Rain-happy Bloom Day
I’m taking a break from posting about national parks today in order to participate in Bloom Day, hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens. But I’ll be back with one more park post tomorrow. If you’d like to join in the celebration of national parks, there’s still time. Just write a post about a national park visit you’ve made, and leave your link on my introductory post so everyone can find it. I’ll do a wrap-up post on Sunday with everyone’s links.
Meanwhile, it’s Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day! My garden is mostly shades of green, but if you look closely I have a lot of color right now. Since last Friday my garden has received 3 inches of rain. It’s happy, and I’m happy. Above is ‘Ava’ agastache, looking lovely against a blue Wheeler’s sotol and golden ‘Irish Eyes’ rudbeckia.
‘Radrazz’ Knock Out rose looks soft and billowy against the spiky, blue ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave (A. ovatifolia).
Luscious red rose
This ‘Radrazz’ flower is spent, but you can see how it picks up the color of the pink cuphea (a passalong from Annie in Austin) behind it.
Here’s a fuzzy wand of flowers on one of the Mexican bush sages (Salvia leucantha) that I haven’t planted yet.
Mexican heather, another cuphea (C. hyssopifolia), blooms below the ‘Radrazz’ rose.
A lot of pink ‘Katie’ dwarf ruellia was inherited with the garden. It’s a good filler plant for shady areas.
Autumn sage (Salvia greggii) is looking red-hot.
As is the pineapple sage (Salvia elegans).
The basil (look, Carol, I have at least one edible in my garden) has gotten big and bushy and now is flowering. I didn’t eat enough of it, it seems.
Dahlberg daisy (Thymophylla tenuiloba) sprawls on the retaining wall in front of Aloe saponaria.
‘Diamond Frost’ euphorbia is a frothy mound in front of my stock-tank planter with the ‘Macho Mocha’ mangave.
Looking from the other direction
‘Pam Puryear’ Turk’s cap (also known as Pam’s Pink) is covered in flowers.
White potato vine’s (Solanum jasminoides) parachute-like flowers light up the shady side fence.
Thryallis (Galphimia glauca) is still going strong.
This color combo is not one I love, but that’s what happens when you throw a bunch of free or passalong plants into one bed: black-eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia alata) and ‘Senorita Rosalita’ cleome.
Orange narrowleaf zinnia (Z. angustifolia) is a bit ragged but still blooming, with more Aloe saponaria behind it.
Bulbine frutescens against a backdrop of ‘Adagio’ miscanthus grass.
I won’t be keeping ‘Irish Eyes’ rudbeckia, as I found it ratty and bug-eaten all summer.
Barbados cherry (Malpighia glabra) burst into dainty bloom with the rain and cooler weather.
Batface cuphea (C. llavea) is a must-have for bat-loving Austinites.
The pink rain lilies (Zephryanthes ‘Labuffarosea’), passalongs from Annie in Austin, are about ready to bloom again.
But the water lilies are slowly closing up shop for the season. ‘Helvola’ still has a number of flowers left.
‘Colorado’ only has a couple. To each plant its season, and summer is definitely over. Hurrah!
All material © 2006-2009 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Pam, so many blooms and so pretty. i am delighted. thanks for sharing.
It looks like summer with all the color and fresh blooms. Rain makes all the difference in the world.
Thanks for joining in for bloom day, and I’m enjoying all the posts about the national parks, too.
You have a lot going on right now, I guess your recent rains have helped. I was going to include my Knock Out rose in GBBD, but she would not cooperate and in all of the pictures that great red color kept bleeding in an over saturated way. Oh well, there will be other days.
(BTW, I am enjoying your posts on National Parks as well as the others that are linked)
Pam, what a lot of colourful flowers for a garden that is “mostly shades of green”! Lots of lovely pictures, glad you have had some rain.
Best wishes Sylvia (England)
You have so much in bloom now. The rain is chasing away all the drought blues.
You have a lot of color still going on.. Everything looks healthy, must have enjoyed the rain!
Love your color groupings….what grand blooms. I first saw the Batface Cuphea when I was at Les’ garden nursery. What a cool bloom and it does look like a bat!!
We have the red Turk’s Cap in the Learning Garden, how wonderful to see a pink one…..and with a name like Pam’s Pink, you HAVE to have it in your garden.
Very nice Pam…you have a lot going on. Love the “looking from the other direction” photo…nice echos. Happy GBBD! H.
You have captured the bat perfectly. I have grown this in past seasons and always enjoyed the little faces.
So beautiful pictures, you have a lovely garden! I like water lilies the most!
Good news on the rain front! I love how quickly plants can recover from droughty conditions~~they surely are programed to live! Have a wonderful Bloom Day! gail
That rose is exquisite! … and the rest of the blooms … wow!
Thanks for doing your blogs on National Parks – this country is simply amazing in what it has to offer. Looking at all of the pictures stirs my heart and makes me restless – I want to climb every mountain and wade through every stream. I love being outdoors so much, sometimes living in the city really puts a strain on me. My hometown was 350 people, and we lived a mile outside of that town on a big plot of land by a lake. Taking vacations to natural parks has become one way for me to reconnect with nature and my past. To me, there is little better than exploring and taking in the wonders this world has to offer. You simply can’t go wrong with national parks.
