SPI Gardens

2007-11-06T04:03:00.000-08:00

Gardening Help Needed

Two "Random Acts of Green" are happening on the island in the next week and gardeners are needed. You don't have to have any experience, just a willingness to help enhance our island.

1) Dune Re-vegetation Project - Alita Bagley, Beach and Dune Task Force, is working with UT-B to re-vegetate our dunes and needs help THIS FRIDAY (Nov 9) between 2:00-6:00pm. Meet on the beach at Padre Grand. The following is an email SPI Gardens received from Alita:
"We are planning another work day on Friday and sure could use some help. Do you suppose any of your SPI Gardens volunteers or anyone else you know might be willing to help. I believe the students are coming in the afternoon around 2p.m. and will probably work for 3 – 4 hours. We are also looking for an additional pick-up or two to use to haul vegetation to the greenhouse in Brownsville . We had two pickups on Saturday and once they were full we had to stop."
Call Alita at the Chamber of Commerce (956)761-4412 if you have questions.

2) SPI Corner Project Work Day - the Chamber Enhancement Committee is spearheading the greening of twelve corners along Padre Blvd. this Saturday November 10, 2007 and needs help.
Meeting Location – Zeste Gourmet
Time: 8:30 a.m.

2007-10-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

Swap and Tour HUGE SUCCESS
Swapping of plants and gardening knowledge, plus getting to view some of SPI's beautiful "secret" gardens was attended by many at the 2007 SPI Secret Garden Tour and Plant Swap. Thanks to all the SPI Secret Gardens who generously opened their homes for many to see as well as SPI Garden participants who helped organize the event.

A Spring Secret Garden Tour and Swap is in the making ... if you would like to be on the tour in the spring please call Nancy Marsden (761-2626) or Ann Smith (772-1948).

We would also love your comments and suggestions on how to make it better. POST THEM HERE!!!

2007-10-16T16:06:00.000-07:00

SPI GARDENS
Secret Garden Tour and Plant Swap

There are so many unique and beautiful residential, public and commercial gardens on our island that attract birds and butterflies.

The Secret Garden Tour and Plant Swap
is your chance to “SPI” on a few South Padre Island gardens PLUS pick up a few plants to plant in your own garden!!!

Join us Sunday Oct 28
Turtle Park on East Morningside
2:00 – 3:30 Plant Swap
Bring plants to swap - or buy one PLUS …
Pick up a map of the 2007 Secret Garden Tour

3:00 – 6:00 pm Secret Gardens open for tours

A $5.00 donation would be appreciated

All proceeds will go towards plantings throughout the public parks, beach accesses, bay endings … anywhere that would benefit from a Random Act of Green!!!

For more information contact Nancy Marsden 371-9120
or Ann Smith 592-1325

2007-09-27T05:44:00.000-07:00

Look at this beautiful Lantana. With a little TLC .... all beach accesses and public areas could look as beautiful as this.

YOU CAN HELP!!!

SPI GARDENS - "Committed to Enhancing the Island with Random Acts of Green"
is spearheading an effort to plant lantanas all over the public areas of the island. The butterflies LOVE 'em.

We have already planted many but sure could use your help. If you are at the local garden center and see lantana - pick one up - put it in your own garden, OR drop it off at 121 E. Carolyn (in front of the right side garage door) by Monday Oct. 8 - and SPI Gardens will plant it.

The butterflies thank you, SPI Gardens thank you!!!

2007-09-26T04:29:00.000-07:00

If you see a truck or car with this SPI GARDENS sign on it, parked at some beach access or next to a vacant lot or at a pocket park.... you may be witnessing a "Random Act of Green". Thanks Ann Smith for coining that phrase and for making this logo.

2007-09-22T06:34:00.001-07:00

The butterflies will soon be arriving so get ready for them. Plant lantana, blue mist, prairie milkweed, zennias, palafoxia, sunflowers................

2007-04-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

Update on Saving the Yellow Sophora

Linda McDonigal and I raided the empty next-door lot owned by Kerry of Island Native Surf Shop, with permission of course but it was fun to use the word "raid." The goal was to save a couple of Yellow Sophora from exctinction should the lot be sold - and it is up for sale.

First, there is a little confusion about what these are but they do resemble the Yellow Sophora, also called the Soap Bean or more commonly the Coral Bean. Nancy Patterson, proprietor of this board, thinks they're really a rare form of Indigo plant but ... after we transplanted them the plants seem to die dead as a doornail, thus preventing further plant identification.

