Wildflower Wednesday September 2019: Leucophyllum frutescens blooms just in time

When we had a good one-inch plus rainfall about 12 days ago, I started the countdown to blooms on our row of Texas Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens) along the driveway.  It usually takes about 10 days for the first blooms to emerge after a rain.  Blooms can appear in spring or summer but they are seen most reliably in the fall.

From the first tinge of lavender-pink it takes another couple of days for full bloom which arrived today -- just in time for Wildflower Wednesday.

The best garage door disguise

Native to South Texas and down into Mexico, these are 'Silverado' variety.  The true natives are a bit scrawny and sporadic for a neighborhood landscape.  While there were a few of those in our original landscape, they were removed over time and replaced by this fuller commercially grown version with intense flower color contrasted with gray-green foliage.  Despite common names which include Texas Sage, it's not a true sage which means it is not in genus Salvia.



Still close enough to the original to be a Wildflower Wednesday pick.  Shrubs can be wildflowers too.

Yesterday evening just beginning to reach peak bloom

  

Morning sun brings out more vibrant color

As soon as the blooms are out the bees get busy since the blooms only last a few days.  



Even with its rare bloom, this reminds me why I chose to plant Leucophyllum frutescens along the driveway.

Wildflower Wednesday is hosted by Gail at Clay and Limestone on the fourth Wednesday of each month.

August: Oh Sage!

Texas sage doesn't bloom like this very often so when they do it's time to celebrate.

As stand outs in the landscape they appear very much as I envisioned this scene when planting these seven Leucophyllum frutescans  'Silverado' back in 2012.

Bright blooms burst open ten days on the nose after a deep soaking rain the last week of July.  Jenny of Rock Rose blog in Austin also adds that we need a few dry weeks before the rain arrives to bring on this dramatic display.  I think so too since frequent spring rains produce sporadic blooms in overlapping succession and are not nearly as striking.  Texas sage is known as "barometer bush" and is sometimes thought to predict rain.  If that were the case, these blooms would have arrived a few days ahead of the rain back in July.

A few clouds but no rain in the forecast now.

Flowers have been buzzing with bee activity.

All the same type of honey bee.  While a few butterflies have flown past on their way to other plants, it's just hundreds of bees on the sage.

"The sage in bloom, is like perfume" as the song Deep in the Heart of Texas goes.  A light fragrance starts off a bit musty then turns more floral as it ages.

It's even been fun to take out the trash which is located just at the end of the row left of the garage.

Our neighbors have a nice view which they appreciate.

Our view from the front walk is pretty nice too

The blooms are fleeting, especially in summer heat and are already dropping their flowered confetti on the ground.

After a few weeks rest, they'll be primed to bloom again when autumn rains arrive.

Winter Garden Projects: Removing Texas Sage in the front yard

Winter is a great time for major garden projects in south Texas.  The mild weather allows us to enjoy working outside longer and most plants are dormant making them easier to move.  Back in November we removed a Texas sage from the mailbox bed near the street and this weekend we pulled out two more sages in the driveway island bed.  They had outlasted their value in the front garden and even with frequent trimmings they just didn't look right with the new landscaping.  The sages are the tall gray shrubs in the center of the bed.

Before

Opening up the front

The Texas sage near the street was one of the few plants remaining from the landscape installed by the builder and original owner of our house.

Since the yard was quite a mess when we returned to San Antonio in 2008 we were happy to have a large plant that needed little or no attention right out front.  Over time we have improved the landscape to the point where we now want to show off what was behind this sage, no longer needing to hide it from the neighbors.  So the sage you see here in the front began to look a bit out of place.

Sage Confetti Inspired by The Whimsical Gardener

There are always ideas for blog posts floating around in my mind waiting until something special nudges the idea into place.  That's what happened when Cat over at The Whimsical Gardener blog wrote a beautiful post about nature's confetti in the fall.

As she often does she inspired me to think about my own yard in a different way. It turned out to be a very special request because I've often thought of sharing these pretty dropped blossoms from our native Texas sage.

Texas "Barometer Bush" shows off rare blooms

"The sage in bloom is like perfume--Deep in the Heart of Texas"