Cenizo bushes in bloom

On Tuesday the cenizo bushes (Leucophyllum frutescens) all over Austin burst out into dense blossoms. I took this picture on Wednesday on Watering Rock Ln. in my neighborhood, but as prolific as the blooms were around town then, now they’ve already begun falling. That’s the way it goes with cenizo flowers: lush but not long-lived.

Although this shrub (also erroneously called Texas sage) is native farther west and south in the state, many people in Austin have planted it in their yards to enjoy several rounds of dense flowers each summer.

© 2014 Steven Schwartzman