Skip to main content

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - September 2019/Poetry Sunday


Once again Carol of May Dreams Gardens is hosting Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day for us and I am happy to welcome you to my zone 9a garden just northwest of Houston, Texas. 

Our plentiful rains of the spring and early summer are a faded memory here in mid-September. We have transitioned into a very dry late summer, as we hope for the respite of autumn rain - preferably not accompanied by a hurricane. Most of my plants are looking a bit worse for wear as they endure the long, hot, dry days, but many still manage to produce blooms to brighten the garden.

 September is time for asters.
 And more asters.
The purple oxalis has been resting for much of the summer but now it is producing blooms again.
 The gaudy flowers of the crape myrtles continue - in watermelon red...

 ...and in pink.
 Esperanza, aka yellow bells, reaches for the sky.
 The blue plumbago plants are a bank of blossoms now.
 Even Joe Pye weed has decided to have another go at blooming.
The milkweed has done well but has had very few Monarch visitors this summer. And I've seen no eggs or caterpillars.
 The jatropha has had perhaps its best summer ever.
 And the 'Lady of Shallott' rose has been a winner.
On the fence that separates the front and backyards, the evergreen wisteria has been blooming its heart out.
 Even the Rudbeckia 'Goldstrum' still has a few blossoms.
 And so does the vitex that has bloomed beautifully all summer.
 The Hamelia patens, aka Mexican firebush, is in its glory now.
 And the oleander still sends out a few flowers.
 In the goldfish pond, a single water lily bloom hides among the leaves.
Firespike sends out more blooms as the weather gets cooler, but it is getting a head start now.
They bloomed in early spring but even now that they are dry the blossoms of the hydrangea are still beautiful.

 In fact, I like them just as well now as when they were new and fresh.
 'Pride of Barbados' is past its main flush of blooms but still has a few.
And they are very attractive to butterflies like these Giant Swallowtails. 

 In other non-blooming news from the garden:
 The Meyer lemon crop is coming along nicely.
 As are the Mandarin oranges.
Many of the white beautyberries have already been devoured by hungry birds. 
But never mind. There are still plenty of the purple ones left. 

The golden dewdrop berries of Duranta erecta are already being eaten by the birds as well.
Earlier this summer, my little Japanese maple lost most of its leaves to a fungal disease. Undaunted, it is now producing a second crop.
  
 Just in time to drop them in the fall.
And in the goldfish pond, there is a new contingent of tiny goldfish, just added after the last of my old fish succumbed a few months earlier. And the goldfish have as their companions lots of these tiny tadpoles. Yes, the frog population of my garden seems to be doing quite well.

