We then brought in 18 tons of limestone from a local quarry to create some terraced beds along the full length of the house, while some little kid raked the dirt around.

Next, we brought in dump truck loads of compost blended with sand and soil, and planted a variety of native and adapted plants, testing out what we thought would be the most deer-resistant plants.   This includes a large patch of one particularly common hybrid found in only the most boring landscapes of Central Texas; a plant which will remain unnamed out of a self-conscious fear of at least one person calling me out for including it.  This plant whose name will not be spoken ended up being the most deer-resistant and colorful plant to survive the last 20 months.

Our people have done a great job on maintenance, re-attaching popped off micro-tubes in the sprinkler lines, weeding, and pruning back the perennials.  Thanks to their dedication to maintenance (and a little rain), it’s been one of our most successful projects yet.

The black mold allows the perfect backdrop for the bright white insects, which feed on the underparts of the leaves.  At about the same time the cobbler got around to noticing the damage, the whiteflies celebrated their 15th generation of living off the poor plant, which is turning black, refusing to bloom, and screams for help all day.

Whiteflies usually like tropical plants, potted plants, tomatoes, and cotton.  Or plants stuck in the ground under a roof eave and crammed between the corrugated metal walls of a veggie garden and the cement siding of a house.  Plants needing phosphorus are extra susceptible, and apparently, ones that get hardly any exposure to sunlight or circulated air and whose outer branches frequently get slept on by Jake the Dog. 

So last night, the cobbler sprayed some homemade garlic-pepper spray, which is probably too concentrated and will end up killing the plant, to make the bugs mad.  This morning, a round of organic fertilizer to boost nutrients and minerals.  A few repeat treatments and a couple shovels of compost around its base should pull the Turks Cap out its comfy coma and fling it back into the painful realities of the real world that it suffers through every day.   

Oh, and while he was at it, the cobbler planted some lettuce seed in the garden with his kid, just in case the bugs run out of stuff to eat.

This is was Zoysia ‘Palisades’, left over from Cheline’s project, which we wrapped up in May.   Notice how the grey/tan/ straw coloration contrasts with the sickly pale green hues to create an artistically unique arrangement.  Also note how some grass blades are much longer than others, creating a beautiful illusion of poor maintenance. 

The second photo is of Cheline’s backyard, shot at about the same time.  Same grass, same installer, even the same person maintaining it.  

The difference?  Cheline paid us.  The cobbler, however, skipped out on paying his invoice.  So I’m punishing him by half-assing the maintenance.  Oh, and we also installed a fully automated irrigation system complete with MP Rotators with uniform precipitation rates and precise water delivery at Cheline’s.  The watering system at our house is the cobbler with a hose at 6 in the morning, but only when he feels like it.  And Jake the dog also employs the patch as his experimental natural fertilizer test plot, so that probably doesn’t help.