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

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - August 2013

The Dog Days are definitely here. July 27 through August 20 is historically the hottest period in our part of the world, so we are well into that period. It is a time that wilts both gardens and gardeners. Still, there are a few blooms that hold up to the heat. I've shown you many of them many times before. Things like...

 Hamelia patens. You can see why one of its common names is "Mexican firebush."

Another of Hamelia's common names is "hummingbird bush." It's very popular with those little birds at this time of year.

 The swamp hibiscus known as "Texas Star" continues its summer-long bloom in both red stars...

...and white stars.

The Anisacanthus wrightii or "flame acanthus" had mostly finished its latest bloom cycle and, since it had gotten so big and sprawling, I cut it back about one-third in order to encourage more fall blooms. There are still a few stray blossoms left and they still attract butterflies like this beautiful Giant Swallowtail.

Water lilies in the little goldfish pond are still blooming and their "pads" now shade most of the pond.

The warm - make that hot - summer sun has enticed these goldfish out from the shade provided by the lilypads to bask.

The weird and wonderful blossoms of the Dutchman's pipe vine are almost open.

This pink purslane positively loves the sun.

The blue blossoms of Cape plumbago seem particularly attractive to sulphur butterflies of all kinds. Do they realize how pretty their yellow looks against the blue?


I'm not entirely sure what this plant is. It was a "volunteer" in a pot that I brought home from the nursery. It looked interesting so I dug it out and planted it in the garden and found that butterflies, particularly the Gray Hairstreaks like this one, just love it. Possibilities for the plant's identity include marsh fleabane or camphor weed.

Thanks to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for again hosting this monthly meme and thank you for visiting my garden. Happy Bloom Day!

20 comments:

  1. Lovely photos and beautiful plants! I love waterlilies, wish I could have room for a pond with them.
    Happy GBBD!

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    1. I have enjoyed my little pond as much as any feature of my garden. I'm really glad we decided to add it.

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  2. I love Hibiscus, your red star is gorgeous. I have Rose of Sharon and Musk Mallow blooming, though not featured this month. Your pond looks great, do you have any dragonfly nymphs in it?

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    1. I haven't noticed any nymphs but I do have dragonflies, so I wouldn't be surprised to find some there.

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  3. Beautiful blooms! Your garden affords so much to enjoy even in this sultry, sizzling weather!

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    1. There's always something to enjoy in the habitat garden. If not the plants, then the animals.

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  4. Beautiful blooms and butterflies, too!
    Happy Gardening!
    Lea
    Lea's menagerie

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    1. I do love my butterflies! Thanks for dropping by, Lea.

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  5. As usual your butteflies are driving me mad with envy. Love the Mexican Firebush - and that pic of the hummingbird!

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    1. Well, the butterfly traffic has definitely picked up lately, although our numbers are still down from a normal year. Still, we enjoy what we've got.

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  6. Gorgeous....thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting on Flight Behavior.

    I can see why the book definitely appealed to you. Beautiful butterflies in your photographs.

    Have a great day!!

    Happy Hopping!!

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    http://silversolara.blogspot.com

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    1. I'm a habitat gardener so, yes, butterflies definitely appeal to me!

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  7. What a wonderful introduction to your garden. That Mexican Firebush can't be ignored, can it? Always been a fan of hibiscus but never came across the simplicity of the swamp ones. And your "little pond" has a big impact.

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    1. The Mexican firebush or hummingbird bush is really the centerpiece of my late summer and autumn garden. They are in constant bloom until first frost in December and are a great attractant for hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees.

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  8. Love all the visitors to your garden! The Mexican firebush is a beauty, but even more so with the hummer!

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    1. Yes, hummers do make everything around them more beautiful.

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  9. You have a lot of plants I've never seen growing before are they all native and do you irrigate during the drought period?

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    1. Most of my plants are native or are established to be very drought tolerant. I irrigate minimally. We are under water restrictions and can only water on certain days and at certain hours. Lately, we have been getting about 1/2 inch of rain per week, so I haven't watered anything except for the plants in pots.

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