Monday, March 2, 2009

Texas Blooms

While we were in Texas they were having an unusually cold spell to add to their drought conditions. Even at that it got up in the high 70's during the afternoon. And yes it seems that everything grows bigger in Texas. I thought this agave was awesome. I am 5'6" and it was way taller than me. There were yuccas blooming.
I think that the Yucca buds are a pretty as when they are in full bloom.
We ran into several stands of aloes blooming. There were several different colors of blooms too. I like the aloes, they have different patterns and colors of green. When we got home I found that even my little aloe in a pot was sending out a bloom. I guess the longer days are triggering blooms everywhere.
The Texas Mountain Laurel has a beautiful bloom. It is native to Texas. they don't really have mountains so I wonder why the powers that be named it "mountain" laurel.
This pretty little wildflower was blooming in the most inhospitable area. I can't seem to find them in my wildflower book. They aren't as yellow as the camera depicts. They were more of a peach color. The butterflies liked them. More on that later. We found one small patch of Meadow Pinks. They are usually in large colonies. However they hadn't had enough rain to germinate many plants.The tropical side of Texas was evident too. The bouganvillia was booming all over. There were several colors.
The introduced bottle brush tree was scrubbing the air with its brushes.For all your orchid fans here is a bloom on an Orchid tree. There was a white blooming Orchid tree too.The famous roadside blooms were feww. These daisy/sunflower blooms were so cheerful in the dust.
The Texas, or Mexican, Olive tree was blooming. A beautiful plant. This ever present shrubby tree. I am not sure what it is. I think it is a mesquite of some sort. I think.
This bushy tree is also a mesquite. Someone told me it's common name is cat's claw. This would be very apt. Now if I have id'ed something incorrect, please feel free to tell me what it is. I want to know.

35 comments:

  1. Hmmm, that looks like the Whale's Tongue agave I just planted. LOL Surely it won't get that big in Alabama. Amazing to see so many things blooming. Great photos!

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  2. These are amazing photos. I am always amazed by the variety of climates and plant life in our country. Thanks for the trip to Texas!

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  3. That is a big one! I haven't been to Texas in a very long time so thanks for sharing the flora with us all. I am sure you must have enjoyed the heat of the south.

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  4. Hi Lisa....what a wonderful selection of plants....some I am familiar with, others I am not.
    I have seen the agave when I have travelled to Spain....they are amazing, aren't they?

    I love the little wildflower....they will always be my favourite.....

    I have always wanted to grow the bottle brush but it is far too cold here. At one point I thought I would grow it in a large pot and bring it into the conservatory in the winter....maybe one day....

    Lovely to see Texas....tku for sharing.......

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  5. Hi Lisa, Wow on the agave's size! You can tell it's happy and it must be fairly old, too. Pam/Digging will be able to id the plants you aren't sure about. The yellow one looks familiar and it's probably because I've see it on her blog! It sounds like you had a delightful time and short sleeve weather, too!

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  6. Yep, plants, everything seems bigger in Texas. Looks like they have a whole lot more in bloom now, too!

    Thanks for sharing some highlights of your trip with us...

    Carol, May Dreams Gardens

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  7. It's nice to see some of Texas' natural blooms. Though it's lovely to look at other's home-gardens, there are just so many incredible plants in the wild that it would be a shame to forget about them. Thanks for sharing!

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  8. Thanks for sharing the flora you saw in south Texas, Lisa. It looks more desert-y than Austin, but many of those plants grow well here too.

    The big agave is Agave americana, not a Whale's Tongue as Phillip guessed (similar color though). A. americana is a monster, as your picture illustrates perfectly. I don't know what the yellow-peachy wildflower is, but everything else you ID'd correctly, I think.

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  9. Texas looks like another planet to me and so different. Seeing it with your eyes - visitor's eyes - makes it so different. That agave is stunning!

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  10. Wow, that is some agave! Lots of tequila there...lol! So nice to see anything blooming. :c)

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  11. Wow, that is certainly a big agave! I don't think I saw one that big even in Arizona. Looks like you had a great time, Lisa; what a treat it must have been to see all these blooms at this time of year. Thanks for taking us along on this tour!

