Late spring Bloom Day
Plains coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria) grown from seed in the partly sunny side garden
This Bloom Day post almost didn’t happen. I’ve been working in the garden every day this week despite muggy, hot weather—planting, transplanting, and putting in new paths—and feeling that things are coming together in the garden’s second spring. Bloom Day snuck up on me, and looking around I realized that May is not a flowery month for my garden. Well, let’s face it. I’m gardening in the shade of live oaks, so no month is particularly flowery in my garden. Still, I’m game to show the individual blossoms adding a little sparkle today. Believe me, it was a bit of a “Where’s Waldo?” hunt to find them.
Moss rose (Portulaca grandiflora), a passalong from Dawn at Suburban Wildlife Garden
Bulbine frutescens are just gearing up in the sunny side garden. Most of mine survived last winter’s hard freeze, but I did lose a couple.
Strawflower (Chrysocephalum apiculatum Flambe Yellow), one of my Proven Winners trial plants from last spring that actually survived the deep freeze. I really love the yellow button flowers and silver foliage. You may remember that I also trialed the Flambe Orange, but it did not survive the winter, perhaps due to a more-exposed location.
An unknown daylily that I inherited with the garden. It always blooms before the daylilies I brought from my former garden.
Pineapple guava, also inherited with the garden. Regular readers know this is not my favorite flower in the world (ugh), but in desperation, I present it for Bloom Day. I like this shrub much better when not in bloom. But the guavas that it manages to produce in too much shade are pretty cool, so I guess I can put up with the flowers.
Ubiquitous ‘Radrazz’ roses aren’t letting me down.
The ‘Wonderful’ pomegranate I transplanted from my former garden is blooming nicely.
As is Salvia guaranitica, which is happy even in significant shade. Gotta love this plant!
Another good one for dappled or partial shade is our native heartleaf skullcap (Scutellaria ovata).
I’m trying two new Wright’s skullcaps (Scutellaria wrightii), also native to central Texas. These need sun and excellent drainage.
Winecup (Callirhoe involucrata), a sprawling, lovely native that blooms in spring then disappears.
The ‘Colorado’ water lily surprised me over the winter by never going completely dormant. There were always a couple of green leaves, even if a bit tattered. With the warm weather, it’s been blooming for a couple of weeks, although when I took this picture yesterday morning, under stormy skies, it hadn’t opened yet.
Last spring I sowed purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) seeds collected from my former garden in an attempt to quickly fill my new beds. It was a bust. A few leaves struggled along through the droughty summer, but I can’t remember more than one or two flowers. This spring, patience is rewarded. I have lots of tall plants with plenty of coneflowers on the way. This is one of those old-fashioned plants that I must have; they just make me happy.
‘Diamond Frost’ euphorbia is totally reliable in my garden in the shade and in the heat. I love, love, love it.
I’ll close with an image of a volunteer rain lily that opened yesterday morning in a perfect prediction of rain. Later that morning we received a quarter of an inch of needed rain.
Happy Bloom Day! To see what’s blooming in other gardens around the world, visit May Dreams Gardens.
And remember, tomorrow is Foliage Follow-Up. I hope you’ll join me in posting (and commenting with your link on tomorrow’s post) about your favorite foliage this month.
All material © 2006-2010 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
I rather like the pineapple guava flowers, at least based on how they look in your picture.
Also, beautiful skullcaps! I’ve been trying to find California native skullcaps since what seems like forever, but they’re just not widely available.
Hi Pam!
Great pictures!
Recently, I bought two young plants of euphorbia diamond frost, I love.
You know how cold resist?
Thanks!!
Yolanda, it’ll survive a mild winter with only light frost (or at least it did in my garden). But last year’s hard freezes killed it outright. I won’t hesitate to grow it as an annual though. —Pam
Lovely, all of it. Happy Bloom Day.
It looks pretty flowery to me Pam. You have lots of blooms and they are all lovely.
Truly, I don’t have many. It’s all onesies and twosies, and if you were to look around my garden you’d have to look hard to find them. Maybe next month there’ll be more; the agastaches, cupheas, and other daylilies should be in bloom soon. —Pam
Hi Pam, thanks for doing the search to show us these lovely blooms. Hooray for the Bulbine, so I know what to expect from mine, which has a flower about the same as the one you present. We had a pomegranate survive in the ground over the winter too, not yet blooming. The guava is still cool to me, glad you grudgingly accept the flower to get the fruit. Heat and humidity, difficult condition in which to garden, do take care. 🙂
I’m drinking a LOT of water, Frances, and will be swimming to stay cool soon. The kids are swimming today. —Pam
Great photos, and great ideas. I’m going to have to try some different salvias.
I too thought that I would have a hard time finding much blooming for my post, but my issue is not Live Oaks, just crazy weather. It turns out that neither one of us had anything to worry about judging from your pictures. I think you should learn to embrace your Guava.
