Texas Mountain Cedar

Aww..he’s a nice snakey!

Nancy Pricer — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 19:59:28 +0000

Last week I took advantage of the spring weather and began digging up a flower bed against our house and digging up St. Augustine to expand it. In doing so, I accidentally stabbed a friendly snake with my pitchfork.

Luckily she survived and had healed nicely by the next day. I knew that because after taking a break that next day, she was waiting for me by the pitch fork when I came back. I didn't mind her glaring at me and sticking out her tongue at me and wiggling it, because I would have done the same thing if someone stabbed me!

I took a photo of her and posted it on Facebook and subsequently came across one of her babies, took another photo and posted that too commenting on how cute the baby was.

Here are a few of the comments that post received from Facebook friends:

"The only cute snake is a dead snake. Snakes are not allowed to live in my space."
"Most babys are cute. But NOT baby snakes!!! Ewwww."
"Nope! NO snakes are cute…..cannot use in same sentence!"

But, there were also some positive comments:

"Aww..he's a nice snakey. We have those all over the yard."
"I love snakes. We've never had a mouse around here because of the snakes."
"Oh he's pretty! I have a new outlook on snakes, particularly the "friendly" ones like this guy, as they eat mice/rats. I have a pretty yellowbelly water snake who hangs around my house. There's a creek nearby…"

This got me to thinking about snakes while I continued digging up St. Augustine, and I decided to do a little research on Texas snakes.

My journalist friend, Gail Bennison, summed it up perfectly when she said, "Aww…he's a nice snakey."

Snakes are a natural and integral component of the ecosystem. As predators, they are invaluable for their role in maintaining the balance of nature by helping to keep populations of their prey in check. Their prey consists of everything from earthworms to rabbits, and this includes other snakes. Snakes are especially important in the control of rodents and bull snakes can be a farmer's best friend.

Snakes in Texas

Texas is always bragging about having the most, the biggest, and the best of everything. As reluctant as we may be to brag about this one, the Lone Star State is, undeniably, a cornucopia of snake diversity. Although the exact number of species is hard to determine, we boast a stunning 76 species of snakes. If you include both species and subspecies in that number, it gives you a grand total of 115 or more–the highest number in the United States. The Central Texas region has the largest number of species.

The vast majority of Texas' snakes are non-venomous and completely harmless. Only 15 percent are venomous and should be treated with caution and respect. The venomous varieties can be grouped into four basic categories: coral snakes, copperheads, cottonmouths (also known as water moccasins), and rattlesnakes.

Good snakey. Bad snakey.

Unfortunately, there is no one simple and fast criterion a person can use to tell a venomous snake from a harmless one. None of the popular criteria such as a broad, triangular head, a heavy body, cat's eyes (vertical pupils), a flat body, or rough scales are safe since both harmless and dangerous snakes are known to share some or all of these traits. The only unfailing method is an examination of the snake hollow of grooved fangs and venom glands. For obvious reasons, this is not a practical approach. So, see the photos below for who is a good snakey and who is a bad snakey and then just use common sense around rocks, brush piles, etc.

Good snakey in my garden.

Watch this video for Texas snakes to watch out for.

Finally, read this story about a Sweetwater, Texas, couple to see why you should fear a good snakey!

Happy gardening!

Nancy

Seven 2010 Garden Trends

Nancy Pricer — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:00:48 +0000

I was doing some research on garden trends and came across the Garden Media Group's 2101 Garden Trends list. In a nutshell, I see the trend overall going toward all things more real and natural than ever before. This made me realize that what my husband and I are doing with Texas mountain cedar building custom pergolas, arbors, trellises, and more fits in well with the trend since it is a sustainable product that blends with natural surroundings.

What's In and What's Out

1. IN: Main Street OUT: Wall Street

2. IN: Edible Gardens OUT: Lawns

3. IN: Slow Gardening OUT: Instant Gratification

4. IN: Mindful OUT: Bling

5. IN: Eco-Boosting OUT: Chemical Dependent Gardens

6. IN: Multi-Tasking OUT: Single-Purpose Gardening

7. IN: Perennials and Shrubs OUT: Divas

Read the full report

Rustic Cedar Trellises Now Available in Fort Worth

Nancy Pricer — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:31:07 +0000

Last week's record snow in our area has succumbed to sunny skies and warmer temperatures this week. Spring is lurking and gardeners are planning.

While you're planning, don't forget to include vertical growing. Trellises can be used to support your favorite vines in any area of your garden, from showy colorful vines to pole beans in the vegetable garden. They can add an interesting vertical focal point in an otherwise flat landscape. Utilizing one or more vine-covered trellises as a privacy fence will create a natural division between you and your neighbors or you can create a secluded outdoor living or dining space by surrounding an area with trellises.

