A Bloomin' Good Time in the RGV

Each week we see new flowers as we move around the Santa Ana refuge. And most of them we have never seen before. This shrub is called Zarza or Coatante. I have never heard of it before, either, but the pink flowers sure are beautiful. I found it next to the Wildlife Drive and around Willow Lake.



The Heart-leaf Hibiscus is blooming in pots in front of the refuge visitor center and I found this one in a garden at Bentsen State Park last week. On the Lady Bird Johnson Native Plant website I learned it can bloom year-round if there is no frost.



The Retama trees started blooming this week. You can't tell it from this photo, but the flower center is red.



Another tree that just started blooming is the Honey Mesquite.