It's always fun to wander the winding paths filled with vendors of every kind of plant and decoration - we found interesting plants and stopped to buy another Cobrahead from Geoff. You'll also find music & food, a flower show and lots of information. There are garden talks - in .. we heard Felder Rushing. The park itself is always beautiful and inspiring - before I had a place for my own Mutabilis roses, seeing them blooming at Zilker Park made me even more determined to grow them.
![Annieinaustin, Mutabilis rose at Zilker](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnCt3TxtG5ec82xIItKhQuaf4jLlY4KfVvGVX7dl4gBzkm_LZ2G7R41IzJyyVcpPtIFlPvyINxlmMuJpuFWOFRIWpThwA1o8mOR6QSOlbcRqUsyGLwj6pXSLzazyHQN9UEKoMOclJuyP_j/s400/Annieinaustin%252C+..%252C+March+Mutabilis+at+Zilker+txt.jpg)
The Hartman Dinosaur Garden was begun while we still lived at our previous house. From the first sight I fell in love with the Hartman garden and the Hartman plants - Magnolia/Michelia figo/Banana shrub, large Magnolias, evergreen plants similar to Podocarpus, Purple-leaved Loropetalum, palms and sago cycads, orchid trees and horsetails, with Texas Mountain Laurels and palmettos tucked in. We began to add some of those plants almost as soon as we moved in to this house.
Sometimes what grows at Zilker Park does well here -like the Loropetalum, Podocarpus, 'Little Gem' magnolia and the Banana Shrub... and sometimes my attempts at copying have failed. After 4 years in my garden, two miserable leaves of Bletilla striata struggled to the surface. They've never bloomed.
![Annieinaustin, Ground ORchids at Zilker Park](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCspQ-kAjTivqvReiEcOq28VLYQ9OEpTeePrF59NroyI3xY8hRLHV56u0M5yksCZfhXDoKnqRcfQHerIGnz-N37yaxRvbzIvgcPqAKZqyaZJDsUS4lv0Ve6wYorFS08zVzMZCsZhhJTBLz/s400/Annieinaustin%252C+bletilla+striata+at+Zilker+txt.jpg)
One of the informational booths was run by The Austin Herb Society, tucked in next to the charming herb garden with raised beds so you can see the plants up close, and benches so you can rest and people-watch.
I fell into an enjoyable conversation with Ann, the volunteer at the booth, telling her that seeing the thriving rosemary shrubs reminded me of an odd sighting in my garden last week.
![Annieinaustin, Austin Herb Society booth Zilker ..](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4hyURH6OXUldxH8ar7fqUE6L2bnSowRRzAVJ5-tyhHqRhTBBiS2XMUlRGgYFDpjd-PsqgaS1aeTcK7MEyffW7Wsm8NFOHk_cRDk0uJGpKDmGkFLKxnW4rvuC1USrskS83wlGw68SkExMV/s400/Annieinaustin%252C+Herb+Society+booth%252C+Zilker.jpg)
![Annieinaustin, Goldfinch pair on Rosemary](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMuT4QbggG45dIiHaUONBGd4F_lJLOqqTqW6n0NcOF_dxOtR4bl0iJcIRKlpObZrkcE1-fiLD1O1IppszE2pw2SwSaPjILYIqnXS8VsodoTrW_8hMsTkO7PUnTVw9-Gi7-lk5IkgG-j3BS/s400/Annieinaustin%252CMarch+..%252Cpair+goldfinch%252C+rosemary.jpg)
Ann's theory was that some of the usual seed plants for finches were so affected by drought that they didn't make seeds, so even the tiny rosemary seeds are sought after in this dry spring. This idea makes sense to me, too. Ann also thought it would be a good idea to post about this interesting behavior and I agreed.
Has anyone else seen birds eating rosemary seeds?
![Annieinaustin, female goldfinch on rosemary](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicA94xnU_QLLAPjpfI-BakGCwiYVScBWuaKytZ2a2-VeQW9WTIEu9hmEXNssdkck1sYSOxsIel_O18sOYzwibzyPsqNu17Gk-oVx81lFscZID2OGN3MgnpKo1aBnuDYVQIq1DAQpC6ompN/s400/Annieinaustin%252C+March+..%252C+fmle+gldfinch+on+rosemary+1.jpg)
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