Our rustic mountain cedar trellises are now available in Fort Worth at Elizabeth Anna's Old World Garden at 2825 8th Ave. They are just a few blocks north of Berry St. across from Luby's and Fiesta.

Elizabeth Anna Samudio and her business partner and husband, James, are earth conscience so their green commitment from the start is to reuse, recycle and restore as much as possible in their work and design practices.

That's why they like using our rustic mountain cedar trellises and plan to incorporate them as well as our pergolas and arbors in their designs when possible.

"I like using this type of wood product because it's sustainable," said Elizabeth. "It's finding a new use from a tree that is otherwise considered a water guzzling menace to many."

Elizabeth Anna's Old World Garden is the only totally organic garden store in Fort Worth and has been featured in many mainstream and national publications, such as the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Garden Chic, and Woman's World magazine.

In addition to the garden store, Elizabeth designs unique landscapes to reflect clients' personalities. Their landscape installation and gardening maintenance are carried out using organic practices. Understanding and valuing the importance between healthy soil, healthy plants, and healthy people, synthetic chemical herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers are not used in their work.

Elizabeth and James don't just respect and value the the earth, they value people too.

"We respect and place high value on the people we serve, as well as the people we employ," said Elizabeth. "We believe in fair-trade in the industry for both our workers and our clients."

Chickens and roosters welcoming customers are the last things you would expect to find at a business nestled in the middle of Fort Worth on a busy street, but that's exactly what you'll find at Elizabeth Anna's. And to keep them healthy Elizabeth feeds them organic food. They are an organic city feed store for urban pets, farm animals, and people at their city farms.

Other items at the garden store include organic fertilizers, urban composters and rainbarrels, as well as organic seeds and plants. Check out their website at www.elizabethanna.net to read more about what they do. Elizabeth Ann's Old World Garden is located at 2825 8th Ave., Fort Worth. They can be reached at 817-922-0930.

The Basics of Wildlife Habitat (Part Three: Water)

Nancy Pricer — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:10:42 +0000

The secret to attracting wildlife is to supply them with three basic requirements for survival: food, cover, and water. This post is the third of three parts and discusses water.

All animals need a source of water and it's critical to provide a dependable source of clean water. This can be done several ways. The easiest and cheapest way is to simply have a bowl of water set out in a shady area, but you can find lots of fun and interesting bird baths on the market. If you want to increase the value of your lot, why not build a pond in your wildscape? You can build a simple pond yourself as small one or two feet deep and keep it simple, or you can get as elaborate as installing a larger one and even adding various levels to include waterfalls and water fountains.

Planting the seed. How hard can it be?

Nancy Pricer — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:22:39 +0000

photo credit: Biology Big Brother

This guest post is by Agnieszka 'Anna' Hurst owner of Happy Gardens. Happy Gardens focuses on organic landscape design and installation in Fort Worth and the midcities.

The first time I tried to grow flowers from seed, I failed miserably. Yes, the seeds sprouted and the flowers bloomed, but the bed didn't look good. There were concentrated patches of flowers and bare sports. Weeds took over some areas. Tall flowers completely overshadowed the shorter plants. I was disappointed, but not ready to give up. There is an art to growing plants from seed, be it flowers or veggies.

First decide when you want to plant. Best time is to plant right before the rainiest season begins. Fall is the natural choice, because it gives the seeds a head start in early spring when they germinate. It is after all the nature's way. You can also plant in early spring, about one week before the last average frost date, or as recommended on the seed package. Avoid planting in summer.

Your site may determine the time of year you plant. If it is a flat site, you can plant any time you like. If it's sloped, you should probably choose spring, because fall planted seed is subject to washing out. The shorter the time the seeds lie on the ground, the better the chance they will not be washed out.

If you decide to plant in fall, wait until the soil is so chilled that seed cannot sprout, but stays dormant until warming soil and moisture trigger germination in spring. Usually until after frost.

One disadvantage of fall planting is that you have no idea how much weed seed may be in the soil in your cleared area. However, with fall planting, your flower seed at least has a level playing field with any weed seed that's there.

If you choose to sow in the spring, timing is crucial. Most gardeners plant around the time of the last average frost. Once you clear your ground you'll want to sow your seed immediately thereafter-if possible on the same day or the day after. The minute you open the ground, you turn up weed seeds that are in all soil. If you wait before putting in your flower seed, those weed seeds have an important jump start on the flowers, and they may quickly overpower the flower seeds.

