May Bloom Day

I'm a late to the party, but I am happy to post Bloom Day pics anyway. Weather has been strange this year, and over the past week we've had 3-4 inches of rain (yahoo!!!), a cold snap cold enough to require light jackets all day (very weird, though refreshing, for this area in May), and temperatures rebounding into the pleasant upper 60s - mid 80s.

My favorite native flower, the Rain Lily (Zephyranthes species), is putting on a spectacular show in the neighborhood park right now. 3-4 weeks of dry weather followed by a big honkin' thunderstorm is just what these beauties live for.

My pictures don't do justice to the loveliness of a rugged green field with a thousand of these dainty white blossoms afloat at sunset. But I had to try.

Here's a smattering of things blooming in my yard:

Annual Torenia 'Kauai Deep Blue' is still going strong in this shady corner.

Crookneck Squash is a monsterous spreader, with lots of cute little squashes and giant flowers. These tiny ants seem to like it.

The Meyer Lemon is blooming for a second time, after my kids picked off most of the baby lemons (except the ones too high for their reach.)

Cardinal Climber blooms during the sunny part of its day.

At last, all of my 'Red Lanterns' Columbine plants are blooming. I think "lanterns" is a fitting description for the way those flowers dangle, don't you?

Heartleaf Skullcap is blooming its heart out.

Blurry close-up of HS blooms. A real camera is on my Christmas list for this year...

Tropical Sage--most of the growth lately has been the leafy, bushing-out variety, but it still sports a few lively red flags.

The Yellow Shrimp plants give the one-finger salute. They look like candlesticks to me. I wonder if they'll drape over like the more typical (and aptly named) pinkish Shrimp Plant.

Close-up of the Yellow Shrimp (or candlestick) Plant. It's a jolly canary yellow.

Also in the yellow-orange section of this bed, the Lantana has come into bloom over the past few weeks.

Twin Sunflower blooms are hanging in there, despite ant damage. I'm thrilled that the flower seeds I planted with my 4-year-old daughter early this Spring have bloomed, even after the seedlings sat under my makeshift grow light in the garage for too long.

The last of this round of Knockout Rose blooms.

Geraniums in hanging baskets still look pretty, especially on their sunny sides.

My girls picked out a Gerbera Daisy from the grocery store for Mother's Day. So sweet. I love that they know I would rather have a plant I can put in the ground than cut flowers.

More yellow--this seems to be the color of the month in my garden. This is a volunteer False Dandelion. My neighbor probably cringes when he sees it, weedy looking as it is with the flowers closed up for the day, but I like it too much to discard it. I might try to transplant it to the backyard.

Also up front, Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii) is coming back so nice and bushy, and is giving me a sneak peek of its cherry red blooms.


What else is blooming? I saw the very first Turk's Cap bloom peeking out today, but didn't manage to snap a photo. Pavonia (Rock Rose) isn't blooming yet, but it will be any minute now. Blackfoot Daisy, Caradonna Meadow Sage, Lavender and Martha Gonzales Rose have all petered out from their first bloom cycles of the year, but they'll be back.

I've seen so many pretty yuccas in bloom around town, and I have zero yuccas in my yard. Someday this will be remedied. The tallest Crape Myrtles in the sunniest spots around the neighborhood are blooming, which means mine are about a month or so away from catching up.

Happy Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, and a big thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting!

P.S. How could I forgot? This was the bouquet my oldest daughter and I put together for my mom for Mother's Day. Happy belated Mother's Day to all you gardening mamas out there!

Knockout Rose, Sunflower, Salvia 'Mystic Spires' and Texas Lantana