Fall is Coming!

Fall is coming!  I promise, it is.  I don't know about other parts of the country but here in Texas, namely Austin, it is hot, hot and did I mention it is hot?  I for one am ready for fall and the cooler temps.  I thought I would share a few photos of things that have been blooming in the nursery lately - hope you enjoy!

 The bees don't seem to mind the heat.  They are all over the place which is wonderful.  In this shot they are on the Russian Sage, which is a personal favorite of mine.  I love the colors.

 Aaahhh, the Panicum 'Northwind'.  I know I am not supposed to have favorites, but.... this is one of my favorite grasses.

 The Passion Vine are always a hit- the showy blooms are so intricate and delicate.  I have so many photos of these blooms- just can't get enough of them.

 We do a few specialty Hibiscus, this is one of them.  The blooms are huge and the flowers bright- definite showstoppers.  

 This is my favorite Portulaca.  I mean look at it!  What's not to love???

This one is a hard one to photograph as it isn't the showiest of plants and blooms but the fragrance- if only there were a way to capture the fragrance.  The Almond Verbena- intoxicating.  

 This is turning into a post of my favorite things I am noticing....  this is my all time favorite annual- such a bright pop of color and fun texture and bloom.  We have a few different Celosia, but I am partial to this one.

 The Neobuxbaumia and their crown of blooms- what's not to love?!?

And I will end with some 'Topsy Turvy' Echeveria blooms and a photo of a hummingbird.  

Funny story about this little guy.... I was chasing him for what seemed like hours to get a good shot of him as he zipped around the nursery, and then he stopped and sat on this line right next to me and just hung out for about 5 minutes.  Just sitting there.  He was so close- it was so neat.  I could have reached out and touched him.   It was truly one of the most exciting things to experience.  

 I have been really bad about blogging lately and for that I apologize.  I promise to make an effort to be better and post more often.  I have been posting a lot on Instagram - it is just so easy to just take the photo and pop it up there it has me spoiled.  Anyway, hope you enjoy!   

Blooms!!

It's that time of year and everywhere you look at the nursery there are blooms!  It is wonderful.  I love this time of the year- it's hot but not too hot and the hummingbirds, bees and butterflies are everywhere.  Hope you enjoy the photos!!

Have a wonderful May!  Still having a hard time believing it's May and we are almost halfway through!!!

Look at my Monarch Pictures!

 What's that you say?  A bee?  Not a Monarch?  

Well, I know.  That's how I felt.  I saw a pair of Monarchs flying around and I was so excited that I ran in and got the camera to catch a good shot and could not get a single one.  Not one- not even a blur of them.  I did take a few shots of things as I was TRYING to get them.  I think I should have had my other lens but I was afraid if I ran in to change lenses, I would lose them the shot for sure- oh well, there is always tomorrow. 

 I did get a good shot I thought of the the Jerusalem Sage.  I have always really liked this plant.  It is tough and always seems happy.  Easy one to plant and forget, maybe that's why I am secretly so fond of it.... HA

 I am very excited to see the little balls of the Golden Ball Lead Tree starting to emerge.  This is one of the neatest trees around in my opinion.

 The Anacacho Orchids are starting to bloom.  I am not sure if it is safe to declare or not, but it sure does seem like spring has sprung....

 Good ol' Blackfoot Daisy.  Easy and continuously happy little plants.

And I started with a bee so I will end with a bee.  This one digging his way into a Bush Germander.  I thought he was going to disappear in there!

Maybe tomorrow I will get some Monarch photos.  Sorry I have been so bad about blogging as of late- I have not had five minutes to take a photo.  But today, with the pair of Monarchs I just had to take a break and get a shot.  Oh well, maybe tomorrow, but I am happy I got some other shots.  It was a nice little break!

Random Stuff

Four Nerve Daisy

Just a random day- no real theme.  I was out today taking photos of various things.  I spent a lot of time trying to capture this one butterfly that I knew before I started that it was not going to show up well but went for it anyway.  I was right.  

 Here he is flying away- you can almost "get" how pretty he is.

The problem is you can hardly see him in the photos.  He is bright yellow and so pretty but when his wings are together appears almost white/ cream. (i.e. hard to photo in the sun....).  He was so funny- he would fly around but come full circle every time back to the Pride of Barbados.  I finally realized this and just sat and waited for him to come back after making his sporadic rounds.

I had tons of shots of the bees though none really turned out that great other than these.  There are three types of bees that are constantly in the salvia- the yellow and black big one,(above) the all black one (below) and then the little bee.  They all seem to get along just fine. 

