New plants for fall

The fall weather has me in a planting frenzy. Here are a couple of new plants in the garden:

Coral Nymph Salvia

Love the pale pink blooms on the Coral Nymph Salvia. The blooms resemble hummingbirds in flight. This plant is known to reseed itself. I wouldn't mind having a couple of these around the garden. 

Bear's Breeches

This is my favorite new plant. It is called Bear's Breeches. The large glossy leaves provide some structural element to the garden. It also sends up a large bloom spike with pinkish white blooms on it in the Spring.  Per Wikipedia, the leaves of this plant are considered by historians to have been the design inspiration for the Corinthian column capitals of Greco-Roman architecture. Interesting!

Smooth Leaf Salvia

Smooth Leaf Salvia was added in a partly shade part of the garden. It doesn't have many blooms, but it has large glossy leaves. It is suppose to be a fantastic hummingbird plant. If anyone has any experience growing this plant, please let me know.

Philippine Violet

Philippine Violet is an excellent part shade plant. Although it mostly blooms in the Fall, the round glossy leaves are beautiful. This one fits in nicely in a corner of the garden. Can't wait to see it fill out.

Jewels of Opar

Although this is not a new plant to the garden, it has reseeded itself in a new spot. This is a pass along plant from my Grandmother.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Lavender Lady Passionflower

“The Earth laughs in flowers.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I must have flowers, always, and always.”
― Claude Monet

I see Red

When I added a couple of plants to the garden this fall I realized that most of them had red blooms or berries.

I prefer cooler colors like pink and blues, however lately I seem to be trending towards red. Maybe because it is the color hummingbirds prefer. 

Pigeonberry

This pigeonberry plant was added in a shady spot in our garden. Love the bright and shiny red berries. The birds had picked off all the berries within 24 hours of planting it. At first I was disappointed, however my husband pointed out that was the reason I picked this plant in the first place. Point taken!

Pigeonberry

This plant is very hardy, a great ground cover and provides fall color. The little red berries are prized by birds including mockingbirds and doves.

Turk's Cap

Three Turk's caps were added in the back garden. The migrating hummingbirds had found these plants within 5 minutes and were fighting over them.

Firebush

This Firebush was added for the hummingbirds as well.

Fall in the Garden

It is the most wonderful time of year to be a gardener in Texas. The 100 degree temps are gone for now and fall rains are very welcomed. The plants seem grateful that summer is over. 

The Lavender Lady Passionflower Vine has put out a couple of blooms.

Lavender Lady Passionflower

The Gulf Fritillaries are still doing their thing.

 The Eyelash leaved sage or Salvia blepharophylla has a couple of blooms on it.

Eyelash leaved sage

The Blackfoot Daisy is still blooming like crazy. It has bloomed continually since I planted it. 

Blackfoot Daisy

The bat faced cuphea looks pretty paired with the potato vine.

Bat faced cuphea

The Blue Mistflower is really putting on a show. 

Blue Mistflower

The Magestic Monarch

I've seen four Monarchs this season in our garden.

 

They are so beautiful to watch fluttering around the garden.

They are much larger than the Queen butterflies which look similar to Monarchs. 

I had the pleasure of watching this female deposit eggs on some of the Milkweed.

You can see her tilt her abdomen towards the leaf.

They are such majestic creatures.

Twas the Day before Migration

Twas the day before migration, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a titmouse. 
The feeders were hung in the trees with care,
In hopes that the migrating hummingbirds soon would be there.

The birders were searching for tripods lodged in the shed,
While visions of Orioles danced in their heads.
And mamma with her binoculars, and I in my cap,
Had just settled in for a migration nap.

When out in the lawn arouse such a clatter,
I sprang from my birding chair to what was the matter.
Away to the window, I like a flash,
It tore around the yard and made quite a dash.

The sun on the breast of a Red Throated Ruby
Gave the lustre that rivaled royal jewels beauty.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a territorial male and a female who decided to disappear.

  A little odd bird, so lively and quick,
I knew it in a moment, from its music and frolic.

Now Rufous! now Black Chin! now Ruby Throated and Allen!
On Buff Bellied! On, Anna! On Costa, drinking my sugar water by the gallon!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall! Now fly away! Fly away! Fly away all. © 2012

~ A Rambling Wren Original Poem

Get your feeders ready. Migration is here.

Lavender Lady Passionflower Vine

I have three different varieties of Passionflower vines in my garden including Lady Margaret, Incense and Caerulea. Hard to know the difference between them because they hardly ever bloom. I'm sure if I picked off the Gulf Fritillaries caterpillars they would be lush and blooming. When I saw a picture of the "Lavender Lady' passionflower Pam Penick posted at Digging,

I knew I had to add this variety to my garden. 

This particular passionflower is evergreen with smaller green leaves with a purplish tint. To be honest, the flower is more of a Fushia color with purple filaments.

It is not as purple as I thought it would be, but it is still very pretty. I better enjoy it now. I've already found some caterpillars on it.