Projects – Page 2 – The Ranchette

Millions of Peaches

June 12, 2012 4 Comments

We planted this peach tree about four years ago, but this is the first year that the fruit’s been worth anything. I have to admit I’ve been an agri-poseur of the highest order when it came to this peach tree. Contrary to my normal habits, I did zero research on the tree variety; I picked up a cheap little sapling from Lowe’s. I’ve failed to study how to properly care for the tree, I’ve never fertilized it, nor have I ever taken any pest-prevention measures. This is so not me. Maybe this post will shame me into being a better orchard-keeper, but it seems unlikely.

Blog, Projects

Something I Should Have Done Earlier… or… Neurosis Personified

May 29, 2012 No Comments

I received this little sugar and creamer set from West Elm, and I really liked it, except for the bamboo tray and spoon. Or rather, did like those as well, just not in my house. I have an old teak Danish modern dining table made by Dux, which I love. This looks too… contemporary.

Blog, Featured, Garden, Projects

Operation Passalong

April 6, 2012 No Comments

Passalong plants are handed from one gardener to another, and they’re my favorite kind. It generally means that they’re resilient enough to take the Texas weather and they’ll thrive enough that someone has to actually get rid of them. I can’t tell you how many hundreds of dollars I’ve lost when my expensive Japanese aralias, hostas, heuchera, and hellebores have succumbed to drought. But all of the passalongs I’ve received are doing just fine. (Except for the ferns I plucked from my aunt’s house in Houston; it’s just not humid enough for them here.)

Texas is pretty dreadful for the type of gardens I prefer, but there is one flower that likes it here: irises. I’ve been daydreaming about a pathway lined with irises for about six months now, so I devised a little trick to get some for free. This works well for anything that you’d like to get for free, actually…

Blog, Featured, Garden, Projects

Victory Garden

March 26, 2012 No Comments

Tomato plants from the feed store: $7.86

Compost and amendments to plant them in: I don’t even want to think about it.

It’s been about two years since we last successfully planted a vegetable garden. The year before last I decided to do away with conspicuous raised beds and incorporate the tomatoes and onions inteo our existing landscape. After all, the beds are full of expensive organic compost, so it should work. And it should be very French, on top of it. It didn’t work. Nor did it look at all French.