Yup, those plants nearly died and for a month they just threw leaves, turned a nasty black color, and looked like heck. Then Linda, a master naturalist who lives a block behind us, called last week and said she had buds! New leaves! So I looked at my baby, which looked doubtful, but YES, it now sports some shoots for sure.

I don't know if you know how hard this was. First, last year I had to defend them from a huge agricultural tractor mower called a brush-hog. Then we worked hard for about 4 hours on excavating the Yellow Sophora or Indigo from the ground - we created a mess about 12 feet around because the taproots went down at least four feet. THEN we had to dig new holes for our new plants. Linda was a real trooper but we both had a back-ache for two weeks after that.

Then the plants nearly died. Linda called Frank Wiseman, the local native plant guru, and he said to never give up because it could take a season or two before they might ... just might come back. We are so thrilled now. We won the day! Commercial growers can't do this kind of thing. Despite almost insurmountable circumstances ... it worked.
/Sam

2007-03-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

Press Release from the city:

SPI Butterfly Garden Nears Completion and Seeks Volunteers

South Padre Island, TX – March 22, 2007 – Join the Town of South Padre Island and its community with the North American Butterfly Association International Park’s educational awareness on butterflies and butterfly gardening in South Texas from 9 – 10 a.m. this Saturday, March 24, 2007 at Club Padre, 5800 Padre Blvd.

The installation and completion of the Town’s Butterfly Garden will follow immediately at 4312 Gulf Blvd., next to Suntide II.

The Town’s butterfly garden seeks volunteers to help garden different types of indigenous and native plants that will help sustain our ecosystem, both nectar and host plants.

Education Coordinator and Plant Nursery Assistant Carol Goolsby has become a key participant and brought tremendous knowledge and experience to this project.

“Over 50 species of Rio Grande Valley Native Plants will be incorporated in this design,” said Goolsby. “It’s important to have a great biodiversity of species and to equally serve all stages of the butterfly cycle.”

Goolsby’s design for the Garden, list of recommended plants, recommended Project Time-Line, and Schedule of Activities for this Saturday’s planting day will result in establishing one of the top 10 butterfly parks in the region.

The project will represent a major step towards the re-establishment of several native species of plants and will be a haven for a variety of butterflies.

See you there! The public is invited to attend.

For more information, contact Shane Wilson at (956) 238-9476.

2007-03-03T17:25:00.002-08:00

Transplanting Yellow Saphora from the Ground

Linda and I each attempted to transplant some juvenile Saphora today (sophora tomentosa) and it was quite an ordeal. These plants were a little over 2 feet tall ... but as we found out, their main taproots went down equally as much, not unlike a pecan tree.

You'd be proud of us digging away trenches around the plants, about a foot away from the main stem. We went down at least 20 inches by using water and three kinds of shovels. The idea was to lift out the a cylinder of plant and soil and put it into an awaiting hole in the ground.

Being a he-man, I was first to grab the Yellow Sophora by plant base and under the roots ... and discover that the entire mess caved away and I was left with some twigs and some bare golden roots, not good, and I hope it lives in its new hole.

Feeling bad, we redoubled efforts on Linda's plant. More water, and down another 8 inches we went. It was rather like a reverse sand sculture. We even trimmed the roots and wrapped the sandy soil in a piece of tarp. Then disaster struck and she headed home with some bare roots with some mud on them, just like me. The sand just blew up, sorta.

Anyway, few people know that the roots on a sophora tomentosa are a rich golden brown and they are vertically positioned about as deep as the plant is high when in sandy coastal soil. Regards, Sam

2007-02-04T14:55:00.001-08:00

Recent SPI Gardens News

The turnout at the 2007 Winter Wildlife Expo at the Convention Center was a success. Our SPI Gardens booth didn't get a ton of traffic, although we did have the Unlitter folks over there (Sandy Feet, Amazing Water, and Christy) to make a REAL video. Thanks to all who stopped by! Those Saturn Street Strummer sure can rock.

One of our concepts was to help revegetate the dunes and if created, that "continuous dune line" is built. It is pretty much a fact that dunes with heavy vegetation and root growth hold the dunes together longer, and plus the flowers and greenery looks nice. This needs to be done before the hot season, so if anyone knows of any expertise, free plants, and quick ideas please let us know.

I did raise the issue of whether we wanted another Arbor Day Plant Swap this spring. Nancy was unsure, so I think it might be time to see what the locals and plant masters want to do ... if folks want to do it, you have to admit the events were fun, low-stress, and you always got something to take home - or you could ditch some stuff this is neat but no longer wanted as much.

