Harbingers

Sprung up from nowhere overnight, there's a loose-headed blue hyacinth in bloom on the oak motte. A squirrel-planted white allium in a pot is the first of those to bloom anywhere in the yard. We're seeing more little white anemone blanda flowers than there've been in years and years. The weather has been favorable for keeping the Montopolis and Grand Primo and Avalanche narcissi showy for a long time. In a sheltered spot along one side of the house, thunbergia alata (orange with black centers) are blooming, but they fade when it rains. Nasturtiums held over in pots are not blooming, but do set new leaves. Rosemary, both in pots and in the ground, has remained in bloom. Cold has taken larkspur seedings various times in parts of the yard, but out front they're thriving. The robins must have passed over Bastrop or Smithville. It's probably too late for them around here now, and we've neither seen nor heard any. The all-yellow asclepias has continued to bloom; the butterfly-stripped orange-and-yellow ones are doing well to put forth new leaves. All the potted geraniums are in bloom outdoors. Carrying them inside on those colder evenings has preserved them, and they really enjoy this weather.