THE JUNE GARDEN

One thing that always surprises me, and more so this year because we had such an early spring, is how much is still blooming in the June garden. Our recents rains have probably helped extend the life of some plants, like the California poppies, which make a great companion for the Bee Balm, Peter's purple.

And when I thought the white one on the edge of the pool looked ready to pack it in for the year it decided to bloom again. Admittedly not quite as perfect and the flowers are smaller, but it still has a few days of bloom left before I cut it back.

This nameless day lily, a plant rescue, is the last of the day lilies to bloom. A parsley plant, going to seed, adds a fine backdrop.

The sunken garden is due for a big tidy, which involves cutting back the skullcaps, chocolate daisies, and blanket flowers to keep them blooming.

The same applies to the gaura which seems want to take over.

I have struggled to grow cleome in the past but this year seems to be the year for it to do well. I wish I had bought more than just the one.

I am thrilled with the hanging basket that I purchased this year. It was in a smaller basket and when the wind knocked to the ground breaking one of the plastic hangers, I was forced to repot it in a larger basket, in which I used baby diapers line the bottom! I pruned it back and it has now made up for lost time.

It hangs outside the kitchen window where I can admire it.

 In the front garden now that the spring bloomers have faded, there is just the odd pop of color from a flowering cactus.

Or the peach brugmansia which opened up a whole new display of flowers today.

What a show!

For a little respite from all this color I just have to take a walk outside the gate. There everything is green and serene.

GARDEN BLOGGERS' BLOOM DAY, MAY 2017

It has been a while since I posted on bloom day. Suddenly it was upon me and I had no time to gather the photos.

Surely the opening photograph for this month's Bloom day post has to be the Monarda 'Peter's Purple' He's certainly King of the garden at the moment.

And Queen of the May garden is the blanket flower, Gaillardia pulchella. Not so easy negotiating the pathways at the moment.

And we have a princess too,  Clematis texensis 'Princess Diana'. What a beauty she is. Just a few weeks ago there was no sign of growth and I was sure I had lost the plant over the winter. In less than a month she has grown to almost cover the trellis.

So many bloomers. The spineless prickly pear, with two different blooms on the same plant.

I wonder why that is?

And all the day lilies.

All but the tiny orange one without names.
Echinacea purpurea, just coming into bloom.

The larkspurs, love-in-a-mist and poppies have finished already but blackfoot daisies, Melampodium leucanthum,  still keep going.

Among the other natives, the purple skullcap, Scutellaria wrightii.

Which pairs well in a rock garden setting with the square bud primrose, Calylophus berlandieri, and pink skullcaps.

Square bud primrose with ruby crystal grasses

Pink skull cap seeded in the dry creek

Scabiosa back for the third year. A rescue plant.

And Texas betony, Stachys coccinea, not a showy plant but the hummingbirds love it.

Another native, horsemint, Monarda citriodora.

The native chocolate daisy, Berlandiera lyrata, with its delicious chocolate fragrance.

And for the first time in a while success with Cleome.

These are just a few of the flowers that are blooming in my rocky Texas garden in mid May.

Thank you Carol at Maydreams gardens for hosting Bloom day. Find out what is growing in other gardens this May Bloom Day.

TIME TO SAY GOODBYE

Earlier this week we bid farewell to 2 large vitex trees. Today it was the turn of the Celosia spicata. Some of the plants were over 6' tall and, quite frankly, were getting in the way. It was time to bid farewell to them too. But not before I cut of the flowers and brought them into the house.

What I didn't realize was that several bees were overnighting on the flowers and in the morning cold were still dozy. That was, until they came into the house!

Celosia has been a regular visitor to my garden for the last few years. I always allow a few to grow because the flowers are so beautiful and the dried flowers make wonderful arrangements.

In Texas seedlings grow so quickly that just a month ago I cleaned out everything in this bed. The native orange cosmos are back again.

I couldn't garden without the zinnias.

Spilling over the pathway in the vegetable garden. The warm fall days have brought a myriad of bees, butterflies and moths into the garden.

You can see I haven't walked between these two beds in quite a while. Eventually when winter sets in only the mullein will remain. That event is probably not far away now, as we had frost on the roof earlier this week.

The ruby crystals grass is one of my favorites. Unlike the Mexican feather grass its pink seed heads blow away in the wind instead of forming a tangled mass. The plant stays green all summer without supplemental water but as soon as rain comes it starts growing and produces a new flush of plumes.

One trial Cleome X Senorita Rosalita this year. More next year. It's a Proven Winner!

I COULDN'T DO IT BETTER

I couldn't do it by myself. Mother nature had a helping hand in the profusion of color in my garden. Now, well into July the flowers are still coming.

Alyssum, skullcaps, blanket flowers and black eyed Susans manage to find the perfect spot to grow making a tapestry of color. Gomphrenas are moved from unsuitable spots in the gravel to fill in any spaces.

Of course some of them can be a bit pesky, like this amaranth. Several are growing in a not so perfect spot at the foot of the steps to the herb garden, but who can resist their gorgeous pink, bristly plumes in the fall. The birds love them too. That's a Russian sage, Perovskia, which is growing at the foot of the amaranth.

This morning two rain lilies opened. Sometimes they are hard to spot, buried among the other flowers, but these ones are growing out of a clump of creeping thyme.

I certainly love the cleome which seeded right at the front of the bed behind the pool. The long, snaking stems with deep pink flowers. I even like the seed heads. I'll be saving some of those for next year.

As long as this morning glory stays on the fence then it can stay, but I know it's not going to do that.