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  12. What lovely photos! I've tried to grow a Texas mountain laure from seed and can't get it to germinate! I'm going to try again this year! I've never seen an orchid tree, how pretty. --Randy

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  13. Hi Lisa, what a giant agave! It's a beauty, as are the aloes. I love their blooms and wish we could have them outdoors here, even though our garden is a different style. You saw many beautiful plants and it seems those 70 degree days must have felt pretty good on bare arms. I can't remember the last time my arms were bare outdoors.
    Frances

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  14. Hi Lisa. Much too cold here for those plants. Isn't it fun to visit places so different. I enjoy seeing the photos of plants that will never grow in my garden. Even a few hundred miles distance changes the plant landscape.
    Marnie

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  15. I have never seen an aloe in bloom. Congratulations on getting yours to bloom. That's great. How lucky that you got to see the Texas Mountain Laurel in bloom. When I went last year, they were already done with nothing but the seed pods left.

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  16. One of the things I love about travel, is the chance to check out the local(regional) flora...so thanks so much for looking at Texas from a gardeners perspective!

    (I'm just now catching up on your blog, and hope I haven't missed any Texas birding!)

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  17. Thanks for demonstrating the size of the agave. I always feel it is more interesting when plants have that kind of context. Sounds like a fun trip!

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  18. It looks like you had a wonderful time while in Texas. Did you stay in the Dallas area? I am glad the weather behaved for you, but I would like to see some more rain.

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  19. OMG, look at that agave!! How cool. Whenever I see agaves, I always think of Pam at Digging. :-)

    Wish we could grow them like that here!

    Wanted also to say a big "Welcome Back!"

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  20. Lisa,
    Looks like you had fun out and about with the wildflowers on warm days. Very nice.
    I've seen some agaves that large in south Florida, too. They are so interesting and I always note how folks work them into their landscape.
    It's always fun to explore the foliage and flowers outside of our own gardens isn't it! I suspect you have some bird pictures coming?

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  21. Hi Lisa, I enjoyed your photos of blooming plants you found in Texas. The aloes in my yard are blooming and attracting bees and hummingbirds. That agave is bigger than any I've seen around Tucson!

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  22. Wow, you saw some interesting plants. The agave is gigantic. The aloes must have been great to see in bloom. It looks as if you had a wonderful trip!!

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  23. Dear Lisa,
    Things ARE bigger in Texas!
    I also was amazed by all the wild flowers. Love your photographs.
    Looking forward to seeing butterflies.
    Sherry

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  24. Hi again Lisa:-)

    My… what a wonderful selection of plants and blooms! Thanks so much for sharing them. I doubt I will ever be in Texas so this has been a special treat to see :-D

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  25. These made me feel so warm and happy, like I just might make it through the winter, Lisa. Thank you so much for sharing them with us all.

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  26. It's always so wonderful to see so many interesting and different plants and blooms. That orchid tree must really be something to behold!

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  27. Very beautiful flowers and plants. I have the similar plant at home (the 1st pictue) but very small only, yours here taller than you:)
    Graet shots , keep it up:)

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  28. What fun to see you with Texas plants, Lisa! I'm so glad you had a good time in Texas.

    Hope my small Agave americana doesn't grow like that - we won't be able to get into the back yard.

    I also thought giving Sophora secudiflora the name "Texas Mountain Laurel" was odd and the other common name of Mescal Bean is pretty odd, too. This website says a common name used to be Big Drunk Bean! What a way to treat such a lovely flower.

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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  29. Beautiful Texas blooms. The agave is amazing.

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  30. Glad y'all enjoyed your trip to Texas. It looks as if you were at least halfway close to where Jo and I grew up: The Corpus Christi area.

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  31. That's quite an interesting and colourful Texan flora (really exotic to me!). I like the big agave too, we usually only know the little ones here.

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  32. Were the Texas bluebonnets out or is it too early? What an amazing, amazing landscape. Those pictures really show what it is like. I've been twice in my life, and honestly it was as opposite my home as possible. I love it. I love the skies and the stretch of land that goes on and on.

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  33. Howdy Lisa: I did not know that you were visiting Texas! Here in Arizona I see similar plants that you focus on here! I am in awe of their species and the different blossoms!! The aloe blossom surprised me the most!!Wonderful images!

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  34. I came back for a second look, Lisa, and realized that your "mesquites" are actually acacias. The first is Acacia constricta, and the second, the catclaw, is Acacia greggii.

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