So Long, Dolly!

When we were making plans for The Arboretum last summer, we never even considered the possibility of receiving 25 inches of rain within a three week period! Our Fourth of July weekend monsoon, followed by Hurricane Dolly's winds and rains were a one-two punch. On the bright side, we know without a shadow of a doubt where our drainage issues lie. Braving the hoards of mosquitoes, Floyd has worked diligently in the garden trying to undo the storm's damage to our Native Forest. He's checking out a Retama, Parkinsenis aculeata.

Elizabeth surveyed the Texas Mountain Laurels, Sophora secundaflora, and decided to take a wait and see approach. Mountain Laurels have a sparse root system, thus, heavy winds can do considerable damage to them. But, they also don't like to "get their feet wet"; we'll hope as the ground dries, some new leaves will flush.
We did have to say "adios" to this Brasil, Condalia hookeri. We had been babying her since she sustained wind damage last Spring.
This Wild Olive, Cordia boissierri is another tree that doesn't like wet feet - and 25 inches of rain in July was more than she wanted.
But this is fresh growth on another of the Wild Olives in The Arboretum. We'll just have to wait and see how all the trees recover from Dolly. Even though we chose to plant drought tolerant trees, the fact that they are native to the Lower Rio Grande Valley is a plus!

Rain's Aftermath

Stopped by the Arboretum on Friday, July 11th to see how everything had fared after the recent record rainfall earlier in the week. I was told that the Arboretum rain gauge topped out at 8 inches! The rain is certainly welcome after months of scant precipitation. However, the sheer amount that fell has left the Arboretum a muddy, swampy mess.

This is the low lying area where Butterfly Plot 4 is located.

Despite being wet in many areas, other spots have dried very quickly under the scorching sun, revealing the signature cracking of clay soil.

Mosquitoes abound with all the standing water. This particular girl decided to make a meal of my arm, ensuring the future of her eggs. DEET? What's that? These RGV mosquitoes are evidently immune.

On a lighter note, the Brasil tree which was planted at the ground-breaking ceremony, that subsequently took a tumble and was replanted, has been slowly recovering and is leafing out quite nicely.

"Gardening" with heavy machinery

At times, heavy machinery trumps an experienced gardener. Cameron County assisted us in spreading the ever growing mulch pile in the "Valley Native Forest" area of The Arboretum. As skilled as the backhoe operator was, he still needed our assistance in distributing it evenly over the area. Here Bonnie takes a bit of a breather.

Interns George and Norman drove up from Brownsville for a morning of helping.

As did Mary. . . . . Walt, a Tuesday morning regular, made sure all the trees received a nice drink of water. There is an everychanging group that meets every Tuesday morning. As the temperatures have risen, we've begun arriving earlier and earlier - there's always someone here by 8:30. If you arrive first, I'm sure you can find something that needs a bit of TLC. Check the sidebar of this blog, for our current To-Do list.

Anacua

Anacua, Ehretia anacua, is a must have for any homeowner wanting to attract wildlife to their garden. We have planted two in the south-east corner of the Arboretum. A few of Anacua's many common names are Sugarberry, Knockaway, and Sandpaper Tree. The latter describes the rough texture of its leaves. Cold hardy to zone 8, Anacua can grow to 50 feet tall and its canopy will be almost as wide as it is tall. As an established tree, it is very drought tolerant.

A mature tree will have a highly textured, gnarled trunk, and will often be multi-trunked. The foliage is dark green and extremely dense.

Be sure to plant Anacua in a well-drained location. It requires little or no fertilizer. It is considered evergreen but will drop some or all of its leaves for a short period during the winter.

Anacua tends to have one big flush of blooms in the spring with the thick clusters of white fragrant blooms heavily covering the tree. After a summer rain, some trees will bloom again. You may have one tree in an area bloom and the others not. In our last house, we had a gorgeous multi-trunked Anacua. Inevitably only half of the tree bloomed - and then a few weeks later, the other half would decide it should put on a few blooms too. I imagine I am wrong when I describe it as multi-trunked. It must have been multiple trees that sprouted close to each other. Butterflies and bees love Anacua blooms as much as I do.

These immature fruits will ripen to a bright orange from April to June. The branches will droop with the weight of the fruit. The fruit drop can be messy, so don't plant Anacua where it will grow over paved areas. Birds feed on these berry's and nest in Anacua's dense foliage.

Raised Beds

Thanks to the 2008 MG class, the first of the Arboretum's demonstration beds have been built! Ned Lynn from Hidalgo County led them through the process.

The perimeter of the vegetable beds were marked, then re-measure for accuracy. The corners were marked with flags. All vegetation was removed from the beds before the first timber was put into place.

The ends of the first layer of landscape timbers should be secured with rebar that has been driven through the timber angling toward the center of the timber. Drive the rebar into the ground a foot or two. Lay each layer so that the corners overlap. Secure the second layer of timbers to the first layer with galvanized nails. Continue to the desired height.

The final step is to drive a piece of rebar through all layers and well into the ground. You will want to pre-drill the holes. Now, you should have a secure raised bed.

And We Have Water!

To a gardener there is nothing more exasperating than a hose that just isn't long enough.- Cecil Roberts
The simple pleasures in life are the best, aren't they? When Colleen called to say she'd passed The Arboretum and the City of San Benito was there trenching for the water lines, I couldn't get there fast enough! (lucky for me, it was on my way to work) Although Cameron County was supportive and helpful, sending their water truck whenever asked, these new lines are essential for the next phases of The Arboretum. Many thanks to the City of San Benito - in particular City Manager Victor Trevino, Utility Director Jaime Rosas and Director of Community Affairs Martha McClain.

Arboretum Plan

This is the initial overall plan for The Arboretum. Double click on the plan to enlarge it. This garden lays on a lot that measures 250 feet by 150 feet, more or less. The only limitation we have are the power lines that run from the front right to the back left. In order to utilize all the space, we have placed the vegetable garden, butterfly garden and water feature underneath them. Already on the property were the live oak and two mesquite trees - and do we love having those mature trees! With the exception of the colima, all the trees were planted in November of 2007. Understory trees and shrubs will be added and paths will meander through the garden. Signage will make it self-guided for those unable to attend a class or tour. We hope you will check back often to follow our progress.