Whether the temperatures cooperate or not, fall announces itself in the garden. One of the harbingers of the changing seasons is the arrival of my Oxblood lilies.
Passalongs from my friend at Zanthan Gardens, they pop up like clockwork, even if the sun is still scalding us. Small and delicate, they always bring a smile to my face, knowing that the cooler days of fall are just around the corner.
Fall. And a whole new palette in the garden.
A profusion of blooms have popped up on my Lindheimer’s Senna, Senna lindheimeriana, in my wild bed outside of the bakc fence. This is deer country, and the velvety leaves of this plant are usually not nibbbled by the deer passing through. This shrub-like perennial is native and grows 3-6 feet.
Glory hallelujah, it likes dry soil, sun or part shade and grows wild in rocky limestone areas all over of Texas. The birds and bees love it, too
I brought this one home as a small starter plant a year or two ago and this year it rewarded me with a growth spurt and tons of blooms. It blooms in late summer, so it’s a welcome sight when some plants are tired and it comes into bloom to perk up the garden in August through October.
This pretty xeric plant is a perfect addition to a hot, dry Central Texas garden.
The fall color in my garden this week isn’t from autumnal leaves on trees, it’s from a nice 1.5 inch rain last week and a few days and nights of cooler temperatures.
These zinnias have a whole fresh set of flowers.
All the perennials shrubs and wildflowers are flush with blooms. Not just fall colors – all colors.
The firecracker gomphrena I planted just a month ago is spreading and has made the transplant with flying colors.
I guess the change of seasons is making them happy and giving them some relief.
These wildflowers just popped up in my cutting garden. They reseeded from somewhere into a mass clump of perky yellow blooms.
I was surprised to find the Japanese quince in bloom – it must have happened over night when I wasn’t paying attention.
The lackluster purple hyacinth bean vine, which has struggled all summer long – is finally showing off.
The change of seasons makes me happy, too.