June Bloom Day

Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day! The weather continues to be Floridian here in Central Texas, which is making a lot of my plants happy, it seems. At 9 months pregnant, I'm spending a bit more time indoors these days, but the mornings are comfortable enough to spend on the covered back porch with the fan running and a glass of iced tea. The girls are highly enthusiastic about backyard swimming, so we're doing a lot of that, too.

I may not be the biggest fan of hot and humid weather, but I'm amazed in looking through these photos just how many blooms are either making their debut for the year or continuing to bloom. I'm also realizing how much red is in my garden. I knew I liked blue, purple, yellow and white blooms, and consciously tried to incorporate those colors, but I must like red and pink more than I thought... or else there are just a ton of red-blooming plants that are available and well-adapted to this area.

The two hanging baskets of geraniums are clearly in too much shade--they're very leggy--but they're still blooming enthusiastically, even if the blooms look like satellites hovering around the mother plant. (And ugh, my gutter is dirty!)

In addition to the ever-blooming yard art along the fence, the Crape Myrtle we transplanted early this spring is blooming now, ahead of its cousins.

Here's a closer look at one of the hot pink Crape Myrtle bloom stalks.

I had to point the iPhone at the sky and squint to capture the snow-white blooms of the tall 'Natchez' Crape Myrtle. Look at that sky... you can almost see the steam rising.

Oh Happy Day! Purple Coneflower DID come back this year.

Cardinal Climber is one of the many mighty Reds.

Tropical Butterflyweed came back very slowly this year, but here it is, just starting to bloom. A little red here, too, mingled with yellow. I haven't spied any Monarchs yet, but I suspect that would be in late September/early October, if these flowers are still blooming by then. I think I did spot a Ladybug larva, though.

In the rookie Wildflower Patch, Clasping Coneflower (I think) is the first to bloom.

The Rainbow Bed sure is blooming.

I feel like this plant shows up in every one of my posts, but it has been such fun to watch Yellow Shrimp Plant start blooming, bush out, and bloom again. Up to 5 candlesticks on the candelabra now. Yay!

It's not quite blooming again yet, but the Mother's Day Gerbera Daisy I transplanted is about to start blooming again. As with all floral department plants, I'm not holding my breath that this one will live long, but it's always fun to try.

Another Knockout Rose bloom, another spot of red/pink in my garden.

Salvia 'Mystic Spires' looks so pretty right now with its purple-blue bloom spikes, against the reds and pinks that surround it.

Massive Pavonia/Rock Rose. You'd never know it died to the ground this past winter. I might have to shear it back before it smothers its neighbors.

The other Knockout in the sunnier end of the bed.

I caught the Wild Morning Glory at just the right time, when the blooms are wide-open. They close soon after this corner gets shady in the early afternoon.

Over in the veggie box, the Eggplants are blooming. The purple flowers with yellow centers aren't much to look at, but I appreciate them as harbingers of fruits to come.

Strawberries are still blooming, to my surprise....

... and still making strawberries. I'm guessing we've harvested about a pint of strawberries off our three plants so far this year, not counting the ones the ants and rolly pollies got to first.

Torenia 'Kauai Deep Blue' still has a few deep purple blooms left, even though it is getting choked out by the other members of the Purple Pocket Garden.

Close-up of the Wild Morning Glory. This is one of the stars of my summer garden, especially considering I never planted it.

In the front yard, a medium-long shot of Plumbago Row.

And a close-up of the periwinkle-blue blooms. I dug a few of these up and gave them to a friend recently... fingers crossed that they'll fare as well in her yard as in mine.

Red in the front yard--Turk's Cap. This photo makes the bloom look oddly orange, but it really is a true red.

A cluster of yellow Esperanza bells. So pretty, and a familiar sign of the Texas Hot Season.

Blackfoot Daisy and Martha Gonzales Rose could hardly be happier.

Jolly little Blackfoot Daisies, up close. These are in possibly the hottest, driest part of the yard, the parking strip, and they love it.

Caradonna Meadow Sage is putting out a second round of dainty purple spikes. I'm glad I cut off the spent stalks about a  month ago.

Autumn Sage isn't covered with blooms, but it blooms steadily.

Peter's Purple Monarda is starting to... peter out. Sorry, couldn't help it. I wonder if it might re-bloom this year. I don't know much about this plant, truth be told.

More plumbago blooms.

I have had more compliments on this ultra-low maintenance bed of plumbagos than any other area of my garden over the years. Neighbors often ask about them. This strip is nothing to look at in the winter, but 9 months out of the year it is crammed with foliage and pretty blue blooms that stick to your clothes if you brush by them.

Happy Bloom Day!

Transition time

As Austin bloggers, and heck, most US bloggers know all too well, we had an unusually long and cold winter this year. Spring was slow to take hold, and we had to keep the plant wraps ready as a series of late freezes hit us. I'm not complaining. Mostly, we have been savoring the cool mornings and warm days, all the while knowing that any day we could get back up into the upper 90's here in Austin.

