Christmastime flowers and no freeze yet

Here it is Christmas, and Austin has truthful acold escaped a hard freeze. That positive mild temps and occasional rainfall showers means flowers, flowers, flowers! Like Mexican occurrence vine (Senecio confusus) delivering punchy orangish petals to the elevated deck.

Giant ligularia (Farfugium japonicum ‘Gigantea’) glows with yellowish daisies supra shiny, circular leaves, and attracts pollinators of each kinds.

Forsythia sage (Salvia madrensis), however I adore your graceful, butter-yellow angiosperm spikes against the turquoise shed doors…

…and against the acheronian cedar poles of the coyote fence. And present travel the bees!

Bee-autiful

It’s made a thicket of yellowish pennants, and I’m present for it.

‘Little Grapes’ gomphrena‘s tiny purple pom-poms are successful the cheering conception beside the platform stairs. ‘Fiercely Fabulous’ mangave has sent up a bloom spike that juuuuuuust won’t unfastened — due to the fact that temps are excessively cool, I presume — but the gomphrena is cheering it on: You tin bash it!

In the Circle Garden’s stock-tank planter, four-nerve daisy (Tetraneuris scaposa) is inactive flowering. (Does it ever stop?) ‘Bandana White’ lantana and a trio of ‘Color Guard’ yuccas adhd much yellow.

Flower-shaped whale’s lingua agave (Agave ovatifolia) gets a mention, of course. The variegation connected this 1 adds a splash of moonlight yellow.

Philippine violet (Barleria cristata) adds complementary purple.

White mistflower (Ageratina havanensis) has gone to seed, but its fluffy, tan seedheads look beauteous alongside purple-freckled ‘Macho Mocha’ mangave.

‘Big Momma’ Turk’s headdress (Malvaviscus x ‘Big Momma’) looks happier present than it did each summer.

I’ve gotta springiness a shout-out to the lustrous, dark-purple berries of Mexican beautyberry (Callicarpa acuminata) too.

‘Amistad’ salvia and Mexican mint marigold (Tagetes lucida) marque a beauteous pair, backed by purple oxalis (Oxalis triangularis) successful a turquoise cookware and much elephantine ligularia. ‘Moonglow’ mangave has besides sent up a precocious bloom spike, and this 1 whitethorn unfastened earlier a frost gets it. It’s trying!

All kinds of flying insects flock to the ligularia flowers astatine this clip of year.

Texas had a unsmooth summer, but Austin is enjoying a beauteous aboriginal winter. Sure, we’ll get a blast of Arctic acold sometime soon (the harmless wealth is ever connected precocious January to aboriginal February), but for now, what a invited acquisition we’re being given.

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Hey, Austin-area gardeners, travel larn astir making a waterwise, Texas-hardy crevice garden! Register for my adjacent Garden Spark speech with Coleson Bruce connected January 18th. He’s created 1 of the astir absorbing and beauteous xeriscape gardens I’ve seen successful Austin. Learn each astir it and bent retired with chap gardeners who are funny successful bully design. Hope to spot you there!

Come larn astir plot plan from the experts astatine Garden Spark! I signifier in-person talks by inspiring designers, scenery architects, and authors a fewer times a twelvemonth successful Austin. These are limited-attendance events that merchantability retired quickly, truthful articulation the Garden Spark email database to beryllium notified successful advance; simply click this nexus and inquire to beryllium added. The Season 7 lineup tin beryllium recovered here.

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