Road Trip to San Marcos

Well this weekend Matt and I took off to San Marcos to see Pat and Pat (his parents) in a vintage car rally, visit with my brother and look at wildflowers! It was a lovely weekend full of adventure. We started out Friday morning (we were suppose to leave Thursday night but Matt's flight from Sacramento was delayed for hours on the tarmac and we just weren't up for it) from Baton Rouge and got into San Marcos around 6 pm in time for dinner with his parents and my brother. The next morning Matt woke up early to help Pat and Pat get the car ready for the race (it wouldn't start and they had to make an emergency run to San Antonio for a part) so Matt and I set out to see the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. I had never heard of it until looking at the planned itinerary for the Garden Blogger's weekend and it was just too enticing to pass up.Matt and I got so many ideas for the next time we move (and maybe own a house instead of renting!).

He really wants to make some trellis like these and I want to have a bench covered in flowers like this one.







I loved that they used recycled glass in some of the beds instead of mulch or river rock...I can't wait to try it out in my pots at home! We enjoyed the center immensely and can't wait to go back and see the summer and fall flowers.

Later in the day we met up with my brother Nate in Austin and walked around the shops and such. The book store was sporting this sign, which made me think of all of us gardener's out there.

The next morning, Pat and Pat's car was working great so they set out to race and Matt and I set out to see more of the hill country. We drove up to Pedernales state park. We were so happy to discover an amazing bird blind (see pictures below) from which we saw over 11 species of birds!













We also got some great ideas on making a natural setting for birds to enjoy. We are definitely gong to create some natural looking feeders for our yard like this one:
Then we hiked down to see the falls and play in the river.

For lunch we met back up with Pat and Pat and enjoyed some Texas BBQ on the lawn of an amazing house in San Marcos and then headed for Houston to pick up the dogs. Matt left yesterday afternoon for Baton Rouge and I stayed here to help Dad (who is in town to get his visa) pack up and leave for England for good (lots of closet cleaning and such going on).

While I am here I would like to tackle Mom's garden but I think it maybe just too big of a project at this point. Things are flowering beautifully (no thanks to my brother) but it has grown into a jungle back there. Wish me luck and let me know if you can think of anything that grows natively in Houston and needs absolutely no care from people to keep it under control and looking nice.