First time blooms on my favorite plants for April.

I've been in various stages of the flu for about two weeks now.  Got the flu shot, not a covered strain.  I'm recovering slowly now and when I do get a chance to go outside I've been surprised at how amazing everything in the garden looks.  The biggest surprise are blooms on plants that rarely bloom or have not bloomed before.  On the last Friday of each month Lori at Danger Garden posts her favorite plants and asks garden bloggers to do the same.  Since these rare (for my garden) blooms caught my eye this week I'm putting them together for my favorite plants for April.

First up has to be Callistemon 'Little John' or dwarf bottlebrush.  One of the first plants I put in the garden back in 2010, I had given up on it ever blooming.  A big freeze the first year knocked it back to the ground and over the years it has basically been a foliage plant.  Too much shade?  Not enough water?  Hard to say what it was, but now this....

My favorite plant in November is Muhlenbergia capillaris

When it comes to native grasses in a Texas garden it's hard to beat the muhly family.  Many of them are native to Texas or nearby areas and they seem to thrive in our hot, dry summers and freezing winters.  I'm linking with Loree at Danger Garden to feature my favorite plant for November.  All during the year the muhly grasses provide a green, grassy anchor throughout the garden but it is in the fall when they truly command the most attention.  The Muhlenbergia capillaris aka Pink Muhly along the driveway are November standouts in the garden.

Out near the street this stand of cotton-candy puffs wave at passersby during November.

Leuchtenbergia principis is my favorite plant crush

"Cactus, party of one"  describes Leuchtenbergia principis best.  It's the sole species of the genus Leuchtenbergia which is a species of cactus.  The leaves, known as tubercles, are triangular and resemble agaves which is why it's commonly known as Agave Cactus.  I'm joining Loree at Danger Garden to post "My favorite plant" and Hoov at Piece of Eden who asked this week about our current plant crush.  This Leuchtenbergia principis is the one for this week.

My favorite (new) plant in the garden this week...Asiatic Jasmine!

It's that plant we love to hate, except this one was too pretty to pass up so I'm joining Loree at Danger Garden to feature Trachelospermum asiaticum 'HOSNS' as my favorite plant....this week.

This week I stopped by Shades of Green nursery in San Antonio where my friend Pat recommended I take a look at newly arrived Asiatic Jasmine Snow-N-Summer (Trachelospermum asiaticum 'HOSNS').  At first I hesitated--Asiatic Jasmine?   I took a look anyway and bought it even though I have no idea where it will go yet.

Here's my latest impulse purchase fresh out of the car and already brightening up the view from the kitchen.  According to my research, Asiatic Jasmine does well in pots--not something I would have thought of before acquiring this one.

My favorite plant in the garden (this week) is.....Salvia 'Amistad'

Sometimes it's easy to pick a favorite and sometimes not.   Choosing my favorite color for some reason has always been pretty easy.  While I like all the colors my favorite has been purple for as long as I can remember.  That's why I took notice when Salvia 'Amistad' began appearing in gardening blogs and online gardening articles about two years ago.  It's also why I chose it for my favorite plant this week and am joining Loree at Danger Garden in posting on my favorite plant... this week.