At long last the 15th has arrived, and I get to participate for the first time in the Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, hosted by May Dreams Gardens. Some of my regular flowers stopped blooming for a bit this week, so I was a bit worried, but the garden came through for me. I’m just glad I don’t have to post a picture of algae “blooming” in my pond (thankfully, it’s not actually doing that anymore).
Zinnias. They are so much fun. You just never know what’s going to bloom at the end of that stem. Look at the variety in my butterfly garden — just some of many. These all came from two packets of seeds.
I think the buds are as lovely as the flowers.
I’m quite fond of the yellow flower holding its own among all the pink zinnias.
Several Texas natives are blooming away.
In a nearby Austin park were these native Texas Greeneyes, en masse. I love the way the yellow petals are delicately placed on a just-as-beautiful green center.
Elsewhere in the garden, a few drought-hardy non-natives are managing to bloom in the hot Texas sun.
The crape myrtle was a slow bloomer this year and managed to send out its pink colors just in time for Bloom Day.
Even though hail a few days ago pulverized my poor lily pads, the plants are already making a comeback. I’ve removed a few of the beat-up leaves, and new ones are ready to take their place, along with this beautiful bloom. I’m trying not to remove all the damaged leaves at once — I still need shade for my pond.
And lastly, here’s this white flower that for the life of me I can’t remember the name of today. I have a purple variety as well. All I know is that this was supposed to be a winter annual (or so I was told) and here it is blooming in hot June!
Happy Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, everyone!
Hi Meredith, thanks for visiting my blog 😉 I agree about the ease AND beauty of zinnias..especially these smaller and taller blooms you have. This year I’m trying the ‘Pink Profusion’ variety…shorter and non-stop blooms..hope so!!
Lynn
You had me at the zinnias — without a doubt, my fav garden annual. Love your first shot — the bokeh, with the bud in the foreground! Great! My enjoyment didn’t stop there…thanks for the view! Janet
Your flame acanthus is blooming before mine, Meredith. And I love zinnias too. I don’t have any of the tall variety this year (just the narrowleaf), but I must remedy that next year. The kids love the colorful display too.
What absolutely gorgeous flowers. The colours are superb and you have taken magnificent photos. I am quite envious! 🙂 Val
I love your pictures! Your zinnias are gorgeous..:) I’m just discovering a love for zinnias so my blossoms are meager, but i’m hoping for a better year with them next year..;) thanks for sharing!
What beautiful pictures you captured of the humming bird and finch! And, like you, I smile too when I see my daughter taking pride in our garden. She’s turning into a miniature me–scary, but yet hopeful as she gleens from me some good things…like the love of nature and animals. I enjoyed your post. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, everyone, for your comments. I am having so much fun with my zinnias — I will definitely do a better job with how I place them in my garden next year (too many seedlings that I had to move around). But I’m grateful for all the beautiful color and look forward to growing them again.
Pam, one of my other flame acanthus just started blooming, and it’s a gorgeous red, not the orange of the others. It’s odd — as I recall, I bought them all at the same time. But variety is the spice of life, so I’ll take ’em!
What an absolutely beautiful collection of fab flowers. I adore the Texas Greeneyes; never seen anything like that before. Glad you found me on Botanicals as your blog is lovely x