The front planter I think is coming along just fine- I pulled out the variegated society garlic I had at the back, I didn't like how it looked after all.  The hearts and flowers are growing like mad and have overtaken a lot of the space but I still like the way it looks and how it spills down the column so I am leaving it.  

I trim it back here and there but it is just so lush and green I like leaving it in a mass. 

The Dwarf Plumbago is such a pretty blue but so hard to capture.  I am still toying with the manual mode on my camera - not proud of any of those shots yet but this was the best shot I could get of them.  I really like the brilliant blue, I just wish it showed up better.

Not too Windy for the Bees and the Butterflies!

Well I got some shots I am happy with today. Who knew- as windy as it was today they were still very active. The white butterfly was all over the Lavender Provence. He was so light and the lavender itself so light it was hard to capture a striking photo of the both of them. The bees I think showed up great on the Milk Weed as well as on the Spanish Lavender. I got that one other butterfly on the Mystic Spires Salvia. He was really interesting. It was as if he had "horns" on his wings. It was odd. He was quick too. He was all over the place.

Love It, Now to Learn How to Use It....

My sweet husband got me a new lens for my camera for my birthday. Since we opened up this nursery I have been having a blast shooting pictures of the butterflies, bees, dragonflies etc... along with plants, blooms, stalks and leaves. There are several photos that I was always unable to get due to my lack of skills for the most part and due to the lens I have. Well, for my birthday last week I opened up one of the best presents I think I have ever gotten- a new lens. I am having so much fun with it!!!! I will post a few shots but there is a lot I have to learn. Off to shoot!!!

The bee with the Mystic Spires Salvia and the Dragonfly perched on top of a blade of the Dianella.

Who knew?

Who knew there were three types of bees? Not me. I do now but was totally clueless to this. George, our neighbor at the nursery, pointed this out to us the other day that we have not one, not two, but THREE types of bees hanging out with our Salvia. We have this incredible Mystic Spires Salvia that is just breathtaking. I posted a photo of a bee on it so you can see. I love to sit and watch them - they are much better photography subjects than the hummingbirds that I have still been unable to catch and the dragonflies, who I can get one at a time while they sit but the tandem ones, not great shots nor when in flight.

Everything is blooming right now and it is just so pretty. I have had so much fun doing this nursery with my husband. He is very patient in teaching me about all the plants , what does well where and how big this or that gets etc.... as well as about the plants themselves. I was just informed a few minutes ago that after I have learned about everything out there, we are getting about 20 new items tomorrow. Just when I get to where I am feeling comfortable BAM more to learn. Keeps me on my toes. That's for sure. I am not complaining, I am excited. I love putting things together and setting up the little gardens around- they aren't all done - which is what brought up the conversation- I was telling him I was trying to decide what to include to finish this one garden I had started the other day when he said, why don't you wait until the truck gets here tomorrow and decide then. Well who knew. More stuff. It's like Christmas when those trucks come in - I stand back there watching them unload and make all my comments and ooh and ahh over things ha ha. The drivers I am sure think I am nuts. I can't wait to see it all- apparently lots of new fun stuff coming in- Spider Lilies (one of my favorites), Variegated Dianella, Firespike- just the name itself - can't wait to see what that is going to look like and then a bunch of other stuff. I will take some pictures and post them after I finish organizing everything- I am all about the rows. ha ha ha. I told my husband that is one thing I honestly enjoy doing- organizing the rows, arranging by color etc... I take great pride in my rows. It's the little things in life.... ha ha.

Fall Has Arrived!!

Well it is here, fall has come. I can't believe it. We just got electricity and air conditioning in the office and now we need a heater. Isn't that just how it goes??? Kinda like this morning when I am racing out the door, put down my coffee for a SPLIT second and turn around to find my dog is slurping it up. Nice. Hope she enjoyed it. I finally got to the nursery and everything just looks happy. The weather is cooler and the plants are definitely applauding. The succulents are starting to turn colors already. The bees don't seem to notice much, they are buzzing around as always and the dragonflies continue to chase each other. I have been on the lookout for the butterflies but they seem to have shrunk in numbers the last two days. It is just gorgeous out. The windows are open and the citrus are turning- little yellow lemons everywhere and a whole new round of blooms which is making the air around the office intoxicating. I went and did my morning check up and two of the sweet olives are in bloom. How such a little flower can put off such an incredible smell I don't know but I love it and don't want it to stop!!