Vervain, lightning and a living rock.

Verbena halei  (Texas vervain) - This Texas native loves the cactus bed environment.





Ariocarpus fissuratus - An incredibly slow growing native cactus that lives in far South and far West Texas.  This small cactus could easily be 25 years old.  I have had it for 4 years and have not seen any appreciable increase in size.



Ariocarpus fissuratus

Fireplace / Cactus garden

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   Texas Blazing Star (Liatris mucronata) foreground, Snow on the mountain (Euphorbia marginata) background.

Takeover

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea), taking over the garden. Tried eating as much as I could and remove the rest.  Some years we hardly have any and other years conditions are in its favor and it takes over.


Cinnamon Bunny Ears, Opuntia Microdasys Rufida, although this plant looks lovely from a distance in reality its a nightmare in the garden, the irritating cinnamon glochids readily detach in a cloud of "dust" ruining any glove or piece of clothing that comes in contact with it.



Escobaria hesteri   



Astrophytum capricorne



Astrophytum capricorne

Red-Tailed Hawk

I think this is a Red-Tailed Hawk but the bird was much bigger than hawks I typically see around our neighborhood.

More butterfly wings in back-light

Gulf fritillary (Agraulis vanillae)

Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

Queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus)

Butterflies in Backlight

 A Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), stops to fuel up on, arguably its most preferred nectar source, Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum).



Gulf fritillary, (Agraulis vanillae) - In the Fall, heading to the Rio Grande Valley for the winter.

Desert Blues

 There is a certain shade of turquoise that seems to be a favorite for desert plants.  I am guessing the blue color keeps the plants from getting too much sun, I wonder if clothes made of this color would be cooler or if cars and houses painted this color would have less heat gain from the sun.

Agave neomexicana

Foreground - Liatris mucronata (Texas Blazing Star),
Background - Nolina matapensis (Sonoran Nolina)



Euphorbia rigida (Gopher plant)

Texas vs Succulents

Texas (Central Texas at least) is not so nurturing of all succulents.  Here is an example of three species that can only survive in Texas given a protected environment in the shade.   Echeveria runyonii - top, Sempervivum ‘Emerald Empress’ - right, Bitter Root Lewisia rediviva- bottom.  While they may thrive in the winter time here, they die in the summer if not hidden away from the sun and watered consistently.  I would guess its not the intensity of the sun that kills them but rather the length of the exposure and consistency of the heat.

Ferocactus gracilis - Fire Barrel Cactus - Unfortunately Texas is also tough on the Fire Barrel, the winter cold (less than 20 degrees) will mark the ridges as frost will turn the ridges brown and the red of the spines fades rapidly perhaps because of alternating heat, cold and humidity.





Cousins visit the cactus garden

Cinnamon Bunny Ears (Opuntia microdasys subsp. Rufida), this cactus is charming from a distance but working in close proximity to it you inevitably bump into the "cinnamon" which will then haunt you like fine fiber glass and is easily transferred from gloves or shirt sleeve weeks later to continue to irritate.

Cleome

Cleome aka Polanisia dodecandra grows well in the cactus garden (here looking like a small tree with white flowers).  This Texas native has interesting flowers that seem to be enjoyed by butterflies and hummingbirds.  It typically grows along sandy creeks in Llano County where I collect sand.

Flowering Senna, Cassia corymbosa

Echeveria runyonii

Thelocactus bicolor

Astrophytum asterias

Treasures from SouthTexas

Astrophytum ornatum var. virens - Maybe the most reliable and prolific bloomer in my cactus garden.  I would say somewhere between 15 to 20 blooms a year.

Astrophytum ornatum var. virens



Lower Rio Grande Valley Barrel Cactus, Ferocactus hamatacanthus var. sinuatus, It shrinks a bit in winter time and changes color from a blue green to rusty red.



Lower Rio Grande Valley Barrel Cactus, Ferocactus hamatacanthus var. sinuatus,



Fitch’s Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus fitchii).  On a trip to McAllen, Texas I befriended an interesting lady named Juanita who worked as a grounds keeper.  We talked about the local cactus and the art work she made by mounting them and growing them on driftwood or in some cases cedar stumps.  She gave me this plant from her ranch out of a paint bucket in the back of her pickup truck.