spring's gone sproing.

Let us all take a moment to mourn the passing of the best weather Austin's had so far this year. On Monday it was in the low 80's and gloriously unhumid (as opposed, I suppose, to inhumid), and the last in a stretch of perfect days. After I checked the forecast, I went out and took a whole bunch of pictures of all the spring flowers before the heat nuked them. This is the best the show's going to get until fall, so I figured I'd might as well wallow.

So, on Monday, first of all, we have my twobonnets, the twin results of many, many bluebonnet seeds strewn throughout the yard.  I'm hoping that the lack of germination is directly related to the drought, and hope that maybe there'll be more of a show next year.

Souvenir de la Malmaison in the afternoon. I swear that it's nearly impossible to take a bad picture of this rose. And the scent, which I used to be unimpressed by, has really grown on me this year.

Louis Philippe has filled out a lot in the last few months. I cut it back really hard in February, and I think that helped a lot. The flowers aren't as showy in this much shade, but I'm impressed that it's doing so well with so little sun!

Gruss an Aachen, guaranteed for flower porn. See all those subtle shadings of color? Those disappear the minute it gets above 90F, so I'm enjoying them while I can. And I'm showing remarkable restraint in only posting two of the pictures I took. I took a LOT of pictures.

Duchesse de Brabant, at peak bloom, and smelling freaking incredible. I do have to admit that it's really hard to photograph this rose and do it justice. I should probably try lying on the ground and aiming the camera skyward, as all the flowers nod.

And at last, long after I'd given up hope since I planted the bulbs so late, daffodil Thalia started blooming on Monday. Lousy timing for Thalia, but at least I have some consolation that my pricey impulse buy of a ton of bulbs off the Lowe's bargain table wasn't totally in vain. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that they'll be back-- earlier-- next year. I love the flowers' elegant form. I've heard that they're fragrant, but I was in a hurry when I took the pictures and forgot to smell them.

Belinda's Dream is in full bloom, too. This is another rose I have a hard time photographing from close-up. The flowers on this plant always seem to show insect damage and a good amount of wear and tear, but I know a lot of people go crazy for the hybrid tea-like blooms. I have mixed feelings about this rose, but that's a subject for a separate post.

And for comparison purposes to the last few years, the requisite long shots of the garden:

I am also thrilled to announce that soon I will finally have a hammock to lounge in in the garden. The fine folks at Teak, Wicker & More, an online store that sells a huge variety of patio furniture, contacted me about reviewing one of their products on this blog. After much deliberation and nearly crashing my poor computer with the number of tabs open in my browser, I decided that what I really needed was this hammock stand. I have long been of the opinion that the peak of decadence is lounging in a hammock surrounded by flowers, and now I have the perfect excuse. For testing purposes, of course. I aim to be thorough.

Until then, I'll be out in the garden, trying to get as much done as possible before it's too hot to move.