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

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Bloom Day addendum

Here are a few more pictures from the fall garden that didn't make it into my Bloom Day post.

Well, this didn't make it because it wasn't quite a bloom yet.  I've been waiting for days for these buds to open, but succulents take their own sweet time about showing their colors.  My little collection of succulents has done really well this year.

This one didn't make it because I thought you'd probably be bored to see another yellow cestrum picture.  This plant has been in constant bloom now since April and I've showed it to you many times, often with butterflies sitting on the blossoms.  It is still going strong and will be blooming until frost.

The little cigar plant is not very showy but I like these tiny blooms.  Butterflies do, too.

This is another one I've shown you many times - the 'Lucifer' canna.  It has bloomed repeatedly throughout summer.  Will this be its last bloom?

 'Mystic Spires' salvia is full of blooms these days.

I did have the yellow bells in my Bloom Day post but here's a closer view of its luscious blossoms.

Here's another close-up of the interesting flowers of the shrimp plant.

This one didn't make it into the BD post because I just hadn't noticed that it was blooming!  How could I have overlooked it? It is, of course, the Dutchman's pipe vine, variety 'Calico.'

I love these unusual blossoms.  I've had many Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies in the garden this year.  In fact, they may be the most numerous of any of the butterflies that have visited the garden, but I haven't noticed that any of them have taken advantage of this their favorite host plant.

Finally, here's another view of the brugmansia, with enough trumpets for a whole band of angels.

Just a few more weeks and most of these blooms will be only a memory, but while they last they are glorious and they remind us of the pleasures of fall gardening.

8 comments:

  1. Great post...that Salvia 'Mystic Spires' is stunning...and the Dutchman's Pipe...so cool!

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  2. Thanks, scottweberpdx. I agree that the Dutchman's pipe vine is way cool!

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  3. Jack Frost has had his way with my yard!

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  4. Wonderful blooms Dorothy. My "tropi-cannas" only put out a couple of blooms this year and I missed my chance to get a photo of them. I love your Dutchman's Pipe Vine, it must be a different variety to mine - your blooms look much bigger.

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  5. That bad boy Jack Frost will do such things, Anonymous. I'm expecting him to visit me around the 10th of December or possibly even earlier if the last two years are any indication of things to come.

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  6. My Tropicannas did not bloom at all this year, Jayne, but the foliage held up fairly well.

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  7. The esperanza is so pretty. That is one tough plant. I imagine it is perennial (evergreen??) for you? It is considered an annual here in DFW, but I have known several people who manage to over winter them by cutting them back and mulching them. I have only grown it in containers, and it does really well, blooming all summer no matter the heat. Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting on my Survivor post.

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  8. Esperanza is perennial here, Toni. It dies back to the roots in winter but always comes back strong in the first warm days of late winter/early spring and by this time of year, it is 10-12 feet tall again.

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