From Abelmoschus to Zinnia, this July's bloom day is a juicy one!
Cosmos 'Bright Lights'
Crocosmia (Montbretia)
Daylily 'Mambo Maid' (I think)
Hamelia: This Hummingbird Bush is on the north side of the sidewalk.
Over near the sidewalk, these plants get fewer hours of direct sun. Y'all think that's why the petals are almost striped?
Tired of Tithonias? Then how about some zesty, zingy Zinnias? My zillions of zinnias all came from a few packets of seeds (please don't ask me to remember which varieties! I think I bought a packet of Scarlet Flame last year but all the others are self-sown or collected from previous years' plants.) I suspect they've hybridized themselves over the years and that's fine by me.
This zinnia is a bit of a chameleon: it changes color from pink to orange as it ages.
I call this shade Dreamsicle: orange you in agreement?
As I told Carol of May Dreams Gardens, our Bloom Day provocateur/instigator, this is by no means all that's blooming here on my corner of Katy. Despite the heat and lack of sufficient rain, the plants continue to amaze me with their ability to withstand summer. That said, when I went out to take more pictures early yesterday evening, I found the corner bed in dire need of watering. There was rain in the greater Houston area last night but it stood me up yet again. That's OK, I know my trusty garden hose will be too much of a gentleman to do such a thing.
Abelmoschus
Cosmos 'Bright Lights'
Crocosmia (Montbretia)
Crocosmia (Montbretia)
Crossandra with Festive Dance Coleus
Cuphea 'David Verity'
Cuphea 'David Verity'
Daylily 'Mambo Maid' (I think)
Hamelia: This Hummingbird Bush is on the north side of the sidewalk.
And this Hamelia is on the south side. Surely they're two different varieties? (Of course they are and don't call me Shirley ...)
The multi-talented Tithonia aka Mexican Torch Flower. They seeded themselves in various spots in the front gardens. Those in the corner bed are in full sun for most of the day and the colors are definitely richer and deeper, although some of them sport interesting variations in color. 
Over near the sidewalk, these plants get fewer hours of direct sun. Y'all think that's why the petals are almost striped?
Tired of Tithonias? Then how about some zesty, zingy Zinnias? My zillions of zinnias all came from a few packets of seeds (please don't ask me to remember which varieties! I think I bought a packet of Scarlet Flame last year but all the others are self-sown or collected from previous years' plants.) I suspect they've hybridized themselves over the years and that's fine by me.
This zinnia is a bit of a chameleon: it changes color from pink to orange as it ages.
I call this shade Dreamsicle: orange you in agreement?
As I told Carol of May Dreams Gardens, our Bloom Day provocateur/instigator, this is by no means all that's blooming here on my corner of Katy. Despite the heat and lack of sufficient rain, the plants continue to amaze me with their ability to withstand summer. That said, when I went out to take more pictures early yesterday evening, I found the corner bed in dire need of watering. There was rain in the greater Houston area last night but it stood me up yet again. That's OK, I know my trusty garden hose will be too much of a gentleman to do such a thing.
Comments
And I like to see if you have some of the same flowers as I have... we have zinnias in common, though mine are mostly purples and pinks and I start every year with a fresh packs of seeds. Do the zinnias self-sow in your garden?
Thanks for joining in for bloom day. Orange you glad to have some flowers even with the lack of rain?
Carol, May Dreams Gardens
It's smoking HOT in Katy! What wonderful hot colors... Orange you glad you like hot colors! Are you plurking now...stop by and tell me more or email me or sign me up for plurk!
gail
Frances
I love that daylily! And you've reminded me to try Mexican sunflower again, too.
Gorgeous!
Carol, the zinnias are pretty much self-sown. If I'm deadheading in an area where I want them to keep growing, I just fling the seeds about with mad abandon!
Dee, I haven't had to buy seeds in a couple of years. I'm an obsessive-compulsive seed saver and zinnias are so easy to collect. Any time you (or any other readers) want some seeds, just let me know!
Meadowview, I love the Profusion Zinnias and I wish I'd had some orange ones to include in this post. The Profusion Apricots reseeded nicely from last year but not the orange. I did scatter some saved seeds for them recently, tho, so maybe I'll have them by September.
MMD, there are more than a few things that look droopy and sad.I pulled a bunch of them today. It's too depressing to look at both the plants and their pictures so I only show y'all the purty ones. As for the Hamelia, I don't think it's related to Hamamelis. Hamelia is semi-tropical here: if we get a hard freeze it dies back to the ground but comes back from the roots.
EAL, I think things are very different for the Austin gardeners with their triple digit temps. We're just now hitting the hottest part of the year here in the Houston area. August is the truly evil month. Plants continue to bloom here on MCOK then but are more likely to succumb to the heat and drought.
Kathy, I was wondering the same thing about that Spanish poppy. If seeds are available online, I think I'll order some.
Gail, it's not just the flowers that are hot and getting hotter! Hope to see you over on Plurk soon. We have a lot of fun there.
Frances, the zinnias are probably the best butterfly attractor in my gardens. They reseed so freely that when they start looking really shabby, I yank them. There are always new seedlings to take their place! That David Verity cuphea is a tender perennial for me. It can be frost tender but it always comes back from the roots. I also have the C. macropetala, which has pale orange and yellow flowers. It's not blooming much yet because I cut them way back this year. Many thanks for the info on the crocosmia seeds. I'll definitely keep an eye on them so I can collect some of the seed to sow in other areas out front in fall. Here's to spectacular success for you and me both!
Leslie, come on over to the dark side, you might surprise yourself and learn to love orange blooms as much as I did!
Colleen, I'll save some Tithonia seed for you if you'd like. Nice to see you here!
MSS, I really know just how you feel. I've been dragging my feet each morning when it comes to going out in the garden. I haven't felt very inspired, believe me! I can't imagine how much worse it is for the Austin gardeners.
Thanks so much to all of y'all for stopping by. Please let me know if any of y'all would like seeds: zinnias, tithonias, crocosmias, whatever I've got, I'll share.
(seriously though, don't you wish we'd get a little of the rain the rest of Houston is getting now and again?)
We have Crocosmia and cuphea in common - I've also got tropical milkweed, orange flowering canna and some portulaca, but after reading this post it's obvious that I need more orange.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
I'm envious, not much blooming here except a few natives. I put in a ton of gingers this spring so I'm hoping for a good show this time next year.
Nancy, I think we got a one hour shower one day last week. I'm beginning to think fondly of tropical storms.
Annie, I'll save some Tithonia and orange zinnia seeds for you. There should be plenty and then some!
Linda, we'll look forward to seeing pictures of your gingers next year.
Glad y'all liked the header. I can't resist wordplay!