12 September 2009

Chisos Mountains: Part 2

Natural Inspiration in West Texas. [This is part 2 in a series on the Big Bend area, from natural to built environments. Part 1 is here.]

The view heading up the road into the Chisos.


This might be a bit hard to see, but here is an understory of Mexican feathergrass with agaves spiked throughout. A great combination, and the agaves seem more like the "whale's tongue" agaves I see for sale around here - squatter and more compact than the huge "century plants."


I think this little beauty is Scarlet Bouvardia or Trompetilla (Bouvardia ternifolia). There were so many flowers blooming up in the Chisos, and I only captured a few.


This path below is lined with agave and prickly pear with "tunas" or fruits in the background. Apparently, Big Bend has the most species of cactus of any national park in the U.S.


Another great combination - the purple of the tunas with the yellow of whatever that plant is, which was blooming everywhere.


This was common on the mountain too. It's a nice peach blossom on gray leaves and stems. I've seen this planted and growing near the water tower at the Wildflower Center, but can't recall the name.


A fabulous pairing of sotol and agave.


A crazy red flower - another unidentified.


And I'll leave the post with this picture of Mexican feathergrass lining a trail and framing the aromatic pine.

2 comments:

Pam/Digging said...

Mother Nature has designed this park beautifully. It's nice to see so many of my garden favorites--feathergrass, agave, sotol--growing wild.

Caroline said...

Gorgeous. I adore Big Bend. And to think I just recently discovered it, after 4 decades in Texas! Thanks for sharing.