Spring (I’m sort of, maybe, pretty sure) is Here

Spring has sprung, the grass is ris,

I wonder where the boidies is

The boid is on the wing,

How absoid

The wing is on the boid!

Unknown

Or, if you prefer

Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,

The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;

And ’tis my faith that every flower

Enjoys the air it breathes.

William Wordsworth, ‘Lines Written in Early Spring

I went out to observe the Spring –

Crinum Lily

Milk and Wine Lily

Hot Country Lily

Though here we call ‘em Ditch Lilies

  

Acacia Tree

Ten-Petal Anemone

Thimbleweed

Windflower

I love this small wildflower (aka weed) and currently have a yard full of them.  And, they have many uses.  Protection - against evil and ill wishes and against disease and illness.  Weather predictor: At the approach of a rain storm when the petals close up.  Plus they tell us of the arrival of spring winds.  Lastly, they attract fairies and other magic folk.

Pink Magnolia

Tulip Tree

Star Magnolia

Gazanias,

Treasure Flower

They produce large, daisy-like flowers in bright yellow and orange all summer.  This is a new plant to my garden.  Good things - they are drought-tolerant, can tolerate our heat, grow in any type of soil.

Empress of China Tree

Foxglove Tree

Duranta

Golden Dew Drop

Pigeon Berry

Sky Flower

I’ve had a few of these and ultimately get annoyed and dig them up.  Reason?  It’s a shrub than can get up to 10 ft tall, the multi-stemmed branches are droopy, and they have sharp spines.  They need lots of room.  In the fall they put on bunches of golden berries which the birds love.

Cape Honeysuckle

Indian Paintbrush

Scarlett Paintbrush

This is a Texas native wildflower.  So, Did You Know?  Many types of paintbrush are parasitic, which means that they rely on the roots of other plants to grow.  For this reason, it is hard to transplant some paintbrush plants. 

  

Peach Tree

with little baby peaches!

Wild Onion

Canada Onion

Canadian Garlic

Wild Garlic

Meadow Garlic

Everybody should recognize this one.  If you run over a bunch with the lawnmower, the whole yard has an oniony-garlic scent.  And, it’s an edible weed.  The flowers have a stronger taste; the greens a bit milder.  Use them in salads, bread or pasta dough, pesto or salsa, with potatoes, eggs and mushrooms.  It’s a tender herb so add at the end of any cooking process.

I found a field of them just up the street.

Texas Mountain Laurel

Mescal Bean

Coral Bean

Big-drunk Bean

Colorin

OK – this one is in a neighbor’s yard.  I love Texas Mountain Laurel.  I’ve tried for some time to grow one from seed but they are very slow to germinate and I’ve had no success yet.  This is a large shrub with lavender or violet pea flowers that smell like grape Kool Aid.  It’s heat and drought tolerant (good for us here) and grows pretty much in any soil. 

And, lastly – this isn’t really a “spring” thing but I love this tree.

 Dubbed by me as “The Mistletoe Tree”

Bird Lime

All Heal

Devil's Fuge

Golden Bough

Mistel

Iscador

Mistletoe is a hemiparasitic (obtains water and minerals from the host plant) that grows on a wide variety of trees.  Mistletoe preparations have been used medicinally in Europe for centuries to treat epilepsy, infertility, hypertension, and arthritis. The Druids revered the oak tree and the mistletoe that grew on it, according to Roman author and naturalist Gaius Plinius Secundus (also known as Pliny the Elder).  At the winter celebration of Samhain, the sacred oaks were bare except for the green boughs of mistletoe, and this was taken as a sign of eternal fertility.  The Celts also placed a sprig of mistletoe above the door of their houses and its sacred nature prohibited fighting beneath it.   

1 Mar 2020