April Showers….Have Brought Out the Flowers!

The rain here lately has been wonderful for the gardens and landscapes here in Austin.  Everything is blooming, birds are chirping and bees are buzzing.
I love this time of year. 

Here are some photos I have snapped lately.

Blooms everywhere!!!!

The Crossvine are blooming like crazy on the fence.

 The Dianthus are happy as can be.

 Love the orange on these spike blooms of the Dyckia.

 It's snowing!!!  Ok, it's not, but it looks like little snowflakes.

Such bizarre blooms on this cactus but I love it.  

And my little cactus guys are blooming again.

There are blooms all over the place- I have spent the majority of my free time as of late stalking the hummingbirds to which I have been most unsuccessful.  This is as close as I got- to be fair… I have had very limited time to watch for them and sit in wait, but I did manage to get a few shots- though not impressive I know but they are here!!!  So happy!!!

Hope everyone has a great day!!!!  

And happy early GBBD to all of you!!!

Tuesday Tidbits

The Cereus have bloomed- this is one of about 50 more blooms to come- they are completely loaded with blooms.  I have never seen them so full of blooms.  This week I have been arriving early just so I can see them all.  Today one is open, looks like about 4 will be waiting for me in the morning.  The bees are already at work and happy.

This is such an interesting Kalanchoe to me- it looks like a Venus Fly Trap.  We have several Kalanchoes but this is the most interesting I think.

I am happy to report that the front bed is full of the ice plant and the Calandrinia that I planted in there in February is big and full and happy.  I can't wait for it to bloom again.  I am still happy with this arrangement- everything in this bed is happy and getting along beautifully.

The Large Cigar Plants are beginning to bloom- I have been waiting to see these in person and it was worth the wait. No wonder they call this variety Candy Corn!

The Yellow Trumpet Vine is thriving and full of blooms- I like the orange one as well but the yellow is stunning to me.

And last but not least is a shot of my latest arrangement - I must admit I am happy with the way it turned out.  I like how the colors all seem to bounce off each other.  I have the St. Elmo Firecracker Ferns at the front, the Yucca rigida behind, then the Salvia Black and Blue then the Thyrallis.  Behind the Thyrallis is the Bottle Brush which started coming into bloom yesterday. 

Ok, I realize there are other plants out there...

Ok, I realize there are other plants out there other than these Cereus that I have posted a few times but I just saw THIS.  A fruit!  Who knew.  See, still learning so much.  I thought it was a going to be a purple flower and got all excited and went to show Michael who informed me it is a fruit.  Who knew.  Pretty cool though.  

I went out to the nursery for a bit just to visit, I have missed it so much.  Everything looks so happy and is in bloom.  The Pride of Barbados that I planted have just exploded along the fence line.  I can't believe it!  I planted these just at a month ago and when I did they were really not that much to look at - look at them now!   I snapped a few photos of some things but will take more when I am more up to it.  I can say however, that you can totally tell it rained, if only a little.  The plants have really responded.  It is crazy (in a good way) how much they really seem to transform with a little bit of rain.  

I am worried my little succulent pot that I planted is getting too big for it's britches.  I guess I will have to put it in a bigger pot.  I really like this style of pot though.  I got it from the guy next door that sells pots.  I am not so much into this style of pottery but I did like this one as it was plain and straight lines and thought it looked good with the succulents.  

This is a close up of the Desert Rose bloom which I think is so pretty.  This is a new one for me and I really like it.

  I am undecided on the mix here.  I think it just needs a little more time.  The Tecoma have exploded as they tend to do, the Furcrea still looks really good and the Ice Plant is growing like mad. I guess it is just not done doing what it is supposed to do.  The Pink and White Salvia (at the back) was cut back, I think when that fills back out (and it is on it's way) I will like it more.  I am happy with each plant individually, the Hamelia looks good, the Queen Victoria, I just don't know... I guess it just needs a little more time to fill out.  Like I said, when I look at them individually I am happy, it is just as a whole I guess it isn't my favorite, at least right now.   I am going to give it a little more time then I might mix it up.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Happy Garden Bloggers Bloom Day!

I think this is a really neat thing that May Dreams Gardens has done to ask everyone to post what is blooming in their gardens!  

To be fair I only am posting plants that are blooming in the planted beds today with the one exception of the Cereus.  It was just too pretty not to share.  

Here we go- here is what is blooming today:

In the front planter- I really like this plant- it is a Brazilian Pavonia and I like the burgundy center.  I think it makes a nice contrast to the pale pink.

