Having missed June's Bloom Day because I was on vacation, I want to make sure that I get in on the fun this month!
Here is some of what's blooming in my zone 9a garden just outside of Houston in Southeast Texas.
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| Datura, aka "devil's trumpet." |
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| Cosmos. I love these bright blossoms. |
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| The bumblebees love them, too! |
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| 'Katie' ruellia is one of the better-mannered ruellias. |
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| Blue plumbago is one of my most dependable summer bloomers, beloved by butterflies. |
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| Hamelia patens, aka "hummingbird bush," has begun its bloom which will last for four to five months until our first frost. |
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| Echinacea purpurea, the purple coneflower, has also begun to bloom. |
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| While in another part of the garden, other echinaceas continue their bloom. |
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| The humble marigold gets in on the act. |
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| 'Black and Blue' salvia. |
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| 'Mahogany' esperanza. |
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| The ground cover wedelia sports its daisy-like yellow blossoms. |
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| The weird and wonderful bloom of the Dutchman's pipe-vine. |
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| Another weird blossom - the porterweed. |
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| 'Ellen Bosanquet' crinum. |
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| The firecracker plant, Russelia equisetiformis, is just beginning to bloom. |
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| But yellow cestrum has been blooming for months. |
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| Anisacanthus shows why its common name is "flame acanthus." |
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| These old-fashioned petunias are another long-term bloomer. They've been in bloom since spring. |
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| Likewise, the 'Tangerine Beauty' crossvine gives its big flush of bloom in spring but continues to put out a few blooms right through summer and fall. |
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| 'Dortmund' rose - a simple, single blossom. |
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| 'Pride of Barbados' attracts butterflies like this Sulphur. |
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| And on these hot days, the little fountain in my backyard garden attracts birds wanting to cool off, like this Northern Mockingbird.
Luckily, we have continued to have regular rain showers this summer which has kept the garden looking lush and has helped with the blooms, so color abounds in the July garden.
I hope your garden is looking lush and healthy this Bloom Day. Thank you for visiting, and, as always, thanks to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for hosting Bloom Day.
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My favorite flower is your Datura. I've heard these smell heavenly. You must enjoy watching them open up in the evenings.
ReplyDeleteThey do smell wonderful. The only drawback is that all of that terrific scent is "wasted" on the night! I get to enjoy them in the early evening when they begin opening and in the early morning - if I get up early enough. The moths that love them get them all night long.
DeleteLucky moths! :)
DeleteIt's all looking fabulous Dorothy, wonderful hot colours. And what a bloom on the Dutchman's pipe-vine, I've never seen anything like that one before.
ReplyDeleteLove the mockingbird too.
Hot colors certainly predominate in my hot summer garden.
DeleteLove to see what's growing in your hotter climate than mine in Wisconsin.
ReplyDeleteAnd I look forward to visiting your cooler Wisconsin garden. The great thing about Bloom Day is being able to see what is blooming in gardens all around the world.
DeleteMany of my favorites are in your garden. I grow Firecracker in a big pot with Ghost Plant for the contrast. It's not quite hardy here.
ReplyDeleteMine, too, is in a big pot on the patio. I thought I had lost it after the cold winter that we had. It was slow coming back, but come back it did and now it's about to give me blooms.
DeleteDutchman's pipevine is quite arresting and exotic. I forgot about Firecracker fern blooming...of course, mine's the pale yellow which is not as striking as your lovely red. Love seeing all the familiar, sunny faces in your garden!
ReplyDeleteThe pipe-vine is really lush and full of those strange blooms this summer. It's quite the show-stopper. The firecracker fern is, too, once it really gets going. It's just getting started now. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteYou have such interesting blooms especially the Dutchman's pipe-vine flower which is so unusual. Your capture of the Mockingbird is stunning! I enjoyed the visit. Happy GBBD!
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by, Lee. I enjoyed my visit to your garden also.
DeleteLove the blue plumbago! I've tried to grow it several times, but it's only an annual in my zone 5B garden. Always interesting to see so many different plants, Dorothy, that we can't grow in the Midwest. Well, I can grow cosmos, and I love it, too.
ReplyDeleteCosmos is a wonderful summer annual - always a staple in my garden. And there are lots of things you can grow in the Midwest that would poop out in our heat and humidity. Variety is the spice of life! And gardening.
DeleteI love the datura, too. And the Dutchman's pipe vine has an unusual flower. I'm going to see if I can grow that. I have seen it growing in our area of northern New York. I have blue plumbago, but I think I need to move it to an area that gets more sun. Beautiful photos of your colorful garden!
ReplyDeletePlumbago does love the sun - even our hot southeast Texas sun. I bet it would love the northern New york sun as well! Thanks for stopping by, Sue.
DeleteLovely July flowers, and the Dutchman's pipe-vine is fantastic, never seen it before! I’d love to grow one here, not sure where though, my garden is so full – and I also would love to have a datura, but same problem. Thanks for the tour!
ReplyDeleteThat's always the conundrum, isn't it? So many plants I would like to grow but so little room! We all just need bigger gardens.
DeleteWhat a beautiful garden and would expect no less from the blog listed as #3 to sign up for GBBD. I haven't seen the Dutchman's Pipe in many years and recall being totally enthralled as a kid staring at its patterning. Have loved the firecracker plant since childhood as well.
ReplyDeletePlease visit my first ever GBBD as it has quite a back story I'm sure you'll enjoy.
Best, Patrick
Thanks for dropping by, Patrick. I will be sure to visit your garden. Welcome to GBBD!
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