The Spanish Dagger blooms

Twelve days ago Lyn came in to tell me the Spanish Dagger at the property corner was starting to bloom. I had dug this plant up on the Marshal Ranch close to Lago Vista about ten years ago. I had asked Mr. Marshal if it was okay and he said to take as many as I wanted. I dug up two little ones about a foot in diameter, getting a goodly amount of roots with both. I planted one along the driveway and the other a few feet away from a corner marker of our property. As there is no fence on that side I thought it would always let me know where the pin was located. The property next door has been surveyed twice since then. Both times I've been lucky enough to see them start working. I told them where the pin was to save them time looking and gave further instructions to not hack my Dagger as by then it had gotten much larger.

In only ten years the Dagger has grown to over ten feet high, and is over eight feet wide and has developed two heads. I've never tried to trim it or make it look nicer like some do. It can't be seen from the house but I always like to see it bloom. It can be quite spectacular.

Here is a picture of the bloom head just twelve days ago.

Four days later.

Four more days later.

And finally, today.

My NPSOT garden tour

This past weekend the Williamson Co. chapter of the Native Plant Society came to tour my gardens and take a stroll on the Army Corp of Engineers land that is just through my back gate. I really didn't have much blooming in my gardens yet, just the trailing Rosemary and a few Iris. However, they were very interested in the combos of natives and non-natives in the garden as well as all the rock work my wife and I have done around our ponds and gardens.


Our walk through the woods on the Corp land did turn up some early bloomers as well as other points of interest. It was a good time and I learned some new things about several plants. There are some very knowledgeable people on native plants in the club.

Nice solution for a sticky subject

I was driving on CR 200 just north of Liberty Hill a few days ago and spied some big blooms at a driveway entrance. I knew nothing should be blooming of that magnitude now so I just had to turn around and check it out. It turned out to be a rather artsy way of dealing with Century Plant thorns close to where the kids wait for the school bus. I've never cared for the way some people plant an Agave or a Yucca and then lop off the thorns so no one will get stuck. It just makes the plant look bad. It seems they should have planted it elsewhere.

These looked like they should have been on my Sisters street in south Austin as they just have that south Austin flair to them. Very innovative.