Kids love beautiful gardens, too...

I just came from morning assembly at Kallie's elementary school where they honored me for designing their front garden -- donating all the plants and creating the bed at cost. It was so special - they gave me this GIANT card and beautiful sunflowers and are putting up a sign recognizing the work. 

We planted tough, xeric plants in the school colors - gold and purple -- lantana, damianita, Indigo spires, grasses, blackfoot daisies and a lovely tree.  

 I  love working with such a great school. 

Summer comes early to Central Texas gardens...

Although it's technically still spring, we've already had our first 100-degree day here in Central Texas. That means our tough-as-nails perennials are being asked to show their stuff. Many of them are answering the call in my garden this week.

Thryallis, euonymous, salvia greggii, Mexican oregano, lamb's ears, dianella, indigo spires salvia and Mexican feathergrass surround this agave franzosini with soft, billowing blooms.

This pineapple guava is full of stunning blooms that will soon turn into a yummy snack for us (if the dogs don't get them before we do!)

Pops of yellow and blue fill this bed with the octopus agave in the cobalt blue pot.  New gold lantana, mealy blue sage, mystic spires salvia, zexmenia and Mexican feather grass love these hot, sunny days.

The show put on by the grey santolina with its tiny, button-like blooms is beautiful.  In the background, salvia greggii, Mexican oregano, thryallis and a few tiny orange narrow-leaf zinnias I just planted.  I could only locate 4 plants, so they are going to have to hurry up and spread fast to make the orange border for the santolina!

One of my all-time favorites, indigo spires salvia is such a vivid purple and blooms all summer long under the worst conditions.

This falls under the category of "I never dreamed this would get this big."  This Mexican oregano in a raised bed in the full hot sun is clearly in its element.  It is 10 feet wide!

These poolside day lilies just started blooming this week.

One of my favorite combinations -- these pale peachy-coral gladiolas provide a beautiful backdrop for the native Texas clematis pitcheri that's showing off dozens of purple blooms.

Blow me away bottle brush blooms ...

As I was making the rounds through the garden this evening, I was struck by the uplighting into the bottle brush tree, Callistemon rigidus.

I have been overwhelmed by the healthy, growth and year-round blooms on this tree.  With a growth habit of 10-12 feet, it is drought-tolerant and attracts bees, butterflies and birds.

This is the freeze replacement tree from Bottlebrush tree #1.  Then the next bad freeze came and wiped this one out.  Or so I thought.  It came back from the roots after last winter and I let it grow like that for a little while to determine what the trunks would look like.  Then I began to prune it up like a small multi-trunked tree, instead of a bushy shrub.  It's worked out really well and I think I like it even more than the original single trunk.

I like the softness of the flowing bottle brush next to the structural rigidity of the blue agave.

A peek as the blooms first begin to emerge from the buds.

The buds look a little like alien fingers reaching out to you, don't you think?

Just look at all those blooms. I did have to share space with the bees while I was taking pictures.

Then a last shot of the blooms up against the eerie color of the sky at dusk.

Garden fest delights...

A gaggle of garden geeks took over the Zilker Botanical Gardens on Saturday and Sunday for the annual Zilker Garden Fest.

Mom and Dad and I were there bright and early when they opened at 10 a.m. Saturday.  Two wagons in tow, we were prepared to fill them to the brim.

The festival includes everything garden, not just plants.  These gourd planters were among the most creative things I saw.

Love these little birds -- I keep thinking I want one hanging in my garden and wish I'd gotten one now that I see my picture!

And then there are the beautiful gardens -- being surrounded by all the beautiful plants and vignettes of Zilker would inspire anyone to buy plants and stuff!

East Austin Succulents had a great display of their plants.  I bought one - keep reading and I'll show it to you.

More of beautiful Zilker Garden.

The plant I didn't get.  I browse a little first and then sometimes go back to buy things - sadly, someone else had already snatched up all three of these.

But this aeonium did come home with me and found its happy place in a tall copper pot.

This is another of my finds.  I know it's made for a window - but I'm dying to hang it somewhere in my garden for the light to shine through it outside.

I was wowed by this ceramic art - I kept eyeing the turquoise and copper flower tile, but left without it this year.

Mom and Dad -- we've been going to this Festival for more than 20 years together.  It's my favorite event of the year in Austin - a city full of great stuff to do.

Here are more goodies from other festivals and my sentimental memories of our outings there with my now-grown son, when he bought my Mother's Day gifts there for years as a young boy.

The rose garden was amazing - this was my very favorite rose.

I still want some ligularia in my garden, and I have some yellow columbines just like these ... hmmm... now that's an idea!

These baby blue eyes (Nemophila maculata) were everywhere - a perky ground cover erupting in bloom.

And off we went with our goodies...home to plant and hang and pot.  Until next year...