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Greetings!
I am hoping that it is raining where you are, as you read this note. It's hard to think about anything else when you're outside all day like we are. But we try to keep in mind that you have other things on your mind too!
 | | Stevie -- stylish despite the heat! |
We had such wonderful time at our Open Air Studio event last Saturday, and I want to offer a special thank-you to Stevie Ballow, who not only sold her work but helped us with promotion and design work. I'm sure you'll see more of her stuff at Papershell! And we are happy to say we are still showing works by Jo Edwards, Trish Dean, Anne Ondrusek and the creative folks at Texana, so if you missed the show, we've still got art for you.
 | | Did you try the corn cob jelly? |
Happy also to report that PaperCup: A Beer Garden is finally legal! We've got our license and we're serving beer now. As soon as we get hooked up with the right wine wholesaler and proper cooling equipment for wine, we'll offer that too. Not that there's anything wrong with the lemonade, but now every day is beer day!
 | | Artist Jenny Zuniga says "You bet!" |
Papershell will be closed Monday, July 4, as we are every Monday but we've got some great events coming up -- see the sidebar to the right for classes and more.
Thanks for signing up for our email newsletter! Come see us soon!
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New Flowerbed!
We're building a new flowerbed! That's right -- we waited until it got GOOD & HOT before we started it. And we thought you'd like to take a little journey along with us, as we create a new little garden for the partial shade.
 | About 200 sq. ft. - late afternoon sun
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And that's one reason we had to wait until June to start this bed -- we couldn't agree on how much sun in the afternoon this bed would get. Yesterday was the longest day of the year and the sun has moved about as far north as it's going to now. It takes months sometimes to figure out just exactly how much sun or shade a particular area really gets!
Originally this was just a grassy area. You might remember we kept the hydrangea there earlier in the spring. But Elizabeth got tired of mowing around them and we had some beautiful Hino Degari azaleas we wanted to plant there.
 | | Edging - 1x6s screwed onto wooden stakes |
We killed what little grass had survived the drought with a broad-spectrum glyphosate herbicide (yes, it's safe for trees). When we were sure all the grass was dead, we moved in a few yards of bedding mix. Lucky for us, we have a front end loader! Even still, that was the hard part. Then we amended the soil with more than 20 bags of compost.
Now, our resolve to dig holes has failed and we plan to lay out our shrubs and water them in the pots for awhile, hoping to soften the soil before we actually have to get out the sharpshooter.
Stay tuned -- we'll keep you updated on our progress!
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Drought - How To Cope
As I write this, the Houston area has been 148 days without a half-inch of rain, completely shattering the old record of 93 days. So even if you're watering religiously, the soil is still inexorably drying out. Did you know that, assuming no runoff, it takes a rain of about 2.5" to wet our clay soil down to a depth of 12"? That's a lot of rain, and more than we're likely to get in the next few weeks.  | | Hand Water If You're Not Sure... |
So what can you do? Focus on newly planted trees, shrubs and bedding color. For trees, "newly planted" means less than three years old. One rule of thumb suggests that one-year-old trees need 28 gallons of water a week, preferably delivered slowly so that there is no runoff. Two-year-olds need more, 56 gallons a week. Three-year-olds need still more, 112 gallons a week. I'm sure you've spotted the pattern -- trees need lots of water, particularly during a drought. Notice how the amount of water a healthy tree needs is doubling each year? That pattern will continue while the tree is actively growing. It just isn't practical to water a 20-year-old tree, but you can help the young ones become strong enough to hopefully withstand a drought. For newly planted shrubs and bedding plants, pay particular attention to plants with large leaves that end to shed water away from the root ball. Until a plant has had a chance to spread its roots into the surrounding soil, the rootball is only as big as the pot it came out of. Often the foliage on top is much larger than the rootball under the ground. If water, especially from an irrigation system, falls on top of big leaves, they act like an umbrella, and the moisture hits the soil outside the rootball of the new plant.  | | Foliage Thick Enough To Shed Water |
You can find great information about selecting drought-tolerant plants for our area using the Earth-Kind Plant Selector. But remember! Our plants have to be able to handle the torrential rains too, when they finally come! |
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Ready For Fall Tomatoes?
If you're the seed-planting type, now's the time to get started! Tomatoes need to set fruit in the fall when its neither too hot, nor too cold. If you're comfortable outside, tomatoes are too. Sow seeds in open ground or in flats in the light shade. It will take about 6 weeks to grow them up to transplant size. This year, we have seeds for Super Sweet 100, Roma, Celebrity, Better Boy, Jubilee and Beefsteak.  | | Tomato Seeds |
Don't like growing seeds? Transplants should be available in the first two weeks of August. There are a few new varieties we'd like to try, including Kewalo from Hawaii, Ace 55, Bradley and Phoenix.  | | Tomato Cabana! |
While you're waiting, here's an idea for you -- the Tomato Cabana! The summer sun is too hot for baby fall tomatoes, so I construct a little canopy for mine, using a bandana or scrap of fabric. Clip the fabric to the lowest rung of the cage. As the tomato grows, raise the fabric up a rung until the plant reaches the top. By this time, the plant should be able to tolerate the hot noonday sun. |
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By the way, we've gotten the coco liners in stock now -- as requested! Thanks for the suggestion and keep them coming!
Please stop by and visit! Have a glass of world-famous lemonade -- we'd love to meet you!
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Barrow
Papershell: A Garden Gallery
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Acrylic Painting Class For Kids Thursdays in June 2:00-3:00pm Cecilia Campos Merino (see above) will teach a series of Thursday classes for children ages 4-10 years. Each week, participants will complete an original painting. Sign up to take one or all four! Classes are $35 each and include all tools, supplies, materials & refreshments. Class size limited to 8. More information here.
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Watercolor Painting Class Saturday, June 25 1:00-4:00pm Artist Mike Vollmer leads this three hour workshop in watercolor painting. Participants learn about materials, technique and composition as they create an original 8x10 piece. Class is $35 and will be limited to 8 participants so everyone can get individualized instruction.
More information here.
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Butterfly Gardening Class
Sunday, June 26
2:00-3:00pm
Butterfly expert and Master Gardener Barbara Buckley leads this one-hour seminar. Learn about butterflies and how to attract them to your garden! Participants will receive a list of butterfly larva and nectar food sources.
This class is offered at no charge.
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Fused Glass Jewelry Class Saturday, July 9 10:00am-12:00pm Make three unique pieces of fused glass jewelry in this fun 2-hour workshop. Pieces will be fired and cooled overnight -- ready to pick up the next day. This class is taught by Lisa Bonin and is $60. Preregistration is requred and space is limited. More information here.
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Mosaic Class: Your Choice! Sunday, July 17 1:00-5:00pm Select one of four different projects: 12x12 mirror, footed trivet, 12" address plaque or 12x12 square stepping stone. You'll do the design work and gluing in this class and meet at a time TBD for the grouting. This class is taught by Susie Curry and is $90. Preregistration is requred and space is limited. More information here.
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