One of the few things I didn’t plant in my garden, the Mexican buckeye (Ungnadia speciosa) came with the house. When I first saw the buckeye-shaped seedpods dangling from its branches, I was excited to realize I’d inherited this small native tree. That first fall, its yellowing foliage lit up the lower garden near the back fence.

Its spring beauty is more ephemeral and dainty but welcome all the same. Petal-pink flowers dangle from raspberry stems arrayed along the branches, competing with unfurling bronze-green leaves that refuse to wait for the blooms to finish first.

Beyond, a ‘Sizzling Pink’ loropetalum makes an excellent color companion.

Unlike the showy loropetalum, Mexican buckeye demands you get up close to really appreciate its delicate spring beauty.

Honeybees have been doing just that…

…buzzing in and out of the flowers to collect pollen.

Here you can see one of last season’s “buckeye” seedpods.

Blue-green Yucca rostrata makes a complementary backdrop too.

One more — the flowers are just so pretty this year! And I like knowing they’re feeding the bees.

And because we’re here, let’s take a moment to admire the decidedly less dainty — in fact, screaming pink — loropetalum again. It’s certainly been a great spring for these nonnative but well adapted shrubs.

Delicate or as loud as a banshee, I’m happy to have these spring flowers in my largely shady garden.

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Digging Deeper: News and Upcoming Events

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