Wildflowers in full bloom!

The wildflower seeds that RPE students tomped into the ground last fall are really putting on quite a show.  The field next to the Titan Garden is awash in color from yellow to red to purple.  You can see some of the following flowers if you take a walk out to the field:

Bee Balm, also known as horsemint,this native annual grows from Missouri to Kansas to Mexico. Aromatic foliage makes it deer resistant. Citridora is used as a natural insect repellent, and when it is plentiful you can grab a handful of leaves and rub them on your skin to keep the bugs away. Native Americans incorporated the use of Lemon Mint leaves for edible greens, seasoning, and as an aromatic tea. This plant will reseed itself.  

Clasping Leaf Coneflower is a beautiful yellow petaled flower with maroon dots toward the center and a protruding seed head. It  is named for the way the base of the leaves clasp themselves around the stem of the plant. Range is Georgia to Texas.

Indian blanket, with its color bands or yellow to orange to red, is a very showy flower in wildflower gardens.Sometimes referred to as Firewheel, it blooms from May to July and sometimes later, and appears just as the Texas Bluebonnets are finishing.

Here’s hoping all the kids get a chance to go out and enjoy the wildflower show!

>Things I noticed on a Monday morning

>1.  Mexican Feather Grass:  I want to run my fingers through the Mexican Feather Grass constantly.  Or plant a field of it and lay down.  Ahhhhhhhh…

2.  Ummm, little ladybugs…get a room.  Just kidding, good to see you guys multiplying as much as possible.

3.   There is something growing in my compost pile.  Since this photo I have noticed either cucumber or squash plants coming out everywhere.  Amazing how I can do NOTHING to them and they love it here but growing them in the garden dirt can be such a struggle.  Just goes to show you how important organic matter is to seeds.

>Poppies!

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For those who visited my house in early spring and heard my wishful talk about the poppies I had seeded into the wildflower (septic) field next to my house, you’ll be happy to know that the poppies are putting on quite a show. Dazzling red color in the front of the filed, with a daring pink poppy who defies the odds. Hard to capture the reds in a wide shot, so I went in for a closeup.

There were so many bees joyfully jumping from flower to flower that the humming volume was pretty incredible. I had to put aside my bug aversion and go in for a close-up when I saw two bees having a big old time.

>Wait for it, wait for it….NOW!

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Good lord, I wait for it all spring, watching the new growth emerge on the Confederate Jasmine and then the buds.  These vines are about 8 years old, transferred from our old house because we loved them too much to leave them to the guy who bought it.  And they settled down happily here and began a fast climb up the deck supports. 

And every April, they give a show like you wouldn’t believe.  Complete with smelly-vision.  Because they smell REALLY REALLY good.  White flowers just cover the vine and stick around for about 2 weeks, coating eveything in that incredible smell. 

Confederate jasmine.  Woody perennial, evergreen leaves on it year round so perfect for coverage.  Flowers about April with small white flowers and intense smell.  Climber with help given for something to grab on to (in this case electrical wire wound around the posts).  Wouldn’t necessarily call it deer resistant as I tried to grow some on an unprotected fence and deer just kept eating it down to a nub until it died.  Drought tolerant once established.

If you love aromas, you need one of these.