Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - April 2012

April in my Southeast Texas garden means roses and daylilies.

The old 'Dortmund' rose rested through much of last year's horrible drought, but it has been making up for lost time this year.

One of the plants that I added to the garden this past winter was this David Austin rose, 'Molineux.' It features these luscious yellow blossoms that have just a touch of salmon or orange when first open.

 And speaking of yellow roses, the floribunda 'Monkey Business' has been very happy in its new location next to the fish pond and it has shown it with a shower of wonderful blossoms.

Another David Austin rose is the beautiful 'Litchfield Angel' with its creamy white blooms that have just the faintest blush of pink.

And yet another Austin rose is 'Darcy Bussell' which was also added during the winter.

Unfortunately, most of the variety names of my daylilies have been long-since lost in the mists of time, but with or without their names, they are lovely and they brighten the April garden.

This one is pretty in pink. (That may actually be its name.)

This miniature I do happen to know is 'Stella d'Oro' and indeed when it is in bloom, it does look like tiny golden stars have fallen to earth.

I'm very fond of this simple, old-fashioned mahogany and gold daylily.

There are a few other things blooming in the garden besides daylilies and roses.

In the wildflower garden, the blanket flowers are beginning to bloom.

The pretty yellow Texas primrose has been in bloom for several weeks.

White yarrow glows in the shade of a tree.

The milkweed is in bloom and has had a steady stream of Monarch butterfly visitors.

The Monarchs visit other flowers as well. Here, the 'Red Lion' amaryllis tempts a passerby.

And on a nearby milkweed leaf, one of the next generation of Monarchs munches his way through all the phases of growth until he's ready to pupate and become a beautiful butterfly. This one is almost there.

An old heirloom buddleia that had its origins in the garden of a friend's grandmother is the first of my buddleias to bloom this year.

Another heirloom, a species canna that came long ago from another friend and neighbor's garden, is the first of the cannas to bloom. These plants bloom all the way from now until first frost in December.

The oakleaf hydrangeas are almost in full bloom now.

  I love the sweet little flowers of the 'Blue Daze' plant.

The red yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) plant is not really a true yucca. It is a member of the Agavaceae, or century-plant, family and is one of the tough native plants of Texas and the Southwest. It comes in several colors, the most common of which is a coral red, but there is also a yellow variation as you see here. I have both the red and yellow varieties in my garden, but so far only the yellow has bloomed this year. These blooms last for months.

The Southern magnolia, Magnolia grandiflora, usually blooms for us in May, but it, like many other plants, is somewhat confused about the seasons this year and so it started blooming more than a week ago in early April. The beautiful white blossoms almost make up for the mess of the shedding leaves.

The peak of our bloom season will be arriving over the next several weeks. It is a rewarding time to be a gardener as every day brings a new surprise, a new beauty. Come to think of it, every day and every season in the garden is like that.

I hope you enjoyed your visit to my garden this month. Don't forget to stop by Carol's May Dreams Gardens and see who else is showing off his/her blooms. Happy Bloom Day!