Bloom Day snuck up on me again. I looked at my calendar this morning and realized to my shock that it was the middle of the month already. My next thought was, "That's Bloom Day!" But did I have anything blooming, anything that hadn't succumbed to our 100+ degrees days and weeks-long dry spell? Well, a walk through the garden did reveal a few hardy bloomers. And here they are.
Asclepias tuberosa, the native butterfly weed. It laughs at the heat and the drought.
Petunias are pretty tough, too, and a few still bloom in the pots by the patio.
Blue plumbago. If anything daunts it, Southeast Texas hasn't discovered it yet.
Portulaca blooming in a pot on the patio table.
Native Joe Pye weed blooms next to
Hamelia patens.
Zinnias, another dauntless bloomer.
Pride of Barbados, aka Peacock flower, thrives on heat and drought.
The vitex bloomed beautifully for about a month. It's mostly gone now but a few blossoms hang on.
One shade of purple echinacea...
The
Hamelia patens shrubs are just about to be in full bloom.
The "blooms" of the inland sea oats by the goldfish pond.
The
Anisacanthus wrightii, aka flame acanthus, has been particularly floriferous this summer and the bumblebees are loving it!
Almost at the end of its current bloom cycle but still pretty.
Turk's cap never completely quits blooming for me all year round as long as it doesn't encounter a hard freeze.
Fading but still beautiful. In fact, I find the spent blossoms of the hydrangea just as pretty as the fresh ones.
And that's about it for this hot dry month. Fingers crossed that we soon get some rain to relieve both the garden and the gardener. Happy Bloom Day and thank you
Carol of May Dreams Gardens for hosting us once again.
You had quite a selection, after all, including a number of plants I am not at all familiar with. Hoping you get a break from the heat soon.
ReplyDeleteI second your hope!
DeleteI'm taking note of the your heat and drought-tolerant plants, Dorothy. I particularly like the 'Orange Flame' Justicia but will have to look into just how drought-tolerant it is as we go 6+ months without rain (and now we're managing under more stringent water restrictions). I planted Vitex agnus-castus 3-4 years ago and it's still dinky but it's not dead so I'm not counting it out (yet). Vitex trifolia has been more vigorous here but it borders on unmanageable.
ReplyDeleteThat Justicia is a tough plant. I suspect it might do just fine for you. We are under water restrictions here as well and I don't really remember when we last had a good rain. I'm amazed that many of my tough old plants just soldier on, regardless.
DeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeleteI especially like the Peacock Flower!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Thanks, Lea.
DeleteIt's great to see how many plants thrive even under harsh conditions. The Pride of Barbados is just stunning!
ReplyDeleteThe Pride of Barbados is a real winner for me. Even our hottest summers never daunt it.
DeleteYou have some great pollinator species there, Dorothy. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteIt's one of the requirements for life in my garden.
DeleteI've never heard of Peacock Flower but I do love that color. Everything is slow here this season and my butterfly weed is just beginning to bloom. No complaints though - I'd rather have late blooms over the heat. It has been cool here and I love it.
ReplyDeleteAnd who wouldn't make that trade? It seems like a winner to me.
DeleteI do love your Echinacea, Justicia 'Orange Flame.' and Butterfly Weed, and I am sure the pollinators do too!
ReplyDeleteIndeed they do!
DeleteI hope to look for some native butterfly weed one of these days.
ReplyDeleteYour garden is doing well, despite the heat. Good for you, Dorothy.
I got my butterfly weed plants at our local nursery, Arbor Gate. I'm sure other local nurseries carry it as well.
DeleteBeautiful photos!! I love gardens... I wish I had one myself, but I do not as I live in a condo complex. The joy for me is to visit other gardens in the area. A few weekends I visited the Markham Botanical Garden and Arboretum in Concord, CA and the Blake Garden in Kensington, CA. Both gardens are free to the public, but I was most smitten with Blake Garden as it offers a view of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco... Additionally, "Blake Garden is a 10.6 acre (4.3 ha) landscape laboratory and public garden located at 70 Rincon Road in Kensington, California, United States. It is a teaching facility for the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning of the University of California, Berkeley. It is also the site of Blake House, formerly the residence of the President of the University of California." (Wikipedia)
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful to be able to visit and enjoy those public gardens. I hope you will someday have a garden of your own to enjoy.
DeleteGood to see the flowers are surviving the heat wave there, yikes. Petunias are hardy ones that do well in Canada even ... they are my staples along with geraniums ... also the peonies recently came out here and made quite a show!
ReplyDeleteI tend to stick to the very tough, tried and true plants in my garden, the ones that I know can survive our incredibly hot summers.
Delete