March 16, 2025
Late last week, while I was under the weather and holed up on the couch watching Wicked, winter turned into spring. Yesterday I woke up feeling like myself again and noticed a text from my neighbor, thanking me for the beauty of my Mexican plum, which stretches graceful limbs over the fence. I rushed outside to look and ta-da! Spring!
I spent a good half hour admiring the fluffy white blossoms and watching throngs of bees, butterflies, and other unidentified pollinators zooming to the fragrant flowers.
I even got my husband to come admire this beautiful native tree, and he contributed a couple of photos to this post.
The blossoms appear in clustered bouquets, followed swiftly by green leaves. I noticed a few leaves already unfurling on my tree, so I’d say it’s at peak bloom. If I’d blinked any longer, I’d have missed it. Spring flies quickly in Central Texas.
The first spiderwort flowers have opened too. This vigorous self-seeder plants itself in surprising places each year, but I almost always like its choice of location. Still, I whack back most of the seedheads nowadays to keep this shade-loving native from taking over my garden. Note to newbies: it goes dormant in the heat of summer, so pair it with plants that pop up later, like Turk’s cap and ‘Amistad’ salvia.
I spotted an anole with plenty of grumpy side-eye climbing the fence.
Carolina jessamine is wrapping up its early spring run of sweet-scented flowers. I took this photo last week.
When I’m in the side garden, I pause to admire the ‘Opal’ agave enthroned on her pedestal.
She’s looking especially queenly since I pulled out a bunch of pups to tidy up the planter. Those all went to friends I met for lunch last week — ‘Opals’ for everyone! Jewels from the realm!
Such snazzy leaves
A metal wren perches on the cedar bench, framed by a fringe of Mediterranean fan palm.
The Med fan palm with ‘Everillo’ sedge, one of the last survivors of many ‘Everillo’ sedges I used to grow, before Austin summers apparently grew too hot and droughty for them.
Out front, the possumhaw holly is still holding its scarlet berries. Any day now this native tree will start leafing out. I don’t know why the cedar waxwings I see and hear every day haven’t descended to pick it clean.
I had fun with the portrait setting on my phone’s camera while admiring last year’s seedheads of butterfly vine. You can see how it acquired its common name, right?
And here it is without the vine stems erased — still butterfly-like!
‘Bright Edge’ yucca and spineless prickly pear add color and form without the need of spring flowers.
The increasingly Dr. Seussian beaked yucca strikes a sassy pose along the path to the Circle Garden.
A succulent dish of ‘Coppertone’ sedum, blue chalk fingers, and ‘Bloodspot’ mangave, a little exhausted from its recent flowering, brightens the porch.
And on a walk earlier this week, I admired this redbud in a neighbor’s yard. Now they’re starting to bloom in my own garden. Time for another walkabout with the camera. I don’t want to miss anything.
How about you? Seeing spring bursting forth — or maybe just the earliest signs — in your garden too?
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Digging Deeper
Come learn about a visionary xeriscape and pollinator garden called SummerHome at my next Garden Spark presentation on April 10th at 7:30 pm! Tickets are on sale now. I’m excited to welcome Lisa Negri to my Garden Spark speaker series and introduce her to a Texas audience of appreciative native plant lovers. Hear how she transformed an empty lot into an oasis for wildlife and neighbors. The talk will be held at Leaf Landscape Supply (north location), and tickets must be purchased in advance. Join us for an evening of learning, inspiration, and community with fellow garden lovers!
Shop the Spring Native Plant Sale at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center each weekend from March 28 to April 27, 9 am to 1 pm (last entry at 12:30 pm). The first weekend (March 28-30) is open only to Wildflower Center members, but it’s easy to join. Plant sale admission is free. Bring your own wagon or cart to transport your treasures.
Come to the Austin Cactus and Succulent Society Show & Sale at Zilker Botanical Garden on March 29-30 from 10 am to 5 pm. Includes a plant show with specimen cacti and succulents, handcrafted pottery, daily silent auction and hourly plant raffles, and expert advice. Admission is included with paid admission to Zilker Garden.
Tour 5 unique Houston gardens on Saturday, April 26, from 10 am to 4 pm, during the Garden Conservancy’s Open Day Tour for Houston. Tickets must be purchased online in advance through the Garden Conservancy.
Come learn about gardening and design at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance; simply click this link and ask to be added. Read all about the Season 8 lineup here!
All material © 2025 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
