Marvelous May

Brevity is not my strong suit, but I'll try to keep this short and sweet. We've made it to the merry month of May and the temperature is pretty mild today, as it was yesterday. Mild weather can't last much longer here in Central Texas, but my plants seem to be thriving in this extended Spring.

Last week, I saw this rosette forming in what is supposed to be a weed-free pea gravel zone in the front yard by the mailbox. I almost pulled it, then noticed that I didn't recognize it and flower buds were forming. I decided to wait and see what it would look like. I noticed these sunny yellow flowers yesterday. 

At first glance, it looks a little like a Dandelion, but the yellow is more of a light lemon yellow, and the flowers are bigger with a more defined center. I still don't know what it is, except cute. Yellow is somewhat lacking from my yard, though I do like it.

Update: I looked at the Wildflower Center's Native Plant Identification Database, and this seems to be the most likely ID: http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=PYPA4

Near the yellow surprise, Caradonna Meadow Sage looks better than it ever has since I brought it home from the nursery two years ago or so.

A backed-up shot of the same area in the front yard. This past weekend, I finally started digging the hole for the Texas Mountain Laurel. I got about six inches down and had to have my husband take over, but he made short work of it. I had originally planned to plant this Mountain Laurel at the opposite corner of the house, right by the garage, from the Mountain Laurel we have by the kitchen corner of the house. When I realized how shady the garage corner was, I changed my mind.

Here's the other Mountain Laurel, bringing up the rear in this picture. We planted it seven years ago, I think, from a plant about the size of the one we just planted. They are notoriously slow growers, which is okay with me for this particular spot.

The other plants in this bed--Ginger, Flax Lily, Liriope and Turk's Cap--are rebounding nicely from being frozen to the ground. Okay, Liriope never froze. But it looks livelier, too.