Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - July 2015

Welcome to my July garden, located in subtropical zone 9a, near Houston, Texas. 

It is hot and humid here in July - well, actually that's true of most months, but July and August are the worst. The rains that we had in spring and early summer have slowed down and things are beginning to dry out, but there are plants that thrive in such weather. Here are some of them.


July in the South, of course, means crape myrtles in many colors, including pink.

Lilac.

White

And watermelon red.  

The milk-and-wine lilies start blooming in mid-July. That's summer phlox next to them.

The crinum 'Ellen Bosanquet' also is at its best in July.

Some of the daylilies are still blooming - or reblooming as this one is.

This is a mid-summer bloomer.

'Black and blue' salvia continues to flower.

Marigolds are beginning to bloom.

'Pride of Barbados' which I showed you last week.

Butterflies, like this Gulf Fritillary, love the 'Pride.' 

And bees love the African blue basil. You can't really see them in this view, but, trust me, they are there. The plants are busy with bees all day long. 

The groundcover wedelia is full of yellow, daisy-like flowers.

A stand of yellow and orange cosmos is often visited by bees and butterflies.

It's an old-fashioned plant, but still pretty and still useful in the garden, particularly for nighttime pollinators. It is the 4 o'clock, so called because it opens its blooms in late afternoon. I have it in several colors.

Here's another color.

And just one more multi-colored variety.

The clerodendrum 'Cashmere Bouquet' blooms in July.

The Meyer lemon tree, which is already full of little lemons, is still blooming and attracting large carpenter bees. 

Crocosmia, a favorite summer bloomer.

Ornamental peppers and, in the back, wax begonia. 

The pomegranates are getting heavy on their limbs.

Philippine lilies are blooming.

The firecracker fern is still exploding.

And, of course, what would July be without sunflowers?
Thank you for visiting my garden this Bloom Day and thanks to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for hosting us once again. I look forward to visiting your garden this month.

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