Garden Blogger's Bloom Day May 2015

It's Garden Blogger's Bloom Day and time to join bloggers from all over to share what's blooming in our gardens.  GBBD is hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens on the 15th of each month.  If you've been reading Central Texas blogs you already know that it's been raining for weeks.  In San Antonio our rainfall for the year is seven inches above average and our nearly four years of drought are officially over as of this week.  Here's a look at what's blooming in my garden the last few days.

Indian Blanket or Firewheel.  I just love having wildflowers take over the back garden.  Most were not planted, they just seeded themselves in from a nearby field.

Mexican Hats

Greenthread or Navajo Tea

Native Monarda, Bee Balm or Lemon Mint is just beginning to bloom pale purple backed by those bright Indian Blanket flowers.

There are plenty of cool hues in the garden this week.  Purples in the form of Larkspur still blooming due to our cooler, cloudy spring.  The red accent is Gomphrena 'Strawberry Fields' which reseed every year and there's even a remaining Bluebonnet tucked in the mix.

Salvia Amistad which attracts hummingbirds

Verbena Bonariensis continues to hold up in the stock tank garden though it is listing a bit.  I've been trimming it back a bit at a time so as not to upset the butterflies.

Duranta 'Sapphire Showers' is almost eight feet tall since it didn't die back this year.

Pink phlox, no tag and I don't remember seeing it before.

Delicate pink canna bloom with an oddly colorless canna bloom.  These canna were grown from seed so just about anything can happen.

Clammyweed draped in Mexican Feather Grass



Bunny Ears cactus blooming bright yellow with Larkspur.  The silvery foliage is Wormwood started from a 4-inch pot several years ago.

Iris Dietes (left) and St. John's Wort (yellow), an invasive that I keep contained in a small area.

Heading back to the warmer side of the color wheel.  The flowers of St. John's Wort are so delicate.

Yellow Cestrum, another plant that did not die back so it's blooming much earlier.

Dyckia 'Frazzle Dazzle' with cute yellow blooms against silvery foliage.

Gray Santolina topped by yellow blooms.  Ruby Crystals grass in the background.

Reds supplied by Shrimp Plant

Yarrow 'Paprika'  with its gold centers fits right in to the spring garden.  It will retreat when the heat sets in.

Bat Faced Cuphea is both red and deep purple.  Can you see the little bat face?

Magenta Gomphrena 'Fireworks'.  Gomphrena will always have a place in my garden, it's so reliable and drought tolerant.

Coral blooms on the Hedgehog Cactus and ...

Hesperaloe which the deer are leaving alone this year.

Lantana 'Bandana' brings in the orange hues.

Lion's Tail, another plant that did not die back this past winter and is already blooming.

A very special pair of orange Zinnias.  Not only are the flowers a color I loved adding to the garden, they were gifts from our garden club president in recognition of my service in putting together several programs and field trips this past year.  Thank you Karen!

There are two Zinnia plants because I have volunteered to be club historian next year (or two).  I'll attend all the meetings, events and field trips to take photos.  It's something I look forward to and expect to enjoy since I blog about most of our trips anyway.  I just need to work on including more people in my shots.

See May Dreams Gardens for more from Garden Blogger's Bloom Day.

"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.

Flowers for Friday: Late Summer 2012

Tomorrow is Garden Blogger's Bloom Day (GBBD) but my flowers never seem to bloom on cue for GBBD.  For September, I've collected blooms from the last few weeks and put them all in one post.   It's late summer by the calendar, in San Antonio that means the beginning of our second gardening season of the year as our gardens wake up from their heat-induced summer dormancy and peak around the end of October.

Now for what's blooming in my garden in late summer 2012.

First up is Gomphrena 'Fireworks', a plant I intend to plant more of next year.  Gomphrena taunts our hot dry summers by sending up masses of stunning blooms.  Here it is against a background of Mexican Bird of Paradise (Caesalpinia Pulcherrima).



Gomphrena 'Strawberry Fields' is also a beauty.  In full sun and reflected heat all day, it continues to bloom all summer.  Gomphrena 'Fireworks' is in the background.  Both plants grew from small 4" pots planted in June.



Duranta 'Sapphire Showers' is stunning against the stone wall of the garage.   The plant is almost six feet tall with striking sprays of tiny jewel-like flowers.

This aloe plant was handed to me as an "extra" at the end of a swap last fall.  It fits just right in a little cement pot and the pretty bloom is a nice surprise.

This is the first bloom on this blackberry lily (Belamconda chinensis) sent to me by an internet gardening friend two years ago and I love the delicate color and details.

My favorite canna put out this one last summer bloom, which was six feet tall.

The garden along the north side of the house provides the best blooms at the end of our hot summer.  I posted the story of this garden last fall shortly after I began blogging.

Red salvia with tall purple Ruellia in the background.  The red salvia was received in a trade so I don't have an ID, but it has been a prolific bloomer all through our hot summer.  Nepeta 'Walker's Low' is spilling over the rock edging onto the gravel path and a yellow brugmansia trumpet blooms to the right along the wall. 

       

 A closer look at the salvia to finish this last summer flower post.

The best blooming news for Fall 2012 is the gardens we began literally from scratch three years ago are beginning to establish and fulfill my vision.  And the rains and cooler weather arrived this week (almost 4 inches) after a six week dry spell.  Ahhhhh -- Fall is coming.

On a sad note:  Albert, a gardening friend who shared the Brugmansia shown here and a number of the plants mentioned in previous posts, passed away earlier today (09/15/12).  I will miss his delightful advice while fondly remembering him through the plants that still grow in my garden.

GBBD June 2012 - Three Special Tropical Blooms

It's Garden Bloggers Bloom Day (GBBD) hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.  For June 2012 I'm focusing on three special blooms, each with its own story.

This gorgeous canna bloom is the most amazing shape, color, and scent.  The story behind it makes it even more special.

It was grown from seeds sent to a gardening friend here in San Antonio by a gardener in Trinidad and Tobago who enjoys creating new cannas for his collection by cross pollinating.  About a year ago Barbra divided the plants and shared a few with me.  I call this canna 'Trinidad" but it has no official name.  The flower is a soft pink and curves downward more than most cannas.

The new flowers unfurl in a pattern similar to a bird of paradise.  The sweet tropical scent is a bonus.

 

This vigorous spreader and prolific bloomer is not fussy either.  I typically grow cannas in pots on the deck for summer color.  Here in zone 8b I can leave cannas out all winter.

The Night Blooming Cereus (Epiphyllum oxypetalum) has had several blooms this week.  This one is from last night and I didn't get out there to check until this morning but I still enjoy seeing the blooms in their various stages.

  
This is the first time I've grown the night blooming cereus and the cuttings were passalongs from Ragna. These were stuck in a pot back in May and ignored so it's very easy to grow here though it does need winter protection.

This is a Sanseveria bloom and there are two at once in this pot on the deck.  It's a first ever for me to see one of these bloom.

Sanseveria was one of the plants I grew in my room back in high school so I've grown many of these over the years.   Since none have ever bloomed for me it was indeed a surprise and special event.  This plant was shared with me by gardening friend Patty.

The blooms are lily shaped and delicate.  The sanseveria will only bloom once at each cluster though the foliage does not die after blooming and will continue to create offsets that will eventually bloom.

Three special blooms on three special plants from three special gardening friends makes for a special Garden Bloggers Bloom Day!

Join Carol at May Dreams Gardens as bloggers from around the world share their blooms on the 15th of each month.