floral design & botanical blog
When you think of the desert, you don't typically think of a botanically-rich environment full of life. Striking landforms dominate horizons in Big Bend National Park, so it's easy to miss the small details along the ground. A variety of textures and colors paint a unique palette, and the desert rains bump up the saturation.
Read MoreRiding the Pinterest trend of the season, I had an idea to put together a pumpkin-decorating class using succulents, seasonal flowers, and local foliage. Luckily, my friend was excited about the idea and offered to host the party at her house and invite other ladies that would be eager participants.
Read MoreAlong Spring Creek, near the intersection of State Highway 190 and US Highway 75 in Collin County, Texas, there is the Spring Creek Nature Area, a section of land set aside by the City of Richardson for public recreation. One would never guess from these photos that this area is bounded by 8-lane highways and mid-rise office buildings. There is a lot of value in these 100 acres, both economically and ecologically. Many Texas native plants call this area home, despite the surrounding decimation. And in a plot-twist at the end of this post, one will see early pioneers called this area home, as well.
Read MoreIt was a very warm August afternoon when my mom and I ventured out along Cement Mountain Road in southeastern Young County, Texas in search of some unique flora. This county-maintained gravel road traverses the transition between the Rolling Plains and Oak Woods eco-regions. The soil here is sandy and conglomerate, proving responsible for the formation's "Cement" name. There is a lot of early Texas history on this topographical rise (it's difficult for me to call this a "mountain"), including the murder of a Texas Ranger by Native Americans in 1864. Luckily for us, there were no aggressive Indians in sight, and the county crews had not mowed the bar ditches all year.
Read MoreThe third post covering the flora of the Bar None Ranch in Mason County concludes with the details of the flowering annuals and perennials. As I've made clear in the first and second posts, the more-than-average rainfall this spring in Texas has led to an over-abundance of blooms, and blooming cycles well into the summer months when typically few plants are pushing inflorescence. The following photos documentation of these blooms.
Read MoreWhen you're in the Texas Hill Country, you often don't think to look for all of the species of ferns that have made this region home. Ferns growing among cacti seems counter-intuitive. This site did not disappoint.
Read MoreAt the end of June, I spent the weekend with friends on the western edge of the Llano Uplift in Mason County, deep in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. The James River, a short waterway spanning 36 miles before emptying into the Llano River, cuts through the 20 acre property. Never deeper than 12" or so, the river is fed by rain runoff and numerous springs. The area was home to Native Americans, and then white settlers by 1860. The river is known for its cleanliness as it's very remote and unspoiled by agricultural pollution.
Read MoreThis was my first time to visit this preserve, but I was guided by two fellow plant nerds who knew where all of the "goodies" were.
Read MoreSpring blooms are just beginning to pop in the Texas Hill Country. I spent a little over an hour in the Slaughter Creek Metropolitan Park in the southern suburbs of Austin. This refuge consists mostly of shallow limestone juniper forests, all within a floodplain. Light rain in the morning hours had coated the blooms in an attractive misting of water.
Read MoreIn the sweltering Labor Day heat, I paid the New Orleans Botanical Garden a visit. Established in the 1930s and incorporated in one of the oldest urban parks in the US (City Park, 1854), the botanical garden is definitely a greenspace worth its weight in ferns and orchids, both of which are many.
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