Wandering the Wildflower Center

Last week I had the privilege of spending a day with two of my favorite gardeners at one of my favorite gardens. These women have answered countless questions, stocked my garden with innumerable plants and offered inspiration through their wonderful gardens.

Who are these paragons? My mother-in-law, and my dear friend Lona. We met at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in south Austin to tour the grounds and have a “ladies’ lunch” at the on-site and aptly named Wildflower Café. The day was perfect:  sunny and unseasonably warm.

View as you enter the demonstration gardens area.

Listening to these gardeners converse about plants, while I trailed after pretending I knew what they were talking about, was simply wonderful.

None of us had been to the center in awhile, though we have visited extensively in the past. We were all interested to see changes since those last visits.

We first stopped to inspect a new garden area at the head of the Hill Country trails, freshly landscaped and just being planted with natives. Next, we noticed the Ashe juniper logs lining the trails. In the demonstration gardens area, we were impressed with the small beds planted using round metal watering troughs.

One of my main goals for this trip was to inspect a small rock garden that I remembered seeing, since I am working on a rock garden here on the hill. The one I remember did not offer much inspiration, but the center’s staff had installed a bed in the demonstration gardens with desert plants and décor that jumped right out at me.  Yes!

At the center, located on the southern edge of Austin, one is guaranteed to see wildlife. A friend (actually, my husband’s fourth grade teacher!) who volunteers at the center pointed out the great horned owl that had taken up residence a few days earlier in a pocket bed high on the entrance wall.  To the left of the entrance is a small pond, in which three turtles were basking on a rock. This area is guaranteed to fascinate any young child passing by.

Because we visited in February, before most growth has begun, we enjoyed seeing the bones of the gardens. Lona commented that it would be interesting to come back and see how the gardens evolve over the course of the year. She’s right.

If you haven’t visited this wonderful place, you should. It abounds with native plants and landscaping tips and ideas especially relevant for central Texas. 

Our ladies' lunch was delicious, too.

One can even find inspiration in the parking lot!