Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - July 2013

After missing June's Bloom Day because I was on the road at that time, I have quite a bit to show you for July. It's the height of summer here. The weather is hot and dry and the garden is being tested, but most of my plants are tough old things that know how to withstand adversity and flourish in spite of it. Here are some of them.

One of my most dependable bloomers throughout the long summer is the 'Caldwell Pink' rose.

 'Dallas Red' lantana seems to positively delight in the heat of summer.

 Several of the hybrid daturas that I started from a mixed packet of seeds this spring have bloomed beautifully this summer, including this purple double bloomer. 

 The wild elderberry along the back fence has been full of blooms as usual. Many of those blooms have already turned to shiny black berries which don't last long around all the hungry birds that call my garden home.

 The old cannas continue to put out some blooms right up until first frost in December.

 'Mystic Spires' salvia blooms with the cannas in the background.

 The old-fashioned yellowbells Tecoma stans never misses a beat in all the summer heat.

 I added a new Tecoma called 'Orange Mahogany' this year. It hasn't hit its stride yet, but it's coming along.

 The wine-colored evergreen wisteria blooms hang heavy on the fence where they live.

'Pride of Barbados' is reaching its peak of bloom. 

 I've been very pleased with the performance of Justicia 'Orange Flame' that I added to the garden in spring.

 The 'Ellen Bosanquet' crinums bloom heavily throughout July.

The old sunshine yellow hibiscus is flowering beautifully again this summer. 

 I'm quite fascinated by the odd blooms of the shrimp plant. Strangely enough, hummingbirds absolutely love this plant.

 This delicate little tickseed flowers repeatedly throughout summer.

 As does the 'Montrose Purple' vitex.

 Red 'Texas Star,' a swamp hibiscus that does well here.

 And here's the white version of that hibiscus.

 The blooms of the Texas sage are triggered by rainfall. We had just about one-eighth of an inch of rain a few days ago and now the plant is full of blooms! 

 Yellow cestrum, a favorite of hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies blooms profusely throughout summer.

 Jatropha sends out its tropical blossoms next to my little pond.

 Several gerbera daisies, represented by this delicately colored specimen, are flowering around the garden.

 The native datura that lives next to my patio was full of its scented white blossoms early this morning.

Finally, to cool things off a bit, here's one of my water lilies enjoying its summer among the goldfish in my pond.

There's even more, like the Hamelia patens and Anisacanthus wrightii that I seem to feature in almost every post, but this seems a good place to stop. Thank you for visiting this month, and thank you to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for again hosting Bloom Day. 

Happy gardening!