Celebrating August blooms, I’m thanking Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting this fun flower meme. With sporadic rains and relatively mild temperatures this summer, there are fewer burnt-toast blossoms in Austin’s August.
My Mexican Orchid Tree, Bauhinia mexicana, has bloomed on and off all summer.
Elegant, snowy blossoms cool a shady spot on hot Texas afternoons. These flowers are a favorite of Black Swallowtail Butterflies.
In stark contrast with the white Mexican Orchid, but also favored by butterflies, is the Pride of Barbados, Caesalpinia pulcherrima. Tropical-hot orange and yellow,
… these drama queens thrive in the heat.
Royal Sage, Salvia guaranitica, blooms stunningly in early and mid-spring, but not as commonly though summer.
This year though, a smattering of midnight blue gorgeousness has graced the two royal specimens in my gardens.
With multiple flowers opening everyday, the Lemon Rose Mallow, Hibiscus calyphyllus dances through August.
Flouncing her petals open in the mornings, sashaying during afternoon breezes and bowing to heat at the end of the day, this mallow is a consummate performer.
The blooms of Coral Vine, Antigonon leptopus, form on lacy loops along climbing tendrils.
I’ll replace its trellis next winter when this tropical, but hardy-for-the-Austin area herbaceous perennial freezes to the ground.
The trellis is a bit wonky, even for me. The honeybees and I eagerly await the apex of Coral Vine’s blossoming period–soon, very soon!!
A close-up of a coral Autumn Sage, Salvia greggii, flower,
…it belongs to a woody shrub native to Texas which produces a variety of colors. I like this soft coral pink–it’s the best blooming salvia in my gardens this year.
The bright red Martha Gonzales Rose, Rosa ‘Martha Gonzales’, flowers throughout summer.
I wish mine received a little more sun–it would bloom even more. This is a terrifically tough antique rose for Central Texas.
The Mexican Honeysuckle, Justicia spicigera, returned full-force after our hard winter.
It’s orange clusters await early fall visits by butterflies and the occasional hummingbird.
The shrub is covered in tubular goodness now and that’s likely to continue into the fall months.
This pairing of pink and blue is too sweet!
The creeping groundcover, Leadwort Plumbago, Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, produces sky blue florets,
…which beautifully complement the small periscope blooms atop the stems of Pink Skullcap, Scutellaria suffrutescens.
And still screaming: Summer! Summer! Summer!–is the sunflower de jour.
Or rather, sunflower de l’ete.
While new flowers open daily,
…those spent blossoms that have gone to seed are providing yummy munchies for the local finches.
Happy finch!
Visit May Dreams Gardens for more blooming beauties this Bloggers’ Bloom Day.
My Gardener Says... 
That’s a whole lot of gorgeous for Texas for August! I came for the flowers, but I stayed for the finch. What a wonderfully sweet capture of what might be my favorite local bird. I don’t have sunflowers for them this year, but I’m hoping the basil setting seed will bring more of them into my spaces in the weeks to come. Their little “rusty gate” call always makes me stop whatever I’m doing to find out what they are doing. As the old song goes “the littlest birds sing the prettiest songs!”.
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Ha! I love it–“…came for the flowers, but stayed for the finch.”! He’s a handsome devil, no? They do have a nice little noise–I usually hear them before I see them. They’ve also visited my going-to-seed coneflowers, but have been too quick for me to catch them with the camera. Thanks for stopping by!
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Brava! Very pretty.
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Thanks, Debra. I can’t really take credit though, other than choosing the right things to grow. I like Bloom Day because it gets me out into my garden to really appreciate what’s blooming at a particular moment in time. That’s good for me.
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You have such a lot of pretty blooms in the garden and that Martha Gonzales Rose is just lovely.
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Thank you, Paula. The Martha Gonzales is a beautiful rose and when the shrub is in full bloom, it’s stunning. Martha has a lovely fragrance as well.
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Wow! What amazing plants you can grow in your part of the world. Bauhinia, Caeselpinia and Coral vine are the sort of plants we can only dream of here.
I love your little finch too.
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Hi Chloris! Yes those plants do well here, even if they’re native to areas far south. There is a large group of plants which grow well here, even with our sometimes difficult climate. I enjoyed watching that little finch!
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August looks good, doesn’t it? I am a fan of Caesalpinia and have some seedlings blooming for the first time this year. I don’t guess one could have too many.
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I agree, Nell Jean–the more the merrier! I wish mine two could get more sun, that plant is incredible in absolute sun. Good luck with yours–I’m sure you’ll enjoy!
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So many colors! I love your close-ups, too. I have Autumn Sage and Martha Gonzales Rose, but I haven’t looked at them that closely or taken macro pictures of the blooms. Your Coral Vine-covered archway is pretty, too. And the Lemon Rose Mallow is a show-stopper. Enjoy! Looking forward to seeing what’s blooming as the temps start to drop…
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Thank you , Mary. Bit early in the morn, isn’t it??:) I remember that. I’m generally happy with my choices, though there are always changes and improvements to make. Get some sleep!
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