Easter Blooms

A tiny poppy bloom in a very dry patch of the backyard.

 Gardenias blooming in a pot I planted in the ground.  The buried pot helps to keep the plant moist.

 The Cactus is blooming.  I am gradually replacing this prickly form of cactus with the non prickly form.

 Good old Hesperloe.  They never disappoint.

My poor peony.  I had a bloom bud for the first time last year that did not fully open.  This year's bloom was bigger but still did not fully open before the petals fell off.  Maybe next year will be successful. 

What's blooming?

 Crepuscle rose draping over the stacked stone wall.  This rose came from the Antique Rose Emporium.

 This yellow rose was a cutting I propagated from a rose at It's A Jungle nursery in north Austin.  The staff there give classes usually every year on how to propagate roses and they let you take cuttings from their stock.  It is a great nursery for roses and orchids.

 Sandankwa viburnum with philadelphus (mock orange) covered in white blooms in the background.

 My Bloodgood japanese maple.  I had this tree in the front yard originally but wind, sun and deer took their toll.  It loves the protected shade in the side yard.

 New Dawn roses surrounding the kitchen window.  Artemisia Powis Castle in the planter bed.

 This clematis finally bloomed after 3 years!  I think it is Jackmanii.

 My 'black' iris.  Deer avoid it.

View of the back garden from the second floor.  This used to be all grass instead of granite gravel and planting beds.  The grass took up too much water.

April Winds

Today is the first day of my blog and I'm sad to see my garden shrivel before my eyes.  Will the wind never stop?  Almost 7 months without significant rain.  Still there is plenty of green along the pathway from the back patio toward the back of the property.

I love the verbena with the Iris.  This patch has tripled in size in 2 years.

The kitchen garden.  More wildflowers here than veggies.

Bluebonnets and Hymenoxys

Can you spot the upside-down cactus in the tall oak?

The deer just LOVE my place.  Here they are congregating across the street and discussing what plants they want to attack in my front yard.