Don’t Succumb to Summer Garden Depression Disorder

My wife Janessa told me she and some co-workers have been talking lately about “summer garden depression.”

I don’t think this particular malady is listed in the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, but perhaps it should be included in the next revision.

Symptoms begin with higher water bills. Then comes dread from walking in the garden, grief over the loss of plants, and hallucinating rain clouds.

In extreme cases, the patient simply gives up gardening.

The disorder seems to be seasonal. Most of the time, symptoms clear up with the onset of fall planting. Serious bouts could last until the spring.

I have to admit, I’m feeling an onset myself. I’m trying not to give up, but it’s getting harder. The fact of the matter is this: deep summer in Texas is not a great time for the vegetable garden.

My garden really needs to be weeded. But no one wants to be outside in this heat. I can barely stand mowing the grass right now.

However, I think I staved off summer garden depression by tidying up a native plant landscape I started this spring.

We have a circle driveway in front of our house. It used to have a post oak tree in the middle of it. But that tree died about 10 years ago. I chopped the wood and burned the stump. And then a mesquite tree started growing in it. I got rid of the mesquite tree last year, and it was just a patch of native grass.

This spring, I planted a few native shrubs in it – rock rose, zexmenia, Brewster County barometer bush (also known as Texas sage) and flame acanthus. I watered them once or twice in the spring and haven’t touched them since.

They were getting overgrown with weeds, especially morning glories. So last weekend, I hacked it all down and rescued these four plants.

The rock rose and zexmenia are still alive, barely. So I watered them and they’re bouncing back.

But to my surprise, the barometer bush and red acanthus are thriving, even though they were getting overgrown.

The red acanthus is starting to bloom. I wasn’t sure it would do so in its first year. But every day, more and more little red flowers sprout from the tips of new growth.

The barometer bush gets its name from it’s supposed ability to predict the weather. According to lore, the plant blooms just ahead of rain showers. My barometer bush was full of blooms last weekend.

But I’m not seeing any rain in the forecast. Regardless, it’s a beautiful plant that doesn’t require any water. They’re supposed to get quite large – up to four feet tall and wide. They were in little four inch pots when I planted them back in the spring. They’ve increased many times that in size.

If you’re looking for a maintenance-free addition to your landscape, consider giving these two plants a try.