After the hard freeze we got over a month ago and the desolate landscape of dead plants lying lifeless both in my front and back yard, imagine my surprise this past weekend when, taking advantage of a couple of rays of sunshine, I went out to discover numerous purple blooms on my peach trees!!!
- Countless peach blossoms on the backyard peach tree!
These trees are only 4 years old and were started from a seed. Last year, we had about 6 or 7 fruits on each tree, but by the time they ripened, there were only 4 in total left for us to enjoy. The squirrels had beat us to them, although they had plenty of papayas to satisfy their hunger (and thirst, in the hot summer days). They were sweet and fragrant white peaches! Yum!
- Beautiful and healthy Bellaire blooms!
So, I am on the verge of getting excited about a potential abundant crop of peaches, but I will not get ahead of myself (and the squirrels…): I will just enjoy the blooms for what they are, and will wait for the fruits to surprise me! Does anyone else have a similar story to share? Or better yet, squirrel defense advice?
Have you ever been to the Awty International School campus at I-10 and N. Post Oak? All the walkways are framed with rose bushes - still in bloom at this time of the year… It is just beautiful and so fragrant to walk around the campus! The same goes for St Anne’s Catholic Church/School at Westheimer and Sheperd. Roses are quite delicate and they need the exact amount of water and sunshine – and pesticides to prevent fungus in the humid Houston summer. However the gardeners at these 2 places are doing an amazing job. I have a rose bush in a pot that I purchased a couple of years ago. I forgot the name of it, but it is purple and so fragrant.!… I could not resist but photograph 2 of the blooms last week to share with you. I wish I could transmit scent over the Internet…
What’s your favorite rose?
Recent bloom in a pot
I have not used any chemicals yet...
I wanted to share my first attempts at growing food in Bellaire. For so many years, after being discouraged by the hard clay that surrounds our home, I gave up my passion of growing vegetables and fruits. Finally, this summer I reconfigured the backyard, cut out the tree that was shading it as well as the evergreen bushes, and spread bags of soil around the beds. Finally I could experiment with my green thumb. Well, as you can see in this photo, I have quite a few tomatoes! Papayas have also done extremely well: I just pray we won’t get a hard freeze before I pick all the ripened fruits. Bell peppers are not doing so well. I put them on a southern exposure but they are shaded by my neighbor’s house. Other than that, herbs are flourishing: Basil, parsley and fennel. I have a few sprouts of Swiss Chard but they are taking forever to grow!
How about you? Have you tried your luck at gardening in Bellaire? What works and what doesn’t? I would love to hear from you. One house on Evergreen has a loaded tangerine tree. My mother on Azalea Trail was successful with eggplants and figs.
My Papayas
