I fear that one of our younger neighbor’s may have lost their friend during a walk around the block. I’ve given him/her pride of place on the corner hoping that a reunion will occur soon.

after the past two weeks of rains, today it was an adventure to get out into the garden to see what new flowers have bloomed. Those plants that appear out of nowhere are the ones I enjoy the most. Today I spotted the first sprouts of purple basil that returns each year,  some thistley-flowers that I almost dug up last week, some larkspur sprouting up through the gravel driveway, and the progress of the morning glory that invades our garden from four doors down:

Spent the past few hours weeding and thinning out all of the borders while Chris and Tom mowed. Here are some recent blooms:

I picked up a few fun items at the Zilker Garden festival this weekend including some different types of begonias, bromeliads, and garden art. Then I came home, potted up my buys and took some new photos. Something smells lovely in the front garden and I cannot work out if it is the roses or rosemary or abloc of both. And my pomegranate tree is about to burst into orange flashes of blooms.

Between the bike rides and the Easter egg hunting, Chris and I did a lot pruning and tidying of the back patio this weekend. I managed to capture a few of the prettier things going on in the garden during our breaks though:

The sunny evenings and bright mornings make it easy to lose track of time in the garden. Here are a few shots from this morning. The latest Davod Austin, Mayflower, has loads of buds about to pop. My tortoise carries the weight of a geranium whose name I’ve forgotten. The blue and hot pink blooms from the corner of the patio and the ‘Flaming Katies’ are still going strong since Christmas. Surveying the spring changes is making me late for work!

Enjoyed spending some time in the garden on Sunday and exploring my neighbor, Daphne’s beautiful garden. She shared some coneflower and fall aster pass-alongs with me. This evening I planted those transplants and took a few shots of some buys I made this weekend (along with some new arrivals that are popping up from seeds planted in the fall).

made a quick trip to the garden center and came back with quite a haul. Tried a new trick of taking photos of the plants as I planted them with their name tag and location so I won’t forget what is where. Also picked up a few ladybugs aka ladybirds to distribute. And captured a couple of garden vignettes that I hadn’t noticed before-an accidental grouping of plants by the front door, and a group of bluebonnets attempting to hide our wheelie bins!

A quick revisit of some plants or pots I may have already shared but they look so happy after the showers. The cyclamen were in the bargain section of a nursery and on sale for the equivalent of 25p…they look better than the ones for which I paid eight times that much! I’d shared the blue and white pots in an earlier post but didn’t really focus on the flowers inside! I’m especially liking the red tinges on the succulents. My pansies and violas are going strong despite the ivy invasion in some pots–and are getting many visitors.  Plus, I need to celebrate keeping lavender alive for more than two weeks!