Absobloominlutely January: Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, January 2019

On the first Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day of 2019, take a walk around the gardens on my corner of Katy with me ... watch your step, there are plants everywhere, even in the paths ... and ignore those leaves in the front gardens if you would. The oak trees haven't finished shedding yet and it's an exercise in futility to even attempt to keep up with their removal from the beds until the trees are mostly bare. We do our best to keep the sidewalk and curbs clear: the latter are especially important since we don't want those leaves clogging our storm drains and increasing the likelihood of flooding. 

The corner bed below has undergone some changes in recent months, with large flagstones added to give The Head Gardener room to move and work around the plants. Fewer plants, both desirable and undesirable, make for less work. The HG and I are 22 years older than we were when we started this garden ... how did that happen? 

The corner bed is the most colorful spot in the garden right now. Salvia coccinea 'Lady in Red', purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea), yellow Engelmann's daisies (Engelmannii peristenia) and four nerve daisies (Tetraneuris scaposa) are all blooming happily in this picture.

Rudbeckia maxima is blooming in the corner bed. You might spot some Mexican Marigold Mint (Tagetes lucida) and Rudbeckia triloba flowers as well.

Cuphea hybrid 'David Verity' is also blooming.

Salvia 'Cherry Chief' from grower Heidi Sheesley at Treesearch Farms
just won't quit!

Pink Muhly grass, Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba)
and more coneflowers. The Susans and the coneflowers
reseed themselves throughout the front gardens.

On  the opposite side of the front gardens, Copper Canyon Daisy
 (Tagetes lemmonii) is spilling out of the bed between my
yard and my neighbors'. 

Coreopsis, I think Mercury Rising, is flowering in one of the
beds that flank the front sidewalk. This plant came from
 the clearance racks at my nearby Lowe's.

This Red Fountains Skullcap (Scutellaria longifolia)
is planted on the other side of the sidewalk and
is evidently quite happy with the coolth.

Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana). We have a love/hate
relationship with Spiderwort here on MCOK. It reseeds so very
indiscriminately and the tiny seedlings are a bugger to remove
when they're growing in the midst of other plants.

Spiderwort up close is such a pretty thing, though! The
colors are so much richer in cooler weather, too.

I found this Scarlet cestrum (Cestrum elegans)
marked down at Nelson's Water Gardens. It's planted in a red
ceramic pot  in my enclosed courtyard and I am surprised
that it is blooming now. I wish a hummingbird
were around to enjoy it!

Trailing purple lantana (Lantana montevidensis) would take over
in the rose bed on the northeast corner of MCOK if I didn't
whack it back regularly. It has a lovely scent.

Pink Skullcap (Scutellaria suffrescens) loves to be planted next to rocks
and hates rich moist soil. This one blooms along the alley behind my house.

Zinnias, rose bed

More zinnias, rose bed

Moving on to the back gardens, there aren't quite as many plants blooming.

Violas and phlox are cool season annuals in my climate.

Peggy Martin Rose is blooming sparsely on the fireplace
wall. The iron gate is part of a pair that guarded
the entrance to the front courtyard when we moved in. 

Pink Firespike (Odontonema strictum) is HOT pink in cool weather!

The Coral Woody Penta (Rondeletia leucophylla)
was so late to bloom that I was certain it would be zapped
by a freeze before the buds opened. The color was worth the wait!

I grew Rose 'Gartendirektor Otto Linne' from a cutting
given to me by a Texas Rose Rustler. 

Salvia 'Amistad' is another Lowe's clearance purchase. 

Bleeding Heart Vine (Clerodendrum thompsoniae var. delectum) rambles
along the south fence in the back gardens.

I love how the bright pink blooms pop against the burgundy tinged
foliage of Gaura 'Belleza Pink' (G. lindheimeri).

 And finally, winner of the "most confused plant of the year" award, I believe my fellow Texas gardeners will recognize this plant.

The Texas state flower!

This bluebonnet germinated in the summer heat and has been
blooming since September. Bluebonnets typically bloom
February through April. Global weirding?

And now that we've walked through my gardens, head on over to the May Dreams Gardens of Carol Michel and see who else has blooms to share this January!