Re: [gardeners] Vicki
Victoria Okeef (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Wed, 16 Sep 1998 11:05:54 -0700 (PDT)
Pat,
Thanks for the welcome. I'm not there yet, but I hope to move in the late
spring of next year. I'll be going to Hondo to live first while my house
is being built.
> Welcome to the Texas Hill Country. We are your neighbors -- just
> drive up to 290, turn left, go through Fredericksburg and about 7
> miles toward Mason.
It will be nice to know someone in the area. I love to go to the herb
farm in Fredricksburg.
> Sisterdale is such a pretty place, and I know you have been charmed
> by its setting and its marvelous history. For the information
> of the "gardeners @" the community was founded about 150 years ago by
> a group of German intellectuals. They brought their books, pens,
> globes, and reference materials -- they held seminars and study
> sessions conducted in Greek, Latin or Hebrew . Sadly, many of them
> forgot to put in crops or build shelters or pursue game and nearly
> starved to death. Genteely, of course, and quite philosophically.
Well, I didn't know this history. What a charming story! My property is
about 5 or so miles south of Sisterdale.
> There are several fine "native" nurseries in the general area and a
> wealth of written information on just the sort of gardening you want
> to do. The Native Plant Society has a very active chapter in
> Fredericksburg; their one drawback, their meetings are at night and
> driving your road after dark can be "thrilling" because of the deer
> on the road.
Oh, this sounds neat. I'm aware of one or two "native" nurseries, but I'm
hoping there are more. I've done a cursory "plant inventory" of the
property and already have several good stands of live oak, escarpment oak,
and ashe elm along with various shrubs besides the juniper. I'm going to
try to do a "building envelope" when constructions starts. For those of
you who don't know what this is--it's a way to limit the builders from
going all over a piece of property, running over shrubs, compacting soil,
etc. Essentially, you restrict the builders to one entrance and exit and
limit them to a certain number of feet around the perimeter of the
construction. It's a little more expensive to build this way, but if you
think about the cost of replacing plants destroyed in the construction
process, it isn't all that bad.
Well, I can't say I'd relish the idea of encountering a deer on the road
at night, but I guess I'll just have to risk it if I want to learn
anything.
I do have a couple of books on gardening with Texas natives--two are by
Wysocky (don't think I spelled that right), and I'd welcome more
suggestions.
> Again, welcome, and I look forward to visiting with you "on the list"
> and "at the nurseries." Pat Vinson
I am pleased to meet you, Pat, and I look forward to visiting with you
and all the others.
Vicki