild about flagstone paths. They are gorgeous, but they are not comfortable to walk on and every garden that had one also had people around telling everyone to be careful. I don't mind spaced out flagstones for minor side trails where you should be slowing down and watching where you put your feet; that's cool. (I also like the kinds of trails you find in the woods and the kinds that are made of mulch.)
I was told that kidneywood is a native whose white flowers smell like vanilla. I got to see one and it has feathery leaves. They like good drainage, so they might not like my yard (of clay). Then again, they also like sun (which my yard is just full of).
Lots of people were going on about "little gem magnolia." It has smaller leaves and flowers than southern magnolias, but blooms all summer.
I also learned first hand that a vine called star jasmine, which has a small white flower that is blooming now, has a fragrance that I like, kind of bakery like. But the aroma isn't near the flowers, it's lurking nearby where the wind puts it I guess.
I asked one lady how she dealt with weeds in her beds that looked too wide and crowded to get into. She explained that many of her plants die down in the winter. So in late January, when she goes in to trim things, cut things back, and decide which newly seeded plants get to stay and which have to go, she also deals with the weeds. She says it's a lot of work.
Interesting--it's a lot of work in late January, when it's almost never hot, and usually not freezing cold. I should try that sometime.
I learned that you can attract cardinals with yaupons and mountain laurel (both of which I have)--they like a brushy area so they can feel protected.
I learned that if you have a huge cul-de-sac, so big that you can fit nine houses around it, you can actually make a parking lot right in the middle of it.
When I got home, I found a letter in the mail informing me of a violation of City Ordinance and/or State Law on my property and have been ordered to "Please mow tall weeds and grass, and remove any brush, trash, junk & debris from the property." (I do not have brush, trash, junk, or debris, except for those two free papers that got thrown in my yard last week.) Then I can clear the violation by filing a written appeal stating that the property is now in compliance. That would be good because if I get two in one year, it can be cleaned at my expense and legal action can be taken against me.
I'd forgotten how beautiful west Austin is. I drove the entire length of Westlake Drive, for example, and I drove across the 360 bridge. It's very hilly, and has water and views. However, I am not really a water loving person (except when it's hot) and I don't like driving on hills at all. I don't like it with a standard because I don't quite know what to do, but I don't like it with an automatic transmission either. Plus, hills means two-lane roads which means people who know the maximum safe speed are all backing up behind me wishing I would speed up already. So I pull over a lot to let them by.
I learned many interesting things. I like crushed granite walkways. They have a nice sound as you crunch by on them. And I've heard that just walking on them cuts up weed seedlings. I learned that I'm not wild about flagstone paths. They are gorgeous, but they are not comfortable to walk on and every garden that had one also had people around telling everyone to be careful. I don't mind spaced out flagstones for minor side trails where you should be slowing down and watching where you put your feet; that's cool. (I also like the kinds of trails you find in the woods and the kinds that are made of mulch.)
I was told that kidneywood is a native whose white flowers smell like vanilla. I got to see one and it has feathery leaves. They like good drainage, so they might not like my yard (of clay). Then again, they also like sun (which my yard is just full of).
Lots of people were going on about "little gem magnolia." It has smaller leaves and flowers than southern magnolias, but blooms all summer.
I also learned first hand that a vine called star jasmine, which has a small white flower that is blooming now, has a fragrance that I like, kind of bakery like. But the aroma isn't near the flowers, it's lurking nearby where the wind puts it I guess.
I asked one lady how she dealt with weeds in her beds that looked too wide and crowded to get into. She explained that many of her plants die down in the winter. So in late January, when she goes in to trim things, cut things back, and decide which newly seeded plants get to stay and which have to go, she also deals with the weeds. She says it's a lot of work.
Interesting--it's a lot of work in late January, when it's almost never hot, and usually not freezing cold. I should try that sometime.
I learned that you can attract cardinals with yaupons and mountain laurel (both of which I have)--they like a brushy area so they can feel protected.
I learned that if you have a huge cul-de-sac, so big that you can fit nine houses around it, you can actually make a parking lot right in the middle of it.
When I got home, I found a letter in the mail informing me of a violation of City Ordinance and/or State Law on my property and have been ordered to "Please mow tall weeds and grass, and remove any brush, trash, junk & debris from the property." (I do not have brush, trash, junk, or debris, except for those two free papers that got thrown in my yard last week.) Then I can clear the violation by filing a written appeal stating that the property is now in compliance. That would be good because if I get two in one year, it can be cleaned at my expense and legal action can be taken against me.