Happy bloom day, Pam. Funny, I was scrolling down looking at all your blooms and thought surely you had some coneflowers, which I think of as one of your “signature plants”. And there it was! Thanks for joining in for bloom day.
I think of purple coneflower as one of my signature plants too. Couldn’t do without such an easy-care, happy plant. —Pam
The colors are simply marvelous
For a shady garden you have lots blooming and they all look beautiful. Thanks for sharing in GBBD:)
You have achieved some lovely blooms for a shady garden. I love the pop of red and yellow in the garden. Thanks for sharing. Valerie
Pam, May isn’t the bloomiest month in my garden either~but what’s blooming in your garden is charming. I am trying our native sculltelaria and hope it blooms as prettily as yours. Love the pomegranate bloom~it’s a delicious color. Yeah for coneflowers~they never let us down. gail
Oh how I love the warm colors of your first photos – I’m always a sucker for oranges, reds and yellows. Then when I get to your cooler colors, like those fabulous blues, I’m in love all over again! Beautiful photos, Pam!
Great blooms and photos. I especially love the coreopsis and pomegrante.
Love the Diamond frost, was featured on GARDENER’S wORLD on the BBC yesterday. Hot and muggy? Here wet and cold.
BTW I’ll be doing more posts on Malvern with lots of pics of many of the bloggers. 😉 Stay tuned!
Tried the S. guaranitica before without success; but your bloom pictures have me thinking I should try again. Great shots all around.
I’ll contact you about a division, RBell. —Pam
Happy Bloom Day Pam. It’s rainy here, so no work in the garden for me. Soil is too, too wet. After reading your posts about Diamond Frost Euphorbia, I realized it needs more shade here too. It also fries in early morning sun here. So, the ones I bought this year I put in a shady spot or two. Will give it a try. I want to love it. I do.~~Dee
I think our climates are too hot to give this wonderful plant full sun, Dee. I hope it performs better for you in shade. Mine do get a smidge of afternoon sun, which in mid-summer can wilt them a bit, but they perk right back up when the sun goes down. —Pam
The pineapple guava flowers are so lovely and tropical! And love the contrast between the bloom and foliage on the strawflower.
Sixteen kinds of flowers! This is “not a flowery month”?
Pam, you’re jaded!
The pinapple guava looks good. What is it about it that you don’t like?
Judy, I wrote a tongue-in-cheek post about how pineapple guava’s flowers gross me out. You’ll see what I mean. —Pam
You have lots of striking blooms for all your shade! The winecup and pomegranate are my favorites today. I’m with you on the “Diamond Frost” euphorbia–it’s a rock star!
I’m surprised you still have the pineapple guava! Haha…I remember that post you wrote. I’m sorry you haven’t warmed up to it more. I still haven’t tasted the fruit and I remain very curious.
Some day I’ll move bulbine off my wishlist and into my garden.
Hot then cool then pretty in pink. Love the sequence of images you chose. You always make me wish I lived further south!
Well you “Where’s Waldo” hunt certainly was fruitful! You’ve got some great blooms. I got some bulbine at the Houston Grows bloggers plant swap yesterday and I’m eager to get them in the ground and see how they do.
Love the picture of the Winecup.
For not having much in bloom, you sure have some pretty flowers! Some, I also grow in Nebraska, others, probably wouldn’t do well here. I personally think the guava bloom is pretty. I enjoy the 2 kinds of scullcaps that grow here, and the diamond frost euphorbias do well as annuals here.
Lots of nice flowers! You should just eat the flowers off the pineapple guava! They are edible and pretty yummy. I was munching on mine earlier today. They’re kind of sweet and pretty juicy too. Good in salads.
Excellent show for a garden in too much shade under live oaks. I think the pineapple guava flowers are kind of cool, in a freaky way. (But then I like freaky flowers.) But the waterlily is definitely my favorite.
I love seeing all of those hot weather plants blooming in your garden even if some of them aren’t your favorites. I have to replace Black and Blue Salvia every year but it is worth it. As you say it performs in shade or full sun. A tremendous plant that the hummingbirds adore.
A great May collection. Hopefully summer will be kinder than last year so that you have more great blooms as the weather warms!
I’ve enjoyed seeing your wonderful photos of all the interesting blossoms in your gardens! I hadn’t seen a white rain lily before… very nice… Larry
You’ve got a lot going on, and truly lovely, as always. May is a little bit of a down month for us, but not for you. And pooh on you & pineapple guava flowers! Linda
Lovely flowers. Yes, Coneflowers are a must. I am so looking forward to mine blooming this year. Spring has been breathtaking so far! Hope summer turns out just as well. I understand mugginess! Love the cooler early hours and the later evening ones too.
Thanks for the beautiful pictures,
Kathy