Awesome Joolie

Bluebonnets! Last year there was a huge smashed-down dent right in the middle of our display where someone presumably plopped their kid down for pictures, the cornballs. So far, though, this season our patch has remained unmolested. The firewheels are starting to poke their orange heads up and will gradually eclipse the bluebonnets over the next several weeks.

Our neighbor's trumpet vine is going bananas right now. It seems unfair that the display is so much more robust on our side of the fence, but we aren't going to complain.

These aren't flowers, but holy crap, look at the rosemary. Here's the same bed about six years ago, for comparison. Also there appears to be a handsome man sprouting from the prickly pear. Not sure what his story is.

I don't remember what these are called, but they really are that color in real life. If anything, the blue-violet is even more intense when you lay eyes on it. I need to figure out what they are so I can buy more and put them everywhere--does anyone know?

I got a packet of Indian paintbrush seeds and planted them last fall. Exactly one has bloomed.

The link assures me that a sparse paintbrush year is normal during a bluebonnet bumper crop year, though, which makes me feel a little better, not least because those seeds are really expensive! Maybe they're just waiting for the right time.

Not pictured: lantana, four-nerve daisy, and fragrant lime and lemon blossoms. Our yard is exuberant with blooms, butterflies, and bees this month. Sometimes hard work does pay off.

Please indulge me by looking at one more picture of the bluebonnets, plus some salvia and bulbines, as seen looking up the hill yesterday afternoon. Happy spring, y'all!