Tag Archives: Wild Red Columbine

Foliage Follow-up, April 2014

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Spring has definitely sprung here in Austin and though blooms may be foremost for most garden lovers, foliage loveliness deserves a shout-out.   Here are my foliage favorites for April.

The summer and fall blooming Gregg’s Mistflower (Conoclinium greggii) sports deeply lobed foliage, giving rise to one of the common names for this hardy ground cover, Palmleaf Mistflower.

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Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) has beautiful foliage year-round.  It’s delicate, fern-like and spreads well (sometimes too well).  Yarrow is evergreen, hardy and drought tolerant.

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It brightens this shady spot.

A perennial favorite of mine and one I’ve profiled before, Mexican Feathergrass (Nassella tenuisima) is at the zenith of beauty in the spring.

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The lone green Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)  in my back gardens apparently wasn’t decimated by butterfly larva last year.

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With soft, graceful foliage, it’s a wonderful addition to the mixed perennial garden.

Globe Mallow (Spaeralcea ambigua)  is such a show-stopper with its combination of orange blooms and arresting, pale gray-green, fuzzy leaves.

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I like this combination of  Pale-leaf Yucca (Yucca pallida), Heartleaf Skullcap (Scutellaria ovata) and the bright green Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii).

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The Pale-leaf Yucca appears blue against the backdrop of the greener Skullcap ground cover  and the Autumn Sage’s is a bright green punctuation situated further in that same ground cover.

The Wild Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) not only has beautiful blooms in spring, but interesting foliage year-round.

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New growth from a young American Smoke Tree (Cotinus obovatus), promises more beauty as it matures.

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Lastly, I can’t resist the photo of the Scarlet Tanager, Piranga olivacea, who has visited my garden this past week as he rests on the green branch of Retama (Parkinsonia aculeata).  Plumage and foliage–you can’t beat that!

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Thanks to Pam at Digging for hosting Foliage Follow-up for April.

 

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, April 2014

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Joining garden bloggers from around the world, here are my picks for Bloom Day, April 2014 from Austin, Texas.  The Hill Country Penstemon (Penstemon triflorus), thrust upward its bloom stalks during January, but waited until March to unfurl its fuchsia beauty.

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My Spiderwort (Tradescantia occidentalis) has bloomed this past month and shows no signs of slowing down, much to the delight of the honeybees.

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The  ‘Brazos’ Blackberry   is in full flower now, with berries to follow.  I can’t wait to eat the berries from the vine in May and June.

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A beautiful cool season bloomer here in Austin is the Globe Mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua).

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And there are lots of Columbine this spring.  The Hinckley (or Yellow) Columbine (Aquilegia chrysantha var. hinckleyana) is in full glory.
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Blooming alongside another native Columbine, the Wild Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis),

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these two will  rampantly hybridize to create lovely variations of themselves over several seasons.

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Lastly, the Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) blooms are opening daily.

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Happy Spring!

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And thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day.

Wildflower Wednesday, March 2014

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I don’t quite know how I’ve missed this wildflower party before now, given my appreciation for wildflowers and native plants in general, but while reading Shirley’s most recent post at Rock-Oak- Deer, I realized her excellent profile of wildflowers was part of a bigger picture.  Duh.

Thanks to Gail at clay and limestone for hosting the monthly celebration of wildflowers of all sorts.  Though it’s my first post and a day late for this month, I’m in.

My Golden Groundsel (Packera obovata), is blooming and so cheery on this gloomy, wet day.  It’s an early blooming, tough little shade-loving perennial which  brightens up a woodland setting.

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For more information about Golden Groundsel, check out the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s Native Plant Database page.

I have Spiderwort (Tradescantia occidentalis) popping up all over my gardens.

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The original couple of transplants were pass along plants gifted to me, so I’m not entirely positive that what I have is the S. occidentalis, though I think it is.  Check out the pages on Spiderworts or Tradescantia in the Native Plant Database and see for yourself how many are native  and available throughout North America.

The Columbines are finally starting their spring show–later this year than in the last few years.  I  have both the Yellow Columbine (Aquilegia chrysantha var. hinkleyana),

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and the native Wild Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis),

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plus hybrids of the two.

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Finally, the Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) is in total bloom mode.

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So far, we don’t have many butterflies or hummingbirds, but no doubt they’ll find this plant soon and feast, feast, feast.  This is a must-have vine for any gardener wishing to provide a food source for a variety of critters, insects and birds alike.

Thanks again  to Gail at clay and limestone for this chance to focus on and appreciate the  plants we have, native to where we live.