FALL PLANNING

Guess it's time to get serious about deciding which perennials to add to my garden. Fall is the best time to plant them here in Texas, but the window of opportunity is somewhat brief. I'm determined not to waste any of it while I dilly-dally around, trying to make up my mind!

See that shady corner next to the big red pot? I'm thinking the lime green fronds and delicate texture of some wood ferns would play nicely with the glossy red of the pot, and the bold shape of those funky black elephant ears with lime green ribs. Variegated ginger does well under oaks too, and has great lime-patterned foliage, but is a tender perennial that would probably have to be replaced after a hard winter.

Up there at the top of the stairs, in the bottle tree bed, I've been waiting and waiting for that blue-grey pony foot (dichondra) to spread and spill over, but it's slower'n molasses! I'm thinking I need to break down and just buy a whole flat of it, if I ever want it to form a waterfall effect, tumbling over the rocks that run alongside the staircase.

My dear friend Paula brought me a nice surprise the last time she visited - my very own baby olive tree! Sure hope I can keep it alive. I tucked it in the southwest corner of the garden, and I'm hoping the big Texas Mountain Laurel next to it will protect it from north winds, until it gets well-established. Perhaps I'll use some pony foot around it too, as a ground cover, and let it spill over the edge of the terrace.

That middle bed has been sitting fallow since spring, with a nice mulching of compost. It should be raring to go by September, but what to plant? Last but not least, the biggest bed of all has finally been cleared of stone, and is ready to be topped up with some compost and a rose soil blend which has a little extra acidity to counteract the alkalinity of our native soil. This bed gets the best sun of anyplace on that side of the garden, and has a nice wide pathway below it which would provide for no-stoop harvesting, so I'm thinking it might be just right for some edible perennials. Asparagus? Blackberries? Any suggestions?

Alas, so many choices. So little space.