Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - September 2019/Poetry Sunday


Once again Carol of May Dreams Gardens is hosting Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day for us and I am happy to welcome you to my zone 9a garden just northwest of Houston, Texas. 

Our plentiful rains of the spring and early summer are a faded memory here in mid-September. We have transitioned into a very dry late summer, as we hope for the respite of autumn rain - preferably not accompanied by a hurricane. Most of my plants are looking a bit worse for wear as they endure the long, hot, dry days, but many still manage to produce blooms to brighten the garden.

 September is time for asters.


 And more asters.


The purple oxalis has been resting for much of the summer but now it is producing blooms again.


 The gaudy flowers of the crape myrtles continue - in watermelon red...

 ...and in pink.


 Esperanza, aka yellow bells, reaches for the sky.


 The blue plumbago plants are a bank of blossoms now.


 Even Joe Pye weed has decided to have another go at blooming.


The milkweed has done well but has had very few Monarch visitors this summer. And I've seen no eggs or caterpillars.


 The jatropha has had perhaps its best summer ever.


 And the 'Lady of Shallott' rose has been a winner.


On the fence that separates the front and backyards, the evergreen wisteria has been blooming its heart out.


 Even the Rudbeckia 'Goldstrum' still has a few blossoms.


 And so does the vitex that has bloomed beautifully all summer.


 The Hamelia patens, aka Mexican firebush, is in its glory now.


 And the oleander still sends out a few flowers.


 In the goldfish pond, a single water lily bloom hides among the leaves.


Firespike sends out more blooms as the weather gets cooler, but it is getting a head start now.


They bloomed in early spring but even now that they are dry the blossoms of the hydrangea are still beautiful.

 In fact, I like them just as well now as when they were new and fresh.


 'Pride of Barbados' is past its main flush of blooms but still has a few.


And they are very attractive to butterflies like these Giant Swallowtails. 

In other non-blooming news from the garden:


 The Meyer lemon crop is coming along nicely.


 As are the Mandarin oranges.


Many of the white beautyberries have already been devoured by hungry birds. 


But never mind. There are still plenty of the purple ones left. 

The golden dewdrop berries of Duranta erecta are already being eaten by the birds as well.


Earlier this summer, my little Japanese maple lost most of its leaves to a fungal disease. Undaunted, it is now producing a second crop.
  
 Just in time to drop them in the fall.


And in the goldfish pond, there is a new contingent of tiny goldfish, just added after the last of my old fish succumbed a few months earlier. And the goldfish have as their companions lots of these tiny tadpoles. Yes, the frog population of my garden seems to be doing quite well.



 And that makes my little buddy happy!

~~~

September brings a beauty of its own and dreams of the seasons to come...

September Flowers

by Joseph Narusiewicz


September wild flowers grow free
Purple, yellow, lavender, all beam joy
Fall is starting to turn the sumac
A walk can be such a wondrous trip

The air is crisp and vibrant
Touches of red show in the maples
Geese land in slews and ponds
Oaks seem so noble and strong

Hills filled with lush life
Songs of an autumn moon
Radiant sun brings azure blue
Birch and elm reach for love

Greens of summer still rule
This path has many wild flowers
The lake will soon freeze
Meadows will cover with snow

Rain has made everything vibrant
Moss and pine trees grow mellow
Mushrooms glow with sunlight
Soft breezes make the leaves dance

Blue birds gather on a fallen tree
Squirrels gather their acorns
Great Cottonwoods loom like giants
Old logs, field grass, daisies

I sigh amidst the September flowers

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