With all of that said, I have a bunch of pictures from our most recent trip to Colorado. Sadly, I haven’t had time to post anything! I hope to by Sunday to be included in your wrap-up. Thanks, Pam!
I look forward to seeing your national park post, Joseph. —Pam
Hi Pam, oooh, thanks for the Bulbine fix. I can’t get enough of it. That little pink cuphea from Annie looks just like one of my new ones from Mouse Creek, a hybrid called ‘Twinkle Pink’. Knockout is still the best performing rose in my garden, no matter it has been overused in public plantings. How nice for all that rain for you guys in Texas. 🙂
Frances
So many lovely blooms! I am surprised you can get out in your garden, Pam. Mine is such a muddy mess I can’t do much until it dries out a little more. I am doing a rain happy dance nonetheless!
Your waterlily shots are awesome! I’m so glad to see so much in bloom in your garden after the difficulties of the summer. It’s quite a celebration.
You defintely have a lot of blooms and color going on there Pam. Yay for your rain and boo for mine! Seeing your Pam’s Puryear Turk’s Cap tells me I definitely have a different kind of pink Turk’s Cap. I bought one early this year at Barton Springs Nursery that the guy told me was pink. It was pink alright (finally started blooming this fall) but the blooms are very long and kind of hang down. More like an abutilon really, although the blooms stay closed like on a Turk’s Cap. Anyway, I’m glad you showed that one. And all the others. 🙂
I wonder if you bought Mexican Turk’s cap, Jean. It’s a bigger plant, and I’ve seen it for sale at BSN. —Pam
I love the reds and oranges of fall, especially the pineapple sage and bulbine. Bulbine is so hard to photograph to show just how beautiful it is.
Pam, LOVE that Batface cuphea, and the waterlily shots are gorgeous. So glad you’ve gotten some rain! Happy GBBD
One again you have some lovely shots of your colorful garden. Sorry about the Irish Eyes. I grew this too and had some gorgeous plants. One thing that I have found is that this is a summer plant and blooms best in June/July. After that it croaks. I let it hang in but it never regains its youthful look. I’m sure those lilies give you a lot of pleasure. They are stunning.
Hi Pam- is the Diamond Frost euphorbia a native to Texas?
No, it’s a hybrid developed by Proven Winners. I had one (inherited with the new garden) overwinter last year during our mild winter, and I was sent two more for free by PW this year to trial. This plant is a must-have, as far as I’m concerned, even if winter gets it this year. I’m planning to add more throughout my shady garden next spring. It’s supposed to be deer-resistant too, although I haven’t tried that out yet. —Pam
Love those waterlilies! Our are definitely over for the season.
That’s a lot of blooms! I like the cuphea combinations. I never think about using cuphea, but it is a good annual in our area. I do like the agave with the roses. I know some folks around here grow some agaves. Tony Avent has a good collection.
Cameron
You have a lot going on in your garden yet. I have an aloe that looks like the one in the pic & mine has bloomed. Do they have to be really old before blooming?
I’ve had mine for yrs & have put them into bigger pots several times. They have lots of pups. If they get any bigger I will have to put them into the ground.
Lola, I don’t think Aloe saponaria has to be particularly old to bloom. I just planted these this summer, but I had some in my old garden that flowered in their second year. They ARE very prolific and pup like crazy. —Pam
That’s the 11th pic I was talking about. I had to go back & count them. Couldn’t remember which one. lol
Love that pink Turks cap and the Euphorbia — it’s so ephemeral. I might have to get some of that sometime. No rain for us today, but your blooms are all showing their beautiful colors after last week’s moisture.
Just enjoying the fall flowers you are sharing with us so much. Can’t wait to get diggin next spring here and become a real Texas gardener.
Bright and fresh, no signs of fall!
I love so many of the flowers in this post — the ‘Ava’ Agastache, the Mexican Bush Sage (so fuzzy), the pink Turk’s Cap (I’ve only seen them in red), and the Bulbine. Beautiful!
You know, Pam, I don’t think I’ve visited a national park. For shame! I was going to one last summer, but had to postpone the trip. I’ll live vicariously through you and your readers. Your garden is full of color right now and similar things are blooming in my yard. I’ll be sad to see the cupheas go. I’ve loved them so much, that I may try to bring them indoors. My two, new agaves got way too much rain and in spite of their great drainage, they are very unhappy and shrinking inward. What to do? I brought them indoors into the warm and dry air, and I hope to stop the carnage. We’ll see. Love your photos. Don’t you think the pineapple sage is splendid right now? Happy bloom day.~~Dee
I’m sorry to hear about your agave trouble, Dee. If they have great drainage, then all I can think of is that you have some non-hardy variety (has it been cold in OK?). Or, horrors, maybe it’s a case of agave weevil. Probably not though. Perhaps being indoors will cheer them up. Oh, I wanted the agaves to be a positive experience for you! —Pam
What a relief the cooler fall weather must be to you and your garden, Pam. Your beautiful blooms sure look happy. Love the cuphea with its tiny bat faces, and those waterlilies are superb! So glad you’ve had some good rain. Happy autumn!
I love your happy garden. And all of the gardens around Austin that are suddenly happy. All of this recent rain feels so luscious!