Signs of early spring in the Wimberley Valley

We are lucky to live where we start to see signs of spring in February. With the rains we have had this month, I think it is safe to say we are going to have a colorful spring.

While I was cleaning up the fallen branches under the Escarpment Oaks, I noticed that the Agarita (Mahonia trifoliolata) are in bud! Agarita are those prickly evergreen shrub-like plants found under trees. As their Latin name indicates, their leaves have three lobes, and they are sharp on their ends. When I was in training at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, they called the Agarita “nursery plants” because their bushy spiky leaves allowed young plants to reach a level of maturity without being eaten by animals.

Agarita are native plants that produce yellow flowers in the spring that, when pollinated, will produce red fruit. Other names for Agarita are Trifoliate Barberry and Wild Current. I can see why “wild current” would be a good name for them as the fruit resembles currents. People make jelly from the fruit if they can get to the berries before the wildlife consumes them.

The deer do not bother these spiky plants. People often look for plants that grow in the shade and that deer do not eat. Agarita are perennials and evergreen. They can grow into six feet tall shrubs. Although they can grow in the shade, they also are okay in the sun. As a Texas native, they can take our droughts, ice storms, hot summers and very cold temperatures. The only maintenance they might require is trimming.

I have never purchased an Agarita because the birds that eat the fruit sit in my trees, and well… you know the inevitable.