I was out cleaning and filling up the bird baths and deer bucket earlier this morning and saw my purple sages in the back lots in full bloom after the rains. But I am not walking through hip high grasss to get a picture. An evergreen native to West Texas, South Texas, and the Edwards Plateau, Texas sage has small silvery-gray-to-green leaves and a loose form, unless it’s trimmed into a hedge. With this mild appearance, it usually blends into the surrounding landscape. But from time to time, the plant erupts with vibrant purple flowers, a color riot that many believe heralds rain. After months of brutal heat and cloudless skies, the blooming of the “barometer bush” can be a joyous occasion. There are no scientific studies on how rainfall affects Leucophyllum frutescens’s blooming patterns, so no one can say for sure. Several experts say the plant’s blooming is triggered by high humidity or low atmospheric pressure. Though it does occasionally bloom ahead of rainfall—seemingly in anticipation of precipitation—more often it flowers after a shower.
They look like this:
[image: 1784915844697-49784932-d6c5-4a24-a45a-bf20ae48ab83-image.png]
