Garden Blogger's Bloom Day - December 2014

It is time for me to join Carol again over at May Dreams Gardens for a monthly view of what is blooming in the garden.

There aren't too many December blooms in my USDA Hardiness Zone 8b garden.  Those that are in bloom are featuring shades of purples and pinks.

A new bloom this month is the Oxalis Iron Cross.  These were some free bulbs that I got along with my fall bulb purchase.  The dainty pink flowers are very charming.

The pansies are a cold-weather performer.  I haven't had to protect these guys from any of our mild freezes, nor have I needed to provide them any supplemental water.  They do well with the misting precipitation that we get every few days.

Pansies always make me think of Alice in Wonderland.

The purple trailing lantana is helping to provide nectar to the few remaining butterflies that have stuck around for the Texas winter.

The hot pink of the autumn sage brings a pop of color to the front beds.

The vitex is looking pretty bare these days, but there are still some blooms hanging on.

Thanks for joining me for my December blooms.  Be sure to check out other gardeners' blooms over at May Dreams Gardens.

Hummingbirds

I'm SO excited!  I saw not only one, but TWO hummingbirds in my backyard today flitting around together.  I also saw them many times today, coming to the hummingbird feeder at least every hour, if not more.  At one point, I was just two feet away from the hummingbird!  I think they were Central Texas Black Chinned Hummingbirds.  They definitely did not look like ruby-throated hummingbirds.  They let me take a couple of pictures of them.

While the hummingbirds seem to like the standard hummingbird feeder, to make sure they stay around, I wanted to give them a few more options, so I planted some flowers under my hummingbird feeder that are suppose to attract hummingbirds.  I planted some lantana and some coneflowers.  The butterflies should like this new flower garden as well.

Eventually, I plan to add some other flowers to this small flower garden that attract butterflies and hummingbirds.  I plan to plant some columbine, lupine, and daisies later this fall.