The Blooms of July

I just had to take a stroll this morning and catch the blossoms before they wilt n' melt in the sun!

Datura

Plumbago

Crown of thorns.

Not a great shot, I know, but I was trying to get several blooms in one...yellow and orange

pride of Barbados, sunflowers and majestic sage, in the shade.

Up close they look ratty, but from the road, they're cheerful as ever!

Okra! Destined to part of dinner tonight with the last of the tomatoes.

Pigeon berry...spreading from the one that remained after the garden tour 3 years ago. I had planted 6 small 4" pots that I'd found on sale...only to have them trampled by wee ones. Anyway, of the one that made it, several have sprung up!

Inland sea oats...for the birds.

Empty chilli petin caps...burdz done et 'em.

Texas Hibiscus...hummer food!

Passion flower vine...for the Fritillary butterfly.

Butterfly weed... Monarch butterfly food.

This is the Rocket Crape Myrtle that I planted across the street to replace one of the trees that didn't make it. Isn't she a lovely color?

People food...figs, arugula and persimmon...squint hard or enlarge to see.

Beans!

My first cantaloupe ever!

I was unable to get a great shot of the buddleia or butterfly bush and the Chaste tree with the cantaloupe vine climbing up to the top...but you get the picture. Two truckloads of mulch has really made a difference! I hope you are out in your garden in the wee hours of the morning...the best time of the day! Plus, today I got the extra benefit of watching the purple martins do their acrobatics while petting my sweet orange porch cat Sappho Moon.

Happy Gardening!

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!

Things of Note

In the days before the crushing heat of summertime bear down and send me indoors sulking over a Margarita...magic happens, and there have been some things that I want to remember for next year.

The first apricot!

Last year my little apricot tree made one fruit, eaten by a squirrel. This year we got over 30! The stinkbugs tried to ruin my joy, but after I bit into this soft, warm, scarred beauty, I realized that I could share. They aren't pretty on the outside, but the taste is unbeatable!

Peruvian Lily
This is becoming one of my favorite flowers. She's been blooming since April and the end doesn't seem near. I can't remember how long she continues to show off, but I'll pay closer attention this year.

The first tomato was the cherry-heirloom Yellow Pear, she was ready for the tasting Monday, May 24. It was delicious. Everything is looking flush and full, though I'm afraid that harvesting the apricots will send the stinkbugs to my tomatoes! Some nasty red spidery thing knocked off 8 squash (not on the three sisters.) I never made it out to get dill for my companion planting...so I'll have to worry over the borer...daily. Last year the mum/dill combo did the trick.

The bean is passing up the corn!

I'm 5'3"...hardly "as high as an Elephant's eye" but I'm feeling mighty proud!

The Mexican Petunia is coming back predictably...but this shot has more meaning than that. The Redbud in the center will be down, transformed into yard art by the weekend.

Toadstool tea anyone? There will be one more seat for my new niece/nephew soon. I'm having 3 trees removed on Friday because they are dropping limbs and are infested with carpenter ants. The sycamore out front, the tree that made me fall in love with this old house 14 years ago will be forever transformed, and for that, I am truly sad.

The wild, garish color of the Canna Lily always makes me smile!

The darling of my heart, Dorothy Belle enjoying the lush lawn. I never thought it would come back after October's tour. We did loose our "honeymoon tree" an African Acacia that my husband grew from seed. I guess the honeymoon's over? Nod, nod, wink, wink. So, I've got a little empty spot...what to plant?

I like to get a shot of the window boxes early on because I know by fall the potato vine and sedum will be half-way to the ground and looking wild.

Impatiens
My friend Ila warned me about planting them in the ground..."they'll take over" she said. Well, she was right. Fortunately, like the Heart leaf Skullcap that tries to dominate the same area, they are both easily plucked out of the ground.

Black and Blue Sage, I've been seeing photos of her on nearly every other blog I visit...so I thought I'd chime in.

Buddleia

What a tough gal is Buddleia! I put in 5 little ones last fall, because I found them on sale. This year I had to move 3 of them because they got too big for their location and I was afraid I'd done the wrong thing because they were such fainting-ladies after the operation. Now they're blooming like crazy! Their blooms are just magical!

Sago Palm

Check out the size of the heart on this plant. Last year she took up a 5ft. area in my garden. She's coming back for an encore!

The baby fronds are soft enough to run your fingers through!

We're almost to the end of the spring planting/transplanting season and I have just a few things left to do before the girls leave for a month and spouse and I start working on the back fence, the lean-too on the chicken coop and...probably a bunny run. But, before the silence steps in and the workload increases, I'm enjoying the daily miracles in the yard and hope you are too!

Happy Gardening!