Surprises in the Botanical Garden

This weekend was Dog Days in the Botanical Garden.  I took Sawyer and Bentley down yesterday afternoon for a while.  We had a good time and I've done two posts on their blog but wanted to post  here about what I saw that surprised me.

I had never been to the garden in the winter until last winter (remember that post?) but I was surprised to see the beauty of the garden in a different way.   As I was walking with the dogs yesterday I had the thought again that the garden seems to be sleeping, almost hibernating like a bear.  In a few weeks it will yawn, stretch and shake itself awake, right?  Right!  Take a look at this picture:

Does it look like they are standing in a weed patch?  Yes, but those weeds are really wildflowers waiting to bloom!

 

 

 

 

I found myself looking in the places where I knew that in years past there were wildflowers.  I saw a nice promise of flowers to come, including bluebonnets!  We had rain in the fall, so everyone is hoping for a good crop this year.  I saw enough evidence to confirm this expectation.  But the big surprise I had was this:

The only blooming flowers at this time of year are the ones that have been planted in the beds of the garden.  Walking along one of the trails I was pleasantly surprised to see this small but brave iris blooming!  I guess our mild winter had fooled it into blooming early.  So sleep on mother earth, but bring spring to us soon!