Wednesday, April 20, 2011

No April Showers, But Still Some Flowers

Well, I missed bloom day last week because i was crazy busy. I even took pictures and everything, but just didn't get them posted. So here they are a week late. :)

It has been a really dry Sping in my garden this year, the driest in Austin since 1917 they say. That is almost an entire century! I have been watering the flowers once in a while so they actually grow, but they are still pretty small.

The Golden Leadball tree doesn't care, though. It laughs in the face of droughty conditions. Here it is in the front yard flower bed:



Closer:



There are some yellow primroses that are growing underneath it, Here they are up close. These ones have almost black centers. I don't know what variety they are, but I got them at Barton Springs Nursey last year:



The Antelope Horns are also doing really well this year. I guess they like the dry conditions:



Again with some Paintbrush. Paintbrush is partially parasitic on grass and this one seems to be doing really well next to this clump of feather grass:



The watering I have been doing has triggered some of the rain lilies to bloom:



The poppies are small this year, but blooming:



The same goes for the yellow columbine. They are much smaller than usual, but blooming:



Here they are with Gulf Penstemon (which is beginning to take over the shady garden):



The Byzantine Glads are also on the smallish side this year, but they continue to multiply for me making the 12 bucks a bulb I paid for a few of them a couple years ago seem totally worth it!:



The orchid tree is blooming, but not as full as usual, so here is a close-up:



And my Amaryllis that I can never seem to force in the winter, that have all been planted in the garden instead are blooming right now and they are spectacular!:







And an amaryllis with an iris that I got for a dollar in the clearance bin last season:



And just the iris. I think it was supposed to be blue, but again, the bulb was from the clearance bin and that is always a bit of a crap shoot. But I like it. Very pretty:



Speaking of bulbs, today I noticed one of the aztec lilies is about to bloom. I'll post a photo tomorrow if I get a chance. :)