What’s blooming

After a weekend that went by much too quickly and a busy Monday at work, I enjoyed a quiet stroll through the garden with my camera and macro lens. So many plants are in bloom now, and I love looking at flowers up close. The palette of shapes and hues really is endless.

I hope these photos will brighten your day like they did mine. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Tower of jewels (Echium wildpretii). Click here for a post on this very special plant.
Our tower of jewels is about done blooming, and I’m hoping for a rich harvest of seeds
so I can keep the cycle going.

Hot Lips sage (Salvia macrophylla ‘Hot Lips)

Indigo Spires sage (Salvia farinacea x longispicata ‘Indigo Spires’)

Electric blue sage (Salvia chamaedryoides)

Purple Dragon dead nettle (Lamium maculatum 'Purple Dragon')

Noble aloe (Aloe nobilis).
Lady bug busy eating aphids.

Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)
climbing through a pot of horsetail rush (Equisetum hyemale)

Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus).
Nasturtium are edible and add a spicy note to a salad of mixed greens.

Calla lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica).
Many people think calla lilies are a cliché, but for me they are the epitome of floral elegance.

Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena). Quite a name. I wonder what the story is behind it.

Another shot of Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena).
The seeds came on the wind from across the street—last year it was one plant,
this year it’s a few dozen. Invasive, yes, but who can resist this beauty?

What’s blooming in your yard? What are your favorites?