The siren beckons.
Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
Entranced, I follow. I won’t be bashed onto rocks, though I’ll admit to occasionally tripping on a few as I meander through spring song.
The diversity is wide, the color wheel complete.
Passalong iris–unknown variety
Some are related to one another.
Wild red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
Yellow columbine–a hybrid developed in my garden, Yellow columbine mixed with Wild red columbine
Many have thrived in this region for millenia.
Hill country penstemon (Penstemon triflorus)
Others hail from far away.
European poppy. A German friend gave me seeds 20-plus years ago and they bloom each spring.
Most are brief bloomers, in the garden for only a short time.
Golden groundsel (Packera obovata)
Their seeds will linger for another season, either in my garden or elsewhere. The seeds await the right moment, the right conditions, to create.
Bloom spikes may last into summer, morphing to seed delivery systems, delivering DNA packages to the soil. Foliage lasts beyond.
Cedar sage (Salvia roemeriana) A metallic bee works one of the blooms.
Scalloped, evergreen foliage is a year-round gift.
Colors are sunshine bright,
Damianita (Chrysactinia mexicana) flanked by the foliage rays of Softleaf yucca (left) and Red yucca (right).
…or rich and dark.
Martha Gonzales rose planted with Giant spiderwort (Tradescantia gigantea)
All nourish some living thing,
Pipevine swallowtail butterfly (Battus philenor) nectaring at Spiderwort
…including my gardening soul.
My Gardener Says... 