'Raven Girl' blooming!

Look at these stunning black-purple blooms! For James' birthday in 2022, I ordered two kinds of black-blooming bearded irises from American Meadows. We planted them in November 2023. Sadly, our 'Senior Jinx' rhizomes didn't survive. But 'Raven Girl' hung in there, even when we got little rain last year. Here's our reward...gorgeous blooms in the back yard! 

Texas feathershank follow-up

Awhile ago, I made a metal marker for my Texas feathershank (Schoenocaulon texanum). I was so elated April 2 when I discovered these five plants in a rocked-in bed in The Meadow. That's where I dropped seeds given to me by a Blanco friend in April 2024. This species is in the lily family, and the blooms are gorgeous (see photo below). I'd never seen one before I spotted them growing wild in Alison's property just a few blocks north of here. 

A photo from 2024 of one of Alison's blooms. 

What is that white thing?

While walking in The Meadow yesterday, I spotted what I thought was either a spider inside a white silken retreat or maybe an insect in a white cocoon. Wrong on both counts! iNaturalist suggested a FUNGUS in the genus Balansia. Turns out it's probably Texas wintergrass fungus (Atkinsonella texenesis). I don't think I'm gonna worry about it. 

 

Caterpillar in vomit mode

This is a white-lined sphinx caterpillar (Hyles lineata) that's been feeding on some narrowleaf four o'clock (Mirabilis linearis) in our back yard. A couple of days ago, I touched it, and it oozed out some greenish goo. A new behavior to me! James irritated it while I shot a short video (see below). So I've since learned that these caterpillars can indeed projectile spew as a defense mechanism (our friend just dripped it out). That vomit stuff is semi-digested plant material mixed with toxins.  

New additions plus a discovery

So last Saturday, I brought home one new friend from the Blanco County Master Gardeners' plant sale. Well, make that two. The tall, silvery one is a silver wormwood (Artemisia ludoviciana), also called white sage, Lousiana artemisia and lots of other common names. I chose this particular one because I spotted a ride-a-long, which I suspected was a snakeroot. 

 

When I went to plant the artemisia, I thought I'd simply pull out the snakeroot and plant it somewhere else. NOT! Instead, I discovered why this species is called SNAKEROOT, specifically Virginia snakeroot (Aristolochia serpentaria). I couldn't believe how long the thick roots were for what I thought was a very young plant. I gave up trying to separate the two plants and planted them together. Lesson learned: I better understand how this plant has popped up in a couple of other places from the original plant. 

Bernadette M. also gifted up with a desert willow (Chilopsis linearis), which James planted in front of The Pasture behind a semi-circle of Texas lantanas (they planted themselves there years ago). 

She also gave us anacacho orchid tree (Bauhinia lunarioides), which James planted inside The Pasture. Our other anacacho orchid lives in the back yard. Thank you, Bernadette!

Bromeliads

We've had the green bromeliads (pictured on right side of photo) since we married 20 years ago. It was gifted to us by our sweet neighbor Jeri. Last year, Kelly, another neighbor, gave us the variegated bromeliad, which I added to the green ones. On my blog, I've just always called them bromeliads. But what is their botanical name? I did a little sleuthing and found out that Neoregelia is the genus. They're native to the rain forests of South America. But ours seem to love our Central Texas backyard just fine. 

Another volunteer jimsonweed

We planted our first jimsonweed (Datuna wrightii). For several years, it did well in our front yard. Then the deer and/or drought finally decimated it. Last May, I brought one home from the Festival of Flowers in San Antonio. What should I spy when I went to plant it? A volunteer jimsonweed! Yay! But then, not yay. Once again, the deer interfered and yanked it up. I tried replanting the remains in The Pasture, but I don't know if it's going to return.

In the meantime, guess what I spied in the original location? Yes, another volunteer jimsonweed! This time, I dug it up right away and replanted it in The Pasture. Please grow! P.S. This species has several common names, including moonflower.