April's Garden Blogger Bloom Day

This hedge of Bottlebrush (Callistemon rigidus or is it Callistemon viminalis, the weeping variety) has really come into it's own this spring! If I was a hummingbird, this is where I'd want to hang out - and they are! One gallon pots were planted just four years ago. And since I was anxious for a hedge, I made the mistake of planting them a litte too thick - but it's working for now! I wrote this post yesterday at work and rushed home to get a shot of our stunning bottlebrush hedge - you can imagine how disappointed I was to find that our near hurricane force winds (don't know if they were - but they sure felt like it to me!) had blown the blooms out! These pictures are from the more protected side - but they still look a bit weather-weary. Happily there were buff-belly and ruby throated hummingbirds galore!

Just when I thought my Yucca or Spanish Dagger, Yucca treculeana, would never bloom, it came through! It has been a full month since I've notice the Yucca all around the Rio Grande Valley in bloom. Yucca is native to the area and not too picky about it's surroundings. It grows in full sun or partial shade and is happy in any type soil - as long as it is well drained. Mine is in a wetter area than it prefers, but it was growing there when we built our home and I'll bet it's there when we're gone . . . If you plant one in your landscape, remember that with water, it will spread into a pretty large specimen. Mine has got to be 8-10 feet from side to side. This is the mockingbirds favorite place to perch and serenade us!

I cut off one of the blooms for the picnic table. Although it looks very delicate, it each petal is pretty thick and waxy. There are very pale greens and yellows that are too pretty for words. I have always thought that the yucca bloom was edible - but upon reading a little bit more, I think maybe it's the yucca fruit that is eaten. But that's for another post. We're all about blooms today!

My small bed of daylilies have begun blooming! Since we have to transplant them in a week or two, I'm thrilled that we get to enjoy their beauty for a while.

We call this Pato de Chiva or Clavo de Chiva. The name means goat's foot or goat's hoof. For a few years now, I've tried to see a goat's hoof in this bloom. Can you see where I should have been looking? Right! The leaves! A perfect little goat's hoof.

This is a bushy tree that can be trimmed up to a more definite tree form. I've been letting mine do what it wants lately and the bees and butterflies both are glad to have the extra blooms. There is a pinkish tinge in the blooms that my picture didn't capture very well. This is not native to the Valley but is well naturalized here. It's a wonderful butterfly and hummingbird attractant.