What a great time of year this is in a Central Texas garden. The days have been comfortable but not hot. The humidity is low. We’ve had a little rain but also plenty of sun. And the plants are racing with new growth and flowers. They’re feeling the pressure, like the gardener, to do it all now before the plunge into summer.

‘Rooguchi’ clematis has scrambled up the pleated pot of squid agave and tangled itself among the squid’s arms. After a strong breeze yesterday broke one of the vine’s stems, I lightly tied it to the agave to help it hold on.

This bell-shaped flower looks like a mouth saying, “Thank you!”

Gulf Coast penstemon is waving its lavender flower flags above purple oxalis (planted by me), a volunteer pink-flowering oxalis (weedy, but I love it), and new-to-me ‘Feather Falls’ carex.

Datura is growing fast alongside the penstemon. I wonder when its first flower will appear.

A copper snake with astonished expression oversees the mix.

On the weathered fence, a barbed-wire star echoes the starry shape of a container-planted soap aloe.

Another aloe is starting to flower on the potting bench.

This metal raven was flattened on his perch during the 2023 ice storm, when a big limb fell on him. But I was able to bend him back up, and he’s once again overseeing the covered patio.

An old pot necklace I made out of a broken bowl drapes around his perch like something shiny he collected.

In the raised beds along the house, the soap aloes have lit their candelabra flower spikes.

I’m happy every spring to see these aloes survive and thrive after another hard winter. I do cover them, and they take advantage of a warm spot along a south-facing masonry wall.

Of the three, the middle one once again sustained the hardest hit, losing nearly all its leaves after a deep freeze. But since I sawed those mushy leaves off with an old bread knife (best tip ever), it’s coming back with a will — and is even blooming with the others. Go, baby!

Shoshana’s iris is flowering too — such a lovely, clear lavender.

One more admiring look

The purple lollipop flowers of Verbena bonariensis are adding their airy beauty to the garden.

And Jerusalem sage is glowing with tiered, butter-yellow blossoms. Also, look how tall my oldest Yucca rostrata is now!

The first purple coneflowers opened this week. A metal flower by the mirror echoes their shape.

Four-nerve daisy is going crazy in the stock-tank planter.

Look how it glows in the afternoon light.

What a happy little flower.

I almost didn’t share this because I just cannot seem to take a good photo of it. Eve’s necklace tree is much prettier in person, I swear.

Picture these cascading, wisteria-like, dusty-pink flowers waving above your head and scenting the air with subtle sweetness — that’s the effect I wish I could share with you.

Out front, the Anacacho orchid tree is in full bloom, to the delight of honeybees.

Its clustered white flowers would look so pretty against a dark-stained house or fence. But I enjoy them plenty against our white house.

One more native tree to share with you, growing in a neighbor’s yard: red buckeye (Aesculus pavia). (Not to be confused with our other native buckeye, Ungnadia speciosa, called Mexican buckeye.) Native throughout the Southeast and west to Central Texas, red buckeye fires up each spring with clusters of crimson flowers. Its leaves make it even more handsome. I’ve read that it often defoliates by summer’s end here in Central Texas, so keep that in mind when siting it in your garden.

Has spring arrived where you are? If not, I’m sure it’s on your doorstep. And if you’re in Texas like me, soak up these gorgeous spring days while we have them!

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Digging Deeper

April 6: Come out to Austin’s Mayfield Park on 4/6 for the Mayfield Park Gardening Symposium & Fundraiser, 8:30 to 11 am. This annual benefit for the park includes a raffle, plant sale, and garden speakers.

May 4: Explore “brilliant backyards, perfect pools and pergolas, and outdoor rooms and gardens” on the ATX Outdoor Living Tour on 5/4, 10 am to 3 pm. Landscape architects, designers, and builders will be on hand to answer questions. Tickets are $33.85 for adults, $17.85 for kids age 10-17.

May 11: Save the date for Austin Home’s Great Outdoors Tour on 5/11.

May 18: Pop up to Dallas for the 2024 DCMGA Garden Tour on 5/18 from 10 am to 5 pm. Tickets are $18 if purchased online prior to 6 pm on 5/17, or $22 after 6 pm on 5/17 or at the event. For a sneak peek, click here.

June 1-2: Take a self-guided, 2-day tour of ponds and gardens in and around Austin on the annual Austin Pond and Garden Tour, held 6/1 and 6/2, 9 am to 5 pm. Tickets are $20 to $25.

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.