Flinging with National Wildflower Week

It was a dark and stormy morning at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center when 90+ garden bloggers from the USA, Canada and UK arrived for the first stop on our Austin Garden Bloggers Fling.  We had just enough time to grab a few photos before the skies opened up and rain poured down.  I had a great time last weekend meeting so many bloggers I previously knew only from their writings and photos.  Surprisingly, or maybe unsurprisingly, it was easy to recognize and get to know many bloggers quickly since I already knew a lot about them from their blogs.

It's National Wildflower Week, so I'll begin by sharing wildflower photos from three days of Fling tours.  I think I took the photo below while on a full run back to the Visitor's Center because thunder and lightning were on the horizon and I didn't want to get caught out in the open.  So different from the bright sunny visits I'm used to, it pretty much captures our first Fling day.

A few more from photos from the wildflower center when it was a little brighter at first.  

I love the deep magenta color of Wine Cups which refuse to grow in my garden.



These do grow in my garden - blue Salvia Farinacea and Firewheel.

A nice, if slightly soggy way to celebrate wildflowers.  After a rainy stop at Diana Kirby's garden we toured the Mirador Garden with blooming Yucca rostrata.

Firewheel and other wildflowers lined Mirador's drive in front of a tall Cor-ten steel wall.

Still raining, we next toured Rock Rose blogger Jenny Stocker's wildflower filled garden.

Poppies by the pool at Jenny Stocker's garden.

Lavishly filled to the brim with wildflowers!

Did I mention it was wet?

Typical Texas weather with just one day of pouring rain so the next day and the rest of our tours were sunny.

Saturday we saw butterfly magnet Gregg's mistflower (Conoclinium greggii) planted in the median across from Colleen Jamison's Garden.  Colleen planted the median for her neighborhood to enjoy and you can see bloggers did too.

Hesperaloe parviflora blooms were just some of the wildflowers in the Fowler's garden in Hutto north of Austin.

We were greeted by Engelmann Daisy and many other wildflowers lining the driveway at the Ruthie Burrus garden on Sunday.

Mexican Hats (Ratibida columnifera) left standing in the Burrus' garden.

Masses of Firewheel or Gaillardia along the driveway.

At Tait Moring's garden we found more Gaillardia on both sides of the drive.

Gaillardia tucked in among the Mexican Feather Grass.



Not all wildflowers were planted.  Gregg's Mistflower (Conoclinium greggii) in pots awaiting installation at Tait Moring's client's garden.

Tait Moring directed us to this impressive Opuntia gomei 'Old Mexico' forest just beginning to bloom.

More bright sunshine and Firewheel.

Kylee Baumle passing Gaura (Oenothera lindheimeri) at Kirk Walden's garden.  Gaura is sometimes called "Whirling Butterflies" which brings to mind Kylee's latest book on saving the Monarch butterfly.

That incredible view enhanced with wildflowers from our last garden stop on the tour.

Just a few of the wildflowers we enjoyed on a wonderful weekend of garden tours in Austin.

I returned home to wildflowers peaking in my own garden this week.

Just the first of many posts from my weekend of flinging with garden bloggers in Austin last weekend.

Happy Wildflower Week!