I hate to admit this because its not cool but i am not really an outside person. Or i havent been thus far in my life. I just dont like heat and sweat and dirt and squirmy things. I grew up in the country and i liked animals but once i got my drivers license and could get a job and get to town i was pretty much over the horse and the wide open spaces. Then the Lord blesses me with two boys. Did you know boys like to be outside? Like they will explode if you don’t let them outside. So I am now spending more time outside. I live in South Texas, its hot. But we have shade, thank you Jesus for shade trees. I have tried to embrace the gardening thing before. I have friends who are amazing gardeners. But it never works for me.
But with the exterior paint and abscence of the red door i am trying to embrace gardening, colorful blooms and being outside more..both for myself and my boys. I figure if I spend a fraction of the money I spend on clothes that don’t look that good on me or Starbucks that I don’t need, I can slowly buy some plants and learn to tend them. I am a country girl after all.
So here is what I am obsessed with…growing an Espalier on my bare garage wall…think big right?!
and a mini trellis over my barren garage door end of the house…
and boxwood..obsessed with the mini little gem boxwood… there is a reason the cutest lunch place in Houston is called Tiny Boxwoods right?!
My yard has a lot of shade and partial sun which means i cant do a lot of roses or Sage..i love, let me say LOVE the pink salvia..too me its both cottagey and Texasy..but i dont think it will work..but my other fave is the pot vine and it will work..that color is like an amazing pillow in a room of blah.
Don’t worry, this won’t become a gardening blog…it SO will not become a gardening blog BUT i might need to add a gardening category. For now I will place it under INSPIRATION!
What are your favorite gardening tips and partial sun or shade plants?? And yes that is a new Swedish box on the porch!
Happy Weekend! Don’t forget the BROWN SHED SALE this weekend! It’s outside! Check the Brown Shed site for weather updates and changes if any!
Your outside light is really cool, where did you get that?
andhousemakesthree.blogspot.com
Ha…I can put the pots of plants together – but I can’t keep them alive. Great ideas for the brick wall and trellis! Have a great weekend.
I love gardening for the instant gratification it gives when I “put a pot together” or pull weeds, or plant some new annuals. So IF you decide to throw in some gardening posts it will be quite alright by me! There was lots of beautiful eye candy here today…from the vines over the garage, to my favorite sweet potato vine, to the red mailbox, to the boxwoods in the pots. I use a lot of holly in the pots on my deck- perhaps you should too with your name!
I garden in Central Texas. With our drought, I’m even MORE convinced that Texas native and adapted plants are the way to go because they’re easier to keep alive. My Texas natives struggled a lot less than others this year. I can’t find the native stuff at the Big Box stores. I go to local nurseries instead. Pam Penick’s web site is a great resource for Texas ideas (https://www.penick.net/digging/). I’m a little north of you but I like cast iron plant for evergreen shade (tough as nails). Columbine is pretty…golden groundsel is supposed to be easy to grow…heartleaf skullcap likes shade too. Good luck and happy gardening in your blessed shade! I love your blog by the way, always inspiring!!!
Love this post. Your house looks so great!
And I think boxwoods and sweet potato vines all look great from the road when passing by a house. Can’t wait to see what you decide to do!
If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were describing my life growing up on a ranch in Texas too!! I am definitely not an outside person anymore either, so low maintenence landscaping was for me! My all-time favorite plants are boxwoods (hence the name of my store!), they are the little black dress of plants, they look so elegant especially when planted in black urns, and they are easy to grow with very little maintenence. I like to use faux boxwoods indoors to bring a little green to a shelf or bookcase. I also love ferns and hostas; with so many varieties to choose from, they add great texture to your garden and again are very low maintenance. I love the idea of an espalier on your garage wall, it will be beautiful! And your front porch is so completly adorable, I love the pumpkins and the little pop of red with the mailbox!
I like hostas & caladiums for shade. Hostas come in a large variety of colors and sizes and will flower too. Caladiums also come in different color varieties, but I love the green and red. Barberry bushes (full sun or part shade) have great color green to burgandy. I also like the variegated color of emerald euonymus bushes. They are a lot like boxwoods and come in green/white, yellow/green, or cream/green combos. All of these are super easy to grow and maintain and they will all grow in TX. Just remember that newly planted things will require more watering until they are established.
https://www.brighterblooms.com/planting-directions/barberry-shrubs-care/
Your porch looks so pretty!
We just moved from a shady yard to a sunny yard.
