floral design & botanical blog
In the beginning of May 2018, my mother and I visited Caprock Canyons State Park outside of Quitaque, Texas, about 100 southeast of Amarillo. Caprock encompasses over 15,000 acres, an abandoned train tunnel that is home to half a million Mexican free-tailed bats, the Texas State Bison Herd, and over 90 miles of trails.
Read MoreI was fortunate to partner with Elizabeth Thacker Photography on a portrait shoot on the edge of the cliffs on Possum Kingdom Lake in north Texas. We were blessed with clear and cool weather after what seemed like endless days of rain. Mirroring the dried grasses and subdued tones of a Texas fall, I worked with native flora and soft pinks to create pieces with drama and movement.
Read MoreSpring Creek Forest Preserve is a protected greenspace managed by the City of Garland, saving this Blackland Prairie remnant from the development that has swallowed up the surrounding area. The primary topographic feature here is Spring Creek, which soon after meets Rowlett Creek and empties into Lake Ray Hubbard. The waterway is lined with buckeyes, juniper, and oaks, and this forest of native trees dominate the park. There is a clearing in a central area consisting of a few acres of shallow, limestone soils that support an abundance of native perennials, some of which were in bloom when I visited back in early May.
Read MoreCedar Ridge Preserve is a 600 acre tract of land just southwest of downtown Dallas, adjacent to Cedar Hill State Park. The preserve is maintained by Audubon Dallas, including the 9 miles of trails among the hilly terrain of juniper and oak forest.
Read MoreJust a few miles southeast of downtown Dallas is The Great Trinity Forest, an urban park occupying the flood plain of the Trinity River. In this park, a mile-long trail lightly tracks through the damp forest floor and marshland to a large stand of Texas buckeyes (Aesculus glabra var. arguta) near the river bank. This area represents one of the furthest west communities of A. glabra var. arguta, with most populations occurring from eastern Oklahoma to Ohio. In Texas, you can also find this species in the Hill Country, the deep Piney Woods forest, and along the Red River. This buckeye is a pretty uncommon species for this area, so when I heard they were blooming locally, a hiking trip was in order.
Read MoreIn early January, I visited Zion National Park in southwestern Utah for the first time. The Virgin River cuts Zion Canyon and has created this giant, majestic land form. Bands of red sandstone paint the walls of this gorge, as if done with purpose.
Read MoreI recently explored another topographically-interesting area of southwestern Throckmorton County in north central Texas. Ranger Creek between the YL Ranch, where I explored last summer, and the Clear Fork of the Brazos River is a north to south, intermittent waterway that crosses limestone outcroppings. Starting near an oil well on the YL Ranch, I began my 5 mile roundtrip trek south following Ranger Creek.
Read MoreNorth of Dallas in the suburb of Plano there has been an explosion of corporate development known as Legacy. Mid-rise office buildings and company headquarters relocation has led to massive construction projects. Toyota's $350 million US headquarters project is not an exception. The buildings are designed by Dallas-based firm Corgan and the grounds are designed by the Office of James Burnett, the same mastermind behind the highly-lauded Klyde Warren Park in downtown Dallas.
Read MoreClymer Meadow Preserve is a collection of properties owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy of Texas and with the partnership of surrounding private land owners. Its value is rooted in its ties to the Blackland Prairie, a prairie of dark, rich soil that runs 300 miles from south to north Texas, roughly following the Interstate 35 corridor. This temperate grassland is home to many flora and fauna that is critical to the adequate operation of this valued ecosystem. Only 1% of this prairie still exists in its original form, and great efforts are being made to preserve what is remaining.
Read MoreMesa de Anguila is a large topographical feature in the far western portions of Big Bend National Park, cut to the south by the Rio Grande. This uplift is one of the least visited areas of the park, and trails here are rough and precarious. The original goal was to hike cross country along an old pack trail to visit a small canyon along the river. It is February and Hunnemannia fumariifolia is blooming at this time. This small canyon is the only known location in Texas, and the US, for this species to occur.
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