 And that makes my little buddy happy!

 ~~~

 September brings a beauty of its own and dreams of the seasons to come...

 September Flowers

 by Joseph Narusiewicz
September wild flowers grow free
Purple, yellow, lavender, all beam joy
Fall is starting to turn the sumac
A walk can be such a wondrous trip

 The air is crisp and vibrant
Touches of red show in the maples
Geese land in slews and ponds
Oaks seem so noble and strong

 Hills filled with lush life
Songs of an autumn moon
Radiant sun brings azure blue
Birch and elm reach for love

 Greens of summer still rule
This path has many wild flowers
The lake will soon freeze
Meadows will cover with snow

 Rain has made everything vibrant
Moss and pine trees grow mellow
Mushrooms glow with sunlight
Soft breezes make the leaves dance

 Blue birds gather on a fallen tree
Squirrels gather their acorns
Great Cottonwoods loom like giants
Old logs, field grass, daisies

 I sigh amidst the September flowers
Labels:

Comments

  1. Phillip OliverSeptember 15, 2019 at 2:26 AM

    Isn't the 'Lady of Shallott' rose fantastic? I just stumbled across your blog for the first time and love your content (a "Vera" fan!). I have some catching up to do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 15, 2019 at 9:12 AM

      The 'Lady' has definitely been my favorite among my roses this year. I'm so glad you stumbled in, Phillip, and I hope you'll visit often. I'm loving the Vera series and itching to get back to it, which I may do after I finish the book I'm reading.

      Delete
  2. David M. Gascoigne,September 15, 2019 at 4:00 AM

    September flowers, especially at the latitude where I live, have an added touch of poignancy about them, as we realize that they are the last vestige of summer's blooms and that fall is right around the corner. Already here, a few trees are showing early tinges of colour, but this may be evidence of stress rather than fall foliage. In any event it is time to make batches of squash soup - and once we start to do that we know that winter is coming!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 15, 2019 at 9:14 AM

      Butternut squash soup is perhaps the favorite thing about winter for me. Not that we actually have very much winter here but any excuse to have that wonderful soup!

      Delete
  3. Judy KruegerSeptember 15, 2019 at 9:11 AM

    Thank you for all of this, the pictures, the captions and the poem. Hurray for the Japanese maple and the tadpoles!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 15, 2019 at 9:20 AM

      Those tadpoles are a joy for me. I am a big frog fan.

      Delete
  4. Pam's English GardenSeptember 15, 2019 at 1:38 PM

    I'm sighing amidst the September flowers in your garden, Dorothy. They are truly lovely even with the heat and dryness. Happy GBBD! P.x

    ReplyDelete
  5. AlanaSeptember 15, 2019 at 3:17 PM

    I sigh over September, too, although for me it means Winter is Coming (and I don't mean Game of Thrones, either). As always I enjoyed your collection of flowers, many of which won't grow here in the Southern Tier of New York State, including my favorites, the crepe myrtles.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 15, 2019 at 4:51 PM

      The crapes have been particularly spectacular this year.

      Delete
  6. betty-NZSeptember 15, 2019 at 5:16 PM

    Oh, how I am enjoying your wonderful garden blooms! Spring has just begun awakening flowers here in my part of the world.

    My Corner of the World

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 15, 2019 at 5:38 PM

      You've much to look forward to with the beginning of spring.

      Delete
  7. Arun GoyalSeptember 16, 2019 at 12:46 AM

    Lovely..we could so relate with blooms each month...I love enormous blooms of aster...that crape myrtle in watermelon red is sparkling got to find one for my garden too..every time you post about wisteria it gives more urge to get one for me..never knew duranta erecta has berries over it...are they edible...nice to see Garden figurine at the end of post...it just add life to the garden...Happy blooms day..

    Ps hope your husband is in good health now..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 16, 2019 at 10:32 AM

      I think the berries of the Duranta are only edible for critters, but they do love them. My husband is doing very well indeed. You are kind to ask.

      Delete
  8. JeannieSeptember 16, 2019 at 7:09 PM

    I was confused by the Mandarine oranges and wondered what was wrong. It never occurred to me that oranges are green when they are green...duh! Never once have I seen one on a tree when it was green. The pictures are always taken when they are bright orange and tempting to eat. Advertisements - they fool you every time.

    Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry (in Tennessee where oranges don't grow)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 16, 2019 at 8:28 PM

      LOL! Yes, they do start out green. They will soon start turning orange and the lemons yellow. It’s a months-long process.

      Delete
    2. JeannieSeptember 16, 2019 at 8:41 PM

      Of course (palm smack to the forehead), duh, again.

      Jeannie from the Department of Redundancy Department

      Delete
  9. Lee@A Guide to Northeastern GardeningSeptember 18, 2019 at 4:21 PM

    Dorothy-your late summer blooms are beautiful and I love the lemons and oranges! As summer comes to an end, there is still so much beauty in your garden.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 18, 2019 at 4:40 PM

      Thank you, Lee. The summer has been tough on my plants, but we're still here, still blooming!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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...
19 comments
Read more

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 ...
6 comments
Read more

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. ...
24 comments
Read more