Wildflower Wednesday September 2013: Purple wildflowers and Rain Lilies

 It's Wildflower Wednesday sponsored by Gail at Clay and Limestone where she invites bloggers to share stories of wildflowers in our gardens the fourth Wednesday of each month.

For September 2013 I'm featuring purple performers and Rain Lilies in the fall garden.

The much-anticipated Liatris or Gayfeather is blooming this week.  Another plant generously shared by Michael at Plano Prairie Garden last year.  He's not sure exactly which variety this is so he's listed it as Liatris somethingorother in his plant list.  I do know for sure it is a striking color in the fall garden.  The plants have begun to spread out in their second year in my garden and look better this year compared to last year when they were newly planted.

Ripening prickly pear are sure signs of fall

It's the first day of autumn and we made it through a particularly brutal summer here in San Antonio, so time to look for seasonal changes in the plants.  The traditional fall colors so common in northern climates are rare in South Texas.  After a few days of rain a "cold front" blew in and dropped our daytime highs all the way down to 91F/33C.  I've been outside several hours each day planting and transplanting to take advantage of the beautiful weather.  While we do have a few pockets of maples and a several other plants which will change color this season, our weather typically remains quite warm right up until the calendar says winter.

That doesn't mean we don't have our own signs of fall.

One sign is the ripening of the Tunas or prickly pear fruit of the Opuntia cactus.  In the arroyo across the creek behind the house these are bright red.

Book Review: Plant-Driven Design

It's garden book review time so I'm joining Holley at Roses and Other Gardening Joys for her garden blogger's book review meme on the 20th of each month by reviewing Plant Driven Design: Creating Gardens That Honor Plants, Place, and Spirit by husband and wife team Scott and Lauren Springer Ogden.

Wordless Wednesday: Birdie Hot Tub!

"Fall" Foliage for Foliage Follow-up September 2013

It's not easy to find fall colors in South Texas.  By the time we experience anything approaching fall weather it will be nearly winter on the calendar.  I'm joining Pam at Digging for Foliage follow-up on the 16th of each month to show off the foliage in our gardens.

So with the Autumn season approaching quickly I went in search of fall colors in our near triple digit temperatures and found...Cannas.  Just for a few moments forget that these plants are here all summer and enjoy.

Canna Tropicanna in matching planters by the front door.

A very special birthday wish

The sweetest, dearest, best mother-in-law in the world is celebrating her 85th birthday today.  Since she reads my blog, I think it would be fun to wish her a Happy Birthday here.

Vintage garden market and a beautiful tree-shaded venue

Back in July I headed over to Los Patios on Loop 410 in San Antonio to check out the first House to Home Vintage Market show and see the park-like grounds of the private event center.  Los Patios is along the the Salado Creek Greenway trail which is part of a city-wide trail network and is a beautiful place to spend a few hours right in town.

The show was in this very Texas-style wood building near the parking lot.