 The Delospermum are growing like crazy in the front planter.  Such a neat contrast to the Queen Victoria Agave (which is not blooming so no photo).

The Hamelia are full of blooms.

The Tecoma are full of blooms as well- little late in the day to be taking photos on most of these but I got here late so had to deal with the sun on the plants that aren't shaded so sorry some of the photos aren't better.

Plumbago, how can you ever go wrong with Plumbago? 

The Mexican Bird of Paradise Caesalpinia.  So interesting I think with the red sprays.

The White Salvia are blooming like mad- did a close up so you can see the touches of pink.

The Palo Verde- got a little bee in the one bloom to the right.  He was unphased I was there nor was he phased by the wind which was making my photo session difficult.

The Thyrallis are blooming away.  I will admit this has never been my favorite plant but Shonna swears if I just give it time I will come to love it.  We shall see. 

Mystic Spires Salvia, oldie but goodie.  How can you not love these?  I have it in the side bed by the Caesalpinia - I think there are only purple and yellow flowers in this bed.  I also have the other Caesalpinia at the opposite end that is all yellow but it wasn't in full bloom today- when he is showing off I will post that- a really pretty one.

Cat Mint bloom- in my purple and yellow bed of course.  This is a neat little plant.

There you have it.  Everything I have that is in bloom and pretty enough to post. Hope you enjoy.  I wish I had gotten here a little earlier so the sun would not have been quite so bright for the shots.  Now I am off to continue looking at all the pretty posts!!!

The Blooms are Coming!!!

 The Cereus Cactus are getting blooms on them.  I can't wait.  They are night bloomers but I get here early enough that I see them in the mornings.  I don't remember how long it takes from this point but I just noticed these and there are 5 between two of the cactus.  So exciting!

 Here's another one and you can see behind it is yet another!

Not sure what this is going to amount to on this little guy, maybe this is all it does?  I have been watching this develop for a while now wondering if it will bloom or if this is it's thing.  This is the Peruvian Old Man Cactus.

Here is a shot of one side of the front planter- it was just planted up so it is going to take a while to fill in but I like the way it looks.  Shonna did most of the design/placement, I must give credit where credit is due.  Here we have a  mix of things and I think they all compliment each other nicely. The Furcrea gives it nice height I think.  Other plants in there are the Hamelia (which the hummingbirds have been all over by the way), Variegated Sedge, Delospermum Ice Plant, Queen Victoria Agave, White Salvia leucantha, Crassula Silver Dollar, Tecoma stans, Calandrinia, and  Schizocentron.

Here is a shot of the outer bed- it is not finished but it's a start.  The Mystic Spires Salvia are going strong and the Chocolate Mimosa I think adds a nice tropical touch to the bed.  We put a few grasses in there and two different types of Caesalpinia- the yellow form of the Pride of Barbatos and the Bird of Paradise.  I like the yellow and the purples together so I threw in a Buddleia with purple blooms to round it all out.  I am not done, still have to mulch etc... but I like the way it is coming together.  I will do close ups of the blooms and post but it is just too sunny right now to capture them nicely.

Little of This and a Little of That

What an incredible day today!!!  I could take a few weeks of this weather.  I guess I was feeling a little purple today in my photos- no real plan but seem to have a purple theme going on.  The Delospermum Ice Plant I think is a great accent for pots, planters and cactus beds.  I have seen it planted a few different ways and I have yet to be disappointed.  It is a great little punch of color.  Several of the California customers say it feels like home to see the Ice Plant as it is literally everywhere in CA.   I love the vibrant green and purple combination.

The Agastache Tutti Frutti is another one that is becoming a customer favorite.  I don't know if it is the pretty color of the flowers or the fragrance but it is not lacking in either category.

The Texas Star Hibiscus is an old time favorite.  I have had several questions about this one as I guess many have not seen it and think it is something quite the opposite.... ha ha
I hadn't thought about it until the first person asked, but I guess it does resemble another plant, but it is simply a Texas Star Hibiscus that blooms an incredible bright red flower and is quite striking.

Last but not least I will end the post with my side kick Peat.  He followed me around today weaving in and out of the plants yet sticking right by me as I walked the aisles.  He is one of the most unique cats I have ever known, had or encountered.  I think he thinks he is a dog at times, as he literally follows me around and comes when I call.  He's a little stinker and we love him.
Here he ended our "photo walk" by collapsing next to the Agave celsii, where he proceeded to attempt to take a little bite- which I am happy to report he did not. He quickly discovered this was not to his liking, bounced inside, ate and took his spot behind the desk where it took him all of 5 minutes to fall asleep.
What a life!