Bloom Day November 2009 (at long last)

Now that Summer of Hell II is behind us, I seem to be able to live in the present and forget the horrible drought and heat. Though we are still in the drought, rains in October made our fair city look like spring again. Now that I have a few blooms in the garden and the weather is humanly cool, the cloudy morning took me outside to once again participate in Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

My new favorite plant, Clarodendrun Ugandense, is also known as Butterfly plant, because of  the butterfly shape of the gorgeous blue flowers. This one is planted in mostly shade, with about 2-3 hours of early morning sun only.

Planted next to it is a sweet little plant called Cat’s Whiskers. You can see where it got it’s name.

In the front sunny corner, the Lantana and Bulbine just won’t stop blooming.

Copper Canyon Daisy was a tiny new planting last spring; I’m thrilled it likes my partial shade location for it. Behind it, a new Lantana called Lucky White was rescued from the clearance table at Home Depot last spring.

And my  long-time favorite, lavender Ivy Geranium bloomed all summer and continues until a freeze.

This cousin to Setcreasia was a passalong from Renee at  Renee’s Roots, and I can’t remember the name. I love how the blooms resemble baby’s breath, and I look forward to creating a lush hanging basket from it next spring. I also like it paired here with Sparkler Sedge as a bright spot in the shade.

Here’s a new Stonecrop that I couldn’t resist at the nursery a few weeks back. I hope it will come back next spring as I like how it works with the limestone rocks.

This is a new purchase for partial shade, called Salvia Honeysuckle. I know it has another name, but I’ve lost the tag. Can someone help with identification for me? I love the gray fuzzy leaves with the red bloom. I’m actually surprised that it bloomed as it was planted just two weeks ago in anticipation of next year’s bloom season.

And it wouldn’t be fall without Nandina berries on my last remaining Nandina shrub.

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January ’09 Bloom Day – a little late

I didn’t cheat, really – I took the images on the 15th, but didn’t get to post until today. Above is a little green-leaf Oxalis that is the brightest thing in the garden right now.

This ice plant has continued to bloom, despite the fact that it is unprotected through the below-freezing days and nights, as well as a bit of snow that we’ve had this year.

The picture turned out bad because the Northeasterly wind wouldn’t stop blowing, but this is a purple lantana. It’s the only bloom on it right now, but I’m impressed it even has this much.

These leaves are on that same Lantana. I think they are so pretty right now, even though what I’m actually seeing is frost damage, I believe.

And this concerns me; some bulbs that were planted in November are already starting to grow. This is several Pink Double Ranunculus bulbs with vigorous growth already. We haven’t yet hit the coldest weather we will have this year, and I’m concerned I will lose them to freeze.

And this is good news, bad news. The bad news is that I believe this is my Heirloom Byzantine Gladiolus bulb starting to grow already. I’m concerned with the early growth on it, too. The good news is that the squirrels didn’t get it! I only bought two of these bulbs, because they cost $10 APIECE from Southern Bulb company. I felt if I could get them started with a couple, they would spread out eventually. Then, soon after I planted, I found holes in the ground and I was so PO’d! Hopefully, this one will survive.

And last, another non-flower GBBD photo like the last couple, is some beautiful foliage from the dwarf Nandina. These are the only form of Nandinas I enjoy; they stay small and get this great color in winter. They also do not berry, so they aren’t invasive.

I enjoyed the GBBD posts myself yesterday, thanks for letting me be late to the party! I was so excited about my new Tools, that I forgot to write about the garden…

Thanks to Carol, May Dreams Gardens, for creating Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. Visit her post for a list of other Bloom Day posts.

December GBBD

Garden Bloggers bloom day is sponsored by Carol at May Dreams Gardens on the 15th of every month.

It’s easy to see how Christmas got its definitive red and green signature colors from this Nandina, or Heavenly Bamboo. It’s the last one in my yard – I’ve removed over 5 of them. Once my new plants have gained some height, this aggressive, non-native plant will be removed as well.

My Ivy Geranium still has a couple of purple blooms, surprisingly. It’s fun to see this time of year.

This Purple Heart has one bloom left.

The dwarf Pomegranite has a few small blooms left.

My favorite Bottlebrush seems to love this weather, even though it is a semi-tropical plant!

This cute little Shrimp plant was a new addition in the fall, and though the blooms are faded, it still provides a bit of color.

Again, another semi-tropical plant that hasn’t tucked tail and run in our unusually cold and windy December.

This bleeding heart vine is another fall addition to my yard. It has a few sweet purple blooms left. It appears that my yard is all purple and red!

And though it isn’t really a bloom, the Pyracanthea is still lush with berries. More green and red for the holidays!

The Plumbago, another semi-tropical that flourishes in Austin from spring to fall, has just one small bloom left.

What’s blooming in your garden in these snowy times?