In The Heat of The Moment ...

It's hard to get motivated for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, the brainchild of Carol of May Dreams Gardens, when all around you are signs of pending devastation. As I ankled it around the garden looking for blooms, I found myself sighing in frustration and despair. When even the Barbados Cherry plants, those most stalwart of drought tolerant natives, lose their healthy green color and droop, I know the garden is in dire straits. Nonetheless, I do have blooms to share, although many of them are a little worse for wear at the end of the day.

Blackfoot Daisy actually looks pretty good. Not so the birdbath.

At the end of the day, the vivid red-orange blooms of the Bauhinia galpinii
are a shadow of themselves.

Batface Cuphea are one of the stalwarts in the summer garden.

Profusion Apricot zinnias tolerate the heat and drought well.

Abelmoschus, however, has a tougher time.

That this poor daylily is blooming at all is a wonder. This morning, it was a clear bright red with an almost black eye. At day's end, however, it's lost much of its luster.

Thank goodness for Bright Lights Cosmos!

This Cleome 'Sparkler Rose' was planted about 10 days ago. I washed off the peat mix
and puddled it in. It hasn't skipped a beat.

This is one of the Clematis I rescued from Lowe's last year, either Fireworks or Dr. Ruppel. It's coming along slowly but I have
high hopes for it.

I am really taken with Calliandra aka Fairy Duster aka Powderpuff Plant.
Once established, they seem to handle heat and drought really well.

I might have to plant more Mexican Bauhinia trees. I love these delicate
blooms. It does seem to be a very slow grower.

Lantana's blooming quite happily and the foliage hasn't
been attacked by spider mites yet. I expect they'll show up, though.

This is one of many Hamelias planted throughout the front gardens.
When I first started gardening, I didn't like these plants. Now I can't
imagine the garden without them.

Erythrina crista-galli, Fireman's Cap, never fails to wow me
with its intense red blooms.

This mystery Salvia is probably Mystic Spires. It was one of the Head Gardener's clearance table purchases at Lowe's.

This white Plumbago gets NO water whatsoever. It's planted in a
utility easement on the back fence and has to fend for itself. Take
note, heat zone gardeners!

Purple Iochroma isn't quite as blue as it looks in this picture (that
would be pretty cool, actually). It's a lovely rich purple, though.

We'd be at our wits' end (instead of at Wit's End) were it not for verbenas.

And Zinnias ... thank goodness for Zinnias!

I guess the Head Gardener shouldn't be quite so downcast about the state of the garden. There's a lot in bloom despite the inclement heat and the continued lack of substantial rain. I still plan to have her out there first thing tomorrow morning, though, wrangling hoses. We've got to do what we can to make sure there are a few blooms for August's GBBD!