IS IT FALL, IS IT SPRING, IS IT SUMMER?

If you were to look outside on our driveway, in the dry creek, the gutters you would think that it was fall. The live oaks are dropping their leaves. Next there will be the pollen laying a fine dust of yellow over everything and then the catkins will fall. It will be clean up time again. Aren't we lucky to have two falls? We love the live oaks in the winter, greening our landscape, but for a few weeks in the spring we shake our heads and rake, rake rake.

But turn your head the other way and suddenly it is spring. When I came home this afternoon I was greeted by my gorgeous bluebonnets, blackfoot daisies and the gorgeous claret cup cactus. Today all three flowers opened. The flowers are much longer lasting than those on the lace cactus.

There is still a little life left in the Lady Bank's rose, but the overall scene is Texas to a T. All these plants seeded themselves. My only hand was to provide the gravel and rocks to set the stage.

I don't usually allow so many bluebonnets in the English garden as they make walking around very difficult but this year there are not many and they all get to stay.

Basket of Gold, Alyssum saxatile, is quick to get here bloom done before the Missouri primrose, growing alongside, sends out her big yellow flowers. This one I grew from seed last year. Oh, why don't I have more? The truth is that the alyssum is a favorite of the harlequin bug and when I wasn't looking they just sucked the life out of the other seedlings. They are going to be sorely disappointed this year because there is no purple and white alyssum. The last freeze killed it all off. There are a few seedlings popping up here and there but it will be fall before they come into their own.

And spring it is with the pink primroses. Maybe this is a better place for them, rather than in my flower beds.

Among a sea of Hinckley's yellow columbine, is one with a different hue. The undersides of the petals have slight pink tinge. Not terribly exciting but different.

But surely, this looks like summer. The standard hibiscus, egged on by temperatures in the 80s all week and even a day of 90 degrees, is bursting into flower. This plant was left by Gardener's Supply last fall, and knowing how much David loves hibiscus I overwintered the plant, cut it back and now it stands where he can enjoy the blooms from the kitchen window, when he is washing the breakfast dishes!

Blue eyed grass is blooming early too. It has to be one of my favorite flowers especially when it forms large clumps.
Yesterday morning, in the sunken garden, the smell of chocolate pervaded the air. This has been a very long lived native plant growing between the pavers in the sunken garden.