Welcome!

Welcome to my zone 9a habitat garden near Houston, Texas.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - August 2011

I look out at my garden as our long Texas drought grinds on and I think that I really have nothing to show you on this Bloom Day, but I dutifully take my camera in hand and head out to see what I can find.  Come along with me out my back door and I'll show you the results of my search.

Just out the back door on the porch, yellow purslane brightens the space. 

 Nearby, the ancient abelia that I brought from my Aunt Marcelle's garden a few years ago is full of these dainty, creamy blooms.

blog post photo
The Mexican firebush (Hamelia patens) does appear to be spouting flames in the summer heat.

blog post photo
The crocosmias have been especially floriferous this summer, but now they are near the end of their run.

blog post photo
No blooms here, but a small collection of succulents on a backyard table is enjoying our dry summer.

blog post photo
As is a nearby planter filled with a variety of succulents.

blog post photo
The old canna that I always think of as the "Mrs. Lui" because it was she who gave me the first roots of the plant years ago blooms continually throughout the summer, in memory of that sweet neighbor.

blog post photo
And, of course, nothing stops the Turk's cap blooms, for which the hummingbirds are grateful.

blog post photo
The purple berries of the native beautyberry are ripening.

blog post photo
In another part of the garden, the berries of the white beautyberry glow in the shade.

blog post photo
My "cotton crop" is ripening, too. The white blossoms turn red as they age.

The tiny red blossoms of the cypress vine brighten one corner of the vegetable garden fence.

 And the 'Mystic Spires' salvia, like most of the other salvias in the yard, blooms on in spite of the weather.

The canna 'Lucifer' has bloomed again and again since spring.

The odd blossoms of the porterweed attract bees and butterflies by the veggie garden fence.

And across the garden path from the porterweed, the bright fuchsia bracts of the bougainvillea are beginning to show their stuff.

Butterfly weed continues to bloom profusely but finds few butterflies to visit.  The bees, though, love it.

The yellow bells of Esperanza shine in front of the leathery leaves of loquat.

Flame acanthus, undaunted bloomer, blooms when it rains and blooms when it doesn't.  It will bloom until first frost.

The 'Pride of Barbados' has been a winner for me during the drought.

And I can always depend upon Tithonia, Mexican sunflower, to bring its fiery orange blooms to my summer garden.

Even though my garden is dry and is in survival mode, dropping leaves, wilting, receding before the scorching sun, in nearly every part of it, something blooms to keep hope alive.

Thank you for visiting my garden and don't forget to check out May Dreams Gardens for a list of all of this Bloom Day's participants.  Happy Bloom Day to all!

12 comments:

  1. I would say those flowers are looking very pretty and healthy in spite of the heat! I especially like the colors of your 'Lucifer' canna and the 'Pride of Barbados'.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hot colors for a hot summer, dorothy!

    ReplyDelete
  3. pretty blooms! love your pride of barbados. we call it here, "caballero." happy GBBD!

    ~ANGEL~

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely blooms! The beautyberry really caught my eye...beautiful! Happy GBBD!

    ReplyDelete
  5. "Caballero" works, too. Whatever we call it, the plant has been a real stalwart during our very dry summer, ANGEL.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautyberry is a real favorite among native shrubs for me, The Sage Butterfly. Both the purple and the white berry varieties are greatly loved by local birds.

    ReplyDelete
  7. With as little rain as you've had, you have quite the collection of GBBD blooms. I am nurturing a tiny Pride of Barbados seedling in a pot this hot summer. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Happy GBBD!

    ReplyDelete
  8. That's what I keep telling myself, Caroline. If we make it through this drought to the other side, we should be very strong, indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I just order seeds from Renee's for Tithonia "Torch". I've read that it can get floppy and wilt in the heat. Do you have a problem with this? I'm in Sacramento, so if it can look good for you I should be able to grow it fine here!

    ReplyDelete
  10. It does get floppy, Carri. That's probably its one fault from my perspective. The limbs can get so heavy with flowers and seedheads that they break. If you have much wind, then the plant can tend to lean sideways away from the wind and eventually tip over. Even then, they will generally keep on growing and blooming. I try to grow mine where I can offer them some support or some shelter from the wind and I try to keep them deadheaded and pruned to reduce weight on the limbs. And if fail to do all that, I just let 'em flop. The hummingbirds, butterflies and bees don't care!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for the info Dorothy! If I have questions I know who to ask now! Do they seem to reseed heavily for you? I don't mind if they do, just wondering if they tend to reseed in place- or if they're like my rudbeckia and reseed themselves everywhere in my garden...haha

    ReplyDelete
  12. They do reseed. I bought seed many years ago and have never planted on my own since then. I always have plenty of volunteer plants.

    ReplyDelete