Welcome to Beepea Gardens

Welcome to Beepea Gardens

Stroll Through Beepea Gardens

Pavestone Pathway

Come take a Stroll through Beepea Gardens

Come take a stroll as we tour the garden together. Many who visit the garden have commented that it is like walking through a beautiful park.  

As you enter the garden through the gate, you step into a beautiful quite peaceful retreat, shaded by a number of native trees.  Old roses such as Marie Pavie, Cramoisi Superior and Cecile Brunner are putting out their fragrance.  There are  paved terraces and statues and arbors throughout the garden. Birdhouses are waiting for the numerous birds that visit our garden and butterflies and bumblebees are arriving. As you stroll around the garden, you will see the brown lizards, Leonardo and Lucy and perhaps, Sally, our pet squirrel.

At the garden gate, there is a pave stone pathway that curves around the entire garden and has eliminated all grass from the back. To the left is a terrace that takes you to the deck and Garden Room.  As you stroll down the pave stone path, notice you are in a deeply shaded area surrounded by plants on both sides such as Persicaria Dragons Blood, Ferns, Fire Spike, Garnet Oxalis, and Gold Dust Plant.  To the left you will see a zen garden with a Statue and bird bath.

The garden is mostly shady but as you curve around you enter a sunny area for perennials and roses.  Along here you will see Pink Skullcap, Firecracker Fern, Mexican Oregano, miniature Crepe Myrtle, Summer Asters, Powis Castle, Silver Germander, Lantana,  False Papyrus, Martha Gonzales Rose, Country Girl Chrysanthemums, and Mint Marigold, etc. You will notice the Garden House is located just behind this island bed. To the left is a large terrace for dining and entertaining.

You are continuing to curve around and are now entering a shady garden again.  In this area the temperature is ten to fifteen degrees cooler than any other part of the garden. In this shady area there is an arbor with Butterfly Vine, Columbine, Pink and Red Turk's Cap, small Sweet Olive Trees, and Shrimp Plant, etc. There are small terraces with statues as well as urns of Impatiens for color. To your left is a large circle of decomposed granite with native trees and Yaupon Holly and down the center of this circle is a path that leads you from the large terrace up to the deck.

You have curved around again and are now going up into a sun and shade area with Phlomis (Jerusalem Sage), Red and Yellow Barberry, Abelia, Salvia Greggii, Duchess de Brabant Rose, Chinese Variegated Privot, Saponaria, and Loreopetalum, etc.  On the left you pass by a bed of both yellow Rudbeckia Coneflower and purple Coneflower as well as a tall hot pink Hibiscus.

Just ahead you will enter a small terrace surrounded by beds of San Gabriel Nandina, Taro, Chocolate Plant, Fire Spike, Leopetulum, Stella d'ora Daylily, Aspidistra, and a beautiful Yew Tree.  This terrace is next to the deck and the  highlight of the terrace is the lovely Sweet Olive Tree with the aroma of apricots and vanilla.   

Come down from this terrace and turn to the right and you will enter another terrace with huge containers of trees and Firecracker Fern. This terrace has landscaped island beds which are in both sun and shade for a variety of plants. To the left is the large circle of decomposed granite and to the right above you is a glass Garden Room with a wrap-around deck that looks out over the garden. Perhaps a cold glass of sun tea could be enjoyed here. 

If you continue ahead, it will take you by more island beds and onto the large terrace, but if you turn slightly to the right, you will go around the Garden Room and onto another terrace with flower beds of variegated English ivy and other plants that appear to cool a hot summer day.

Continue on this terrace and it will take you back down and around to the gate.  Hope you enjoyed your stroll through our garden. Please come visit us again soon.  

Birds and Butterflies

Pathways that lead to large terrace and Garden House 

Birds and Butterflies

Special effort has been made to attract birds and butterflies to the garden. Many plants are there for them, such as Buddleii, Lantana, Verbena, Salvia Greggii, Verbena Bonariensis, etc. We have seen a number of backyard birds at the water baths: Carolina Wren, House Wren, Tufted Titmouse, Black Capped Chickadee, Striped Warbler, Yellow Finch, Small black Bird with orange Wings (unidentified), Robin, Hummingbird, Mockingbird, Woodpecker, Cardinals, Mourning Doves, White Winged Doves, Blue Jays, and of course, Black Grackles. When the house was first built, we saw a Roadrunner in the garden which is very unusual in this part of town. The Doves come in to eat the decomposed granite to help digest their food. We once counted forty-two doves eating the granite.

Birdbaths: Several birdbaths are kept with fresh water, and of course birdhouses are placed throughout the garden. We have noted the birds are almost always in pairs and both the male and female help feed the babies. They both come to the house with food, and one goes in to feed while the other sits on top of the roof, waiting their turn to feed, and perhaps watching for predators. We once saw a huge black grackle squeeze into the opening of the birdhouse to get to the babies. Blue jays do this as well. When the babies are small and we walk by the birdhouse, they go cheep, cheep, thinking we are bringing them food.

Backyard Butterflies: There are a number of butterflies that come into the garden to feed and lay their eggs on the Fennel, Dill, Asclepia Milkweed, and  Pipe Vine, etc., such as Monarch, Admiral, Sulphur, Zebra, and Swallowtail. We once counted nineteen Monarch larvae on a milkweed. Of course they became quite plump and disappeared to go into the next stage of their growth. Within two weeks after they left the plant, it had completely bushed out again and set blooms. In a short while, there were a lot of Monarchs flying around enjoying the plants.

