October, 2001
Summer and Autumn dance together in a Texas home garden

A garden can be many things.  It may be a formal space with geometric shapes and perfect symmetry,  It may be an "unkept" naturalistic area with woodland.  It may be a recreational room ready for a fun game of croquet or horseshoes.  Whatever the design of the garden, a bit of whimsy can surprise visitors and bring a smile at the end of a long, hard day.  Often the best whimsy is subtle, a fun sculpture of the mad hatter in the middle of a formal garden or a mirror that smiles back as the curious visitor peeks behind a curtain of foliage.  At Horsetail Haven, however, whimsy has become as blatant as the pastel striped fence that now graces the pond area.  It serves as a wall to show off Ann Marie's collection of fish molds and other treasures such as her father's collection of fishing lures.  Seated around the pond are a collection of creatures, Mr. Gorilla sits beneath a red variegated banana, Jack the Toad is peeking out from under a leafy roof and the gargoyle "lifeguard" stands ready to protect.  What a fun area to relax in at the end of the day.

Brugmania
...or the perfect year for Brugmansia Blossoms
What a spectacular time for the Brugmansia plants.  There are three cultivars in this home garden, the peach colored Brugmansia versicolor, the wonderful yellow hybrid shown below called Brugmansia x'Charles Grimaldi' and a lovely white one.  All have bloomed off and on during the summer but the most spectacular blooms are in autumn.  Relatives of tomatoes, the Brugmansia bloom best when fed on a regular basis.  Ann Marie treats hers to Gardenville brand Soil Food on a monthly basis, but any fertilizer that is good for tomatoes will also give winning Bruggie Blooms.  B. versicolor has grown in the ground at Horsetail Haven for a number of years, but in fear of an extra hard winter, all three types are also kept in pots and brought indoors when frost threatens.

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