We just returned from a short jaunt out to West Texas, to clear the mind and liberate the soul. There's just something about those wide open spaces. To our great surprise, the Big Bend-Marfa-Marathon area has had a cool and rainy summer, so everything was lush and green compared to Central Texas. Temps were about 20 degrees cooler during the day than here in Austin - hovering around 80 - and during the 65 degree nights, my thin blood required a long-sleeved pullover.
On Saturday, we headed south from Marathon (where we stayed at the Gage Hotel) to Big Bend National Park and the Chisos Mountains. When approaching the Chisos from far away, the mountains look rather barren. But the closer you get the more they reveal themselves to you.
We hiked the Lost Mine Trail - a short 5 mile hike up the mountain that took a while because both John and I were in love with everything happening there. Big blue throated hummingbirds zipping around, acorn woodpeckers squawking like parrots, and rufous-sided towhees shuffling in the leaf litter.
The woodland-grassland mountain landscape was gorgeous and totally inspiring from a gardening perspective. Below, you can see a mountain grassland anchored by Mexican feathgrass (Stipa tenuissima), grama grass (I think side-oats), and other grasses. Small shrubs and perennials like damianita (Chrysactinia mexicana) fill in the spaces to make a dense cover.
It was cool to see Mexican feather grass in its native habitat (it does great in Austin too). Look how everything hugs the well worn path. I love the simplicity and calmness from the repeated grasses, but they hide a great diversity of plants. Bees were everywhere...
The red blooms in this photo below are mountain sage (Salvia regla), another Chihuahuan Desert native in the highlands. This is also growing in my garden, but won't be blooming until October and November. The hummingbirds were all over this stuff, defending their little feeding territories.
Check out this beautiful arching grass. Don't know what it is yet...
I have a ton more photos and will be posting more soon. Blogger was giving me a hard time tonite. So, this is the first in a series of posts...
3 comments:
I especially love seeing what the native grasses are mixed in with and the overall color and texture patterns they create. Thanks for the inspiration!
Just breathtaking. I am more inspired than ever now to keep filling in our front areas with natives. It won't look like a typical Austin front lawn but then that is precisely the point. Thanks for sharing the photos.
I keep meaning to get out there and do just what you did on this trip, but it's a looong way. Thanks for sharing your trip. I look forward to more pics.
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