If you regularly read garden blogs originating from Central Texas you are seeing a lot of wonderful photos of bluebonnets and mountain laurels in full bloom. Seasonal rains came at a good time, and folks are understandably smitten with the results. We Texan gardeners can become a bit giddy over what looks to be a bumper crop of native blossoms. With the reappearance of the Death Star imminent, delicate flowers don't hang around for very long. We can get a bit carried away.
That said, I am looking at things a bit differently this year, noticing differently, if you will, and this view absolutely took my breath away. Aside from the excitement around seasonal blossoms, to me,
this is what the end of March looks like in Central Texas.
Surrounding Live Oaks (Quercus virginiana) adorned with new leaves forming alongside pollen catkins, are dappling every line of sight with the most achingly poignant shade of green imaginable. They provide an absolutely idyllic backdrop for the reappearance, however brief, of Spring's denizens.
There. You didn't think I'd let you go without showing you
my mountain laurel, did you? And, just because I can...
OK.
Now we're done.
14 comments:
I am a big fan of all the fresh new leaves on trees in the spring. Mine are just starting to bud out. I can't wait!
How can I add the anti robot check box to my blog?
Sigh. It's so wonderful what a little rain can do. I love the blues and purples but its great just to see green!
Purrrrrrrrrdy. I have my very first bluebonnets this year (thanks stow-away seeds in the Natural Gardener soil) and absolutely love them. But unfortunately no mountain laurels. There are two on my street, but the late frost must have gotten to them because I see no blooms. So, I'll just enjoy your pretty pictures.
Funny
Michael: A friend who lives 80 miles north of Austin reports her Mountain Laurels are still in the budding out phase as well. If I had the coding chops I'd devise a map that has a bar sliding from south to north to track blooms. I'm betting by mid April it would cover the entire state, don't you think?
Kris: I'm with you. Our poor trees have been stressed by drought for so long that I'm truly grateful for any rain just to help them along before the return of the heat. I'll take a spring/summer without flowers if we have to, but not without trees!
Say - good call on the bottle brush. Blooms are just starting to appear!
Rebecca: This is the first year this tree has had any blooms of note, much less loads of them. The loss of another tree that blocked its sun helped, but the rain helped more. Apparently it takes both sun AND rain for these trees to truly shine! And, maybe a bit of maturity as well? Ours has been growing there for at least a decade.
Jabee: Thanks! : )
I love the mosaic of green that spring produces and your photo captured it beautifully. Thank you for that. It's hard not to brag about our Mt. Laurels and bluebonnets, isn't it? :)
Tina: I try not to think of it as bragging but rather as "aggressively sharing".
I would say that's something a Texan can *really* brag about, and for good reason. The blue you captured on the bluebonnet is amazing...I don't usually like bluebonnets as much as TX Mtn Laurel!
But the sublime greens of the oak woodland win my heart, as always.
The Death Star...only - months to December, and you won't boil every day. I'll send some dry air from here when I'm able...
David: Ha. You can keep your dry air for just now. I'm watching the forecast numbers for our daily highs climbing... It will take some regular rains to keep the blooms steady long enough to draw in pollinators and produce seed.
In this instance, I'd like to keep us IN the woods longer, if you get my meaning.
As I drove the bridge across the Barton Creek Greenbelt on Friday, I gazed admiringly at the many hues of green showing in the various trees leafing out. I'll admit the live oaks drive me a little (OK, a lot) crazy at this time of year, as my garden gets buried under a dusty soup of slippery leaves and grainy pollen. But when I step back and take a wider view, I really can appreciate the forest -- despite the trees.
Pam: Getting those wide views this time of year is one of the very few reasons I can appreciate elevated highways.
Oak leaves are super slick in piles, aren't they? We have one sloped area where I tiptoe in to try and clear space around plant starts away from the oak offerings and I have to watch my footing or end up on my keister.
Gardening and personal dignity are often at odds with each other it seems.
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