Iris, canna, and the last turnip

This is part of a large stand of Louisiana iris that survived being parked on for months (renovation), no supplemental water through the drought, and a general ignoring since then (except for digging in a little compost recently). I was pleasantly surprised to see the foliage pop up last fall, and I was really excited to a bud forming a couple of days ago. This one's lovely, and I hope there are more blooms to follow. I forget what kind of canna this is, but I potted it last spring and it didn't bother blooming all year. Now it's doing it's thing; the orange bloom fades to a soft red on day 2. Time to pull up the final winter root vegetables, and the kale's getting muscled out by two giant dill plants. But it all still tastes great. Love that this tomato just volunteered. Was it from someone's backyard lunch? A bird? Who knows. Plants for the front landscape project. Had to battle for parking at Barton Springs Nursery this morning, but I got some good ones: artemesia powis castle, greg's mist, pink gaura, Mexican feathergrass, firecracker fern, and a burgundy hibiscus (the one thing that wasn't on my list, but it was too gorgeous in color to pass up...there was a burgundy leaved smoke tree that was really tempting, but definitely not an impulse buy!)

Huisache in bloom

The scent when you walk past or stand beneath a huisache tree right now is heavenly. Lucky to have so many on my morning dog walk at Shoal Creek.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: March 2012

Well, we're well into spring here in Austin. In the past week and a half the trumpet vine on the fence went from leafless to jungle-like. And we've had so many rains and misty mornings lately that the trails that were so dry and barren last summer are bursting with wildflowers and soft green grasses. Lots of blues & purples (dayflowers, spiderwort, baby blue eyes, bluebonnets). And the scent of the huisache flowers perfumes my morning walk. Did I mention that I love spring here?

I've got a big landscaping project in the works for next week, and until then, the garden blooms are mostly the ones that just popped up on their own.
Several of the blooms this month actually come from winter vegetables that are bolting. Recent discovery: not only do Easter egg radishes produce a lovely variety of colored roots, but the accompanying blooms are also in various shades of pale lavender, pink, and white. The dill hasn't quite bloomed yet, but you can see below that it is out-of-control tall. The potted dependables: Happy Bloom Day! And don't forget to check in with all the other blooming gardens at May Dreams Gardens...