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Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

In the three years Carol at May Dreams Garden has been hosting Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, this is the first time I've managed to take pictures and get them posted in time. When I first heard of it, I had the impression it only happened once a year; but eventually I caught on that the fun happens every single month. So welcome ... here's what's putting on a show in my Zone 8 garden in Austin. Thanks for stopping by. That's a red shrimp plant to the left. I think the frost damage makes it look like chintz.



Frost damaged, but still covered with blooms and reddish new growth - "Old Blush" rose.


Bulbine frutescens, yellow (above) and orange varieties (below)




Meyer lemon getting a start on this year's Meyer Lemon Ginger Marmalade.

Fringe Flower (Loropetalum chinense)


German Iris "Feedback" with MSS' larkspur seedlings in background.

Chandler variety strawberries - here in Austin, we plant our berry plants in the fall for a full crop the following spring and summer. These guys have been blooming a little off and on all winter, reflecting how crazy our cold/hot cycle is with 80 degrees and freezing weather in the same week.

In the greenhouse, the pelargoniums (scented geraniums) are putting on their dainty blooms. This is an apple scented one.

This abutilon has the common name of "Marilyn's Choice" and mine looks like this all year. If anyone has the botanical name of this variety, please let me know.
That's all that's blooming today, but the garden was full of promise as I was snooping around for blooms. Thanks, Carol, for getting me back outside.

Comments

Carol Michel said…
Thanks for joining in! I love that you all have blooms in Austin. Even with a tiny bit of frost damage, they look great.

Carol, May Dreams Gardens
I'm so glad you posted! I didn't realize so much was in bloom right now in central Texas. Perhaps I should have. I like GBBD so I can learn about what is happening across this diverse Country of ours.
Gail said…
Lovely blooms...I admire your Old Blush Rose...and wish that roses would grow in shade! have a good day!
gail
Dreamybee said…
Love your roses-I've had a rough time with them here. Not sure if they need a cold spell to rest or if it's just too humid or what. Love the iris too-beautiful!
I am just north of you and we are not nearly so bloomy. All I've got are daffodils. Can't wait for the iris to show up.
Thanks for showing us your lovely blooms. I am just hoping the next few weeks go by quickly, so I can be out in my yard, doing what I love.
Anonymous said…
So glad you came out to play. I love my 'Old Blush' roses. They are the first to bloom. Of course, mine are at least a month away.~~Dee
You people down in Austin with all your beautiful flowers in February make me SICK! With envy. . .

I come to you guys' blogs when I need a midwinter flower fix. All we have at The Havens is crocuses and snowdrops. Well, and new gardens that need to get filled up with plants.
ToFar said…
I am starting to seem some blooms around Findhorn, but not nearly as gorgeous as yours. I hope Austin gets some more rain, this is not an issue here in Scotland, I worked in a nice gentle, cool (some in Texas would say cold) rain most of yesterday afternoon.
vbdb said…
Tom, the picture you took of the Findhorn beach sky was amazing. Would be willing to bet most of us would trade a few early blooms to be in Scotland right now.

And to the rest of my visitors - having visited most of your blogs, I know your gardens will put my pitiful attempts to shame in a couple of weeks. Thanks for your kind words and for checking in!
Annie in Austin said…
Hi VBDB - you sure do have blooms for GBBD...if your garden looked like this a week ago it must be really unfolding the flowers now.

Doesn't it seem early to have roses and strawberry blossoms and buds on the Meyer's Lemon in March?

Annie at the Transplantable Rose
vbdb said…
Annie -
I usually put the citrus in the greenhouse and have tons of blooms by now. This year, I left all outside and used heavy row cover each time we expected a freeze. Meyer lemon, Mexican lime, satsuma orange, and another tiny variegated thing whose name I can never remember seemed to fare okay but are slower to bloom. The strawberries are just confused by all the 80 degree weather in between freezes.

Blooms unfolding since Feb GBBD are a yellow Lady Banks rose, a chartreuse/pink variety of shrimp plant, "Homestead Purple" verbena, and several more iris buds. By March GBBD, I might really have a lot going on. You have to come see the changes I've made since you were last here.
Sunita Mohan said…
Beautiful blooms! I'm surprised that the Iris will grow in hot weather... gives me hope for trying to grow it in Mumbai, India
vbdb said…
Sunita - the German or bearded iris suffer a bit in our full summer heat with temps in the 90 to 100 degree Fahrenheit range. Spring and fall temps range from 40s to 80s, and the irises are much happier then. I don't know what type of soil you're working with in Mumbai, but here we use raised beds a lot. It keeps the irises from getting too wet which seems to be the biggest health challenge for the bearded varieties; the ones we call Louisiana iris prefer a lot of moisture.

Check back March 15th for more iris pictures. They should really be blooming like crazy then.

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