In spite of the rain though, I know my duty. It is Bloom Day and you must have pictures of what is blooming in my yard, and so my camera and I braved the raindrops and went to record the day. Here's what we found.
May is allegedly daylily month, but most of the daylilies in my garden are not blooming yet. This yellow one is an exception.
May is also the month that magnolias, a rather messy plant, remind us of why we planted them. This blossom has been washed clean by the rain and shows a pristine whiteness.
The 'Radazz' Knockouts are long past their first glorious flush of bloom, but they are almost never without a few blooms to please us.
At the feet of the 'Radazzes', the much-maligned 'Stella d'Oro' daylilies are beginning their bloom.
In the shade garden, the hydrangeas are full of blooms and almost-blooms this May. The oakleaf has been in bloom for a while.
In a bed nearby, my Aunt Marcelle's hydrangea has just a few blossoms so far. In her garden, these blooms were a clear blue. Here, they tend toward lavender and pink.
In the same bed, another hydrangea is just beginning its bloom. I love this stage of bloom when the almost-blossom is still pale green before it shows its true colors.
Speaking of "almost-blooms", here's 'Montrose Purple' vitex.
The fig trees are blooming. This is both their bloom and their fruit.
These snapdragons were supposed to be my temporary winter color in the planters by my garage doors. I keep wanting to pull them out and put in something more appropriate for 90 degree weather, but the darned things just won't stop blooming!
In a pot near the front door, the fuchsia geraniums still brighten my entry, as they have since late winter.
The 'Acanthus mollis' is outdoing itself with blossoms this spring.
'Otahal' salvia is a favorite of bees and butterflies.
One of the 'Summer Glow' agastaches that I got recently at Antique Rose Emporium blooms next to one of many purple salvias in the yard.
My wildflower bed, just like wildflowers all over this part of Texas, has been glorious this spring, dominated just now by the blanket flowers.
But there are Mexican hats among the blankets, too.
And Brown-eyed Susans.
And it's not all about orange and yellow - purple makes its statement, too.
In the potato bed, the zinnias from last year have reseeded themselves. They attract butterflies, as well as less colorful insects.
And speaking of butterflies, my butterfly weed plants have already been destroyed by caterpillars a couple of times this spring, but they just keep coming back. This one has even managed to bloom.
The heirloom buddleia - it came originally from her grandmother's garden - that my friend Carolyn gave me last summer came through the winter with flying colors and is just beginning to bloom. I don't know its proper name, so from now on I'll just call it "Carolyn's buddleia."
The hybrid Asiatic lilies are still putting on a show.
'David Verity' cuphea is full of these orange blossoms shaped just to fit a hummingbird's beak.
'Katie' ruellia loves the rain.
So do the 'Porter' tomatoes.
The lantana next to the loropetalum is beginning its bloom.
While 'Rouge Cardinal' clematis next to the back porch is ending its bloom - at least for now. This is its very last, rather rain-bedraggled blossom. I can't complain. It has bloomed beautifully for weeks.
Meanwhile, the coral honeysuckle, which was a disappointment to me in its first season last year, just goes on and on.
But there is nothing like roses in the rain. This is tiny-blossomed 'Red Cascade'.
And this is the luscious-blossomed 'Graham Thomas'. This is his very last bouquet of blooms from his first spring flush of bloom. It seems like a good note on which to end my Bloom Day tour.
(Visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens for a complete list of bloggers participating in this Bloom Day.)
