Garden Blogger's Bloom Day February 2017

What blooms in South Texas in February?  Quite a few plants, especially this year with above average temperatures most days.  And this year one of my favorite plants that usually doesn't bloom until March is already in full bloom.  That's why I'm joining in with Garden Blogger's Bloom Day this month.

Texas Mountain Laurel (Sephora secundiflora) surprised with early blooms despite a couple of deep freezes and a long run of cloudy days.

Love those grape-scented blooms.

Still emerging

Cooler weather should help the blooms last for a while.  Some years the heat does them in.

Covered with bees ....

.....even though the camera could only get one at a time!

More blooms on this pretty February day

Blackfoot Daisy is a reliable survivor of hard freezes.  It barely slows down and begins blooming quickly again.  Even better is seeing this native plant shrug off our summer heat while blooming away through July and August.

 Ditto Four-Nerve Daisy

Golden buds on a red barrel cactus promise the first blooms on this plant since I planted it about three years ago.

Succulents kept under wraps during the coldest nights bloom early like this Echeveria.

Kalanchoe daigremontiana blooms on a stem so large it dwarfs the plant

Rosemary thrives in my garden and commonly blooms through the winter

Suprisingly similar to Rosemary are these Silver Germander blooms

Bougainvillea were stuck in the garage during the freeze.

Mexican Honeysuckle is another plant that seems to have powered through the freeze on the northeast corner of the garden.  Sparsely blooming, but still it counts.

Purple Oxalis hiding under stems of perennials

Meyer Lemon blooms forming fruit already.  I made a Lemon Cheesecake in December with last year's fruit.

The first wildflowers are Prairie Verbena (Glandularia bipinnatifida)

and Greenthread

Buds forming on the Texas Bluebonnets mean blooms will be here soon.  You might have to look way down in there to see it.

Turns out there are quite a few blooms this February.  Garden Blogger's Bloom Day is hosted on the 15th of each month by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

Gardens at Festival Hill: The Roman Ruins Herb Garden

Over a recent weekend we headed east a few hours to visit family and tour some very special gardens.  Festival Hill at Round Top is a retreat for musicians from all over the world.  In addition to hosting a popular concert series, their beautiful grounds are open to the public.

We'll begin in the herb garden called The Roman Ruins built in 1993 to house the collection of well-known Texas herbalist Madalene Hill.  It is a beautiful tribute to her decades of work on growing herbs in hot, humid Texas.

Plant ABCs: R is for Rosemarinus

Plant ABCs is an ongoing series in which I am highlighting a plant from my garden for each letter of the alphabet.  I'm currently going through the entire alphabet A - Z, then will continue updating and adding plants to the list over time.  My previous posts in the series are on the "Plant ABCs" tab under the header.  Today's letter is "R" and Rosemary is the highlighted plant.  Rosemary plays a big role in my garden because it is easy to grow, very drought tolerant, and absolutely deer-proof.