Monday, August 15, 2011

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day-August, 2011

Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, Everybody!  With our yard freshly pruned and August being one of the hottest driest months around here (unless we're getting rain from passing tropical storms) I wasn't sure what I was going to find today, but I managed to do OK!

Probably suffering the most from the recent lack of rain (and my poor watering skills) is my Evolvus glomeratus (Blue Daze), but shriveled or not, it's still putting out some lovely color.

Winning the award for "Best Attendance" is my golden shrimp plant, Pachystachys lutea.  It always shows up, never complains, and gets the job done with nice flair but little drama.  If I had to hire any of the plants in my yard, this would be the one.

To be fair, my lantana probably does the same thing, but it's always buried under my variegated hau plants, where I can't see it.  

I have a few red gingers that are in pretty nice form today.  They show up pretty consistently as well, but sometimes they look like they need to go back home, put on a clean shirt, and comb their hair.  Not really "front of the house" material, I'm afraid.

My white spider lily, Crinum asiaticum, was among the plants that got a pretty severe pruning yesterday, but the flowers are hanging in there. 

The creamy white flowers and the pretty pink bracts of my bouganvillea come in a close second for "Best Attendance".  

I've still got a few snapdragons...

...and some lobelia.

Another victim of the severe pruning, my variegated hau is being a real trooper, seeing as how these are the trimmings that are sitting in our truck bed, waiting to be hauled away.  

The newest addition to my yard, lavender.  I love the smell, but I can only seem to pick it up peripherally.  If I stick my nose right into the leaves or flowers, I can't smell anything, but as soon as I start to move away, I can catch a faint waft.  

Although they're not much to look at, the night-blooming jasmine comes to life at night and often fills the whole front of our house with its heady aroma.

This poor little guy, Cuphea hyssopifolia (False Heather/Mexian Heather/Hawaiian Heather) rarely gets any love, even though it blooms year-round.  It tends to get a little leggy and overwhelmed by all the things that are planted above it.

You know I'm getting desperate when I start taking pictures of my rosemary.

I love the hot pink and bright yellow of my hardy ice plant.

This time last month, my Agapanthus was just getting ready to bloom, and I was wondering what the weird little nubbins were that were sticking out about half-way down the stem.

Well, it turns out they were fairly normal flowers-to-be.  

Possibly my most mysterious bloomer is my Texas sage.  Like the drought-tolerant, desert plant that it is, it seems to go from zero flowers to fully-formed, open flowers overnight.  I have yet to watch a bud develop on this plant.  I think I might have to schedule a watering and photography stake-out some day to see how these flowers appear.  If I do, you know I'll post the riveting results here!

I hope you managed to find something blooming in your August gardens and that you didn't pass out from the heat while looking.  To see what others found blooming in their yards today, visit our Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day host, Carol, at May Dreams Gardens.  Thanks, Carol!  

7 comments:

Paul From Alabama said...

Liked your garden you had some really unusual plants that were really interesting. I love the Shrimp plant and would like to give it a try myself. Come see us and thanks for inviting us into your garden.

Dreamybee said...

Thanks, Paul! I seriously don't do anything to this plant. I don't think I've ever even pruned it. It stays at just the right size for its spot in the garden and it blooms continuously. I've seen them get huge in other places though, so maybe they're just better at understanding the confines of their spaces than other plants. ;)

Wendy said...

I love your blooms - and I always like seeing that shrimp plant!

Dreamybee said...

Thanks, Wendy! LOL-Everybody likes the shrimp plant so much, I feel like I should give it a name. I think this picture kind of looks like it is giving us jazz hands...maybe I will name it Bob Fosse

Care said...

LOVE THESE! So fun. Thank you. Bob Fosse is particularly spectacular.

Carolyn @ Carolyn's Shade Gardens said...

Lots of lovely things going on in your garden. Love the commentary. Isn't it funny how plants have personalities?

Dreamybee said...

Care-Oh, stop it! You're making Bob Fosse blush!

Carolyn-Thank you. They really do have their own personalities, don't they?