Christ Lutheran Church of Elm Creek
On March 25th we made our first visit in several years to the Christ Lutheran Church of Elm Creek southeast of New Berlin, whose grounds, including the cemetery, are reliably alive at this time of year with the myriad native wildflowers that the owners graciously allow to do their thing. The orange flowers are Indian paintbrush (Castilleja indivisa) and the yellow ones are Nueces coreopsis (Coreopsis nuecensis). On the opposite side of the church from the cemetery, Lindheimer’s gaura (Oenothera lindheimeri), though smaller than a paintbrush or coreopsis flower, outnumbered them both by far.
© 2023 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
What fun to see the gaura included. At first, I thought the white might be lazy daisy. It’s fun to see that little puddle of yellow in the midst of all that orange, too. I’ve been meaning to call the church outside Sealy that had that huge field of coreopsis last year, to see if it’s appeared. When I passed by the property a couple of weeks ago, it wasn’t showing a single flower. Early, maybe, since they took some pride in their flowers last year.
shoreacres
March 30, 2023 at 8:30 AM
I also did closer views of “that little puddle of yellow” with a still copious amount of paintbrushes around it. I ended up going with the overview so people could see the cemetery and the clouds. Speaking of which: the sky was clear when we left Austin but gradually clouded over as we drove south. As we drove back north hours later, the sky cleared back up again.
When I hear Sealy I think Sealy Posturepedic mattresses rather than a town outside Houston. Such is the enduring power of advertising. Let’s hope the coreopsis at the church outside Sealy endures, too.
Steve Schwartzman
March 30, 2023 at 9:19 AM
From Linda’s posts and yours, I get the impression that the Lutheran church has a strong presence in Texas.
Peter Klopp
March 30, 2023 at 9:59 AM
Linda will be able to tell you more. I found this and this online:
Steve Schwartzman
March 30, 2023 at 10:04 AM
Outstanding!
Your wildflower displays have been incredible. I keep thinking how jealous Van Gogh, Monet and Klimt would be.
Wally Jones
March 30, 2023 at 11:07 AM
I called them up and invited them to come along. Each one pleaded the same previous engagement: death. Less flippantly, it’s fun to imagine the paintings those artists would have made if they’d been able to stand among our Texas wildflower colonies.
Steve Schwartzman
March 30, 2023 at 12:19 PM
It’s wonderful to know that the Lutherans of Elm Creek are enlightened enough not to mow down their cemetery’s flowers.
tanjabrittonwriter
March 30, 2023 at 5:55 PM
Yes, it is. Might it have to do with the fact that the early members were of hardy German stock? (Until the 1940s church services were conducted only in German.)
Steve Schwartzman
March 30, 2023 at 6:31 PM
I don’t know if that is the reason. I’m sure there are many Germans or individuals of German descent who would consider patches of wildflowers disorderly weeds that need to be reined in.
tanjabrittonwriter
March 31, 2023 at 2:37 PM
I wan’t fully serious about the reason for the persistence of wildflowers being the hardy German stock of the founders. Your second sentence is all too true, alas.
Steve Schwartzman
March 31, 2023 at 2:42 PM
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