Meanwhile I'm still watching the three Yellow Sapphora plants in the vacant field next door, and am in contact in case they ever sell the lot. It might be considered common but I haven't seen ANY on the Island aside from these three babies. There are some ... just not that I've seen.

Bayside native planting is also becoming a topic of interest, since a bunch of these street endings on the bayside will soon be getting two large concrete planter pots, instead of those ugly old wooden barricades. Of course, this cased a major rebellion because different people's concept of native low plants can differ so radically. The upside is that the Town is considering an "Adopt a Street Ending" program that sounds really nifty, and could us our help.

Remember, the spring bird migration could result in more than one Fall-Out, so be ready with the seeds, citrus for the Orioles, and even sugar water for the energy-starved birds. We used to hanf out suet sometimes but that was in a previous life up North. Please do not prune or cut bushes and trees until after the Fall-out is over. We need to start promoting this in our backyards because so much wildland is being developed on the Island, and so many beautiful birds die here and become feral cat bait (a problem on this Island). Please help out birds, hummers, and butterflies northward this spring.

Back on the Gulf side, the Adopt a Street Ending concept also works for beach access points. Some, including some bayside locations, could become official Butterfly Weigh Stations if we register some national thing-a-ma-jiggy. There is so much to talk about and do before the sun turns on the Bake Cycle in later Spring. Of course, we'd like to drum up some support for dune seeding using real plants, not some dead old Christmas trees.

See you on the Island,
Sam Wells

2007-01-06T20:41:00.000-08:00

Spring Around Corner

Not long until Spring! It will be Tiki Time before you know it. So lets plant some sea oats, some garden vegetables, and some some native seeds now. It will get blasted hot by May, so let's get started in the next few weeks. If you want to be like in the 1950's postcard of SPI, well, we'd better get started tomorrow.

We'll let you know how the sea oats do because we have a relocation job tomorrow, you know where a developer has to flatten an entire lot so they called Nancy on the phone or she figured it out. That is actually some interesting stuff.

As to the people in the above picture, I think that the bubble on the right was from none other than all about Boomerang Billy, who had a surf shop down by Isla Blanca in the old days. Wife, girlfriend, or daughter I have no idea. The folks proposing together in the middle panel, they are so common down here you trip over them they're so thick. Back in the early 1950's, these pictures would have been almost smut, a fact I find quite comforting.

How about a "Zeste" to plan our calendar?
~Sammie

2006-12-09T05:34:00.000-08:00

When and How to Prune a Palm Tree

Palm fronds are falling as the city performs it's seasonal pruning. Shane Wilson thanked the city for waiting till the "pups" (bat babies) were gone. If you are not aware of it, these dead palm fronds are vital habitat for our bats that are now appearing on the "threatened" list. Just search "bats and palm trees" and you will find some very informative sites. One of them is the Texas Parks and Wildlife Site discussing the Yellow Bat which is common to Cameron County. Mosquito spraying and pruning were sited as reasons for their decline.

If we are going to prune our palm trees then it is essential that we all learn when bat season is and at least wait until it has ended. According to Shane there are bats that live year-round in some of these palm trees. If we want to protect our bat population then we will need to create sites (your own backyard could be a start) where we leave the palm trees unpruned. I really don't have that much knowledge on the subject of bats so that is why i'm posting this blog. It would be good to have the nesting dates and to mark these on the city's calender of when not to prune.

The second issue is how to prune. It is certainly not uniform on this island. Some trees are shaved, some look like pineapples. I'm sure there is vocabulary describing the different pruning techniques and once again I claim ignorance. But from observation, I think the "shave" technique leaves the tree very vulnerable to termites and weather. The "pineapple" technique that leaves a protective shield on the trunk seems healthier for the tree.

2006-11-16T09:37:00.000-08:00

Parade of Gardens

Thanks to Linda, Stephanie, Wendy and Nancy for opening up their gardens for our first Parade of Gardens Friday, Nov. 10. Fifteen islanders attended. Most on bikes, a few in cars and one on a scooter. The weather was perfect and it was fun.

If anyone wants to be notified of future events, please email me at uscbnancy@sbcglobal.net. Or if anyone wants to show their garden, please let me know.

2006-10-30T04:57:00.000-08:00

Anne Toal recently visited the NABA Butterfly garden. I think we need to schedule a field trip....
link

2006-10-29T11:57:00.000-08:00

THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT CAME OUT AND PARTICIPATED IN OUR FALL PLANT SWAP/PLANT SALE!

