8/31/09

Oxblood Lily with Crepe Myrtle 'New Orleans'

Today is the first day for my School House / Oxblood Lilies to bloom! Perfect timing because I just found my camera's memory card. I love this color combination. Purple always makes red look tasty and red always makes purple look spiffy!

8/31/09

Yippeee ---- I found my memory card! I couldn't take pictures because I had lost it. I found it in the washing machine last night! I put it in the camera and it looked like it was okay. I guess I'll find out for sure when I venture out to take some pics. Keep your fingers crossed.

08/20/09

Plumeria

My brother and his family took a vacation in Hawaii a few years back. They sent me a small dormant trunk about the size of an average phallus. The trunk has grown to about 5' feet tall. These elegant flowers come out of the stiff trunk's tips each year. The scent is beyond divine!

Sorry for the innuendoes !

They say 'horticulture is sex.' Guess I proved their point! ;)

08/11/09

Inland Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)

This is another native plant to Texas. It can be invasive! I've controlled it by cutting the seed heads off before they dry and by pulling up little seedlings in the spring. It covers a pretty large portion of a bed in the shade. It's not just beautiful but easy to grow (a little too easy) and drought tolerant. I love how the seeds dangle and dance in the wind.

08/07/09

Crepe Myrtle 'Sacramento'

Crepe Myrtle 'Sacramento'

Crepe Myrtle 'Cordon Bleu'

Crepe Myrtle 'Cordon Bleu'

I have always thought that miniature Crepe Myrtles have been way underutilized as bedding plants. They give my beds color during the hottest of hottest summer days. They are also in bloom when the roses aren't. 'Sacramento' has a weeping habit and is low to the ground. 'Cordon Bleu' stands upright and gets about four and half feet tall. It is the bluest Crepe Myrtle bred to date. One additional benefit is that they are somewhat drought tolerant. I'm tempted, with good reason, to add more miniature crepes to my garden.

08/05/09

Boquet #6

Cosmos sulphureus and Tassel Flower (Emilia javanica)

08/04/09

Phyla nodiflora (Frog Fruit)

I planted this Texas native as a ground cover for my walk way. I've let it slip away from me this year and it has outgrown its space. I usually keep it trimmed back around the cement circles leading up to my front door. The growth has never had the chance to bloom because it always gets a hair cut before it has the chance to. I'm really enjoying the cute white flowers, so I may wait a bit to finally trim it back.

08/03/09

Zinnia 'White Wedding'

I planted only one type of Zinnia elegans this year. It's a Burpee introduction called 'White Wedding.' The blooms are pristine and stay that way for a long time. I planted the seeds kind of late so that I'd be able to enjoy them through the fall. If you plant Zinnia elegans too early, in our area, they succumb to powdery mildew before the season is over. I may have to plant seeds for this annual from now on!