Wildflowers while climbing Old Baldy in Wimberley

In aboriginal June my household met up successful Wimberley, Texas, to observe Mom’s birthday. One greeting we got up aboriginal and drove to Old Baldy Park to ascent that rocky highest and spot what we could see.

Much similar Blue Hole, which is different beloved earthy country successful Wimberley, Old Baldy was saved from imaginable improvement by national action. Back successful 2015, Old Baldy was enactment up for sale. Fearing nationalist entree would beryllium stopped, radical successful Wimberley banded unneurotic with the metropolis to acquisition the spot and crook it into a metropolis park. Well done, Wimberley folks!

The parkland is located successful a residential vicinity 2-1/2 miles from downtown Wimberley. Limestone steps — 218 of them — pb you up a half-mile way to the top. That’s treble the fig of steps astatine Austin’s Mount Bonnell, arsenic a framework of notation for my chap Austinites.

I stopped often on the mode to respect early-summer wildflowers. Deep-blue widow’s tears, aka dayflower (Commelina erecta), was increasing successful rubbly limestone, and I couldn’t defy the heavy bluish of these tenacious flowers.

Stunning color! The weedy spot of widow’s tears increasing successful my garden, which I tin ne'er decision though I try, is simply a paler bluish and not arsenic beautiful.

The accustomed suspects — autochthonal twistleaf yucca, prickly pear, and cedar (juniper, actually) — thrive connected bladed limestone ungraded too.

Natural texture

At the top, I admired a 360-degree presumption of Wimberley from Old Baldy’s limestone pate. Despite humidity haze, I could spot for miles. I’m gladsome I yet made it to this precocious constituent of Central Texas.

I invited your comments. Please scroll to the extremity of this station to permission one. If you’re speechmaking successful an email, click present to sojourn Digging and find the remark container astatine the extremity of each post. And hey, did idiosyncratic guardant this email to you, and you privation to subscribe? Click present to get Digging delivered straight to your inbox!

__________________________

Digging Deeper

My caller book, Gardens of Texas: Visions of Resilience from the Lone Star State, comes retired October 14! It’s disposable for pre-order present connected Amazon and different online publication sellers. If you deliberation you’d similar to work it oregon springiness it arsenic a vacation gift, delight see pre-ordering. (I’m blessed to motion pre-ordered copies astatine my publication events!) Early orders marque a large quality successful helping caller books get noticed. More info astir Gardens of Texas here — and convey you for your support!

Come larn astir gardening and plan astatine Garden Spark! I signifier in-person talks by inspiring designers, scenery architects, authors, and gardeners a fewer times a twelvemonth successful Austin. These are limited-attendance events that merchantability retired quickly, truthful articulation the Garden Spark email database to beryllium notified successful advance; simply click this nexus and inquire to beryllium added. Read each astir the Season 8 lineup here!

All worldly © 2025 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The station Wildflowers portion climbing Old Baldy successful Wimberley appeared archetypal connected Digging.