Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - July 2018/Poetry Sunday - July by Helen Hunt Jackson

July

by Helen Hunt Jackson

Some flowers are withered and some joys have died; 
The garden reeks with an East Indian scent 

From beds where gillyflowers stand weak and spent; 

The white heat pales the skies from side to side; 

But in still lakes and rivers, cool, content, 

Like starry blooms on a new firmament, 

White lilies float and regally abide. 

In vain the cruel skies their hot rays shed; 

The lily does not feel their brazen glare. 

In vain the pallid clouds refuse to share 

Their dews, the lily feels no thirst, no dread. 

Unharmed she lifts her queenly face and head; 

She drinks of living waters and keeps fair. 

~~~

The water lily does not feel the brazen glare of the hot July rays. "She drinks of living waters and keeps fair."

And what else is blooming in my garden this July?

The milk and wine lilies will wilt in the hot rays, but in the early morning they are fresh and lovely.

'Ellen Bosanquet' crinums seem unaffected by the heat.

And so do the blue plumbagos.

The purple oxalis blooms best in cool weather, but even in midsummer it puts out a few of its pretty little blossoms.

Dahlias are definitely summer flowers.

The crocosmia is nearing the end of its bloom cycle.

Pentas.

Last year's marigolds reseeded themselves this year and the volunteers have been blooming their hearts out all summer all around the garden.

  

It's called blue salvia but it sure looks purple to me.

Purple coneflowers.

Rudbeckia 'Goldstrum' - common name black-eyed Susan.

Anisacanthus - also called flame acanthus.

'Caldwell Pink,' an antique rose.

Lantana.

The strange little blossoms of the buttonbush are much sought after by pollinators of many kinds.

 Snapdragons - still snapping.

Gaillardia.

Jatropha - just about to bloom.

Four o'clocks.

Hamelia patens with a bee attendant.

Angelonia.

Crape myrtle.

Yellow cestrum.

Duranta erecta's blooms are almost always covered in butterflies, but naturally when I went to take this picture, there wasn't a butterfly in sight.

  

We've had a pretty wet summer so far and the Texas sage, whose blossoming is triggered by rain, has already had several bloom cycles.

Justicia 'Orange Flame.'

The blossoms do look like flames, don't they?

'Lady of Shallott' rose. 

It's called Joe Pye weed, but it's not a weed; it's a lovely plant, a favorite of butterflies.

'Cashmere Bouquet' clerodendrum.

Tropical milkweed.

Summer phlox.

It wouldn't be summer without sunflowers.

Purple basil, beloved by bees.

Cypress vine. I got my start of this plant many years ago from my mother. It reseeds itself prolifically every year and whenever I see it, it reminds me of her.

'Darcy Bussell' rose.

The groundcover called wedelia.

Red columbines still bloom under the magnolia tree.

'Pride of Barbados' (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) - one of the more colorful members of the pea family.

With the weekly rain showers that we've had, it has been a struggle to stay ahead of the weeds in my garden and I fear I am losing the battle. But the rain that encourages the weeds has also helped to keep the flowers healthy and blooming, so I guess I'll take that trade-off.

Thank you for visiting my zone 9a garden this month and I look forward to visiting yours in turn. Thank you Carol of May Dreams Gardens for hosting us.

Happy Bloom Day!