So much promise this time of year!!

I wish I kept bees so I could turn the amazing honey smell of my Wisteria into reality. It is practically vibrating with fat bumblebees..

And the mountain laurels.. of course!

Can I acidify this potted blueberry bush enough to get these flowers to bear fruit? A volunteer red poppy will stand watch.

Fireworks? Pinwheels? Coral honeysuckle in its glory..

From a 4" pot to a sturdy drought tolerant small bush: the Old Gay Hill rose I planted last year has so many ..almost blooms.. It is named after an old Texas homestead where the plant was found growing.

Almost tropical Mexican honeysuckle tucked into lush flat parsley..

Seasonal transition: yaupon holly berries brightening up my waking-up Turks cap..

Off to wander through country roads and see wildflowers this weekend. We are in the sweet spot of the year- I hope everyone is enjoying it!

Colors

I love the colors of newly minted spring- trees mixed with light greens and honey colored buds and seeds, fresh new leaves against moist brown bark. It never seems as vibrant once summer heat sets in...

Even my hens have added color into the mix- the middle eggs are from my Americaunas. We've debated- are they green? Blue? Grey?

Native violet, planted years ago, coming back despite construction and neglect..

Tentative leaves from a pomegranate

Stubborn native seed packet successes : standing cypress and goldenrod, bigger and stronger in their second year (standing cypress is a biennial so I expect red flowers this year).

Coral honeysuckle getting ready to burst in orange/red..

I'm loving euphorbia plants- the top for it's chartreuse vividness, the one on the right hand side of the second picture for it's coral reef shape and red colors at the top.

Finally a nondescript mystery tree growing in the back. It's small (smaller than a redbud) and doesn't do much, but it provides a bit of green and shade and height so I've left it alone. No fruit or berries that I've noted. I'll look it up some day when I learn the terminology (leaf shape, bark, etc)..

March blooms

There's a story behind these irises:

Travis Heights was one of the first suburbs in Austin. Houses were built from the 1920's to 1950's in my section. They were primarily small houses on big lots- great wood floors, porches, but not much storage space. In the last decade or so, builders, California transplants, and returning Texans like me have moved to the neighborhood in droves. Of course, I first lived here in 1994 (I think there were still hookers on S. Congress..), but then I moved away and here and there for a few years. One of the common things builders do is split lots- refinish an older house on one side of a lot and squeeze in a new house on the other side. I prefer when they do that to when they demolish a house and build a duplex.. but I guess dense urban infill is preferable to rampant building in the suburbs and over the aquifer..

The point of the story is that the house across the street had its lot split, and one day it was evident that bulldozers were going to take out the plants growing in what used to be a driveway. My good friend (and neighbor at the time) Debbi noticed these yellow bearded irises and decided to stage a late-night rescue. She crept over with a pitchfork and dug the majority up, sharing them with various neighbors the next day (as the bulldozers leveled anything that remained). I planted a bucket full in my front yard (they are filling in beautifully) and they have been the sturdiest, most xeriscape friendly bulbs I have had. I have no idea what kind they are. They bloom brilliant yellow for only 2-3 days, but their leaves are gorgeous, glossy (and work amazingly well to hold the soil in place on my sloping front yard). I bet their ancestors were planted 60-80 years ago and I'm grateful that I have lucked into getting to enjoy their tenacity and beauty. Go Debbi!

The rest of my blooms are brand new by comparison.

My Mexican plum blooms have faded, but they made me want to have a Japanese tea service and meditate in the backyard when they were blooming!

My spontaneously planted hyacinths are patchy, but I loved showing my eldest how they smell today. It's pretty amazing that nature can smell so good..

Thanks to Carol at http://www.maydreamsgardens.com for hosting Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!

Bursting

Wildlife and domestic pet night before an ice day..

Inside the house my tabby Toby is wandering and meowing restlessly.. maybe because the office is closed while I block a new sweater on the coffee table. He likes to chew on wet wool, and I like to keep my projects safe since they take so long to make. His sister Jewel has decided to spend the night and is crouched under the kids low art table so he can't pounce.

Outside the hens are locked up safe (and hopefully warm). The bantams have gone broody again, taking up the third nesting box together and squeaking indignantly when I feel underneath them (for the eggs they've stopped making). Houdini's tail feathers are growing back in and she and the other big girls are laying regularly. Unfortunately my Crossbeak (aptly named for her craniofacial deformity) died last weekend. Carl heard a 'thunk' on the back window about an hour before he went out and found her- he thinks she may have flown into the back glass door. It may have been the cold or her nutrition (she always pecked and pecked at food but lost half of it out of her beak), or something she ate. We comforted ourselves with the usual "she lived a happy life (perching on Carl's shoulder looking for treats)", though who knows what really constitutes happiness for a chicken. She got to free range, scratch in dirt and sleep with her sisters- maybe that was good enough? So now we have 7 girls, three laying, two small goofballs playing house and two younger girls almost almost about to give me blue eggs..

Crossbeak as a chick

After an oatmeal feast last week. 

I've admired everyone's beautiful wildlife photos of birds today- cedar waxwings, robins, hawks and doves. Our bird feeder fell off its stand (and my husband has taken to feeding the extra bird seed to the chickens) so our backyard has mostly doves, chickadees, bluejays and the occasional grackle. In the front yard though I saw an early Frittilary butterfly a few weeks ago on a warm day. In typical fashion it flew off when I got close, so all I have is a grainy photo to remind me of the spring that it coming any (wet icy) day now..

 And I am late to post my Wide angle, but this pic of my front yard has one of my favorite semi-domesticated pets sitting in the front yard :)  My eldest is all flash and movement, except on rare days that he tucks under a tree to read and read and read..

It was a couple of weeks ago- the elm trees on the right are budding out now and the yellow bearded irises just barely starting to peek up..

Stay warm and cozy everyone!

Flowery cheer

Texan-grown ranunculuses and a rescued narcissus (languishing in the dark chicken coop).. Using their colors to brighten the grey damp cold!

February Bloom Day

Some pretties peeking up to brighten up the cold day.. Celebrating Garden Blogger's Bloom day hosted by http://www.maydreamsgardens.com

Meyer lemon blossom

Forgotten ranunculus bulb planted last fall..

First coneflower of 2015!

Love the charteuse of the gopher plant echoed in the tips of a diamanita

My Mexican plum