Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - August 2022

I admit that I completely forgot about Carol Michel's meme Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day this month. It was only after I started seeing other bloggers' posts that I remembered, so I grabbed my camera and ran outside to record what is blooming in my garden this month. It didn't take long because there is not much there. Only the toughest of the tough plants can still manage to produce a few blooms when the temperatures hover around 100 degrees Fahrenheit every day and the few puffy clouds have forgotten how to drop their moisture. Here then are the hardy few that still brighten my garden and provide sustenance for the butterflies. (If some of them look wilted, it's because they are. The pictures were taken when it was 96 degrees and felt like 103.)

 

The native butterfly weed is impervious to heat and drought.

And the old standard, petunias, can match the Asclepias for toughness.


Justicia 'Orange Flame.'



Purslane, of course, in pink...


...and yellow.


Blue plumbago will bloom regardless of the weather.

And so will yellow cestrum.

Some of my zinnias have given up, but these bloom on.

And so does this one. 



Pink crape myrtle.




And watermelon-colored crape myrtle.

Hamelia patens.


Turk's Cap.


Pride of Barbados, aka peacock flower.


At least the water lily doesn't go thirsty.

Thank you for visiting my hot and dry zone 9 garden in Southeast Texas this month. I look forward to visiting your garden in what I hope is a somewhat cooler clime!

Comments

  1. (Diane) Bibliophile By the SeaAugust 15, 2022 at 6:01 PM

    WOW - you still have a lot of different blooms considering the heat and drought. Petunias are ones that die off quickly for me when it's too hot here or perhaps I'm just not that good with them. I've switched to geraniums for my sun loving hanging baskets.

    ReplyDelete
  2. LeaAugust 15, 2022 at 8:27 PM

    Pretty flowers!
    Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Esther @ BiteIntoBooksAugust 16, 2022 at 3:40 AM

    There are still some lovely pinks and yellows in your garden! Our garden started to bloom as well, but it really needs to be taken care of when it's not that hot. The plants are actually taking over our living space, lol. But we're only here for a month now and the inside of the house had some priority :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersAugust 16, 2022 at 8:36 AM

      That's the thing about gardens - they always need care. I'm afraid mine needs more than it is getting at the moment.

      Delete
  4. David M. Gascoigne,August 16, 2022 at 5:51 AM

    Given the extended hot, dry period, your garden has done remarkably well, Dorothy. It always makes me happy to see Asclepias tuberosa.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersAugust 16, 2022 at 8:37 AM

      Native Asclepias tuberosa is one of the toughest plants around.

      Delete
  5. AnonymousAugust 16, 2022 at 7:52 PM

    You have some amazing blooms, Dorothy, considering the conditions. We are having a taste of your drought here in the NE. Not as hot as your place, but unbelievably dry.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. pams english gardenAugust 16, 2022 at 7:54 PM

      I don't know why that comment came up as Anonymous. Pam x

      Delete
    2. Dorothy BordersAugust 16, 2022 at 7:58 PM

      Hmm...I don't know either but I'm glad you were able to identify yourself!

      Delete
  6. Lark August 17, 2022 at 2:54 PM

    Love all the varieties of flowers you have!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersAugust 17, 2022 at 5:09 PM

      The garden is certainly not at its best right now but all the plants I've featured here are indomitable.

      Delete
  7. YvonneAugust 19, 2022 at 10:12 PM

    It appears your garden has quite a few tough flowering plants that withstand the heat. Very pretty to look at.

    ReplyDelete
  8. TracyKAugust 20, 2022 at 1:31 PM

    I am impressed and you have a lot of blooming plants for this time of year. The butterfly weed looks lovely. I planted a bit of that last year but it has not done well, not enough sun where I planted it. I am going to try some sunnier areas. Although I have little room in my tiny "yard."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersAugust 20, 2022 at 2:44 PM

      Butterfly weed is a really tough plant as long as it can get enough sun. It does take a while to become well established though. I've had mine for several years.

      Delete
  9. The Butterfly ReaderAugust 21, 2022 at 12:20 PM

    The water lily is so pretty! Has to be my favorite!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Amit BohraAugust 27, 2022 at 10:26 AM

    I literally have no idea what is Carol Michel's meme Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day but as far your images are concerned they are breath taking especially yellow cestrum. Keep up the good work. By the way i am also gonna put it as a desktop cover!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no
Read more

The Investigator by John Sandford: A review

Image
  I have read a few of John Sandford's books in the Prey series featuring Lucas Davenport. This book is a literal offspring of that series. It's the first in a series featuring Davenport's adopted daughter Letty Davenport. Letty is in her mid-20s and a graduate of Stanford. She works for a U.S. senator named Christopher Colles in a desk job but she's bored with her assignments. Then the senator offers her a chance to go into the field as a liaison between his office and the Department of Homeland Security.  In her first assignment in that position, she is sent to Texas along with DHS investigator John Kaiser to try to find out what is happening in regard to thefts of crude oil. The senator is not so concerned about the lost oil but wants to know where the money from its sale is going. Who is selling the oil and what they are doing with the profits? The suspicion is that a particularly nasty militia group led by a woman is involved. Letty and Kaiser head out to Texas, de
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try.
Read more