Clear the ground and do not sow seeds, instead encourage the weeds to grow. After the weeds emerge and you see the seedlings wait till they are big enough to pull out, and dispose of them. Remember not to disturb the soil again, as it will encourage the weed seeds that are still in the ground to come up and germinate.

Unless your soil is actually sterile, which is rare, it is recommended that you use your soil as you find it. Wildflowers, as we see on every roadside, are extremely adaptable. If anything is growing in the area-even if it's just grasses or weeds-the area should support wildflowers with the soil just as you found it.

Wildflowers do not need fertilizer to grow well and they require little care. But if you want to give yours a boost, you can. Be sure to use a fertilizer that is low in nitrogen.

You can either simply sow the seeds, trying to spread them around evenly, or you can separate the seed into roughly two equal parts. Put the first half in a clean container, and then add in roughly ten parts of light sand to your one part of seed. The sand dilutes the seed and helps you spread it more evenly. And since it is lighter-colored than the soil, you'll be able to see where the seeds have been spread as you sow.

Sow the first half of your seed/sand mix over the whole area to be seeded, as evenly as possible. Then go back, mix the second half of your seed with sand the same as the first, and then spread that half over the whole area. This is a great way to avoid bare spots.

Once all your seed is evenly sown, do not rake or cover it with soil. (Some species require light to germinate.) Instead, simply compress the seed into the loose, bare soil. You can use a lawn roller or walk over the whole area, making sure to cover the area with footprints. Compressing the seed into soil creates the seed to soil contact that is a major aid in successful seed germination.

Remember that all plants – even wildflowers – require moisture and favorable temperature range to germinate. (Cold slows them down, and intense heat can do the same.) Warm days and cool nights are best. While certain wildflower species germinate in as little as eight days, other may not appear for months. Soon after seeding, you might want to pull some weeds that come up with your flowers. If you can't tell them from your new seedlings, leave them alone.

Once a year, you'll need to mow your wildflower area. Wait until late fall, until all your flowers have ripened and dropped their seeds. Then with a weed trimmer, or your mower set on a high setting, mow the whole area. More importantly, this once-a-year mowing removes tree and brush seedlings that creep into any open field, and if left un-mowed, will eventually take over your meadow.

Other than once-a-year mowing in the fall and perhaps some new seed in weak spots in spring, that's about all you will need to do. Well, apart from enjoying your wildflower garden!

The Basics of Wildlife Habitat (Part Two: Cover)

Nancy Pricer — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:26:54 +0000

The secret to attracting wildlife is to supply them with three basic requirements for survival: food, cover, and water. This post is the second of three parts and discusses cover.

Wildlife don’t like to be stuck out in the hot Texas summer sun or chilly wintery rain anymore than we do. They also need to protect themselves and their offspring from predators. That’s why when you’re creating a wildscape, look around and see what types of cover are already there.

There are many ways to create a cozy shelter for the critters. Some people who live out in the country create brush piles. I can’t do that because I’m sure our homeowner’s association would pay me a friendly little visit, but you can use shrubs, loose stones, fallen logs, bird houses and other nest boxes to create cover.

What creative things have you used for cover?

The Basics of Wildlife Habitat (Part One: Food)

Nancy Pricer — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:26:13 +0000

The secret to attracting wildlife is to supply them with three basic requirements for survival: food, cover, and water. This post is one of three and will cover food.

Various trees, shrubs, grasses, and flowers are good food sources, providing acorns, nuts, berries, buds, fruit, nectar, and seeds that can be used by a variety of wildlife. Choose a variety of different plantings to produce food throughout the year.

Deciduous plantings generally bear the most fruit, nuts, and seeds for wildlife and provide shady, leafy nest sites.

Evergreens bear leaves throughout the year and offer a good source of seed-filled cones and berries in addition to year-round shelter, protection, and breeding sites.

Take a look around your yard and see what you have. You may need to supplement with feeders if your yard is lacking the proper vegetation.

There are three main kinds of feeders: hanging, ground, and suet.

Hanging Feeders
Some hanging feeders are made for nectarivores such as hummingbirds, orioles, and some bats and can be filled with sugar water. Other hanging feeders hold seeds for seed-eating birds, titmice, and squirrels.

Sunflowers seeds may be the best to use instead of the mixed seeds since most birds prefer the easy-to-shell and high calorie black-oil sunflower seeds. Plus some critters will dig around and toss out the seeds they don’t want to get to the seeds they do want. That just make a mess and you’ll end up with an interesting crop underneath the feeder. It’s expensive too.

Since squirrels love to snack on the sunflower seeds, you can protect your feeder with a baffle–a dome-shaped cover placed above the feeder.

