My garden is a riot of color. Between the blooms and the butterflies - oh my. I can't show all that is blooming this April Garden Bloggers Bloom Day (hosted by May Dreams Gardens), but I'll give you a sampling.
In my flower beds, the yarrow (
Achillea millefolium var.
occidentalis) is putting on an eye-catching show.
Other flowers showing their colors include Texas lantana (
Lantana urticoides) and the Engelmann daisies (
Engelmannia peristenia). The daisies are showy on the roadsides in our area right now.
Blackfoot daisies (
Melampodium leucanthum) continue blooming.
Cedar sages (
Salvia roemeriana) continue to brighten a few shady areas. I want to spread these all over my property!
Out in the wild, lots more things are blooming. The two most prolific bloomers - in order of numbers - are the Drummond's skullcap (
Scutellaria drummondii), which are carpeting the ground all around my house, and the prairie verbena (
Glandularia bipinnatifida), both shown in this picture.
The prickly pear began blooming this week. I'm not sure, but we may have the Texas prickly pear (
Opuntia engelmannii var.
lindheimeri). The butterflies are so prevalent, you can hardly take a flower picture without one muscling its way into the frame. I think this is a painted lady, though it looks a little different than in my book.
Texas stars (
Lindheimera texana - right) are still blooming, getting larger as the season advances.
The little darlings above have the most wonderful lemon smell when crushed underfoot; and I have just this minute figured out what they are: annual pennyroyal (
Hedeoma acinoides). They are native only to Texas, on limestone.
Zexmenia (
Wedelia texana) has begun blooming. Last year, with the drought, it did not bloom at all. This is one of my favorite wildflowers here.
That's about it from the hill. Be sure to visit
May Dreams Gardens to see what's blooming all over the place!
My garden is a riot of color. Between the blooms and the butterflies - oh my. I can't show all that is blooming this April Garden Bloggers Bloom Day (hosted by May Dreams Gardens), but I'll give you a sampling.
You have a lot more blooming up there on your hill, than we do down here in the valley. My Lantana is just beginning to fluff up...just green, so far.
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty along the roads this year. Love it!
I'll be looking for that scullcap.
Everything seems to be early this year!
DeleteI went to my wildflower meadow to photograph butterflies. I was amazed at the difference from two days ago. Both the blooms and the butterflies had shifted, still just as many of each, but a succession of varieties. A good reminder to not miss a day of this remarkable spring!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your lovely photos!
Your welcome, but it is a remarkable spring, isn't it?
DeleteWow - that lantana is blooming early! My lantanas are just starting to emerge. Maybe I have the wrong kind! Loved seeing the prickly pear bloom. Looks like the butterfly liked it, too. There do seem to be a lot of butterflies this year. I'm glad!
ReplyDeleteYes, things are happening very early here. Aren't the butterflies fabulous?
DeleteBeautiful! I love all of these plants and have almost all of them in my own garden. But, yours look better.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your coop 'Gitmo' is impenetrable. Tonight I saw the coop light swinging and there...was..another...hole in the wire. I scared momma raccoon off and fixed the whole side with more staples and nails. I am amazed at their intelligence. This time she had to pull back the greenhouse plastic roof AND remove the wire at the same time. She's after the eggs, not the hens so that is of some relief.
The baby raccoons are back after being gone a week at a secret location, so I'll post pictures tomorrow. Cutest things on God's green Earth!
David/:0)
Thanks, David, and good luck in your quest to outsmart that brilliant raccoon!
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