This one is a HUGE surprise!

Yesterday afternoon, I was walking on the other side of our property, just mulling around and pulling weeds from the compost heap. (We don't have much planted over there, other than some esperanzas and crape myrtles.) Anyway, I happened to glance at the coral honeysuckle vine that volunteered a few years ago to grow on our chain-link fence in a corner. It is HEALTHY big! As I was passing by, a different leaf caught my eye. What was that? I looked closer.....

A morning-glory! I found some unopened buds, which confirmed my basic identification. Hmmm. I looked at the leaves again. It definitely was NOT our local tievine (Ipomoea cordatotriloba). Could it be Alamo vine (Merremia dissecta), which I planted further down the fence? No, I decided.

I followed the mystery morning-glory's stem down to the Mohr's thoroughwort (Eupatorium mohrii), a little volunteer off the mother thoroughwort. The vine was growing from the thoroughwort's base.

Could the vine be Lindheimer's morning-glory?

YES YES YES! (This morning, the open blooms confirmed the species.)

And, pray tell, why is this such a surprise, Sheryl?

Why, I thought you'd never ask! Well, we bought and planted a Lindheimer's morning-glory (Ipomoea lindheimeri) in April 2013 in this same location. It didn't survive, and it must not have bloomed because I don't have photos on my blog of any. THAT WAS EIGHT YEARS AGO! I just can't explain this one! Did our recent abundant rains have something to do with it? I'll never know. In the meantime, WELCOME BACK, LINDHEIMER'S MORNING-GLORY! Please stay this time! (Yes, it's a perennial vine.)

Alamo vine flower and leaves.....

I love Alamo vine.

 

Look closely...

See that little green thing in the Meadow? I stepped up for a closer look and.... Turned out to be a monarch chrysalis! Another first for me! I'd never found one in our Wildscape before. It was TOUGH to get a good picture of it! Enjoy!

Argiopes in love

A first ever for me! I got to photograph a male yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia) WITH a female! He's waiting for her to molt for the final time. Then they'll mate.

July 30, 2021 Follow up:

Molt. Mate. Murder.

Zizotes follow-up

This is more like a "Notes to myself" post.  Last September, I was so excited to find a volunteer zizotes milkweed (Asclepias oenotheroides) in the Meadow. Then it "disappeared." I couldn't find it! But I KNEW it had to be there still because milkweeds put down deep, strong taproots. They mean to stick around once they pick a home. Anyway, as you might guess, I found my zizotes! This time, I took some photos and marked the location so I can find it easier next time.

Crestrib morning-glory update

Our prolific rains this season brought me a WONDERFUL surprise. They germinated seeds dropped in 2019 by my transplanted Edwards Plateau crestrib morning-glory (Ipomoea costellata var. edwardsensis). If you'll recall, that's the uncommon species that I found in November 2018 in Blanco. Because of that discovery, I had some amazing adventures. I also presented a program at the 2019 Texas Master Naturalist state conference and wrote an article, "New Plant on the Block," for Wildflower magazine. Last year, I was so sad when a few seedlings didn't survive. But this summer, five or so are going STRONG! Welcome back, crestrib! I'd sure like to preserve this species in our Wildscape.

Amazing summer weather!

This is a July like none other than I can remember! These were yesterday's morning temperatures. Plus we've been getting RAIN, too!

Another garden tour

This morning, we hosted another fun garden tour. This time, a group of farmers and ranchers drove over from New Braunfels, Marion, Spring Branch and Fredericksburg. Afterward, they had lunch at the Redbud Cafe. From there, they planned to visit the Arnosky Family Farm. Fun time! Thank you for coming, y'all!

 

 

Prima was sad to see everyone go. (See the red tail lights in the upper right corner?)