Category: Flowers

When I walked out back this  evening I came across this lone rain lily that had popped up since the weekend’s rain.

How do you like the black-and-white-with-a-touch-of-yellow treatment?   I’m playing with image editors.

When we bought this house I was happy to see that it had 4 red yucca plants in the yard.   They are a native plant here and you can see them all over.   They are a spiky green bunch of leaves for most of their life.   When they bloom, they put up tall stalks of these pretty orangey flowers.

Unfortunately, in my yard, they only do it when they feel like it.   I’ve only seen each of my plants bloom once, and not in the same years.    So I was psyched to see 2 of them putting up multiple stalks this Spring.

I took a walk in the way back after work tonight.  Just about all the wildflowers have dried up now, and have gone to seed.   It’s just about time to mow them down.

There were a few late bloomers, but even they are on their last legs.  These are the last ones of the season, which I plucked and brought inside to enjoy for the next day or two.

Yesterday morning I finally got around to weeding, re-tilling and planting the end of the flower bed along the fence line which used to be home to some decades old oleander that we took out last year.    I planted a bunch of perennials that I hope will flourish and last through future seasons.

After dinner tonight I went out to the newly planted garden and, though it was dark, got this shot of a pincushion flower.  I like how it looks like it is floating against a black background.

The jasmine in the backyard is in bloom.  Stepping outside smells wonderful!   I wish it would last all year long.

A pic of the lovely bougainvillea Mom gave us.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day today.   We went for a long drive past Johnson City through the Willow City Loop to see what was left of the wildflowers.   The bluebonnets are on the decline, but many others are taking stage against a hill country backdrop.  This field was full of white prickly poppies.

This was one of the best years for wildflowers that I can remember, but they have peaked and are starting to fade.   I’m going to miss going out back every day to look for new arrivals.   This is a closer look at the indian paintbrush that showed up.   I think these flowers have one of the best names — the leaves/petals really do look like they’ve been dipped in paint.  I can’t wait until next year to see how they’ve multiplied.

I was pleased today to find a tiny poppy that had just bloomed in the way back.   It couldn’t be more than 1 1/4″ across, but it’s there because we sowed the seeds!!!

In the wayback, the bluebonnets are doing great.   I think they’ve hit their peak, though, and will start to fade over the next few weeks.

When we sowed the bluebonnet seeds last year, which we harvested from behind the IBM 900 buildings, we also collected indian paintbrush seeds, along with some red poppy and a bunch of other wildflower seed.    The bluebonnets have really taken hold, but the other wildflowers just haven’t shown up — with the happy exception of this one (1) indian paintbrush which I was very excited to find.   It’s one of my favorites.

This is a shot of my lone indian paintbrush against a backdrop of bluebonnets.   Maybe next year I’ll have a dozen.

The trumpet vine on the fenceline is in full bloom today.

Monte brought these home the other day and they’ve already started to bloom.    I ♥ tulips.

Today is the last day of March — in like a lion, out like a lamb, they say.