Sometimes my publicist lets me know ahead of time that Lawn Gone! will have a mention in an upcoming publication. Other times it’s just a thrilling surprise. Like when I opened my copy of Wildflower (Summer 2013), the magazine of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center…

…and spotted a recommendation for Lawn Gone! along with other staff picks from the garden’s gift shop on page 11. Woot! Thanks, Wildflower Center!

While I’m basking in the glow of their recommendation, let me give a little love back. This looks like a particularly interesting issue of Wildflower. One of my favorite garden writers, Scott Calhoun, has an article called “Design with Spines: Getting Hooked on Cacti in the Home Garden,” which I’m sure will be a good read (click to read it online). Despite my love for spiny agave, yucca, sotol, and now dyckia, I don’t know much about growing cacti, so I’ll be reading that with interest.

There’s also an article about getting children involved with nature, called “The Family Garden: Nature as Teacher,” by Julie Bawden-Davis, that I want to read, especially as it accompanies detailed information about the new children’s garden under construction at the Wildflower Center. I’ve been taking my kids to the Center and on greenbelt hikes around Austin (and in national parks around the country) since they were babies, and I believe unstructured outdoor time is essential for children’s health and development. So I’m glad to see the Wildflower Center creating an exploratory garden especially for children, where they don’t have to be told “no, don’t touch!”

Check out these articles online, and consider subscribing to Wildflower through a membership to the Wildflower Center. Wildflower is a national-interest magazine, with articles and updates about native-plant gardens all over the country.

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

So many wildflowers were in bloom last Friday at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center that it’s taken three posts for me to show you everything. Today I’m leading with the eye-popping hotness of a swath of Indian blanket, also known as firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella).

Can’t you just bask in its warmth?

Pink evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa) blooming behind it added a sweetness to the scene—a sweetness belied by that plant’s aggressive nature.

But what a surprisingly pretty combo it makes.

Another meadow scene stars twistleaf yucca (Yucca rupicola), an unknown penstemon, and Texas bluebonnets, as well as various native grasses.

Could this be standing cypress (Ipomopsis rubra)? I admired the vertical, ferny foliage against last season’s tawny grasses.

Another interesting textural contrast was provided by gone-to-seed golden groundsel (Packera obovata) backed by Texas bluegrass (Poa arachnifera), a grass I hadn’t encountered before.

A closeup of the golden groundsel seedheads

Moving on to something a little fresher, I spotted this beautiful iris blooming in a shallow pond…

…as well as this pretty white flower.

Heading back toward the parking lot, I passed another open meadow awash in sunlight. This Texas persimmon (Diospyros texana) seemed spotlit, its gnarled, silvery-gray trunks edged with white, its fresh green leaves illuminated like stained glass.

Then I noticed that a live oak’s low branches perfectly framed another trio of Texas persimmons, like dancing nymphs.

Bluebonnets and penstemons bloomed at my feet.

A closer look

An aqueduct, draped in Virginia creeper, transports rainwater from one of the building’s roofs to a stone-sided cistern—the first structure you see as you enter the Wildflower Center. Here, water is treated as the precious resource it is.

Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), so pretty in fall when it turns red, is equally pretty in springtime, cloaking a stone pillar in greenery.

And here’s one last kinetic sculpture, part of a temporary art display, to bid you goodbye.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series of posts about my recent visit to the Wildflower Center. For a look back at Part 1 and Part 2, please click the links.

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

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.