Pastel Ponchos and Wildflowers

The first Fling garden was the Wildflower Center, of which I only saw a fraction.  Predicted lightning made me unwilling to venture far from shelter.  Heavy, lavish, torrential rain soon fell.  After experiencing another severe drought year in Southern California, the fifth out of the last sixth, torrential rain was a treat.  

The bold stone entrance complex of the Center made a wonderful contrast to the ephemeral delicacy of the surrounding native wildflowers.   Texas has a rich trove of natives.

 The light was dull and low due to heavy cloud cover, so poor photos seemed likely, but many turned out okay, or were, at least, in focus.
Salvia greggii 'Theresa'

 Callirhoe involucrata is my guess on this one:

 No idea.  The white lit up in the dull light

 Pink Oenothera and blue Salvia farinacea

 Salvia farinacea

 It became apparent we were in for a downpour, so I retreated to shelter.  The Austin area received something like four inches (100 mm) that day, which is nearly what we got during our entire rainy season this winter.  I stood and relished the wealth of water. 
Puddles!!!!!!

 Other bloggers, more accustomed to rain, were not so ecstatic

 Sodden bloggers soon huddled under cover. 

Or in the gift shop.

The rain continued at our next garden.  I also saw very little of that one.   However, the pastel ponchos made for fun photos

 More puddles!  The only bad thing about the rain was that it wasn't soaking my garden.

 The homeowners must have been somewhat exasperated that their carefully groomed beauty was hard to see in the downpour. 

 Visitors, also.

 Rain did give visitors a pause to chat.  Camaraderie flourished.   My rain-euphoria exclamations of joy at the rain made PNW and other northern climate gardeners, who had come to Austin hoping for sun and warmth, look at me with a sigh.   

 An interesting attempt to Camouflage The Air Conditioners, a common garden designer's dilemma in hot climates.  I loved the screen, though the contrast between the beautiful rusted screen and the grey glossy boxes it was screening was not quite satisfying.  Would it be any better if the screen was the same glossy grey as the AC units?  Its a tough problem to solve:  the unit's air flow must never be restricted, and space is always limited.  Our units at home sit in an island of concrete and are painful to look at. 

 I never opened my poncho, instead relying on the umbrella lugged from home.  An umbrella better sheltered the camera.  I shot one handed or with the umbrella pinched between neck and shoulder. 

 The rain transformed a garden mirror into an impressionist composition.

 Lots of beautiful vignettes, most of which I missed.

 Butia capitata was present in several Fling gardens.  Quite a nice palm species. 

 The homeowners could not have been more gracious about sheltering ninety-some wet bloggers from the rain. 

 The rain eased but lasted through much of the day, through several other garden visits.

 It didn't stop us (much).  There were gardens to enjoy!