PALAFOXIA. SPOTLIGHT ON A BEAUTIFUL NATIVE.

I'm not the only one who thinks this little flower deserves special merit. In my Wildflowers of Texas handbook, in which the flowers are arranged by color, this flower has a two page spread at the start of the Red-Pink flower section.

Hooker's Palafoxia, Palafoxia hookeriana, first appeared in my garden last year. I saved some of the seeds to make sure it would be there again this year. It is growing underneath the small Anacacho orchid tree and has mirrored the height of the 4' tree by growing up through the branches.  It was named in honor of the first director of the royal Botanic gardens at Kew, Sir William Jackson Hooker.

ANY SURPRISES?

"Any surprises?" David asked me, as we sat down to dinner on our first evening home. I had been working in the garden all day. "You mean more than dead plants?" I replied. Of course that was all that was on my mind. That and weeds. I know what he was thinking. Back to 2 years ago, when we returned from our summer trip to find squatters in the garden. No such luck.

A day later I couldn't wait to tell him that I had found a really good surprise. In the middle of an enormous clump of tomatillos, which I was about to pull out as all the fruit had mysteriously disappeared, a single pink flower. Wow! What's that? I rushed in the house to look in my Wildflowers of Texas book (thank you, Michael, this is the best little Texas Wildflower book). Organized by color and right there on the very first page, announcing the red-pink flowers, was my flower. Now identified as Hooker's palafoxia, Palafoxia hookeriana.

To think, but for that flower in bloom it would have been yanked. The rather lanky foliage does look rather weed like.

Described as one of the state's most beautiful wildflowers I can expect a terminal cluster of flowers which will resemble a bouquet. Long blooming, as long as I remove the seed heads, allowing only the final flowers to set seed to ensure another flowering next year. Not in the vegetable bed.

The plant was named in honor of Sir William Jackson Hooker, first director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Yes, what a surprise.