'TIS THE SEASON: MEXICAN BUCKEYE

I have to admit, there was one good thing about the afternoon I spent trying to find may way down the-trail-that-was-no-more. "What was that," you ask? Hundreds of these beauties, ready to burst into bloom!

We rushed right out and planted one ourselves a couple of years ago, after attending a spring festival at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and seeing them in full bloom.

Too bad our little tree only has one measly bloom on it this year. It doesn't have quite the impact as all those clusters of three to five trees, each with multiple blooms. So here's what I'm thinking. I'm thinkin' perhaps we need to plant a couple more there in our tiny grove, give it a wee bit of company.

Ah, but that one measly bloom, with those luscious, lurid colors...

is that gorgeous, or what?