Out in the uncultivated areas of my property, I'm seeing some plants that have the capacity to survive and even flourish. Oxblood lilies are pictured below. I have no idea how they got here. This little spot in the woods is quite a distance from where I actually planted oxblood lilies in my front garden. They look quite lovely in this natural setting.
These oxblood lilies are even further away from my cultivated gardens beneath layers of dead cedar trees. Isn't that amazing?
After the discovery of the oxblood lilies, I started looking around and identified several of my garden plants whose offspring had escaped back into the wild. This pigeonberry, Rivina humilis, seems to like this spot among the trees and weeds. Ironically, the pigeonberry in my garden doesn't look half this good.
I have no trouble growing scarlet sage, Salvia coccinea, so I wasn't surprised to see it taking advantage of thinning tree canopies and dead bramble vines.
This rock rose, Pavonia lasiopetala, and prickly pear cactus look quite at home in this woodsy spot despite never having received an ounce of water or a bit of care from me.
This lantana is a hopeful sight along the back fence. Even though it's surrounded by dead trees and brush, it's huge and blooming beautifully.
Inspiration comes from strange places and at unexpected moments. Right around the time I discovered these woodland survivors, I found a wonderful blog called the Plano Prairie Garden, and met with a representative from the Native American Seeds of Texas. These chance encounters gave me an idea. You might even say an epiphany.
I'm going to expand my wildflower meadow and create something more. Here's the very first picture taken after Richard used the tractor to trace out the beginning of a path. With wildflower seeds in hand and my mind brimming with ideas, I'm off to have some fun and create!
I like to walk in my wilder areas and look for interesting plants but I would be over the moon to find oxblood lilies. Lantana and rock rose seem to grow everywhere. A perfect time of year to tart that new project. I can hardly wait.
ReplyDeleteFinding the oxblood lily was pretty exciting. I'll divide a few and move them to other spots. I think I'll leave the bulk of them where they are. They seem pretty happy there.
DeleteHow cool, to have the Oxblood lilies coming up so far out.
ReplyDeleteIt'll be fun to watch your new project take shape.
I'm pretty excited about my new project. This rain today is wonderful news for wildflower season.
DeleteLove it- that is going to look so pretty!!! Just as described but now I "see" it. That is neat about the lilies- what a great surprise!!! Can't wait to see the post with all the wildflowers growing!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for helping with my tree selection yesterday. I guess I won't be planting my new trees today. It's still pouring here. The spring wildflower season is starting to look pretty good. Too bad I went shopping in Fredericksburg yesterday instead of planting my seeds. Doh! Oh well, they say there's more rain on the way and the ground will be good and wet after this latest storm.
DeleteThanks for the mention Ally.I have noticed in my garden that plants often perform much better when they relocate themselves where they want to grow. I left a couple of suggestions for you in response to your question about grass identification. A couple of other books that you may want to look at are The American Meadow Garden by John Greenlee and Gardening with Prairie Plants by Sally Wasowski.
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