I promised you Texas bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis) in my previous post, part 1 of last Friday’s visit to the Wildflower Center, and bluebonnets you shall have, with a bonus of winecups (Callirhoe involucrata)!

This little boy was certainly enjoying the bluebonnet meadow, running his hands along the tops of the flowers. I understand that urge—I like to feel the texture of plants too, and while bluebonnets are too low for me, they are just the right height for him.

A wider view of the bluebonnet meadow reveals a solitary Indian paintbrush as well, plus a pink penstemon.

A closer look at the penstemon

How about some columbines? Yes, please!

Ducking into the shade of the Hill Country stream garden, I enjoyed a backlit view of the meadow.

Yucca and bluebonnets

The steel siding on the administrative building and cistern seems to echo the blue of the bluebonnets.

A shady spot to take a rest

Moving on, I admired this yellow wildflower against the spiky, blue leaves of a yucca.

The sun-washed demonstration garden includes a favorite feature of mine, a stock-tank pond.

Fiery Salvia coccinea was blazing with color in the bright sunshine.

A wider view, with pink evening primrose tumbling over the edge of an enormous stock-tank planter in the background

Poppies! (using my best Wicked Witch of the West voice)

I had no idea that California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) are native to Texas, but apparently so. The Wildflower Center only grows plants native to Texas. Correction: These are Mexican gold poppies (Eschscholzia californica ssp. mexicana), a subspecies of the California poppy that is native to west Texas. Thanks to Peter Schaar for the ID.

Claret cup cactus (Echinocereus triglochidiatus) in bloom. What stunning, orange flowers perched atop that rhinocerous-skinned plant!

A number of kinetic sculptures are currently on display in the gardens, and on this windy day they were spinning merrily. (Most of my photos, if you’re wondering, were shot during moments of stillness to avoid tell-tale blurriness.)

A look back across the open demonstration garden reveals that yellow is a dominant color for native Texas plants in springtime.

Stay tuned for a third and final post about my visit to the Wildflower Center, featuring another charming wildflower: Indian blanket. For a look back at part 1 of my recent Wildflower Center visit, click here.

All material © 2006-2013 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

April is high season for wildflowers in Texas, and if you can’t get out for a country drive to admire them in meadows and fields, an Austinite can always get a fix at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. I stopped by for a wildflower stroll on Friday morning. Before I’d even pulled into the parking lot I stopped to ogle this spiky/soft combo of agave (maybe A. neomexicana?), Gulf Coast penstemon (Penstemon tenuis), and pink evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa).

Muscular agave leaves…

…make a strong backdrop to the tissuey, pink petals of the primrose.

A closer look

Even closer. Notice the pollen dust held by the veined, cupped flower.

Entering the gardens you pass a grassy meadow studded with yuccas (perhaps Y. pallida), their bloom stalks held aloft like flagpoles. Soon they’ll all be flying white flags.

The striking architecture of the Wildflower Center, with its copper-colored stone and heavy arches softened by trailing vines, is an important part of the garden.

Tucked high up in an alcove planter, nesting under a Wheeler sotol, is a great horned owl. She has two nearly full-grown chicks that I’d hoped to see. But a brisk wind seemed not to their liking. The chicks tucked themselves in too low for photos, and Mama Owl turned her face to the wall, staring at it placidly as the wind gusted around her.

Just to her left is the pretty little entry pond.

I didn’t get the ID of this flowering pond plant. Update: Hymenocallis liriosme

A clear blue pond, built to resemble a spring-fed pool in the Hill Country called Jacob’s Well, or so I’ve heard, anchors the main courtyard.

Seating at one side of the courtyard makes a pleasant spot to enjoy lunch from the cafe.

More of that marvelous architecture. This is the Wildflower Center’s signature tower. The core houses a rainwater-collection cistern, and you can walk a spiraling stair up to the very top for an overlook of the grounds.

Continuing along the back of the tower instead, I snapped a photo of another of the massive cisterns that dot the grounds, a reminder of how vital water collection is in central Texas. I love this style of cistern—all that galvanized metal and the cylindrical silo shape—and wish I had one in my own garden.

Espaliered on a section of cattle-panel fencing, a Mexican redbud (Cercis canadensis var. mexicana) sapling’s glossy leaves show to advantage.

Another smaller cistern in the children’s garden makes a rustic backdrop to a blooming Texas wisteria vine (Wisteria frutescens).

I sat here for a few minutes to soak in the beauty of the morning—a cool, sunny morning of the sort we’ll be longing for soon enough—and the wildflowers blooming all around me…

…like this swath of pink evening primrose.

But what about Texas bluebonnets, you may be wondering? Oh yes, they were blooming too. Stay tuned—I’ll have pictures of bluebonnets in part two of my Wildflower Center visit.

All material © 2006-2013 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

After the big rain of last week (3.75 inches recorded in my garden), accompanied by an instant freshening and greening up outdoors, I feel it’s time for a garden stroll. The annual garden-burying live oak leaf drop is over, but you’ll have to ignore remnant leaves and strings of oak pollen hanging from the trees (I try to!). Focus on the ‘Tangerine Beauty’ crossvine draping the cedar-post fence instead.

My most exciting blooms? Dyckia! An orange bloom spike is towering above the silvery leaves of Dyckia fosteriana on the back deck. Add in the purple pot (and a few copper live oak leaves), and you have a scrumptious combo of color.

A closer look

The Lilliputian unnamed dyckia I bought at Peckerwood Garden‘s plant sale last year is blooming also—in cheery yellow. The spiky plant itself is dwarfed by the Yucca rostrata next to it.

But its bloom spike isn’t shy, towering about 2-1/2 feet above the ground-hugging leaves.

A longer view down the sunny hillside path reveals a full view of the Yucca rostrata. Loree at Danger Garden recently gave her Y. rostrata a trim, revealing the trunk. Should I do the same, I wonder?

A closer view of the hot, dry bed bordering the path reveals a tumble of yellow hymenoxys (Tetraneuris scaposa) blossoms, Mexican feathergrass, Opuntia pads, and Agave lophantha‘s sword-like leaves.

The Indian mallow (Abutilon palmeri) I brought home in my suitcase from Tucson came through our mild winter just fine. I’m eagerly anticipating summer flowers.

Red columbine—this must be a passalong from another Austin blogger, as I don’t recall buying a red one—is sporting rocket-shaped flowers on dainty stems in the shade of a Texas persimmon.

Our native spiderwort (Tradescantia occidentalis) is also making a good show here, attracting friendly honeybees.

I love this reliable spring beauty, and the contrast of the purple blossoms with the fresh, green, strappy foliage.

I purchased my first Chinese ground orchid (Bletilla striata) after admiring it in other Austin gardens over the years. Diana Kirby introduced me to South Austin nursery It’s About Thyme last week, where I picked up one for me and one for my mom.

Just for fun, my “Needle-Nosed Fliers” yard art! In the background you can see the Koosh-ball form of the Yucca rostrata and the yellow bloom spike of the Peckerwood dyckia.

I didn’t have to replace any plants in the succulent wall after our mild winter. Still, the cardinals have been nipping at the ghost plant and other fleshy-leaved succulents lately. (Please don’t ask how I keep soil in the blocks that stick out; read my how-to post, and all shall be revealed.)

I’ll end the tour with the view from the upper patio—there’s good old Moby, my beloved ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave (Agave ovatifolia)—which is also the view from my office window. It’s awfully hard to be tied to a desk at this time of year, don’t you find?

All material © 2006-2013 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.