Celebrating all things wild…well just all things wild and flowery, here are some of my wild ones this beautiful April in Austin, Texas.
The luscious Yellow or Hinckley Columbine, Aquilegia chrysantha var. hinckleyana, is still showing off after a month of blooms.
A favorite of my honeybees is the Coral Honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens.
Though this year, I haven’t spied any hummingbirds sipping nectar from those tubular blooms.
The Lyreleaf Sage, Salvia lyrata, sports a color I can’t quite capture with my camera–a rich blue-purple. This tidy little Texas native blooms for about a month, then sets interesting seed heads for the summer.
The sunny blooming Engelmann’s or Cutleaf Daisy, Engelmannia peristenia, is so bright that it almost overpowers its native companions– the deep pink Hill Country Penstemon Penstemon triflorus, to its left and the ‘Henry Duelberg’ Sage, Salvia farinacea, on its right.
I love that combination and look forward to it every spring.
Thanks to Gail at clay and limestone for hosting this wildflower party every month!
My Gardener Says... 
I am glad to meet another fan of Salvia lyrata! I think it’s beautiful and wish more people appreciated it! It pops up in lawns and is too often treated as a weed! But we know better! Happy WW!
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I love that little plant and have many, many in my gardens. I especially like them planted with Gulf Penstemon, Penstemon tenuis, which is more of a true lavender and blooms about the same time. Thanks for the “formal” opportunity to showcase native wildflowers.
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So much to love here. I’ve got Columbine envy again. Every time I see your images I think I’ll try to find a spot and give them another go. Wow- that yellow and blue flower combination is unstoppable. And Salvia lyrata – so gorgeous. I’m on the lookout for a spot to try some here in case the deer will leave it alone. Great to see it established!
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I bet that little salvia would be deer resistant–it has that signature strong odor that deer supposedly don’t like. I’ve so enjoyed the columbine this year, as they have really performed.
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I am very envious of all your amazing wild flowers. What a selection!
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Blush!! You live in Great Britain–what a place for flowers! There’s nothing more beautiful than the English garden. We’ll share “cross-the-pond-envy”–:).
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Your wildflower color combinations are wonderful. I don’t actually have much yellow in my garden, but lots of purples and pinks. I grow a bronze form of Salvia lyrata, and I’ve taken seed from it and started more. It is great in a planter or basket, but the flowers are rarely present, just the bloom stalks and fantastic calyxes. It is not native where I live, but I planted some out in the garden and they managed to keep their foliage through the winter.
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Hi Hannah! That’s interesting that you don’t get blooms, but do have the bloom stalks and calyxes. Pollinator issues? I wonder. I know that I’ve experimented with my lyrata by dead-heading after the blooms, but I’ve never had a second bloom cycle. The blooms stalk comes up again and develops the calyxes (or so it seems), but no second round of blooming. I like the foliage and think it’s a great ground cover. It really is one of my favorite flowers.
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LOVE your garden! I must try Engelmann’s to go along with my Henry Duelberg, not blooming yet here. I love my lyre leaf, too, but it moved from a too shady spot for its perfect little niche! Great garden you have for wildlife!
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Thank you, Linda. I love my garden too–it’s been a joy and a labor of love! I like that Engelmann’s Daisy–so cheery and tough. I only wish lyreleaf sage would bloom just a little longer….
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