4th of July

Happy birthday America! Those of you with red, white and blue blog posts inspired me to look through my yard to find trios of patriotic colors.


For red, I've got turk's cap


and Dallas Red lantana


For white, annual pentas


garlic chives


mint blooms


and Natchez crepe myrtle. This is my neighbor's tree. It's my favorite garden feature that I lucked into. It's a substantial part of the view when we're relaxing on the couch or the patio. The tree's shape is great, the leaves are a rich green and the bark is eye catching. The blooms are a bonus.


For blue, I've got dwarf blue plumbago in the front yard. This picture makes the blue look washed out and more like the pastel blue on the other blue plumbago plant, the rambling shrub the people grow as an annual. (Common names, they're a disaster). Maybe it's the harsh lighting or maybe I'm unfairly comparing this blue to my next two plants...


black and blue salvia


and my newest addition, the truest blue I have: blue pea vine.

Happy 235th America! Here's to many more.

January 2011 Bloom Day

It's a drizzly cold day in San Antonio, but surprisingly I have quite a few blooms to share on the first Garden Bloggers Bloom Day of 2011.


The broccoli has bolted. We have been so busy lately that we haven't actively managed the veggie beds since Thanksgiving.


We noticed the heads starting to turn a few weeks ago and decided to let them flower. They look like bouquets, a gift to the bees.


This month is the best bloom period I've seen for the salvia greggii. The plant is in a nook where it's hard to get good pictures, but trust me, every stem has blooms.


New blooms are continuing to open on the shrimp plants, but the plants aren't anywhere near as prolific as the greggi are right now.

The shrimp plants are very valuable to me because they bloom where and when few other plants do: in the shade, in the winter. They are hardy in zones 9 and warmer. I'm in zone 8b, right on the edge of their comfort zone. I desperately want these plants to thrive and spread in the shady part of the front yard so I've been covering them every time we have a freeze. I've been using old sheets to protect them, but I need to get some N-sulate since the sheets are a little heavy and sometimes positioning them causes shrimpy's segmented stems to snap.



The potted petunias and pansies are pinch hitting for the perennials. They're doing a great job providing a colorful relief during the off season.


Nandina gives me a guilty conscience. It's an invasive species, but its foliage and berries are so beautiful right now. My five nandina and three variegated privet are the plants that keep me from applying for designation as a Certified Texas Wildscape. I know I should dig them out and plant something noninvasive, but they grow so well in part shade. [Agonized sigh]


After a month of rest, the sweet olives are back in bloom. Still, I have yet to catch a whiff of their signature fragrance.



My recently repotted aloe vera has sent up its annual bloom spike. A few weeks ago the spike was yellow. Today it's peach. In a few more weeks, it will be orange.

Excuse the blurry picture. These esperanza blooms were tucked around a corner and I could barely balance myself on one foot to take a picture. Last year my esperanza froze to the ground so I'm surprised to see it blooming in January.

If you're curious what else is in bloom across the globe this month, check out the the other bloom day posts listed on Carol's May Dreams blog.

GBBD : Pink December

Blooms are in short supply this Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, but I can't complain. From the looks of the other GBBD posts across the U.S., I have a lot to be thankful for.


Notice the red on the baby shrimp plant leaves.

The shrimp plants are in full bloom. The weather has dipped down to freezing a few times so I've been covering these shade bloomers. They are fairing well.


The Arch Duke Charles rose bushes aren't as spectacular as they've been in previous months, but new buds are still opening regularly.



I can see the potted petunias and dianthus form almost any vantage point in the house. They're doing a good job perking up the view on days when it's too chilly to be outside.

Finally salvia gregii or autumn sage is living up to its name with a full show right now. December in San Antonio is more akin to autumn than winter, and that's just fine by me.