The garden, like the weather, is still hot, humid, and dry. We did actually get a couple of inches of rain last week which helped immensely, but the earth was so dry that within two or three days you could hardly tell it had rained. You can start those autumn rains any time now, Mother Nature!
It seems only yesterday that I was showing you my blooms on August Bloom Day and, quite honestly, I don't have much that is different to show you this month, but come along and I'll give you an abbreviated tour.
At this time of year, in my garden it is all about...
...the hummingbirds who are at the peak of their fall migration, and...
...the butterflies who are at the peak of their population numbers.
The Hamelia patens shrubs are in full bloom now, just in time to welcome those hungry hummers.
And so are all the flame acanthus shrubs, the hummers' favorite. (The bottle tree blooming in the background doesn't feed anything except my soul.)
The cypress vine on the veggie garden fence is full of its tiny red blooms. These are favorites of butterflies, especially the little skippers.
The porterweed still offers a few blossoms to passing hummers and butterflies as well.
I don't have as many Tithonia, Mexican sunflower, blossoms as I do in most years, but the few that are still blooming are butterfly magnets. Hummingbirds like them, too.
Several varieties of blue salvias bloom throughout the garden. This one is next to a Dutchman's pipe vine that was planted this year, but isn't in bloom just now.
The old Mexican bush sage is putting on its annual show.
The purple of this 'Montrose Purple' vitex hardly even makes an impact against the brilliant blue of the September sky, but the butterflies still manage to find it.
The dwarf jatropha gets its share of butterfly traffic, too.
The 'Radsunny' Knockout roses have bloomed non-stop for me since early spring and have done so almost without care and very little extra water. They have been real winners in my garden.
This was one of the pleasant surprises I got in my garden this morning. The 'Rouge Cardinal' clematis, which bloomed profusely and for a long period in the spring, is now blooming again, after resting for most of the summer.
My second happy surprise was the Clerodendrum thomsoniae, 'Glory Bower Bleeding Heart' vine. The blossoms haven't opened to reveal the bright red "bleeding hearts" but I think they are just as lovely at this stage.
Thank you for visiting my garden this month. Don't forget to drop by for a visit with Carol of May Blooms Gardens, our hostess for this monthly blog event.
Beautiful flowers - I especially love the Glory Bower. What a stunning white. I bet it almost glows at the end of day's light.
ReplyDeleteI love the Glory Bower vine, too, Gloria. I just added it to my garden this year and it has performed really well for me.
ReplyDeleteStunning pictures of the hummingbird and butterfly in your beautiful garden. Happy GBBD:)
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful butterfly, and great shot of the hummingbird! Looks like we have many of the same things blooming right now (hummingbirds visited my tithonia and flame acanthus a week ago). I'm a big fan of the intensely colored clematis, and I love the shape of the bleeding heart blooms.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by, AGOT.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like the clematis and bleeding heart, Amy. I like them, too.
Our hummys have finally left and beginning their migration south. It is wonderful to know that the gardeners along their route have some beautiful blooms waiting for them. Great hummingbird shot.
ReplyDeleteIt must be exciting to see a lot of hummingbirds at once in migration, Birdwoman - nice photo! We only see a few, but they stick around for months. Neither Jatropha nor Hammelia lived over here, but the Cypress vine? Once planted that's a longterm relationship!
ReplyDeleteHappy GBBD
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Gardening for hummers is a favorite activity of gardeners here near the Gulf Coast, GIAS. It's not unusual to still have the little visitors well into November and some always linger through the winter, although I've never had one do that in my garden.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly got that right about the cypress vine, Annie! It's just about impossible to eradicate even if you wanted to. Good thing I don't want to.
ReplyDeleteThat photo of the hummer rocks!
ReplyDeleteThanks, CG. Sometimes I get lucky.
ReplyDeleteWhat a treat to see so some old favorites mixed with blooms that are totally new to me, like the jatropha: such a great color. And your bottle tree is superb, Dorothy - you found some gorgeous reds!
ReplyDeleteThe trunk of my bottle tree is an old Eastern red cedar that I had transplanted from my parents' farm several years ago, Nan. It was damaged by Hurricane Ike just two years ago this month and ultimately had to be cut, so we made it into a bottle tree. I'm quite fond of it.
ReplyDelete