That day came yesterday, though I hear we will have a pleasant little dip back into upper 70s/lower 80s temps this week. Beyond that, getting into May, we're almost certainly headed into late Spring in Austin, which means 90-something degree highs. Maybe 100's, if we're particularly unlucky.

Summer has long been the season I tolerate while waiting for the much more enjoyable other 7-8 months of the year here. (Summer here is 4-5 months long, at least in my mind. May/June - September/October.)

So yesterday we found ourselves suddenly hot, and unaccustomed to dealing with it. I took the kids to a park playdate from roughly 10am - 1pm. My husband went mountain biking with a friend from 11am - 2pm. That's not what smart people do when it's really, really hot out. Outdoor activities have to take place in the 7:30 - 10:30 timeframe (am or pm, take your pick). He came home red and drenched with sweat, and when I told him he could go ahead and shower (don't worry about the kids, in other words), he said something I haven't heard in a long time: "I'm too sweaty, I have to cool off first." Otherwise, the shower would be pointless. He'd emerge almost as sweaty as he was before showering.

We brought out the kiddie pool for the girls, and realized we are woefully unprepared for the onslaught of mosquitos. It hasn't been raining much lately, but I guess it doesn't take much.

On the bright side, all sorts of heat lovers are perking up around the garden. There are tomatoes(!) on both of my tomato plants, which are now gargantuan in stature. The Lantana is blooming again. Lots of pretty colors are coming out to mix and mingle.

The one Crinum 'Summer Nocturne' bulb I had leftover and planted in a pot seems happy enough for now. This spot gets morning sun and afternoon shade.

The Crape Myrtle we transplanted still has its leaves, though it hasn't leafed out as fully as its neighbors in the back strip. I saw a few new sprouts emerging from the sides of the trunks today.

The Meyer Lemon has these cute, plump little baby lemons on it. My daughters already picked off all the ones on the lower branches. It'll be a miracle if these survive.

The volunteer Wild Morning Glories are starting their sprint up the trellis in the Purple Pocket Garden.

Side view of the vegetable garden box. We thought some critters had outsmarted our mesh cage yesterday when I saw two of the panels hanging loose, a missing red strawberry and a severed white strawberry. Then my 4-year-old dutifully fessed up. DH and I were relieved that it was her and not a squirrel.

I harvested those lovely beets from the vegetable garden a few days ago, to make room for eggplant transplants. We had those two beets for dinner, and we've enjoyed a couple of beet green salads, though I think we still have a few greens left in the fridge. 

Here is one of the two eggplants that replaced the beets.

The Crookneck Squash is getting big and bushy. I guess I shouldn't have assumed it would be a climber! There are 3 small squashes under all those leaves.

My kids brought home green beans they grew at school to transplant into the garden. So, of course, we did.

Can you find the tiny jalapeno in this picture? I can't, but I swear it's there!

Our tiny carrot sprouts, planted out of season, are recovering from whatever little critter defoliated them.

The Sweet 100's cherry tomato is a towering 5 feet tall, and well-stocked with small green tomatoes and yellow flowers. Now to see if those fruits will ripen before the mercury hits 100...

The Texas Redbud peeks over the back fence where the vegetable bed is. And of course, the scarecrow.

I've never messed with Geraniums before this year, believe it or not. I have no idea how long they'll last into the heat, but they've been pretty since the freezing days.

Along the back fence, I separated the two trellises and planted a Cardinal Climber vine transplant that I picked up at Countryside Nursery this past Friday. The Wisteria next to it has plenty of leaves, but I don't know if we'll see blooms this year. In between are slowly recovering Tropical Butterflyweed (orange/yellow blooms) and the first recovering leaves of Echinacea/Purple Coneflower. If it ever all blooms together, it'll be a colorful combination: blue-orange-purple-red.

Close-up of the Cardinal Climber. Natalie and tried growing this from seed earlier this year. We managed to transplant some small seedlings that are now struggling to compete with the now-massive Blanc Du Bois Grape in the Western backyard bed. When I saw this transplant, I couldn't resist. The blooms are eye-catching red trumpets that I bet the hummingbirds will love, but equally fetching to me are the cute spiky-fingered leaves. (I'm sure there's a more appropriate botanical term.)

The Western backyard bed is turning out to be the Rainbow Bed. I like that name much better. Knockout is living up to its name.

Lantana flowers are back! Bad photo, but you get the idea.

Yellow Shrimp Plant is blooming in front of another Knockout.

Sunflowers are bringing up the rear--my daughter and I started these seeds at the same time as our Cardinal Climbers.

Gotta keep everything moist for now, though these plants should all be drought-tolerant once established. Fingers crossed.

Finally! A Red Lanterns Columbine is blooming.

Its neighbor is about to show off, too.

Heartleaf Skullcap. I saw thick beds of this recently in another garden, so I'm eagerly anticipating what this might look like next year.

Another side view of the emerging Rainbow Bed. The wilting one is a new addition--Fall Aster.

Here's a peek around the corner that leads to the Purple Pocket Garden, and eventually the vegetable bed. It's fun to see this all green again.

Stay cool, my friends!