It Just Didn't Work Out

It just didn't work out. Sorry "budd".



I planted this Buddleia davidii ‘Pink Delight’ this spring. At the time I didn't really think of the 'Autumn Joy' Sedum that would be blooming at this time of year. I really don't like the color combination. In fact, I haven't been "delighted" with this pink color at all. At least not in this bed.

It kinda, sorta works with the blues in this bed. They're provided by 'Victoria Blue' savlia.



But it's just not enough for me. So this buddleia will be part of a bunch of plants I'm donating to our Master Gardener project. We're going to be building a butterfly and bird garden in our local park, which I'll blog about after we get it in place in late October.

Picture This - Grasses Gone Wild

I've been pondering about the latest Picture This photo contest that Gardening Gone Wild is running. The challenge this month is to capture the beauty of grasses. My pondering is because at this point in time my ornamental grasses are only just now putting some seedheads on. A month from now they'll look great. But not so much now. So I guess I could go back and look at some photos from last year or so. Which is what I did. But lo and behold I became captivated not by my ornamental grasses, but by some beautiful (to me) grasses out in the wild. So I'm not sure if I can even enter the picture above since it's not in my garden. If it's not "legal", that's okay. I'd like to show you some grasses anyway.

These photos were taken last December in Davis Mountains State Park in far southwest Texas. I blogged about it back then here and here. I'm not sure what variety of grasses all of these are but in that area the most common grasses are species of grama (Bouteloua spp.), muhly (Muhlenbergia spp.), and bluestem (Bothriochloa spp.). Most likely the top photo is of muhly grasses (corrections always welcomed!).



This is most likely muhly as well.



My impression is that all of the plants in this region co-exist in some kind of neat partnership. These grasses look like bluestem.

Many different kinds of grasses exist side by side.



I just can't get enough of how the grasses contribute to that feeling of movement, peace and serenity.



You can see many more lovely photos of grasses in the Comments section of the GGW Picture This post here. I can't wait to see them myself!

Rainy Day Blooms and a late GBBD

I've been woefully negligent about posting, even missing Garden Bloggers Bloom Day for the month. Maybe I have nothing interesting to say or show these days! But actually, part of the problem is all the rain we've had lately. Here's a witness to the rain - my very droopy garlic chives.



Despite the rain and lack of sunshine, the Autumn Joy Sedum is heading towards its fall climax of darker rusty hues. I do like the soft pink it has now though.



Behind the sedum is the rosemary, starting to bloom again, and behind that, the Mexican Sage, Salvia leucantha. I hope the Sage can hold off on its full flowering potential until the Mexican Mint Marigold, Tagetes lucida, starts blooming. It should be a knockout combo. Here's a closeup of the Sage.



The rains and the time of year have brought out the spider lilies, Lycoris radiata, also known as hurricane lilies. This isn't the best photo to show off their color. Perhaps when the sun comes out again (if ever!) I'll post a better photo.



Here's a surprise bloom for this time of year, a bloom on my Wavy Leaf cactus.



Next to the cactus is the Gulf Muhly grass. It's just now starting to produce its seedheads.



Another grass now showing off its seedheads is Inland Sea Oats, Chasmanthium latifolium. I really love this shade loving grass although I'm afraid it may get weedy here. But so far, so good. I have to buy plants like this in other states because we have a very limited selection of plants here.



And speaking of plant shopping in other places, here's a snap of fellow blogger Cindy of My Corner of Katy, hauling away some goodies she bought at one of her favorite nurseries, Enchanted Forest outside of Houston. Cindy was kind enough to introduce me to this nursery when I was visiting family in Houston last weekend. And yes, I hauled off a few plants too!

Fun with Macro

It's been a long while since I took my little point-and-shoot camera outside to see the world through it's macro lens. I'm always surprised at what I find once I put the photos on my computer. Take this coneflower for instance. Notice the little spider on the petal?



Or how about the fine downy hairs on the blooms of this Turk's Cap (Malvaviscus drummondii)?



Speaking of hairy, young tomato plants like this "Solar Fire" are surprisingly hairy.



Getting a close up of the rear end of a katydid was a little surprising to me.



Bees can be a bit hairy as well (on 'Autumn Joy' sedum). The more these buds open up, the more insects are attracted to them. They've become a bee's paradise now.



This doesn't really have anything to do with close up hairy things but I thought it was pretty. A close up of Salvia 'Coral Nymph'. It's colors are getting more intense now that the heat has lessened (thank goodness!).