Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - Summer 2015

I was slacking the last couple of months on posting blooms for Carol's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day over at May Dreams Gardens (even though I was diligent about taking pictures), and since I have minimal August blooms, I figured I play a bit of catch-up with my summer-time bloom pictures.

WARNING:  an excessive amount of flower pictures follow.

JUNE

Since we had a mild start to our summer temperatures and a lot of early summer rainfall, the June blooms were fabulous.

One of my favorites for the month were the sunflowers.

I love how bright and cheerful they are.

The bees certainly loved their pollen.

Some of the sunflowers were planted on purpose, like these along the fenceline.

Some were volunteers from fallen birdseed...like these ones.  I love how their faces follow the sun.

The echinacea or purple corn flowers were out in full force.

Daylilies were finishing up with their late spring-time blossoms.

The antique roses went through a bloom cycle, including the Heritage (David Austin) and 

Mrs. B. R. Cant (Cant & Sons).

The butterflies were loving the Black Knight butterfly bush,

as well as the Texas lilac vitex, which is a Texas Superstar.

My orange canna lilies had a great mid-summer season, after I divided them and spaced them out last fall.

The nectar of the zinnias spread around the garden are a favorite treat of the hummingbirds, whether they are purple,

red,

or pink.

The shasta daisy seeds that I spread around last fall finally blossomed and made great cut flowers.

And to finish up the June 2015 blooms, here is a petite little blossom of my ice plant, which I had gotten several cuttings from my neighbor last fall - gotta love free pass-along plants!

JULY

My favorite blossom of July had to have been my deep purple morning glories.  Such a vibrant color greets me every morning!

The roses continued their summertime showcase, including Abraham Darby (David Austin),

Heritage (David Austin),

Mrs. B. R. Cant (Cant & Sons),

Madame Joseph Schwartz (Earthkind),

and Graham Thomas (David Austin).

The orange canna lilies continued going strong, with a nice magenta backdrop of my neighbor's crepe myrtles.

July finally got hot enough for the blue plumbago to come out to play,

as well as the shade-loving Turk's cap in pink,

and normal red varieties.

While hanging out in the shade, I saw that the giant liriope grasses were also blooming with their delicate spires of purple flowers.

Other July blooms included the garden phlox,

more coneflowers,

Black-eyed Susans,

marigolds,

and trailing lantana.

The veggie garden was even putting on a show, with beautiful okra blooms,

as well as cucumbers.

 AUGUST

Finally onto my few August blooms...there are the reliable, heat-loving annual zinnias - here in a giant purple variety.

The bougainvillea has started to bloom, but I just clipped back the branches today to encourage even more blooms in a couple weeks.

The bright orange of the cosmos help lighten the drab appearance of the sun-scorched garden.

 And to cool off with some shades of purple, we have the lavender finally blooming,

As well as the pass-along Mexican petunias, which are keeping cool in the shade.

If you've made it this far, thanks for checking out all my summertime blooms in my Central Texas zone 8b garden.  I can't wait to show you next month's blooms, when we really start getting into the most colorful time of the year for our area!

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day - May 2015

The higher than average rainfalls in Central Texas over the last few weeks have my zone 8b garden bursting with blooms this month for Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, hosted on the 15th of every month by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

First, my poppies wrapped up their blooms this month, much to the disappointment of the buzzing bees, who could always be found on the blooms.

The larkspur has been putting on quite the show, adding an English cottage garden feel to my hot Texas garden.

The larkspur looks a lot like delphiniums, but does much better with the heat and drought of Texas.

Another English cottage-y garden feel flower blooming right now are my foxgloves.  I haven't had luck with these other years in Texas, since they tend to like a bit cooler and wetter conditions than we normally get.  However, we are having a cooler and wetter season this year, so they are loving it, and so am I.

Wrapping up the English cottage garden blooms are the Graham Thomas antique roses.

A few weeks ago, I added some annuals to the courtyard to give it some color and included impatients, kalanchoes and torenias.

In the courtyard, the pansies that were planted last fall are still going strong, especially with the cooler than average temperatures we've been having.

In the shade garden, the agapanthus is starting to bloom, but hasn't reached its full glory just yet.

The gladiolas are just starting to bloom.  I love these vibrant purple varieties that always bloom first.

Volunteer sunflowers, planted by the birds, are also opening their blooms.

As are other annuals, like the blanket flowers,

cosmos,

and zinnias.

The gardenias are filling the air with their intoxicating fragrance.

And the insects are enjoying the nectar of the black-eyed Susans, 

as well as the asters.

Then there are a handful of other reliable Texas blooms, like the prickly pear cactus,

bi-colored iris,

oleander,

guara,

pink skullcap,

and lantana (which the hummingbirds are absolutely loving).

That wraps up my May blooms.  Be sure to stop by May Dreams Gardens for many more May blooms in other gardens around the world.