This week in the garden - #80

It's been a lovely week in the garden, for the most part. The weather has been pleasant, at least until today when the heat and humidity returned a bit. I've managed to get several chores done, but I've also managed to spend time just sitting in or walking through the garden to enjoy this time of year.

 The rains that we had last week have nudged the 'Silverado' Texas sage to burst into bloom again.

The cat whiskers plants have been a disappointment this year, but now the white one is trying to make up for lost time. The purple variety though is still lagging.

 Jatropha continues to put out a few blooms.

The red yucca puts up a long bloom spike in spring and then starts blooming beginning at the bottom of the spike. All summer long, the rows of blooms continue to open in turn, traveling up the spike. Now, the bloom cycle has reached the very top of the spike and is beginning to open these final blossoms. These flowers must be very rich in nectar because every passing hummingbird stops to sip from them.

 The 'Mystic Spires' salvia is a great favorite with bumblebees.

This is one of the double-blossomed hybrid daturas that I raised from seeds. It has been a very prolific bloomer.

 'Chi Chi' ruellia loves autumn.

And so do the butterfly gingers. They've been in bloom for weeks now and show no signs of slowing down.

 Some of the milk and wine lilies have started putting out some blooms once again.

As the weather warmed toward the end of the week, I started seeing green anoles again. There are lots of baby anoles around and this is one of them. You can't really judge size from this picture, but I would say his body was about two inches long, his tail perhaps four inches in length. Many of the babies that I'm seeing are much smaller than this.

As we ease toward mid-autumn, the leaves are yellowing more and more and falling from the trees. The setting sun has traveled about halfway across my yard since late summer. It is now much farther to the south and it drops below the trees on my western horizon much earlier. Not so long ago, it was still light at 8:30 P.M., but now by 7:30, all that's left is the faint afterglow of the setting sun. Winter, with its short days, is coming and gets a little closer with every sunset.