Randy and Cheryl and the crawl to Blanco

Some of you may have noticed that I have been m.i.a. on this blog for a while.  I’m going to do my best to catch up and catch you up on our adventures.  Cheryl has been prodding me to get with the program, so no more slouching; here I go.

Chery, (http://consciousgardening.blogspot.com/) is building a fence in her back yard using cedar pickets.  She found a good place to get them at a good price in Johnson City (see previous blog about our Johnson City crawl), and she needed a few more so we decided to head out west to pick up a hundred of the sticks and visit Blanco, Texas, home of the Blanco Lavender Fest (http://www.blancolavenderfest.com/) on the way and see what that town had to offer.  I had never been to Blanco but have always heard really nice things about it and love visiting towns in the hill country.

Our first stop was the The Lion’s Share Iron Works (http://www.thelionsshareiron.com/The_Lions_Share/Welcome.html) located three miles west of the “Y” in Oak Hill.  They have quite a selection of all things iron including chairs, headboards, planters, benches, fencing and much, much more.

Just a small portion of all of the iron headboards

The aluminum selection

Still more headboards

They had great prices and the owner was making some amazing deals.  Stop by and check it out if you get a chance.  Definitely worth a look.

Our next stop was Solstice in Dripping Springs (solsticegardens.com).

This place was a very pleasant surprise.  Cheryl and I thought we were going to see a plant nursery, instead we were treated to some amazing art and sculptures that were installed around the tree-shaded grounds of the old house which served as the headquarters.

One of Mark White's amazing dream catchers with the business owner in the background.

One of the artists work that was featured was Mark White from Sante Fe.  His works are mobiles made of different types of metal.  These photos don’t do them justice.  To see how amazing they are you really have to check them out for yourself in person.

One of the owner's creations. It's spins in the wind.

May nip if molested.

If you find yourself in Dripping Springs be sure to check this place out.  It is not to be missed.  The owner is a very friendly and interesting guy.   Be sure to tell him we sent you!

Leaving Dripping, we took the back way to Blanco via Ranch Road 165.  This is what a drive thru the hill country is all about.  Rolling tree-covered hills and uninterupted views with the exception of a dozen or so cell phone towers (how many of these eyesores do we really need?).  This road meanders along side the Blanco River, which is just a bit of a mudhole with this terrible drought we are experiencing.  Still, it was a really nice way to enter the city.

Blanco is a really charming town.

Buildings on the square

And it’s also the County Seat.

Please landscape me!!!

Love this Second Empire architecture.  Could do with a little landscaping and perhaps someone should water the grass, don’t ya think?

Cheryl and I were starving when we were in Dripping Springs, so by the time we got to Blanco we were about ready to yank of each others’ arm and start chewing.  Fortunately, we stumbled upon the Rockin’ R Restaurant and Steakhouse (www.rileysbarbq.com yes, that’s the link).

This place will save you from cannibalism

This place was a great find.  The interior decor was very charming and the food was DELICIOUS!  My mouth is watering  just thinking about the black and blue burger I had with it’s pepper crusted patty and bleu cheese (man I’m hungry).  Cheryl had the portobella mushroom sandwich and said it is the best one she’s ever had and she’s EXTREMELY picky!  Don’t let her tell you otherwise.  We both gave this place a thumb’s up.  Be sure to stop in next time you pass thru town.

After lunch (and a pitcher of Real Ale Fireman’s 4 from the friendly town brewery http://www.realalebrewing.com/beer_styles.php) we stopped in at the local nursery Blanco Gardens.  (http://www.gardenguides.com/resources/nurseries/nursery.asp?store=847045).  For a little town it had a good selection and great prices.  Be sure to check out the bird house while you are there.

Texas-Sized bird house

Local residents of Texas Sized birdhouse

The owner of this place and I have this in common.

From there we crawled along highway 281 in to Johnson City.  There are signs all along the roadway advertising Whittington’s, so we decided we better stop in to see what all the fuss is about.

It is a known fact that bikers love jerky. Look it up.

They advertise that they have the best jerky and while I have not personally tried every jerky in the world I do have to say that this jerky was damn good.  I insisted that we stop in and see Kathy Johnson at Pieces of the Past (http://www.pieces-of-the-past.com/).  I can’t go out this way without stopping in and visiting with Kathy and seeing what new things she has picked up.

Need a loveseat? Porch railings? Ceiling tin? Saint? Rooster?

I know I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again, but I love this place.  There are so many things to see and so many things I want.

Kathy Johnson kindly holding up my purchase.

Pull up a chair!

This place is definitely worth a stop when you’re in JC.  Kathy will make you some great deals.

After we loaded up my pickup with Cheryl’s cedar pickets, we had lost our beer buzz, so we swerved off the highway and onto Ranch Road 2766 and headed to the Texas Hills Vineyard.  This was just what we needed.  The Winery itself is a really cool (literally) building built out of rammed earth meaning that the materials used when leveling the ground for the building was smooshed (that’s the technical term) together to form the concrete-like walls of the building.

A cave on top of the ground

The staff were friendly, the wines delicious.  We purchased a few bottles and headed back to Austin.  Cheryl and I agreed we had a really nice day.  It was great getting out of the hustle of the city for a day.

