Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - June 2019

Summertime (almost). The cicadas are serenading and the crape myrtles are in bloom. Here in hot pink.

And here in lavender.

'Cashmere Bouquet' clerodendron.

And potato vine.

'Belinda's Dream' rose.

It doesn't look very red but this is red yucca.

This was my much-appreciated Mother's Day gift from my daughters - a vitex shrub, also called chaste tree.

The blossoms remind one a bit of lilac which we can't grow here. They are much-loved by all pollinators, especially bees.

A Mother's Day gift from a previous year was this hydrangea which has been blooming its heart out this spring.

I do love its big squashy blossoms.

These blossoms are definitely not big and squashy. It's buttonbush (Cephalonthus occidentalis) and you can see how it got its common name. The blossoms do look a bit like buttons. It is a native plant, also much-loved by pollinators.

An oldie but a goodie - 4 o'clock.

This is a newer variety of 4 o'clock, planted last year.

And here's the white variety.

These daylilies have bloomed especially well this spring.

The ubiquitous salvia - autumn sage.

The rather inconspicuous little flowers of the beautyberry eventually develop into the colorful berries that give the plant its name.

'Pride of Barbados' - one of my favorite summer bloomers. Those hot orange and yellow blossoms just seem to say "summer."

Duranta erecta - aka golden dewdrop.

Oleander.

Wonderful blooms!

Justicia 'Orange Flame' has been especially floriferous this spring.

The wildflower, purple-head sneezeweed, that I showed you last month is still going strong.

Some of the purple coneflowers are in bloom.

Tropical milkweed. I haven't seen many Monarchs this spring and no caterpillars yet.

This native sunflower doesn't have the big dinner-plate sized individual blooms of the cultivated varieties but it covers itself in these saucer-sized beauties.

Jatropha.

Nearby the crocosmia is almost in bloom.

Turk's Cap lit by the setting sun.

The crinum 'Ellen Bosanquet' never fails me.

Summer phlox, always a wonderful addition to the summer garden.

And what would the summer garden be without its iconic sound effects? Here's one of those aforementioned serenaders, a cicada, resting on the ground before taking flight.

That's a sample of what's blooming in my southeast Texas garden this June. I hope you and your garden are enjoying this (almost) summer. Thank you for visiting and thank you, Carol of May Dreams Gardens for hosting.

Happy Bloom Day!

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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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