April 02, 2021
Pop into the restroom at Barton Springs Nursery, and you’ll find you’re not alone in there. An impassive woman wearing a t-shirt that speaks for all of us — All I need is more plants — frolics in a bathtub filled with faux succulents and fiddle-leaf figs.
Even the showerhead is “planted up,” with a giant faux tillandsia standing in for a spray of water. So clever!
Like every single person in Austin, I’ve been making near-daily visits to nurseries in search of plants to fill holes in the garden and replace freeze-blasted container plantings. It’s a crazy scene at every nursery, with lines of cars trying to get in and plants flying off the shelves as fast as delivery trucks bring in new ones. But if you can go early on a weekday, you’ll find fewer crowds and a less frenzied atmosphere and can take a moment to enjoy springtime sights like this, a stunning ‘Tangerine Beauty’ crossvine in full bloom at Barton Springs Nursery’s entrance.
Beautiful blooms!
Even in the parking lot you’ll find little surprises, like a spiderwort that’s pushed up through a crack in the concrete to flaunt purple flowers.
At Vivero Growers, their container plantings always make me stop and look, including this combo of slipper plant, silver ponyfoot, and ivy geranium (I think).
And in a friend’s garden — always make time to visit a friend’s garden, where you can relax and enjoy her plants without thinking for one moment that you should get up out of your chair and get to work, as you do in your own garden — I spotted a patch of Texas bluebonnets in full flower. Hmm, it’s time for a wildflower safari, I think.
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