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Bloom Day June 15, 2009

AAAAaaaaaaarrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I’m so sick of this heat I feel like I’m losing my mind.  My plants look like HELL and the bugs are eating the scraggly leaves so fast I can’t keep up!!!!!!

Deep breath… ok I feel much better.  I just had to get that out of the way.  Howdy everybody and welcome to bloom day for June, 2009.  We’ve been having record heat with highs over 100 for about 2 months now here in Texas and my yard and garden are looking pretty tired at this point.  My water bill is thru the roof and all I’m able to do is keep things alive.  There isn’t enough water out there to make them thrive.  What we need is some rain, but the drought continues.  I believe I heard the other day that we are closing in on 3 feet behind in rainfall over the past 2 years.  The lakes are drying up and so are everybody’s yards.  Ah, summer in Austin.  I realized in taking photos for bloom day that I have far more blooms in the winter than I do at this point.  Maybe I need to rethink my gardening philosophy.

Welcome to Bloom Day for June 2009.  Bloom Day is the brainchild of Carol at May Dreams Gardens {http://maydreamsgardens.blogspot.com/) and is the day when gardeners around the world post photos of what’s blooming in their yards on the 15th of each month.

Plumeria rubra 'Edi Moragne'

Each time I travel to Hawaii I bring back some plumeria sticks.  This bloom is from one of my oldest and largest plants.  The fragrance of these blooms is intoxicating.

Tabernaemontana divaricata 'Flore Pleno'

When Cheryl and I traveled to Seguin on our nursery crawl last month, we stopped in at Green Gate nurseries and I purchased this Indian Carnation.   The blooms smell like jasmine.  Very nice.

Cordia boissieri

This is the bloom of the Texas Wild Olive tree.  It stays covered in these crepe like flowers all summer long.  I tried growing some of these from seeds this past spring with no luck.  Anyone have any ideas on how to germinate the seeds?

Ruellia tweediana

The dwarf ruellia is always in bloom throughout the summer.

Zinnia 'Profusion Orange'

The aptly named Zinnia Profusions are covered in flowers as usual.  They seem to love the heat.

Ruellia elegans

The delicate blooms of the Thai ruellia.  This is another one that thumbs it’s nose at the Texas heat and, unlike other ruellias, this one is non-invasive.

Petunia unknown cultivar

Another heat lover, the petunia, showing a little insect damage.

Duranta erecta

This normally fall-blooming duranta or sky flower has been covered in blooms all summer long.  I wonder what it has in store for the fall?

Aloysia virgata

This almond verbena is another purchase from Seguin.  My nose found this one.  It has a sweet almond scent that you can smell all over my back yard.  Very nice.

Ipomoea nil 'Scarlett O'Hara'

I managed to get a photo of this morning glory before the heat burned it to a crisp.

Canna indica

This canna sprouted up on my side of the fence from my neighbors yard.

Bignonia capreolata 'Tangerine Beauty'

The tangerine crossvine had a few blooms sprinkled around on it.

Campsis radicans

The trumpet vine is blooming well.

Ipomoea adenioides

The morning glory bush is covered in blooms and getting HUGE!  This shrub is a very fast-grower.  I love it.

Musella lasiocarpa

This is the unusual bloom of the Chinese Yellow Banana.  This banana is hardy to 5 degrees and is said to grow as far north as Ontario, Canada.

X Chitalpa tashkentensis 'Pink Dawn'

The chitalpa tree is always covered in blooms in the summer. This is a cross between a desert willow and a chitalpa tree.

Mandevilla splendens 'Scarlet Pimpernel'

The scarlet mandevilla vine is blooming nicely.

Datura metel 'Double Purple'

The devil’s trumpet is blooming well but not doing nearly as well this year as last year.  The insects are eating up this poisonous plant this summer.  I’ve been picking tomato cutworms off of it for over a month now.

Galphimia gracilis

The golden thryallis is another fool proof summer bloomer.  It just loves the heat.  This plant really should be used more often.

Conoclinium greggii

The West Texas Mistflower is still blooming nicely in spite of the oppressive heat.

Salvia farinacea 'Blue Bedder'

Mealy blue sage is in constant bloom throughout the summer.

Evolvulus glomeratus 'Blue Daze'

The blue daze doesn’t even start blooming til it stays above 80 degrees at night.

Cynara cardunculus

The neon blooms of the cardoon.  This amazing plant gets about 6 feet tall and wide and is covered in flowers.

Cuphea llavea

Gotta love these bat face cuphea blooms.

Portulaca grandiflora

I have various colors of moss rose in bloom.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis

I also have yellow, red and salmon colored tropical hibiscus in bloom at the moment.

Passiflora incarnata

This passion flower vine has completely taken over one corner of my yard, but it’s smothering the hackberry trees along the fence line, so it’s fine with me.

Unidentified

I can’t remember what this flower is.  It could be a white buttercup. I purchased the plant this spring at Barton Springs Nursery.  It’s been blooming all summer and I wish I’d have purchased a dozen of em.  Any ideas anyone?

Well that brings to a close the blooms from the July bloom day for me.   Stay cool everybody and I’ll be seeing you next month!