Thanks to the el nino effect, this has been one of the wettest fall and winter seasons that I can remember since I moved to Central Texas over twenty years ago. The results of all this rain on the gardens and wildflowers is remarkable. The late winter, early spring blooming plants, such as the Carolina jessamine, are a mass of blooms, and our hills are covered with white and purple anemones. By April the hills and fields will be full of bluebonnets, Indian paintbrushes, pink and yellow primroses, and many other varieties of wildflowers whose seeds have laid dormant for the past several years during the extended drought we have been experiencing.
Last fall I filled in the empty spaces in the courtyard gardens with pansies, violas, dianthus, and dusty miller. These plants did pretty well over the winter, but over the past few weeks, with the days getting ever warmer, they have really started to put on a show.
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Close Up of Pansies and Violas in the Courtyard
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Pansies and Violas in the Courtyard
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Courtyard in Late Winter
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Courtyard in Late Winter
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Courtyard in Late Winter
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Courtyard in Late Winter
I planted a bed full of kale, chard, and spinach transplants yesterday, and I have tomatoes and peppers ready to plant next week. The asparagus is producing well now, and the collards continue to put out lots of new leaves with no sign of bolting yet.
Chard, Kale, and Spinach Transplants
Tomato and Pepper Transplants
The spaces in between the paving stones in the grotto area are filling in with all sorts of plants. Most notably, prairie verbena, catnip, and Mexican feather grass. The thyme we planted in this area is also spreading very well, and is creating a nice soft padding in between the stones that has a wonderful fragrance as you walk across it.
Grotto Area Ground Cover Plants
I planted six Chandler strawberry plants at the base of the retaining wall last spring, and only one survived. But that one is sending out lots of runners, and has flowers all over it, which you can’t see in the photo because they are all under the leaves. The raspberries in this bed are also starting to emerge, so I have high hopes for some tasty berries this year.
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Strawberry Plants in the Lower Gardens
Every day new wildflowers start blooming. This bluebonnet is huge, and will be blooming in just a few days. There are bluebonnets all over the property this year. It is going to be a spectacular year for wildflowers.
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Bluebonnet Bud
I have never seen this Purple Phacelia (Phacelia patuliflora) before, but it is very pretty nestled in with a patch of bluebonnets.
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Purple Phacelia
These Fringed Puccoons are all over the place. I read that their roots were used by Indians for dye, and also for medicinal purposes. I need to do more research on these nice little plants, and I plan to see if I can cultivate them.
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Fringed Puccoon
I am a little worried that we may yet have another freeze, which could set back some of our fruit trees which are blooming like crazy already, but there is little that can be done about that. The weather this year is pretty unpredictable.
Happy gardening!