2016 Spring Flowers

This post 2016, Spring Flowers, was written by Annie in Austin /Diva Glinda for the Divas of the Dirt blog.

The temperatures from January through April of 2016 were much milder than usual – barely dipping into the upper 20s F - so that when spring came, the blooms were spectacular.

In 2015 seeing freeze-dried Texas Mountain Laurels made gardeners sad, but in 2016, Austin exploded in a lavish display of the beloved grape-scented blossoms. Texas Mountain Laurels can range in size from small shrubs to shrubby trees.

Mindy went into a happy spin when her tree looked like this

and the shrubbier forms glowed purple like this!

Glinda rejoiced when her Texas Mountain Laurel turned the back yard into a fragrant party (AKA known as Mescal Bean and botanically it’s Sophora secundiflora).

Mattie delighted in the white blooms of her native Philadelphus inodorus/ Unscented Mockorange. This shrub was so small when it was planted in February 2013!

And Mattie’s bed of fragrant peach iris near the street was in full bloom by the end of March, sending spring greetings to walkers and those who drove past.

Glinda’s garden was full of white roses, butterfly roses,  poppies, iris, mockorange and bluebonnets. Usually Glinda has to buy new small plants of Million Bells/Callibrachoa for her baskets in spring, but in 2016 the mild weather meant plants from the previous year were large and in full bloom by April.

Mattie was pleased when some recently transplanted Sisyrinchium/ Blue Eyed Grass settled in and bloomed right away.

Sophia just had to take a photo of this clump of bluebonnets in mid-April.

What a pretty spring!

This post 2016, Spring Flowers, was written by Annie in Austin /Diva Glinda for the Divas of the Dirt blog.