Whoosh, There Went Bloom Day!

Dang. Missed it completely. The blooms from spring are mostly gone but there are a few stars that remain. This August will be 14 years that I've lived in my house and there are two plants that I don't think have ever looked this stunning in all of Austin and they are the Crape Myrtles and Beebalm. Here's a shot of Ms. Myrtle and her sister on the West side of the driveway. Between last month and now the Chaste Tree did her thingy, as did Belinda's Dream, the Mexican Oregano and Dianthus.

The Yarrow, white and yellow, in the front and back yards has multiplied profusely after just sitting dinky for 2 years.
And, above the Yarrow, the Peach tree is about ready to harvest...I'm gonna guess there's about 150 or so peaches on her. I'll be making a batch of Jalapeno Peach Jam and the rest will be frozen for smoothies.

The tomatoes are almost as tall as the peach tree in the back there...can you see 'em?

I transplanted 2 Buddleia that acted out a dramatic fainting spell for about a month, then are just blooming like mad. Seems the 3 I transplanted are actually performing better than the 2 I left in place. I've seen this happen with other plants as well...a little abuse and they send out flowers as if to say...'I'm worthy, don't yank me out of the ground again!'

The Canna's have reached the top of the door on the Garden Haus.

And I had to sneak one more shot of those Myrtles, but also show how the Pony's Foot...that completely died away (or so I thought) in the winter has come back strong!

Other things of note: the Confederate Jasmine and Cross Vine are on their second bloom cycle of the year, the Flame Acanthus has gone wild and put out several babies (I'm happy to dig them up if anyone wants one...not a fan of Flame Acanthus...one is enough,) this is the first year the lavender, other than Provincial has bloomed repetitively, best year yet for tomatoes, and if anyone wants me to save the seeds on the Pride of Barbados...let me know!

That's it folks...short n' sweet. Happy Bloom Day to all you mighty fine gardeners out there and a shout to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for organizing this ordeal!

What else is blooming at the Govumpella residence:

Red Yucca

Heartleaf Skullcap

eggplant

Gregg's Mistflower

Impatiens

Desert Rose

Larkspur

Purple Cone Flower

Katrina Rose

Cecile Brunner

Butterfly Weed

Mexican Petunia

Autumn Sage

Mealy Blue Sage

Pavonia

Columbine (second round)

Fern Leaf Verbena

Russian Sage

Black n' Blue Sage

Skullcap

Turkscap

Purslane

Happy Gardening!

Not Much Bloomin' Here...except the Heat!

It's supposed to get up to 99 today. I was up at 5 so I could ride my bike to the track to meet my workout partner, walk/jog do yoga and ride home. It was miserably muggy and has been since that measly rain last Friday. Can I bitch? Living in Texas is really heavenly for about 9 months out of the year...but honestly June, July and August feel like someone hit you upside the head with a board. Unless I'm out, and stay out from before dawn I feel a prisoner in my own home staring outside at the dying greenery...I swear I can hear everything live saying " just set me on fire now and get it over with." It's especially hard when trying to be conscious of water usage...which I try to do, though sometimes I admit getting carried away with my hand watering...can't help it, seriously how can I expect these guys to thrive with burning feet?

I'm not going to include my entire list of die-hard Natives that are still blooming away because well...if you live here you know them. Lantana, Yucca, Hymenoxis, Crape Myrtle, Purslane, Turks Cap, Shrimp Plant and the like...I salute you, you're Texas true-blue...clearly deep down, I'm a Yankee, somebody get me a cocktail, I'm fading.

Here's what's up in my yard right now...death and dying...but some life, so I'll share with you the pretties I was able to capture yesterday morning before the heat sent me rushing inside. For those of you tuning in for the first time, it's Bloom Day...our gracious host Carol at May Dreams Gardens organized, created and maintains this wonderful concept where folks all over the world Blog-in on the 15th of each month to share what's bloomin' in their yards. As always, Thank you Carol for your inspiration!

The beautiful Phalaenopsis and I would rather be inside looking out at the heat than participating in the scorch fest. Mist me.

Esperanza (Hope Autumn comes soon) doesn't seem to be bothered a bit.

Lions Tail, Leo of course is the July/August sign...he's standing tall in the sun, myself, a Leo...not so sun worthy, sporting a rather farmerish tan prefers tubing.

This little tattered Phlox came from my neighbor Beverly's yard.

Lindheimer's Senna, transplanted from Zilker finally boomed!

There is something just magical and silly about Purple Cone Flower, I love it's floppy, fuzziness, it reminds me of something a kindergardener would draw.

Mexican Oregano going to town in the heat.


Had to show you this side of my drive with Crape Myrtle and Texas Sage, both were in bloom just before the rain last week but even without blooms I love the shiny green next to the soft gray.

Plumbago and Artichoke

This is Agastache-Apricot Sunrise. Tom over at Barton Springs Nursery talked me into giving it a try...he's just a delightful gentleman and gives top notch advice!

Yellow Yarrow with gray foliage

White Yarrow with green foliage

My crazy Desert Rose blooming on the deck. Well, that's about it for this month. Thank you for checking in on Bloom Day. Stay hydrated and take it easy!

Happy Gardening