Perfect pinks in bloom thanks to Spring showers

Nature’s Nuances

May in Central Texas is usually a wet month and fortunately for Dripping Springs we received some nice sprinkles beginning on the 3rd day of May. My rain gauge measured close to 3” of rain for the 6th and 7th, 1” on both the 23rd and the 27th and then again close to 1.5” for June 11th and 12th. Comparable amounts were recorded by other Master Naturalists also living in Dripping Springs. A few more teasing sprinkles before and after each of these events helped keep the past month fairly cool. It also was a catalyst for many flowers to burst forth with a brilliant showing of lavender, pink and purple flowers.

While driving to and from town keep an eye out for bright pink bouquets perched atop barren, rocky or caliche soils, few plants find enticing, making these inverted cones of perky pink easy to spot. The flowers themselves are only 1/2 - 3/4” wide but grouped together their five star-like petals are quite spectacular. This flower is an annual so it is important to allow all the seeds to spread naturally in order to see them in the future. The shoulder or side of the road is generally where these wildflowers choose to grow. When the mowers come out in full force their timing is critical to continue the survival of this and many other species. If the mowing occurs too soon before the seeds have spread, the Pinks’ offspring may be severely limited in the following years. These Mountain Pinks or Centaurium beyrichii are rich indeed and their sightings are usually just limited to the month of June. So catch them while you still can!

Prairie Verbena or Dakota Mock Vervain has a lavender or purple bloom that thrives in our area.

Unlike Mountain Pinks, Verbena bipinnatifida begins blooming in early March and continues to bloom through October despite the intense summer heat. Its stems can be up to 2’ long radiating from the base. The individual flowers are only 1/4” wide and are grouped at the top of a peduncle or flower stalk. This plants’ dark green leaves are compound with symmetrically arranged leaflets on both sides of the petiole or leaf stem. The leaves are very easy to distinguish since they have incised oblong lobes almost to the stem. Verbena tend to grow in multiples in pastures, open fields and meadows. This wildflower is a perennial with an indefinite life span renewing itself each year.

Last year was banner year for Verbena while this year the Mountain Pinks are in abundance. All plants select the perfect year depending on the climate and conditions to dominate the scene and then take a hiatus to enhance their root systems and recover. So the stage of colorful blooms changes from year to year. Don’t get discouraged if you sow wildflower seeds in the Fall and don’t see any of these cropping up the following Spring. Those seeds may take a year or two before ideal conditions set the perfect stage for their explosion.

An evergreen shrub growing naturally on the eastern and southern edges of the Hill Country and in the Trans-Pecos is Texas Sage, Purple Sage or commonly known as Cenizo. This shrub is popular in landscaping to highlight entrance gates (4-6’ tall) since it grows well on poor limestone and clay soils with minimal water. Its alternate and oval, silver gray or light gray-green soft leaves densely cover all stems and branches. A light trimming in the winter of long, top shoots helps to shape and broaden this attractive evergreen shrub. Another bonus, deer generally do not find Texas Sage very tasty. Leucophyllum frutescens is a prolific bloomer in both Spring and Fall immediately after a rainfall which lends itself to being called a “Barometer Bush.” Its stunning lavender, pink or purple flowers are about 3/4”long and bell-shaped. These flowers are a magnet for native bees and a host plant to Theona checkerspot butterfly.

Mountain Pinks, Prairie Verbena and Cenizo are all native, deer and drought resistant. The wildflowers grow naturally and are rarely found in nurseries while Cenizo can be purchased in nurseries or transplanted from existing shrub sprouts or seeds. These three flowers are the “bee’s knees,” excellent examples of magnificent spring blooms. Bees have six leg sections that can be analogous to our knees since they are connected by a joint. Bees love bright flowers and once they alight on a bloom they can carry pollen back to their hive in sacs on their legs or spread the pollen to other plants as they dance through colorful fields.

On a different note, weather is a common topic of conversation for us and is key to our survival and that of plants and all wildlife. This article began by addressing rainfall. A Citizen Science program that began with a high school project in Colorado and has expanded throughout the U.S. is CoCo-RaHS or Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow. Accurate rainfall amounts can be observed daily and then recorded in the CoCoRaHS App to assist researchers and meteorologists gather and report data about precipitation by region. If this spikes your interest and you’ve been tallying your own rainfall or if you have always been curious about measuring rainfall at your home, first purchase a “Precise Rain Gauge” (w/ mounting bracket). It measures up to 1/100th of an inch, has an inner tube that measures a maximum of 1” and has an outer tube that can measure up to 10” of rain. Then register your site at https://www.cocorahs. org to begin monitoring and recording. A quarterly Newsletter is also a bonus.