A pre-Bloom Day look at the garden

I will be on the road later this week and away from my garden on June 15, or Bloom Day as it is known to garden bloggers around the world, so here is a pre-Bloom Day look at what's blooming in my garden this month.

It's almost summer and the summer phlox is in bloom.

There are lots of white blooms in the garden this month. They help to bring a note of coolness to my hot garden space.

There's almond verbena with its wonderful scent. Too bad I don't have smell-a-blog.

The white crinums are blooming.

And so is the white 'Texas Star' swamp hibiscus.

And the datura, sometimes called devil's trumpet or moonflower.

But here's the real moonflower, and, yes, it's still blooming, too.

The beautyberry bloom is not much to look at; the real attraction is the colorful berries that come later.

This pretty little white flower is blooming in my wildflower bed. I'm not sure what it is called, but I think it is some kind of alyssum.

Also in the wildflower bed is this prairie coneflower.

And this black-eyed Susan.

Speaking of coneflowers, here's the purple one.

And the red one.

Many of the sunflowers are at their best and brightest just now.

This pale one is another bloomer in the wildflower bed.

This one is a native wildflower, as well. It is fully twelve feet tall and covered with these blossoms.

The Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) is blooming.

And so is the angel wing begonia.

Justicia 'Orange Flame'.

The 'Lady of Shallott' rose has been a real winner for me.

I love this little ornamental pepper. It was a "volunteer" in the garden, reseeded from a plant that I had last year.

More from the wildflower bed - blanketflower.

Blanketflowers, sneezeweed, and black-eyed Susans.

Also in the wildflower bed - I don't know its name but I think it is some kind of scabiosa.

And here's a poppy, also from the wildflower bed. Love poppies!

Its popular name is horsemint and butterflies love it.

A red coreopsis, also from the wildflower bed.

And speaking of red, here's 'Darcy Bussell' rose.

The 'Cashmere Bouquet' clerodendrum bloom will soon be completely open.

The dependable blue plumbago.

'Belinda's Dream' rose, a bit past its prime.

Anisacanthus wrightii, aka flame acanthus, is blooming and that makes the sulphur butterflies happy.

The crinum 'Ellen Bosanquet' is starting to bloom.

i've never grown hostas because I was convinced they wouldn't do well here, but I decided to give them a try this spring. So far, so good, and as a bonus, I get this pretty flower.

The summer garden would not be complete without marigolds.

'Pride of Barbados.'

Delphiniums.

Behind the garden shed, the big elderberry shrub is blooming.

Cypress vine, a ubiquitous summer bloomer in my garden.

Yellow yarrow.

Dahlia.

Variegated Turk's cap.

On the patio table, a pot of portulaca, aka moss rose, brightens the space.

This 'Endless Summer' hydrangea has all blue flowers, except for this one pink one. What's up with that?

Blue potato bush.

And finally, our recent rains have induced my Texas sage shrub to flower.

It has covered itself in these luscious blooms.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be taking a short "blogcation." I hope you'll miss me and that you'll come back when I return in just over a week.

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters! Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...

The Nature of Things

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