Blog

This is the entry area to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. It's in Austin TX, and is associated with the University of Texas. I would say it's the easy way to meet Texas wildflowers, but I spent a day wandering the grounds. I was constantly greeted by new and beautiful plants. No other collection that I've seen comes close to the exhaustive array of native flora. More than a month later I'm still figuring out what I saw.

I thought I knew Cynthia. In Michigan these plants have only a few flowers, hence two-flowered Cynthia. They're always a pleasure to see because there's just enough orange in the flowers to set them apart from all those other yellows. But as you go south it seems Cynthia becomes more enthusiastic, producing more stems and flowers. And it seems to venture out of the damp spots onto roadsides and even rocky hillsides like this. So hello, Cynthis, nice to see you again!

Out the door at five and headed to Kentucky. Lady-slippers were the goal, but there's always targets of opportunity. Umbrella magnolia was blooming in southern Ohio. Saw this one only because I was looking for passing flowers and missed the detour sign. Lady-slippers were in northern Kentucky, and difficult to spot. After an extended search I found someone else who knew where they were. Thanks, Adam! The day ended with a failed search for puttyroot orchids. Hard to spot those little leafless flowers in the dark down pore of a precocious storm. But I can't really blame the weatherman's time guessing. By the time I headed into the woods I could tell what was happening. So, early success and late adventure. On the long drive back I decided there wouldn't be any more one-day trips like that. The day after I was planning the next one. Matelea here we come!

When I got to Barataria the first giant blue plants I saw were done blooming. When I asked a park person about them, he said I might yet find a few if I walked their other boardwalk. Good leg pull! The many iris were an amazing start to that southern trip. Moving on, I was tripping again yesterday. Got up and out at five headed for Kentucky. Another early success with a rare flower, but then . . .

One of the easier flower treks in my history. About 20 steps out the front door. Think I'll try again today and see if I can figure out a good way to clean up the background of clematis stems. Sure don't want to cut them. Maybe pile up some leaves.