Spring Beauty...

The beauty of spring is all around us. It seems a shame that sometimes we fail to notice. God gives us such a beautiful world merely for our enjoyment. 
This morning as I let the dogs out and as purple is my favorite color, I couldn't help but notice a display of gorgeous purple and yellow flowers growing beside my daughter's back deck.

I have no idea what they are so I will have to refer to my truly amazing "Howard Garrett's Plants for Texas" book and look them up. I have spent many hours with this book in my hands. It gives information on over 500 Texas plants-trees, shrubs, flowers, vines, grasses, weeds, fruits, vegetables and ground cover. The best part is he lists the problems each plant has.  He notes which insects they attract, whether they are drought resistant, if they are invasive, and how to plant and maintain them. I have gone through the entire book and put checks by anything I thought I might be interested in planting. I left off anything that attracted an undesirable insect, was too invasive, or just not to my liking. Before I go to the nursery I refer to the checked plants and see at a glance what I might like to purchase and usually take my book along for quick reference. I highly recommend this book as your "one-volume encyclopedia" on Texas Gardening and now the "Plant Detective" is on her way to figure this one out. Any ideas?