My Blog List

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

A COMPRESSED SEASON

I have decided that we are having a compressed season this year. I noticed that flowers that normally bloom in February did not bloom until March. I can't speak for the weather in January because we were traveling but February was much colder than usual, especially the later part. We had plenty of fall rain which germinated the wildflowers but that cold February brought an abundance of vegetative growth. My bluebonnets are much taller than usual.


You wouldn't believe that a dry creek runs through here and there are stepping stones leading to the front gate. The bluebonnets are hiding the downed live oak leaves for now!
And I definitely remember saying "No bluebonnets in the sunken garden next year" I daren't even show you a picture of the English Garden! Yes, you can have too many bluebonnets.


Or that the walkway around the side of the house to the side gate is impenetrable. That's Lady Banks' rose hanging over the wall.


Early March came brought a lot of weather ups and downs. Warm days followed by a killing frost, for those of us who garden on the edges of the hill country. Tender new growth, on lots of plants, was zapped overnight. No Mountain Laurel blooms over here this year and probably no pomegranates. But mother nature was ready to make up for it with a nice rain followed by day after day of 80° temperatures. All at once everything wants to bloom. Daffodils bloomed, were buffeted by winds and heat. They lasted only a few days.


These tiny rock garden daffs, with their string-like foliage are having a great bloom season but it is cut short by the heat.


Clumps of Crow Poison ( False Garlic) Nothoscordum bivalve, are attractive when in clumps but an intruder when they come up among other plants. Because they grow from a bulb they are difficult to eradicate.


Here's a new visitor to the garden. Scarlet flax, Linum grandiflorum. It's an annual but it is putting on a stunning display. I bought 3 small plants in the fall but only one has really thrived.


Here's its native cousin, the prairie flax, Linum lewisii.


Large clumps of Texas beargrass, basket grass, Nolina texana, are also flowering. Their creamy white blooms attract lots of bees.


Iris, California poppies, blue eyed grass, columbines, gaura, pink primroses are just a few of my later blooms making an earlier appearance. I just hope we get a little rain this weekend to extend the bloom time.

18 comments:

  1. I'm sorry---there is no such thing as too many bluebonnets. They are spectacular!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your garden looks wonderful with the rain and cool weather and your river of bluebonnets is so amazing this year. I also hope the bloom time is extended at least another week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope so too Shirley. We need the cold front and the rain they have been teasing us with. See you Thursday.

      Delete
  3. No need to drive out to the hill country. You've got an awesome wildflower display in your own backyard.

    The rain came so close today I could practically smell it. This heat is tough on early bloomers and cool season crops too. My endive and lettuce are looking pretty sad. That front won't come soon enough for me.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bluebonnet rivers and lakes! Such beauty. Thanks for sharing, Jenny.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your yard is gorgeous! It looks like a river of bluebonnets runs through it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Here spring has still hardly started that all, so either it will be very compressed as well or it will be a rather disappointing summer. That river of bluebonnets is absolutely stunning!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Who needs walkways?! Simply beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  8. My baby daffs didn't bloom at all last year, but I've got two blooms on them right now. Your bluebonnets are amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. As always the blue bonnets are awesome. Hope we get some rain too!

    ReplyDelete
  10. When discussing politics people talk about Austin as a dot of blue in a sea of red. I'm guessing if we had an overhead shot of your gardens they'd realize it is more accurately a river of blue! At least at your place. Simply breathtaking.

    Happily bluebonnets are somewhat easy to pull out if you're determined to clear them out. I foolishly allowed pink evening primrose to bloom any and everywhere last year and since the roots typically break off I'll be pulling them out of the paths here, well, forever I suppose. They are starting to bloom again now, so as happened to originally get me into this mess, I'm relenting and letting them be while they are in flower.

    It could be I'm not made of stern enough stuff to garden. Anything with a pretty flower and I'm a total pushover. And speaking of pretty flowers - looking at your Nolina I realize mine must be in too deep shade. I'm sure taken with those creamy white blooms. Time to find a sunnier spot and try again. Because what is so much more fun than pulling out primrose? Planting something new. And so it goes...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Your garden looks amazing...as usual.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Your garden looks amazing...I love the flowing blue through out! You photos should be in a magazine!!! Happy Easter : )

    ReplyDelete
  13. Just stunning! You are a lucky girl to be surrounded by such beauty. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Yes, it has been the weirdest few months I can remember in a long time. Despite being compressed, what an absolutely gorgeous garden.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love that sea of blue even if you think there are too many.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Man - I love that little bird bath, queen victoria, rabbit statue, bluebonnet combo. We have friends visiting next week so I'm sure there will be some bluebonnet field hunting - though honestly your place is way more cool.

    ReplyDelete
  17. The bluebonnets look fabulous! You can pull them out now that you have the photos to remember when you had oceans and rivers of blue.

    ReplyDelete

I love your comments unless they are spam comments which will always be removed in comment moderation.