There are also predators for the butterflies such as lizards. We once saw a lizard sit very still on a tree with his head up, and in a little while a beautiful swallowtail came by and the lizard reached out and grabbed it. Much to our surprise, it took him quite a while to digest it…perhaps his eyes were bigger than his stomach!

Zebra Butterflies: We saw the Zebra Butterfly on the first year after building our house. They seem to be woodland butterflies. Our wooded lot had been left undisturbed for twenty years and was apparently a perfect place for them. Zebra butterflies seem to like people. When we were hand watering, they would come up and hover near us. They move so gracefully and seem to move much slower than other butterflies.

Double Red Poppies

Double Red Poppies

Double poppy...seeds are sown on top of soil in late Fall...seedlings begin appearing in February. Double poppy blooms usually last two or three days...single poppy usually last only one day. Leave seed pods on until they are completely dry, then harvest and store in a dry place to be sown next year.  We refer to our Poppies as "Pepper Shaker Poppies"...if you turn the pod upside down they spill out just like a black pepper shaker.

We also have other wildflowers in the garden such as the blue Larkspur, tall bushy Candytuft and the lovely Queen Anne's Lace.  This Queen Anne's Lace is not the kind that is wild but is a more hybridized type.  The blooms are about four inches across and is very pretty in bouquets.  

Hodgepodges

Walkway that leads to large Terrace   

Hodgepodges

Hodgepodges are old sayings relating to gardening or the weather, etc., that have been passed down through the years. It’s fun to keep a record of them and check to see if they are true…or, just hodgepodge.

Gardening: Some farmers believe plants which grow above ground, such as beans, peas, cucumbers, etc. should be planted in the morning, so they will grow upward with the rising sun. Plants that grow underground, such as potatoes, radishes, onions, etc., should be planted in the afternoon, so they will grow downward, with the sinking sun. Corn should be knee high by July 4th; otherwise, the crop will not be good. A dry June, much corn, a wet June, no corn at all. 

Place cornbread crumbs about your cucumber plants. They will attract ants which will destroy the cucumber bugs. Stretch a piece of yarn over beans and other young plants and they will not be injured by frost. The frost will collect on the yarn, rather than touch the plants. After a frost, and before the sun comes up, spray plants and fruit trees with water and they will not be damaged by frost.

Sunshine and rain in one day brings rain again the following day. If the sun shines at the same time it rains, it will rain again the same time tomorrow. When dew is on the grass, rain will never pass. Rain before seven; stop before eleven. If it rains a lot in July and August, wild flowers will be abundant. It seldom rains at night in June. Never stand in an open field or under a tree during a thunderstorm. If it thunders in February, winter is broken. Thunder in January; frost in April. When farm animals or pets run around frisky or restless making noises, a strong wind is on the way.

Ring around the moon; rain soon. Ring around the sun; rain none. When the crescent moon is lying on it’s back so that the horns point up, the month will be a dry one, because the water cannot run out. When the crescent is tilted or when the horn points turn down, the month will be a wet one, because the water will run out. The old saying is that when an Indian can hang his horn on the moon, the month will be dry; when he cannot, it will be wet.

When squirrels run around like crazy gathering nuts, the winter will be a long one. Spring is seen when the mesquite tree turns green. Spring is about when the pecan tree buds out. Watch the weather on the day of the Equinox for a change. Spring is the first Sunday after the last full moon after the Vernal Equinox.

Heirloom Daylily

Double orange daylily

Hemerocallis 'Kwanso' ( H. fulva flore pleno, 'Kwanzo')  This daylily is a pass along plant and is reliable to bloom and usually does not rot away as some of the more modern ones do.    

The Seasons in Beepea Gardens

Iresine Purple Lady

The Seasons in Beepea Gardens

Spring: We all wait for Spring. The trees are greening. Each day something new and exciting is happening. Bearded Iris and old Roses put out their fragrance. The Columbine shows itself with splashes of yellow. The sky blue of Blue Princess Verbena, red Poppies, blue Larkspur, and white Queen Anne Lace. This is only the beginning; there is much more to come.

Summer: The time all gardeners dread. Temperatures over l00 degrees, humidity is terrible, and no rain for several months and we are told to cut back on water usage. But wait, a drought tolerant garden can be beautiful. Salvia Greggii in white, red, and pink bloom all Summer, some old Roses continue to bloom, as well as Cannas, Saponaria, Yellow Bells and Flame Acanthus. Of course, the shade container plants such as Impatiens, Begonias, Coleus and Caladiums have color all through the Summer and into late Fall.

Fall: Aaahh! What a wonderful season. Everywhere there is color. Sit back, relax and enjoy. The temperatures drop ten degrees and the humidity begins to disappear. Aromas and flower color is more intense. But alas, with cooler weather, comes the prospect of a frost to turn our gardens brown overnight. However, in our garden, only a few plants will be gone. Lady in the Boat, Lantanas, Fire Spike and Cannas, etc. will be gone to return next year.

Winter: The frosts and colder weather have come. But look around at all the color in the garden. The Nandinas are peach, rust and some vibrant red. The Martha Gonzales and Cramoisi Superior Rose continue to be bushy and bloom occasionally. There is still the silver and white of the Chinese Privot, Texas Sage and Powis Castle in the garden with the Gold Dust Shrub putting out its gold color. Relax and enjoy your garden all year.