With a mild winter, lots of rain, and warm temperatures, our garden has never looked better.
My old friend, Alpinia zerumbet is blooming.
It's also called shell ginger.
Alpinia formosana is also blooming.
Most of the bromeliads are so colorful that flowers aren't even needed.
It's risky growing a tropical garden in a frost zone, but after a mild winter you can see why it's worth it.
Canna musaefolia will bloom all summer. It attracts hummingbirds.
The Clerodendrum bungei is putting on its Spring show.
Native elderberry is blooming all around the garden. Later, the birds will enjoy the purple berries.
I even eat a few.
American beautyberry is also in bloom. Mine is white, but there's also a pale lavender variety.
Here it is growing at the Houston Zoo.
In the front yard, Mesa Yellow Blanket Flower has hit its stride.
Gallardia 'Mesa Yellow'
This is the first year for the cottage garden. I have a variety of coreopsis, buddleias, pentas, sages, and cape daisies along with foliage plants like lavender, and heliochrysum (in front of the wall).
It should fill out by next year.
Finally, here's my version of a xeric or dry garden for Houston. You can see purple lantana and blackfoot daisies interspersed with Agaves and windmill palms. All are drought tolerant. I've been working on this project for about 3 years and it's finally starting to look like what I had envisioned.
Well, that's it from Tropical Texana.
I'm glad you stopped by my little garden.
Happy GBBD!
David/:0)
