Happy May Day!

April was wonderful here in Austin. I especially enjoyed the special treat of meeting the other Austin Garden Bloggers on the 22nd. What a lovely group of ladies! Thanks to all of you for inviting me to view your beautiful gardens. It was so inspiring to see what the garden possibilities are in this area.

During my parent's visit last week we dropped by Lady Bird Johnson's Wildflower Center.

The Texas stonecrop (Lenophyllum texanum) and Candelilla (Euphorbia antisyphilitica) looked aesthetically pleasing in this self-contained alcove near the entrance.

I was happy to see the wisteria was still blooming in the arbor.

I saw several flowers there that I'd like to include in my garden. I especially like this Damianita (Chrysactinia mexicana):

This pink flower looked a bit like a phlox to me, but I couldn't find the label for it. Luckily Pam from Digging was kind enough to let me know that this is in fact the native annual Drummond phlox. Thanks once again, Pam!

The prickly pear was just starting to bloom. The bees were so cute burrowing themselves amongst the fluffy stamens in their search for nectar.

Of course the wildflowers were in good form,

...as were the turtles in the ponds.

The Center's beautiful water gardens tempt me to dig a pond of my own.

Though I'd need a pickaxe to dig through the solid limestone under the thin soil of my garden.

Speaking of water; my most recent garden purchase is a floating solar fountain for my container water garden. My son is intrigued with the way it sprays while the sun is shining and turns off abruptly when a cloud or shadow passes overhead.

The fountain's green color may be a bit too bright for the muted yellow of the container. I considered moving it to the bird bath in my front garden, but the fish seem so happy with the water's movement I think I'll leave it there for now and hope the water plants soften the appearance as time goes by.