floral design & botanical blog

Oak Point Nature Preserve

January 26, 2016 by Travis Ward in Plant Hunt

In Plano, a suburban city in the Dallas metropolitan area, the community has purchased 800 acres of farmland and utility right-of-ways to create a sprawling, multi-use park. The design of the park is great in its simplicity as it's mostly open with run and bike trails. The focus of the park is preserving the land and restoring the property to its pre-human existence. The park is also home to one of the few native prairie remnants still intact in Collin County.

Dormant foliage of summer's past can be interesting and beautiful during cold, winter months, but difficult to properly identify. This post will highlight the prairie plants of Oak Point with identifications when possible.

Big Bend N.P. Herbs

January 08, 2016 by Travis Ward in Plant Hunt, Big Bend

On this trip, it was unseasonably wet, as it has been in much of Texas this fall. Foliage and flower colors are especially vibrant when damp, and the muted light of cloud-covered skies only added to the effect. Many plants are even blooming out of season or have abnormally fleshy growth due to the moisture. It is a special time in the Chihuahuan Desert.

This post will cover the more herbaceous plant materials found in Big Bend National Park during my visit in November 2015. (Disclaimer: I realize not all of the plants described here are particularly herbaceous, but they better fit this post than my earlier post about cacti.)

I was especially attracted to this grouping of endemic species. Leucophyllum, Dasylirion, and Ephedra create a contrasting palette of color and texture, and are surrounded by red bedrock. Few could create a similar effect manually.

Big Bend N.P. Cacti

November 29, 2015 by Travis Ward in Big Bend, Plant Hunt

When you think of the desert, you don't typically think of a botanically-rich environment full of life. Striking landforms dominate horizons in Big Bend National Park, so it's easy to miss the small details along the ground. A variety of textures and colors paint a unique palette, and the desert rains bump up the saturation.

Succulent & Pumpkin Party

October 11, 2015 by Travis Ward

Riding the Pinterest trend of the season, I had an idea to put together a pumpkin-decorating class using succulents, seasonal flowers, and local foliage. Luckily, my friend was excited about the idea and offered to host the party at her house and invite other ladies that would be eager participants.

Spring Creek

August 11, 2015 by Travis Ward in Plant Hunt

Along Spring Creek, near the intersection of State Highway 190 and US Highway 75 in Collin County, Texas, there is the Spring Creek Nature Area, a section of land set aside by the City of Richardson for public recreation. One would never guess from these photos that this area is bounded by 8-lane highways and mid-rise office buildings. There is a lot of value in these 100 acres, both economically and ecologically. Many Texas native plants call this area home, despite the surrounding decimation. And in a plot-twist at the end of this post, one will see early pioneers called this area home, as well.

Cement Mountain

August 05, 2015 by Travis Ward in Plant Hunt

It was a very warm August afternoon when my mom and I ventured out along Cement Mountain Road in southeastern Young County, Texas in search of some unique flora. This county-maintained gravel road traverses the transition between the Rolling Plains and Oak Woods eco-regions. The soil here is sandy and conglomerate, proving responsible for the formation's "Cement" name. There is a lot of early Texas history on this topographical rise (it's difficult for me to call this a "mountain"), including the murder of a Texas Ranger by Native Americans in 1864. Luckily for us, there were no aggressive Indians in sight, and the county crews had not mowed the bar ditches all year.

Bar None Ranch: Flowers

July 14, 2015 by Travis Ward in Plant Hunt, Hill Country

The third post covering the flora of the Bar None Ranch in Mason County concludes with the details of the flowering annuals and perennials. As I've made clear in the first and second posts, the more-than-average rainfall this spring in Texas has led to an over-abundance of blooms, and blooming cycles well into the summer months when typically few plants are pushing inflorescence. The following photos documentation of these blooms.

Bar None Ranch: Ferns

July 08, 2015 by Travis Ward in Plant Hunt, Hill Country

When you're in the Texas Hill Country, you often don't think to look for all of the species of ferns that have made this region home. Ferns growing among cacti seems counter-intuitive. This site did not disappoint.

Bar None Ranch: Succulents and Shrubs

July 07, 2015 by Travis Ward in Plant Hunt, Hill Country

At the end of June, I spent the weekend with friends on the western edge of the Llano Uplift in Mason County, deep in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. The James River, a short waterway spanning 36 miles before emptying into the Llano River, cuts through the 20 acre property. Never deeper than 12" or so, the river is fed by rain runoff and numerous springs. The area was home to Native Americans, and then white settlers by 1860. The river is known for its cleanliness as it's very remote and unspoiled by agricultural pollution.

Slaughter Preserve

April 10, 2015 by Travis Ward in Plant Hunt, Hill Country

This was my first time to visit this preserve, but I was guided by two fellow plant nerds who knew where all of the "goodies" were.