With some assistance from a dear friend who 'tweaked' these to bring out their true beauty, I've managed to bring y'all a glimpse into what I see in my "backyard". . . These were taken on the 'real' Hilltop. . . C'mon out and take a look. . .

Wildflowers1

Wildflowers2

Wildflowers3

Wildflowers4

Wildflowers5

Wildflowers6

Wildflowers7

Wildflowers8

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

Answers

Brooke,

Simply Beautiful! I now know why you like the hilltop so well, well besides the obvious! :)

Sheeps

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

very nice. i just signed up at photoasa. any hints on how to go directly to the photo and stripping away all the HTML?

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

Brooke, those are beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

BWD, if you are referring to linking to the photo, just click on the photo you want, and when it shows that photo, right click on it and copy the location. Then you link to that location to either create a link to it, or show it by using the html img src line.

does that help?

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

I'm gradually replacing the last remaining strip of grass on the front with periwinkle. My local nursery, which is a gem, now offers several different kinds of vinca minor--white-flowered, larger, deeper blue-flowered, white variegated leaves and another one with a light green leaf. I'm mixing them for what I hope will be a pretty effect when it covers the whole thing. I'd like to use differnt kinds of wildflowers but am afraid to try anything less dependable--vinca will grow in a wide variety of soil and conditions.

A packet of free wildflower seeds about five years ago produced some wallflowers, which are still growing. I'm not keen on the orangey-yellow but the perfume can't be beat. The deep velvety red ones were lovely but they smelled like, um, cow doodoo.

Looks as if you have some wild zinnias in there, Brooke. The Hungarian and I both like them because they grow well in pots and don't mind a missed watering now and then, not prone to mildew, either. And did I recognize some aquilegia?

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

Sooo pretty Brooks! Did you plant these? I remember you saying that you had worked on getting your yard the way you wanted it to be. I have seen large packages of (I think there called) mixed wild flower seeds, would these be considered wild flowers?

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

Pretty...PRETTY!!!!! I can almost smell the soft aromas and scents....I thought I could see herbs, too.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

Maggie, no. . .I didn't plant these; these are indigenous to the Hilltop. This is all Mother Nature's hand. . .When I lived in KC, I *did* try to get my backyard to resemble something like this, and spent quite a few pretty pennies in my attempt! My front yard resembled an English cottage garden - carefully cultivated to achieve that studiously overgrown effect. . .

Oh, I've got plans for this place that will take years and years to refine and implement. . . ;-)

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

"Years and years"??? Optimistic aren't we? You know full well we never quite achieve the effect we want, we keep tweaking and tweaking. . . What would we do if we did? Horrors!

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

"Years and years"??? Optimistic aren't we? You know full well we never quite achieve the effect we want, we keep tweaking and tweaking. . .

But of course! Optimism is at the very core of any gardener I've ever met. And oh yes. . .I'm quite adept at changing my plans . . .heck, that's part of the fun of it! I love looking back at pictures taken several years back, tracking the progress and changes my garden and yard made. . .some quite by accident, while others very deliberate and by design. Golly. . since I've been here, I've already changed my mind about what we're going to do with the front yard, a couple of times!

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

oh yeah, oh yeah, barefoot, i see what you mean. i have to bring up the properties then it gives me the cleaned up address; copy, paste, whammo . . .

now hotlinks - just html embedded in post?

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2001

Brooke, on one of those gorgeous photos it looks as if there's the steps to an old homestead. I was wondering--is there a rose anywhere on the place? Have you found any old plants from days gone by, or just those lovely wildflowers?

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2001

OG, I've done a fair amount of walking around here looking for past evidence of an old homestead, but haven't been able to find anything. I always think it's so neat to "see" where a home previously was located by evidence of certain plantings. . .they continue on as reminders of days past. . .roses, tulips, etc. "framing" the walkways or perimeter of a long-forgotten structure that someone(s) once called "home". . .

This house is relatively 'new'. . .built 'about' 30 years or so ago, from native stone quarried right here on the place. The original owners didn't plant any flowers/bushes/shrubs/trees, as far as I can tell, and I've yet to see evidence that there was ever another home on the property. We don't think there was. Everything that I see here (trees/flowers) seems to have been planted by Mother Nature. . .

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2001

BWD, yes.

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2001

barefoot, muchas gracias

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2001

Wow! More pictures of absolutely gorgeous stuff! Thanks for the link, OG! More gorgeous Texas wildflowers! Be sure and click on the picture captioned "Texas Hill country" (picture #15, in the next to the last row) to get a bigger picture. . . WOWEE. . . I'm gonna have to start remembering to take my camera with me when I'm out and about. . .

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2001

Yeah, yeah, yeah--flowers, schmowers. But you ain't got no white squirrels in Texas, do ya, huh?

There are more astonishing photographs here

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2001