The sun’s not setting on Tuesday Twilights just yet. 🌅 We’re bringing you an encore—two bonus weeks of live music and laid-back evenings at the Wildflower Center, featuring some of your favorite performers. 🌿

But first: join us tonight (5/13) as @carosamigosmusic fills the Courtyard with the warm, winding rhythms of Brazilian choro, perfect for a golden hour groove.

Bring your appetite, too! @konfusedesindianfoodtruck and @garboslobster will be serving up savory fare, and @dulcefridaatx has the treats to top it all off. If you’re 21 or older, stop by the bar for our specialty cocktail of the evening or whatever suits your twilight vibe.

Reserve your spot at the link in our bio!

📷 @ticomendoza

#TuesdayTwilights #WildflowerCenter #ATXThingsToDo #ATXLiveMusic #AustinEvents

Happy Mother’s Day! 🌸 Celebrate the moms in your life with a beautiful day at the Wildflower Center. We’re open today with live music, spring blooms, specialty snacks, and picnic spots waiting for you.

🎶 Live music until 2 p.m.
🧀 Charcuterie cones available for purchase
💐 Members get in free. Walkups welcome!

Tap the link in our bio for all the details!

Here’s to all who nurture, guide, and love with a mother’s heart. We’re glad to celebrate you today. 💖

#MothersDay #StayWild #WildflowerCenter

⏳ Just 12 hours to go in 40 Hours for the Forty Acres! We’re working to raise $16,000 to fund four paid internships at the Wildflower Center, and every gift gets us closer.
 
If you’ve visited the Center even once, you’ve experienced the impact of our interns. Maybe you stopped by a Discovery Cart and chatted about seeds with one of our education interns. 🐝 You’ve seen their work in the gardens — from the Athena t-shirt 🦉 and stickers in the Gift Shop to signage and guides. Behind the scenes, horticulture and science and conservation interns help care for plants and support our research.
 
🌱 Donate now and help us support the next cohort of Longhorns this summer:
https://bit.ly/wildflower-40for40-25 (link in our bio!)
 
📸 Pictured here are our most recent interns — captured by our Director of Education, Dr. Demekia Biscoe — who wrapped up their semester recently.
 
#UT40for40 #StayWild #WildflowerCenter #StudentInterns #GreenWorkforce

We’ve got 40 hours to fund four internships. Let’s go! 🤘
 
UT’s 40 Hours for the Forty Acres starts now, and we’re all in to raise $16,000 for our paid student internships at the Wildflower Center.
 
As part of the @utaustintx Field Station Network, we offer hands-on roles where Longhorns can take their first steps toward careers in conservation, education, and communications.
 
Our latest cohort just wrapped up the semester, sharing projects that ranged from public outreach to graphic design.
 
It’s meaningful experience in a living landscape — and real support for students who might not otherwise be able to take on unpaid work. Now it’s time to welcome our next group of interns this summer, but we can’t do it without your support.
 
🌱 Make your gift to support four summer interns and help us grow the next generation of environmental leaders: https://bit.ly/wildflower-40for40-25 (link in our bio!)
 
#UT40for40 #StayWild #WildflowerCenter #StudentExperience #ConservationCareers #GreenWorkforce

Rain or shine, Athena’s on duty—keeping watch, keeping order, and keeping the owlets fed. But even the best moms need five minutes to themselves. On Sunday, she was spotted on a quiet perch away from the nest, taking a well-earned break.

Now about 26 and 24 days old, the owlets are just past the halfway point of their time in the nest. They’ve lost most of their baby fluff and are starting to look more like proper owls—though after this week’s rain, they’re looking a bit soggy. We don’t expect them to fledge until later this month or even early June, but they’re growing fast.

Here’s to all the hardworking mamas out there. 💐🦉 (P.S. Need ideas for celebrating yours? Check out our Mother’s Day plans at the link in our bio)

#MothersDay #AthenaTheOwl #WildflowerCenter #StayWild

Just two weeks left to enjoy Tuesday Twilights! 🌸 Don’t miss these golden-hour evenings in the gardens — perfect for a date night, catch-up with friends, or a peaceful solo stroll. Reserve your spot at the link in our bio!

This week’s lineup (May 6):
🎶 Live music from @thelatindukes — expect a vibrant blend of Latin sounds inspired by Madrid, Habana & beyond
🍕 Savory eats from @konfusedesindianfoodtruck & @craigosfoodtruck
🍨 Sweet treats from @dulcefridaatx
🍹 Take-and-walk cocktails for purchase (if you’ve been enjoying wildflowers for 21+ years)

Reminder: Tuesday Twilights is free for members! Discount automatically applied at checkout.

☁️ Please note: We are monitoring the weather closely. If cancelation is necessary, we will update our website and social media accounts. Ticket holders will be notified via email.

📷 @ticomendoza

#TuesdayTwilights #WildflowerCenter #AustinEvents #ATXLiveMusic #ATXThingsToDo #SpringVibes

Each semester, UT Austin students bring their energy, ideas, and curiosity to the Wildflower Center through our paid internship program. They help lead activities, design materials, dig into research, and so much more — all while gaining valuable experience and growing as future environmental leaders.

We’re proud to participate in 40 Hours for the Forty Acres, UT’s annual giving campaign that kicks off next week (May 7-8). But you don’t have to wait — you can make your gift early and support opportunities for future Longhorns today.

🔗 https://bit.ly/wildflower-40for40-25 (link in our bio)

📷 Lynda Torres

#UT40for40 #StayWild #WildflowerCenter #StudentExperience #Leadership

Botanical anomalies make for good stories. This unusual bloom, spotted near the Savanna Meadow, appears to be a double-flowered variant of firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella). In these forms, the plant produces extra petals, sometimes due to a genetic mutation during flower development.

While striking, these extra petals can obscure access to pollen and nectar, which may reduce the flower’s value to pollinators. So, it’s not doing bees or butterflies any major favors, but it is offering a fascinating look into how plants sometimes break their own rules.

This is a distinct phenomenon from fasciation, which occurs when the plant’s growing tip (the apical meristem) becomes distorted, causing flattened or ribbon-like growth. Fasciation can result from physical damage, hormonal shifts, or even bacterial infection, and the outcomes range from clustered flower heads to wildly distorted stems.

And yes, that is a grasshopper, just hanging out like it owns the place!

#WildflowerCenter #StayWild #FoundInTheField #BotanicalMutations #TexasNativePlants
#Fasciation #GaillardiaPulchella #DoubleFlowers #PlantAnomalies