Special thanks to Paul Johnson, Eddy Kuprel and Frank Wiseman for being there to answer questions.

Hope everyone got home with a new plant.

Thanks, also, to Sam, Dr. Sher and his wife Susan for helping make it happen.

2006-10-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

Need some trees? Need some plants? It's time for the Fall Plant Swap/Plant Sale this Saturday, October 23 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at Turtle Park on E. Morningside

Bring plants to swap. Plants will also be available for purchase.

State Forester Paul Johnson and Brownsville Forester Eddy Kuprel will be there to answer questions.

2006-10-13T04:43:00.000-07:00

Hey Nancy - here's an idea to try with your roses...

link

2006-10-12T08:39:00.000-07:00

More on Mulch

Don't buy Cypress mulch -- this explains why:

NYTimes article

2006-10-10T11:17:00.000-07:00

Get ready for a new butterfly invasion

Web Posted: 10/08/2006 11:52 PM CDT Anton Caputo Express-News Staff

If you're getting a little tired of the swarms of relatively drab American snout butterflies that are popping up all over the area, take heart. Their more majestic and colorful cousins, the Monarchs, could start coming through in force within days.

This is the time of year when millions of Monarchs from all over North America funnel through Texas on their way to winter in Mexico. They've been reported in large numbers in Sweetwater, Arlington and Lavaca Bay, raising hopes that they might visit San Antonio soon.

Local enthusiasts have spotted the bright orange and black flittering insect in dribs and drabs for the past three weeks or so. They can't pinpoint exactly when the main migration will come or how many will come through, but they're hopeful this will be a good year.

According to Monarch Watch, an educational outreach program based at the University of Kansas, the Monarchs should hit San Antonio's latitude in force around Tuesday and continue for about two weeks.

From there, a lot will depend on the weather, said Joeann Wells, aka San Antonio's Butterfly Lady.

"My prediction is that we'll have a front coming in within a week or so ˜ my weather prediction is as good as anyone's ˜ and the stream of Monarchs will continue," she said.

(Her prediction is in accordance with the National Weather Service, which calls for a good chance of rain through Wednesday and then a high of just 72 degrees Thursday.)

"More than 80 percent of the migration has yet to enter Texas. When they move into our area, the San Antonio Botanical Garden is the place to be."

Another of the Butterfly Lady's favorite spots: the Antique Rose Emporium off Evans Road.

"There's one," manager Robbi Will said, pointing to a flowering bush thick with the fluttering insects.

Only one or two, though, were Monarchs, and they were hard to spot in the midst of vibrant Viceroys and Queens.

"It's a little early yet," Will said.

If you're really interested in seeing the Monarchs or their brethren, you can always entice them to your yard with the right plants, Will said. Gregg's mistflower and milkweed are good examples.

The latter is especially important because its nectar, while delicious to Monarchs, is poisonous to birds. This has the effect of also making the Monarchs poisonous and keeping the feathery menaces away.

2006-09-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

Garden Mulching Needed. Thanks to Nancy Marsden and all who attended the gardening meeting at Zeste’s on Saturday! I got home and found a reason to add some comments. In one word: mulch.

Towards the end of the meeting we asked Mr. Zeste why his native plants looked so beautiful. His answer was “16 yards of mulch and compost.” I’m trying to think where he got it but it was from a certified organic company up in Harlingen, who mainly uses chipped cedar (really mountain juniper) from the Austin-San Antonio Hill County. It is good stuff. It seemed like a load was maybe $250-$300 per load, if my memory serves right.

The picture at the top of this article is from the Brownsville landfill, which has quite a mature mulch recycling program. I have not sampled their wares but it seems like it should be just fine, perhaps more a mixture of palm fronds and stuff like that. It is difficult to translate the dollars per ton into a truckload, although it should be cheaper because of less trucking, one might surmise.

Bayview Farms and some other outlets have cypress chips, possible the best mulch but very expensive by comparison, like slightly over $20 per very large 40# bag. It is great stuff but when you get into needing 10-20 bags, can add up in price quite quickly.

I do not recommend using expensive mulches for the dune system, but for anything else I think we need truckloads of the stuff to really get any longevity out of our native planting projects. I did visit the “butterfly garden” down by Venus Street and it was a disaster, since no mulch was used. Given that the sandy clay down here has almost zero carbon content, it is imperative to use mulches and compost along with some kind of watering program (BTW, I did NOT see an irrigation system down there, and half the stuff really was dead as a doornail!).

