AN UNEXPECTED DRIVE

It's a little early to be taking that drive into the hill country, wildflower spotting. Or at least I thought it was until yesterday at 3:30pm when I had a text from David, "truck won't start." He was in Kingsland, Texas and waiting for AAA to come see if they could start it. Then the text at  5:30pm to say they were towing him to a service station and could I come and get him. "Enjoy the wildflowers", he texted. I did.

The drive was about 60 miles along Hwy 71 then cutting off on 2233 before turning left towards Kingsland. I have never been there before. It was hard to keep my eyes on the road for the bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush, the first of our spring wildflower show.

Thank heaven for wide verges and for wildflowers which enjoy each others company.

And for ranchers with the true Texas spirit.

I am determined next year to purchase seed of Indian paintbrush. In fact on the way I was daydreaming about scalping our septic field and trying again to establish a wildflower meadow. I need to get rid of all the grasses and weeds that have invaded.
By the time I arrived at the shop it was 6:30pm. We needed to find a place for dinner. David had been busy picking out a couple of places. Here I was thinking Sonic Burger or Dairy Queen. David was thinking Grand Central Cafe at the historic Antlers Inn, a 1901 restored railroad inn. It may have been St Patrick's day and everyone in this town was celebrating with dinner at the Central Cafe. The wait was 45mins. We moved on to his second choice, Doc's Fish Camp and Grill, in Marble Falls where we had a nice catfish dinner with 2 sides. I had garlic potatoes and coleslaw and David had mushrooms and sweet potato fries. It was a great meal and a first for someone who has never had catfish before!

So today, we drove back the same 60 miles to pick up the truck. Camshaft sensor for the second time. Spare part to be carried at all times!
The flowers were as pretty and on the way back I had the chance to stop at a few places. The first was a little country store with hanging plants. I didn't buy any but did by fresh yard eggs and the man gave me a tomato! He told me I'd be back for more!

Hot house tomato

Then a quick stop at the overlook above Lake LBJ.

 The Spanish bayonet yuccas are in bloom everywhere.

 And the granite works in Marble Falls. So nice to have a local source of decomposed and granite gravel.

The two day, 240 mile  adventure is over!

WOW FACTOR

I'll have to give my Spanish bayonet yucca a triple A for wow factor.

This one is leaning over into the landscape and will have to be removed after blooming. I wonder who will get that job!

There are just an incredible number of blooms on each stand. They are packed together so tightly they can barely open.

What a show.

PRICKLY AND SUCCULENT TREASURES I HAVE LEARNED TO LOVE

When I see a cactus in flower it makes my heart leap. The flower may only be there for a brief moment but it draws bees and beetles in like a magnet. They have just a short window to do their job.
The excitement this week came from seeing this.

The balloon cactus, Notocactus magnificus, in my home made hypertufa pot, is about to bloom for the second time. This is a response to the recent rains when the pleated ribs swelled with water and buds began to form in the center. Just half an hour after I took this photo the sun reached the plant and within minutes the flowers opened.

This time I was there as the flowers opened and was able to capture them in all their perfection. Not all the flowers opened at once. Just the outer ring. It must be natures way of spreading the chances of pollination. As yet no pollinators had arrived.

The second happening to cause great excitement was anticipation of the blooming of a 12 year old Spanish bayonet yucca, Yucca aloifolia.
As I looked through the kitchen window the other morning I saw something unusual in the center of the tallest spike. Could it be about to bloom?

Not one bud but three blooms have appeared. It will be some days before the flowers open but what a thrill it will be.

I wonder if they will be like those on the twist-leaf yucca Yucca rupicola, which is currently blooming in my garden.

This yucca is endemic to the Edward's Plateau on which our garden sits.  Protected from browsing deer, who love the asparagus-like stalks when they first appear, it bloomed for the first time last year.
Growing up in England no one had cactus. After all they were new world plants.
As they have become more popular and easier to find in the nurseries I have mixed them in with my other similarly adapted plants. Here's a selection of just a few.

A flyer arrived in my mailbox this week. The Cactus and Succulent Society of America is having their convention here this week and their plant sale is open to the public.

I'll be there and I may just be tempted to add to my collection.