Last week Barton Springs Nursery was marinating in grape Kool-Aid fragrance thanks to a bumper crop of Texas mountain laurel (Sophora secundiflora) blossoms. Purple clusters of sweet-smelling flowers greeted me at the entrance to the nursery yard.

More grapey trees — including a giant of about 15 feet — beckoned near the parking lot entrance.

Double bliss: Texas mountain laurel with a Spanish dagger in voluptuous bloom. Or is that Spanish bayonet? I’m not sure of the difference between those two intimidating yuccas.

One more shot of its starburst form and heavily guarded flower

Bookshop

Inside Barton Springs Nursery’s gift shop, I visited their new bookshop, located in a back room. It’s so great to see a nursery willing to carry books, despite Amazon’s attempts to become the only bookseller in the world.

Oh hey — there’s my book The Water-Saving Garden! Thanks, BSN. I also spy my friend Loree Bohl‘s Fearless Gardening.

Lending library

In another little room next to the bookshop, I discovered BSN’s new lending library. How cool is this? Shelves of gardening and design books are available to check out on the honor system.

The rules are spelled out in a picture frame sitting on a shelf. It’s easy to check out a book on a self-serve basis, assuming you can find the wooden box marked “Checkouts.” I had to ask for help to locate it, and of course it was sitting right in front of my face. D’oh!

Here’s the book I selected. Search out the bookshop and library the next time you’re at BSN buying plants, and maybe you’ll find a new book to read too.

Today’s unseasonable 97F temperature means the end of mountain laurel season. It’s been an amazing spring for these native trees, many of which took a hit during the 2021 Freezepocalypse, and we Texans have been reveling in their beauty and fragrance for a couple of weeks. The early spring show is ending. What’s up next?

__________________________

Digging Deeper

Come learn about gardening and design at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance; simply click this link and ask to be added. Season 8 kicks off in fall 2024. Stay tuned for more info!

All material © 2024 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.