I will be glad to split a load with somebody, since 5 yards of mulch and compost goes a lot faster then you would think, at 3-4 inches deep for all garden areas. As for the urban garden projects, I think we should have some fund-raisers for getting some of these $200 loads out to the Island, as pickup trucks just won’t cut it. Count me in for some help if you want it.

2006-08-30T03:30:00.000-07:00

SPI GARDENS MEETING
Saturday, September 16 11:00 at Zeste (Padre Blvd/Retama)

Our first official meeting! All are welcome!

As stated in the preceding blog, the main theme of this meeting will be to discuss the use of native plants on public property: beach accesses, access planter boxes, medians, butterfly gardens, corner right of ways, bayside street ends, public building landscaping, etc. Bring a list of any particular areas you would like to see "enhanced".

The second item to be discussed will be propagation of native plants. Collecting seeds, cuttings, or actually digging them up in vacant lots and transplanting them.

The third item on our agenda will be discussion of the October Plant Swap.

We have chosen Zeste for our first luncheon meeting because we think they have done such a wonderful job of landscaping in the spirit of the 2010 Report. They've got my vote for "Yard of the Month"!

2006-07-26T21:40:00.000-07:00

2010 Implementation Plan

Recently I was given a copy of a report that was presented to the Board of Aldermen July 19, 2000 by the Ad Hoc Plan 2010 Committee. This committee put out a very extensive report that you can find on the town's website under "Reports and Documents". The mission of the committee was "to identify, document and provide specific recommendations involving short and long term issues requiring planning and funding, and to present these recommendations to the Board of Aldermen for their consideration and action."

The report is very well done and everyone should take a look at it and consider how we as individuals and as a community can implement their recommendations.

The creation of a continuous dune line, more use of indigenous plants and trees, continued concern for the environment, a zero-tolerance policy regarding litter are just a few of the many important issues that the report highlights.

This September SPI GARDENS will meet to discuss what we can do to help implement page 11 of the report: Landscaping Issues -- More use of indigenous plants and trees.

Place and time will be posted soon.

2006-07-14T12:38:00.000-07:00

Butterfly Garden

There is a romantic idea about a Butterfly Garden being lovely fluttering butterflies feasting on the nectar of beautiful flowers but it’s not a real butterfly garden unless you have caterpillars which some gardeners detest and work hard to destroy.

In planning your garden, it’s essential to have plants that feed the butterfly and plants that feed the caterpillar. And when they arrive and ravage your plants, then congratulate yourself; you have succeeded as a butterfly gardener.

Today’s menu:
Palofoxia Family: Compositae Palafoxia texana
Silver Nightshade Family: Solanaceae Solanum elaeagnifolium
Cowpen Daisy Family: Compositae Verbesina encelioides

These are all native plants that are in bloom and are hosting caterpillars on the island this July 2006.

For more information about our native plants, refer to Wildflowers and Other Plants of Texas Beaches and Islands by Alfred Richardson, University of Texas Press, Austin, 2002. Also by this author, Plants of the Rio Grande Delta.

2006-06-03T08:28:00.000-07:00

Soaptree Yucca

Here's our resident Soaptree Yucca, known by many more names such as Palma Pita, Dagger Plant, or just plain old Yucca. It is supposed to flower in late winter or early spring, heralding the advent of the Black Drum fish run. I suppose on the Island it's on "manana time" or something. Or just a "late bloomer" (sorry!).

Interesting plant - the locals used to use all its parts, eating the flowers and making soap from the roots. It is only fertilized by, fittingly, the Yucca Moth (Pronuba, have to love that name, Pro-NUBA-NUBA-NUBA). Unfortunately, there must not be any Yucca Moths around here because no seeds have been formed, at least that I could tell over the last year; or maybe they're lazy just like us.

Anyway, once a year it really puts on a show.

2006-05-11T17:28:00.000-07:00

THis is a garden Tiki sold by some purveyor in Hawaii, where they are very popular. They are way cool in the garden and some artists deal in wood, metal, clay, you name it! For those not in the know, a "Tiki" is a Polynesian thang, something you can still see in the architecture down here on South Padre Island.

Speaking of the Tikis, we're sponsoring another "Lighting of the Tiki Torch" on May 20th down here ... probably ending at the Palm Street Pier about 8:00 after a kayak ride down the bayside. Come on down, it is sure to be a blast!