GBBD

A little (read, little) bit of rain has coaxed our annuals and perennials into bloom throughout the garden.

Our friend, Carol, of May Dreams Gardens arranges this little gathering for us on the 15th of every month.

So, come take a tour with me, won’t you?
These are my blooming African Hostas. Aren’t they cool? Drimiopsis maculata.
What precious little blooms they have on top of leather-y and speckled leaves.
Marigolds to protect the tomatoes in the garden.
The Cilantro has started to bolt here because it is so warm already. It’s almost impossible to grow it here in the summer.
Slightly sad Stock in the new Greenhouse bed.
Purple Penta.
I can’t remember the name of this little one for the life of me…ideas?
Texas Primrose or Sundrops — Calylophus drummondianus.
Sedum Mexicanus in the rock path — it likes being mistreated in the crushed granite!
Skullcap – yellow — Scutellaria.
Pink Skullcap – Scutellaria — this is very common around central Texas, while the yellow above is rare. I also have 9 new lavender plants that I put in a few weeks ago and they are just on the verge of blooming — they will have to wait for another post!
Wine Cup blooms dot the rock path, too — Callirhoe involucrata. Sssshhh- don’t tell the bunnies that they are there!
Two different colors in this little Lobelia – Laurentia – fucsia and periwinkle.
Maggie roses just a-goin’ to town! They have more blooms than I can even count.
Aren’t they precious? How I wish you could scratch and sniff your screen, too!
And as I rounded the corner to capture the Maggies, lo and behold, the first Canna bloom of the season. (Nevermind that I dug these all OUT last fall…they are coming back anyway!)
African Yellow Daisy, or Euryops love this spring weather
The potted Orange honeysuckle – Lonicera ciliosa – is happy with our recent rains.
These Chrysanthemums were in the greenhouse over the winter and are still blooming — totally out of season. I guess I thoroughly confused them!
Beautiful bougainvillea passed along from Robin, or Getting Grounded.
This precious little Vinca bloom is from a hanging basket given to my by my parents when Sierra died last March. I worked very hard to keep it alive in the greenhouse this winter and am so inspired to see it alive and blooming happily.
Mexican Heather, or Cuphea hyssopifolia loves our climate, but the deer love it, too, so I only have a little in the back yard.
This festive Texas Betony – Stachys coccinea – was a passalong from my neighbor. It is the sole survivor of three — thanks to our “deer” friends!
Prairie Verbena – Glandularia bipinnatifida — grows wild all around here, but I paid to plant mine!
More perky Daffodils — Narcissus pseudonarcissus ‘Yellow Fortune’

I’m cheating ! This is actually Kallie’s cactus with its pretty blooms.
She is so proud of it. And those are my little bug friends!
Thanks to a macro lens you can actually see this teeny-tiny bloom of the Grace Ward Lithodora – Lithodora diffusa – that I planted last spring. It’s peeking back out of the mulch, but it’s a struggle.

White Potato vine — Solanum jasminoides is so perky in the partial shade.
And the Japanese Quince — Chaenomeles japonica – still has a few lingering spring blooms on it.
Salvia Greggii is a staple here in the Southwest.
Clearly someone is happy that the Damianita — Chrysactinia mexicana – is in bloom.

Four-nerve daisy or Hymenoxys texana are blooming all around — my garden and all along the roadways.
Salvia Indigo Spires bring such beautiful blues into the garden.
Daffodils — Narcissus pseudonarcissus — I think this is ‘Dutch Master’
Verbena canadensis – ‘Homestead Purple’ (I think…)
More bees – I’m seeing lots of them these days – like this one in the Anacacho Orchid tree – Bauhinia lunarioides.
A few Bluebonnets – Lupinus — are still in bloom. And no, it is NOT against the law to pick them!
My Trailing Lantana – Lantana montevidensis – has been blooming all year long.
These Blackfoot Daisies – Melampodium leucanthum – are always a pick-me-up.
Some sort of Lavender — I have no idea what kind, though…
Society Garlic — Alliaceae Tublighia violacea — is always a reliable little bloomer.
Snapdragons and window box art in front of Kallie’s window.
A geranium keeping this dragonfly company.
Bi-color iris – Dietes (Moraea) is always happy here in our hot weather.