I always had luck with purslane, even in the shade it opens up and is very drought tolerant and colorful. It’s pretty and cheap!
I love gardening but it can be a challenge in Texas. We either have wet summers and plants die or summers of drought and record-breaking heat (like this year) and plants die. I have better luck gardening in spring and fall. We like to refer to Howard Garrett’s books for advice. My in-laws also have an amazing yard and they give us great advice. I can’t wait to see what you come up with for your yard. I know it will be lovely!
I’m trying to find two black urns to go next to my front door like yours. I live in Houston. Can I ask where you got yours?
Holly, I made a huge espalier on the far wall of the courtyard in my house in Texas. Girl, you can do this. So easy. I used hooks (you have to pre drill holes in the brick), coated wire, and five confederate jasmine plants that I got on sale at Lowes. The espalier filled in in one season and I get more compliments on it than all the landscaping I paid someone else to do. I highly recommend that plant- can’t kill it. Espaliers make a big statement and they are no maintenance other than giving them a hair cut every once in a while. The best part about the jasmine is that every spring it fills with flowers that scent the whole neighborhood. I love that thing so much, we built a fountain in front of it and a little patio. Its right outside my dining room window. Next I’m going to knock out that window and put in french doors. Anyway, email me if you want better directions. I still want to make a free form espalier on another wall 🙂
Love your site!!
Just wanted to give you a favorite plant of mine I thought you might enjoy.
Vinca Minor is a light purple, flowering ground cover (vine) that has a pretty green leaf and tends to do well in any amount of light. I got my first plants from an abandoned ranch house, so I think it is tough! It looks great in a mixed pot too. I have found additional plants at Lowes.
Cristi in College Station
Holly, I LOVE your front porch!! All the colors came out perfectly. And that touch of Swedish red is PERFECT!!! And the porch light is so fun and unexpected. Slam dunk!!! Oh…love the sweet little fall moment you created too!
Regarding gardening. I don’t live in the heat of TX…I’m living in NY and moving to PA….yes I’m a northerner. Regardless I love shade gardening. Of course I love flowers…I have a lovely flower garden because my current home has tons of sun. But, my first home had a fair amount of shade and it was so fun finding plants of various shades of green and textures. I think you’ll find it a lot of fun, stimulating your creative juices. Plus all the work is in the shade – yay!! And there are some colorful flowers for the garden….but you just work in a few here and there…and that’s easier too.
One last thing about gardening. If you have good soil you will have a great garden. Find someone in your area to help you know what to do to get it…it’s worth all the effort…believe me!
I swoon at the sight of a lovely Espalier. It would truly be a lovely addition to your garden. And that brings me to an important point. Gardening is a state of mind. If you call your yard a garden…and not a yard…you are a gardener. It’s so much more fun to refer to your garden rather than your yard.
P.S. If you need shade gardening tips…let me know 🙂
Oh Holly, I am SO not an outdoor girl. I grew up in the country, too, and tended garden with my grandmother when I was little. As soon as I could get away from that I did…but, guess what!?! I MARRIED a man who actually OWNS a plant nursery! What?!?! Why did I do that?…lol. You can note my website above. I’m trying to change my ‘I don’t like to get my hands dirty’ ways. I’m finding there are some cute clothes to garden in!!! HA After the first of the year I’ll be taking some gardening classes through the University of Tennessee. Maybe that will turn me into an outside girl, well, that and some of those cute monogramed rubber boots!!! We shall see. Good luck!!!
I love this post!! I have spent so much time working on our interior I totally let out exterior go. We had absolutely no decent landscaping, I guess that is what you get when you buy a house that had been abandoned for 3 years. I committed to planting 2 or 3 plants each week (mostly from the clearance rack at Lowes) and we actually now have some curb appeal. Our backyard needs help too and I just plotted an espalier on one of our fences. It was so easy once I got the hang of things. Still need to plant the remaining plants, as I was thankfully rained out from my garden duties yesterday. I am so excited to see how it grows in. I used climbing/creeping fig, which seems to be pretty hardy so far.
The porch is perfect! Simple but it makes a big statement….I love an espalier, a climbing pear would be my choice! Living in Dallas, we have the heat/dry/heat problem…..I guess there is no perfect place for us garden lovers!
I do NOT think this post is complete without some big, beautiful, white hydrangeas! Like these: https://acountryfarmhouse.blogspot.com/2009/09/outdoor-dining-patio.html