Thank you to Carole of May Dreams Gardens for hosting Bloom Day again this month and thank you for visiting my April garden. Happy Bloom Day!
Monday, April 15, 2013
Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - April 2013
April may be known for its showers, but in my garden, it is also known for its flowers. This is the first month of the year when the garden is truly full of flowers. Here is just a sample of what's blooming in my zone 9a garden this month.
The 'Red Lion' amaryllis is roaring - the first of the amaryllises to bloom, other than the St. Joseph lily.
These violas have been blooming since the dead of winter. They were planted in a pot where Gerbera daisies bloomed last summer. Now the Gerberas are coming up among the violas but haven't started to bloom yet.
This stand of white yarrow has been in bloom since early spring.
The autumn sage blooms off and on for most of the year.
This little mandevilla vine was added to the bed next to the patio this spring and has been in bloom continuously since.
Euryops, or bush daisy, is just beginning to bloom.
The 'Mystic Spires' salvia is attracting butterflies and hummingbirds with its deep purple blooms.
So is the nearby yellow lantana.
The native red ruellia is a hummingbird attractant.
Kevin the gnome stands in a bed of reseeded marigolds.
This blue-eyed grass blooms in a pot in the little fish pond, but it has also seeded itself in the planting bed that surrounds the pond.
Another plant beloved by the hummingbirds is the red salvia.
The pink oleander is beginning to bloom.
The orange bulbine is in bloom just about twelve months of the year.
'Hot Lips' salvia always looks like it has had a Botox treatment!
Butterflies love yellow cestrum. And so do I.
The bottle brush plant seems to be well-named. Its funny flowers do look like bottle brushes. This is the dwarf variety 'Little John.'
And here are a few of the roses blooming in the garden this month. The top tier blossoms are 'Dortmund,' 'Monkey Business,' 'Radazz,' and 'Belinda's Dream.' In the bottom tier are 'Molineux,' 'Radsunny,' 'Peggy Martin,' and 'Ducher.'
Thank you to Carole of May Dreams Gardens for hosting Bloom Day again this month and thank you for visiting my April garden. Happy Bloom Day!
Thank you to Carole of May Dreams Gardens for hosting Bloom Day again this month and thank you for visiting my April garden. Happy Bloom Day!
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Your flowers are beautiful! My amaryllis are blooming now, and we planted a "Monkey Business" rose this Spring, can't wait to see it bloom.
ReplyDeleteYour April garden is just lovely! Thanks for sharing,
Dorothy
I think you'll enjoy 'Monkey Business.' It's been a great performer in my garden.
DeleteWhat a bounty of blooms you have, Dorothy--lovely! I love that bottlebrush; such an interesting plant, I wish we could grow it here. Happy Bloom Day!
ReplyDeleteBottlebrush is an interesting plant, and although the blooms don't look like hummingbird fare, the little critters really like them.
DeleteDidn't know there was a red Ruellia. Mine is more of a lavender. The autumn sage and Mystic Spires salvia are both very appealing.
ReplyDeleteI have a number of sages and salvias in my garden and find them to be very useful plants.
ReplyDeleteI have the 'Katie' ruellia also, which I assume is the one you have. The red variety is actually a native plant that has been cultivated for the hort trade. I'm quite fond of it.
What a difference a zone makes! Your plants are a month ahead of mine. I planted bulbine last year and wasn't sure if it would survive the winter here but it is coming up again. Your pollinator blooms are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteBulbine is such a tough plant. I feel sure it will do well for you, Karin.
DeleteYou must be about a half-zone ahead of me. Katy ruellia and yellow Lantana are not ready to bloom here. Yet.
ReplyDeleteBulbine is tough, but it can't persist where soil nematodes find it, so mine died out.
My 'Katie' ruellia isn't blooming yet either - only the red variety.
DeleteThose nematodes can be death to many tough plants. Sorry about your bulbine.
You sure do have a lot of beautiful blooms! I love the 'Red Lion' amaryllis! I had one in a pot blooming in my kitchen during the winter.
ReplyDeleteHope you are having a wonderful day!
Lea
Lea's Menagerie
My 'Red Lion' started as a Christmas plant three years ago. After it stopped blooming, I planted it in the garden and it has thrived ever since and bloomed every spring. It always cheers me to see its blooms.
DeleteI love how red that Red Lion is. Really beautiful. That flower is so sexy. Also, that mystic spires is an attraction.
ReplyDelete'Red Lion' is well-named. That red truly does roar. 'Mystic Spires' is one of my favorite salvias. I have it in several spots of my garden.
DeleteIt's so interesting to see all the flowers blooming where it is hot, so different from those in the North. Takes me back. I don't ever remember seeing Bottlebrush or other Eucalypts in Houston. I tried to grow a tree here but an unusually late low frost killed it. Lovely photos!
ReplyDeleteI think bottlebrush has been a fairly recent addition to Houston area gardens. Both the standard and the dwarf varieties are very useful and interesting plants.
DeleteLove seeing the bold Amaryllis in the landscape, and the bottle brush bloom is stunning. They're pretty amazing when in full bloom. Beautiful colors!
ReplyDeleteColor is certainly the operative word in my April garden, Amy.
DeleteWell, Texas and RI don't have too much in common except.....those violas which I planted in containers this spring. Love them and you are lucky to have them through the winter. The winter here is gray and white.
ReplyDeleteOh, Layanee, I do love my violas and pansies! They certainly do brighten winters here and right on into spring, as well. I suspect after a gray and white winter, the Rhode Island spring must be glorious.
DeleteDorothy, you've got lots of lovelies! It started raining about 30 minutes ago here ... hope you're getting rain too!
ReplyDeleteHi Cindy. It's been misting all morning here and within the last thirty minutes, we got a brief heavy shower. All much appreciated!
Delete