Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - September 2018

Recent rains have kept me and my camera out of the garden but this morning the sun came out and I was finally able to get out and record some of what is growing - some of it even blooming - in my garden this September.

No blooms here. The muscadine grapes are well on their way to ripening and the mockingbirds keep close watch on them. The purple ones don't last long.

The Duranta erecta sports its "golden dewdrops" - at least the ones the birds haven't got to yet.

My little Satsuma tree is heavily loaded with fruit.

And so are the purple beautyberry shrubs.

The 'Pride of Barbados' still has a few blooms.

But most of its blooms have already matured and ripened into seeds. The shrub is full of these "beans" and if I don't remove them, my yard will be full of little volunteer 'Pride' shrubs next year.

All of these plants with their loads of fruit say that summer is ending and autumn is almost here. And not a moment too soon for me.

The little 'Pinball' gomphrenas have been covered in little pink blooms all summer long.

Salvia farinacea (blue salvia) has come on strong in the last couple of weeks.

This fuchsia-colored angelonia has perked up, too, since the temperatures have moderated a bit.

My coral vine harbored dreams of world domination and threatened to start by covering my backyard this summer. I had to cut it back severely about a month ago to discourage its over-exuberance and that caused it to pause in blooming for a while, but it has stopped its pouting now and is beginning to bloom again.

'Big Momma' Turk's Cap has many, many blooms, a boon to the passing hummingbirds.

I find the blossoms of porterweed quite weird in appearance, but that doesn't bother the butterflies which love them.

And next to the porterweed is a plant beloved by bees - basil.

My crape myrtles are winding down but they still have a few watermelon-colored blooms.

The almond verbena, on the other hand, shows no signs of winding down. It is covered in these sweetly scented blossoms.

The tropical milkweed carries a few blooms and I occasionally see Monarch butterflies visiting them but I've yet to see any eggs or caterpillars this year.

The bronze fennel is blooming, too, and I planted it mostly for the swallowtail butterflies that use it as a host plant, but I've seen no caterpillars munching on the plant.

A pretty pink waterlily bloom is mostly hidden by overarching leaves.

The wedelia has loved our rather wet summer and has responded with a growth spurt and a bloom spurt.

Purple oxalis in its pot on the patio has a few blooms.

The tiny blooms of Tradescantia 'purple heart' go mostly unnoticed.

This lantana has been a magnet for butterflies recently. Naturally, there were none around when I went to take this picture.

The blue plumbago took a long time to hit its stride this year, but lately it has been looking happier.

The Hamelia patens is ablaze with blooms, food for the hummingbirds.

Nearby, a few of these daylilies still bloom.

Like many of the plants in my garden, the pentas are showing the stress of our long summer but they still bravely send out their blooms.

All over the garden, the fungi are on the march!

These little mushrooms growing next to one of the weed-choked beds in my resting vegetable garden look almost good enough to eat. Hmm...

This is yet another type of fungi,  seen half in shade from the redbud tree and half in bright sun.

And then there are these interesting little guys growing near the north side of the house. I wish I were more knowledgable about fungi and could actually identify all of these mushrooms.

Finally, this bromeliad was supposed to be a houseplant, but then my naughty cats chewed every single leaf on the plant! And then threw it all up, of course.  I decided the only way to save the poor plant was to send it out into the world, so it now sits near my front door entry.

One week until fall starts. I am ready!

Thank you for visiting my garden this month. And thank you, Carol of May Dreams Gardens, as always.

Happy Bloom Day!