Put the nectar feeders out for hummingbirds especially during the migration times of March through May and August through early October. Since the nectar is popular with the little flying jewels, be sure to space several feeders around your yard to minimize fighting among the belligerent birds.

Ground Feeders
A ground table feeder is a simple system consisting of a tray with legs, usually raised several inches off of the ground like a small table. This keeps the seed from making direct contact with the ground and helps to keep it from becoming dirty or rotting as quickly and helps to dry out seed quicker after a rain. Most ground feeding tables have wire mesh or screened bottoms for drainage.

A ground feeder will often distract squirrels from other feeders when used along with hanging feeders. Cracked corn provides an inexpensive source of starch for large ground-feeding birds and squirrels. You can also supply the feeder with mixed seeds such as millet and peanut kernels, which will keep squirrels and most ground-feeding birds busy and happy.

Suet Feeders
A suet feeder dispenses suet (hard beef fat from the kidneys and loins) which is a good high energy food source during the winter months. Mary birds enjoy a suet feeder, and you will attract a variety of them to your feeder, especially woodpeckers such as the downy, ladder-backed, red-bellied, golden-fronted woodpeckers, and yellow-bellied sapsuckers.

Have fun and learn how to make your own suet feeder at How to Make a Suet Bird Feeder.

Or, visit the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife website to find some great ways to make your own feeders and food mixes.

Source: Texas Wildscapes: Gardening for Wildlife.

Why Wildscaping is Necessary in Texas

Nancy Pricer — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:03:14 +0000

In 1994 the Texas Parks and Wildlife started the Texas Wildscapes Backyard Wildlife Habitat Program to educate residents about the importance of enhancing wildlife habitat through wildscaping. Wildscaping is simply the practice of attracting and nurturing wildlife.

Since then over 2,000 properties have been officially certified Texas Wildscapes and Best of Backyard Habitats and they have touched tens of thousands of residents through their educational programs and workshops. About 97 percent of Texas' nearly 170 million acres are privately owned good stewardship ensures the continuation of wildlife habitat through sustainable agricultural and wildlife management practices. As the physical structure of habitats change, whether by nature or humans, the wildlife habitat populations change in response.

Over three quarters of Texas residents live in six cities: Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. As suburban areas creep out into forests, grasslands, and marshes, the habitats become fragmented and the survival of many organisms become threatened. Texas' population will continue to increase and and progressively squeeze wildlife out of the habitat it needs to survive. Fortunately, Texans hold great potential for restoring quality, quantity, and richness of the wildlife habitat that has been displaced. The Texas Wildscapes Backyard Wildlife Habitat Program website has lots of great resources and they even offer a free interactive DVD. It looks like it's on back order right now, but please check the website out to learn how you can do your part to preserve wildlife habitats in Texas.

Being Green

admin — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:47:47 +0000

According to Vick Walker, Senior Industrial Designer at Dimension One Spas, “Greening your backyard can be as easy as integrating the products you have decided you need with the harmony of your outdoor room’s natural surroundings. Use trees to create shade areas and vines can soften trellises.

“Green” doesn’t have to mean that every product is made from recycled materials. It can just as easily mean that your backyard is healthy enough to attract birds and butterflies, to be a haven for plants and flowers of all colors and sizes. Going green also means embracing natural settings and solutions –- integrating an outdoor space with your lifestyle means you will use it more frequently and enjoy rewarding experiences. A great outdoor space should do more than just look good, it should enhance the moments and days of those who experience it.”

Drawing inspiration from the natural environment creates a tranquil outdoor living space.

Green, sustainable, eco-friendly. These terms accompany stunning images of home improvement projects in magazines and on TV. But don’t be fooled, Eco-Chic gardens are for everyone, even those of us with modest means. It’s actually quite easy to make your garden the sustainable star of the neighborhood.

Green landscapes are a combination of the Three M’s: Materials, Methods and Maintenance. An ideally sustainable garden is made up of all eco-friendly materials, was installed using low-impact methods and is entirely maintained in a way that conserves resources.

The mountain cedar used was harvested before it was bulldozed and burned and blends in with nature – it is not harsh like milled cedar.

From Leonard H. Pricer

admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:34:34 +0000

“For the last 18 years, my family and I have developed a unique artistry building pergolas, trellises, arbors, and fences from sturdy cedar. We feel strongly about increasing the value and enjoyment of your property, park area, or outdoor living space through native Texas landscaping and rustic, ‘wildscaping’ gardens. We truly love what we do, and it is our lifelong wish for you to appreciate and enjoy our designs for years to come.”