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

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - April 2014

So I've been lurking in the world of garden blogging, quietly posting, but more often, reading all the gardening blogs I can get my eyes on. I think it was probably Pam Penick's terrific blog, Digging, that clued me into the delightful monthly recurrence that is Garden Blogger's Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, Carol at May Dreams Gardens hosts GBBD, in which she posts photos of what's blooming in her yard, and encourages other gardeners to do the same, and posts links to their blogs.

Being a novice gardener and blogger, I haven't yet had the audacity to post for Bloom Day... until today. Without further ado, onto the blooms!

As is the case in other parts of the US this year, the blooms here in Austin are a little behind. Maybe a month behind, if I reckon accurately.

The annual Gazania that I picked up recently sports a number of different colored blooms. At the moment, the only one opening during the day is this fetching maroon and white striped one, which my Aggie friends would love. I like that the maroon seems to be painted down the middle of the petal.

Purple Oxalis has been sending up dainty pale pink blossoms lately. These also seem to open just for the sun, then close for the day. They're in part shade here.

More annuals--Torenia 'Kauai Deep Blue' is strutting its stuff.

The strawberries the girls and I planted back in... November? They're regularly putting out charming white flowers, and even berries now. Can't wait to eat one--if we can get to them before the critters do!

Blurry close-up of a multiplying onion flower. My 3-year-old daughter loves these, but she can't muster the patience to avoid picking apart the flower wrapper to expose the circular head of flowers. At least this year she managed to do it gently. I see an Anole lizard photobombing this one, right above my older daughter's wall tag.

Crookneck Squash is putting out some bright yellow spring flowers.

Knockout Rose is back.

The first peak of the Yellow Shrimp Plant bloom showed up this week. This is a new plant in my garden, so I'm eagerly awaiting the show.

Salvia 'Mystic Spires' is putting up a pretty purple spire.

Martha Gonzales roses and Blackfoot Daisies are blooming in the front yard, along with Lavender and Salvia 'Caradonna Meadow Sage'. Here are a few pics:

Here's one of the two Martha Gonzales Roses in the parking strip, with its first blooms of the year. I managed to trim the other one, but didn't get around to this one (oops!) I might give it a light shaping this weekend.

A closer look at the merry Martha roses.

The Blackfoot Daisy I divided last fall--this is the mother plant. It's about half the size it was at the end of last summer.  This plant seems to love the hot, dry parking strip most of all. The babies are small, with just a few blooms right now. All in good time...

Here are some photos of the front-yard purple duo, Lavendar (I don't recall which species) and Caradonna Meadow Sage.

Here are the "twins", side by side in the front pea gravel bed.

Caradonna Meadow Sage doesn't bloom for very long in my garden, but those purple spikes are pretty, and the foliage makes an attractive mound for the rest of the year. This one is growing slowly, perhaps in part because I transplanted it from the parking strip last year.

Lavender -- this is my third attempt at growing this drought-tolerant beauty. I don't know why it took me so long to try it in the front yard, where it is decidedly sunnier, hotter and drier. I think the third time will be the charm, as this one already seems much happier than the previous two.

What has already bloomed and faded this year? Leucojum (Snowflakes) and my Texas Redbud tree.

What hasn't bloomed yet? Texas Mountain Laurel--and since it normally blooms here in February, we might have missed the opportunity this year. I saw one blooming at Springwoods Park here this past week, so I'm holding out hope.

Lantana, Pavonia (Rock Rose), Esperanza, Salvia Greggii 'Autumn Sage', and the crinum bulbs I planted haven't joined the party yet, but I wouldn't expect them to until the weather gets genuinely hot. Turk's Cap and Plumbago are still gradually recovering from the freezes, too.

Happy Bloom Day!