Riffing on first Texas wildflower blooms profiled at Portraits of Wildflowers, I noticed that my garden’s first wildflower is abloom. This wildflower is a common weed according to some, but I love the pretty, purple, pollinator magnet and so do the bees and butterflies. Insects were tucked in this morning, owing to the chill and clouds, but they’ll find this rich source of nectar and pollen when the sun returns and the temperatures warm.

This Spiderwort, Tradescantia, sp., has popped up from last years’ roots at the base of a winter-tawny Big Muhly, Muhlenbergia lindheimeri. That splash of green has been a colorful companion to the muted grass since early December. Now, the green will be topped by rich purple to augment its beauty.

The spiderworts couldn’t have chosen a tougher place to plant themselves. Facing west, these two clusters sit at the curb, not even in the garden-proper. I never water this area, it only receives what bounty the sky delivers. There will be more spiderwort blooms in the coming months–from these two and many others throughout my garden–then the foliage will disappear, the roots in hiding from the long, hot summer. The muhly will provide some coverage, as new growth drapes over the curb and spiderworts’ spot, but this area is hot and dry most of the year.

It has begun, this renewal of life. Birds and squirrels chase their potential partners and rivals; flirtation as the rule of the first kind of chase, establishing territory the point of the second. The main winter clean-up work in my garden is finished, or nearly so, and change in the garden will be a daily, if not hourly, occurrence. Game-on, Spring!