Amazing august

Inca Doves: No hope; no hope; no hope.
CC*BY J. Labrador

Normally one of our driest and hottest months, August usually brings to mind the mournful cry of the Inca Dove: "no hope; no hope; no hope."

But not this year!

It was cooler than usual and rainy (rain! in August!), so gardens that normally do no more than simply hang on until Fall thrived. We experienced a magnificent renaissance of branches, leaves and blooms. September has been a bit dryer, but still unusually cool, so the exuberance of August continues. No doubt we'll pay for this later on, somehow, but for now, we're celebrating.

One day a week or so ago I counted no fewer than 35 different kinds of flowers blooming in my relatively wild garden. This very nearly rivals the peak of spring bloom here. Just amazing.

Schoolhouse lilies

Mornings are cool and shady, easy to enjoy in the garden, whether just sitting and marveling at the abundance, or puttering around with the typical garden chores, snipping something here, propping up something there, watering a parched pot, cutting some flowers for the kitchen table.

Hibiscus Cecelia with Tritonia

Even from inside the house, the views out the windows to the garden are a delight with the sunshine lighting up the reds of the caladiums, magnifying the intensity of the different greens of the understory foliage plants, or dappling the deck or the paths through the overgrown borders.

Front porch pot

Now to a lot of folks, this will seem like much ado about nothing, but either those folks don't care much for gardens, or they're probably used to beautiful luxuriant gardens in August. It's all relative, I know. And here in Texas in August, this August is special.

Rock rose

Rock roses, begonias, torenia, Mexican petunias, impatiens, tritonia, turk's cap, bind weed, lantana, widow's tears, wadelia, all putting on a show...

Begonias and torenia

Impatiens

Wadelia

Well, I could go on, but I'm sure you've got the point. I just want to remember it. August, 2016.