§ Come around thru the Gate to our Yard...

As I type this up for pre-scheduled posting, it's a dark and stormy day! Earlier, we had buckets of rainfall. The thunder is still rumbling in the distance, and the sky is black on the horizon. I was sure the power would be off any minute, but it never went off. Which was surprising. What is more surprising is the weatherman the night before -his forecast- was humid but dry [meaning no rain. Ha. I wish I would've continued my college education and majored in meteorology....90% of the time wrong, and still get paid a six figure income! [jk] Anyway, I am using my laptop in case the electricity goes out still, and will share my photos from the other day. A trip around the piece of property we call home....

...a little bit of our back yard:

Top left to bottom right:  1-cement bird bath I use for bird seed [the water pump is real, but only for decoration]  2-off the patio, the feeder station 3-my pelican island [and ducks] with crepe myrtle and indoor palm.  4-our pomegranate tree

Both front and back are full  of blooms:

Top left to right: 1-Ixora and Don Juan Climbing rose 2-Rose and hot pink crepe myrtle 3-lavender crepe myrtle and orange/yellow lantana 4-duranta [purple cluster] and yellow and pink lantana 5-my prized hybrid variegated hibiscus and close-up  6-pink crepe myrtle.

One of several wind chimes and a small sparrow sized bird  house

§ Where the Flowers Bloom....

On Wednesday we had a mild cool front move in. High 70s to low 80s. After hitting the century mark in heat already this month, I took advantage of the cloud cover and 'cooler' temps to pull weeds in our yard. Naturally, when taking a break, I took pictures....

My favorite hibiscus...the PINK.  Yellow Hibiscus, Don Juan Red Climbing Rose

Strawberries and Cream Crepe Myrtle, Ixora,  Purple Bougainvillea, 1st blossom of the season of the Epiphylum!

Another favorite of mine...the Duranta!  Love the weeping purple flowers.  [one on the left is entangled among the hybrid variegated hibiscus which isn't blooming yet...but here's an image of the blossom]

Another view of a 2nd Ixora.  Both this one image and the one above in the other series are supposed to be pale yellow blossoms, but here are two confused flowers...with a striking red.  Notice the 1st one has a cream colored stripe in the center of the petal, while this one has two halves in pale yellow.

Y'all know how I love to photograph and see the Texas Wildflowers. While sitting after the noon-day dishes were done, I was curious to find out if poppies would grow in my area. My sister sent me a photo of her red poppies in bloom in her front yard. We texted back and forth about them, and she said she'd send me some seeds this Fall. I didn't know if they'd survive the damp air. It's worth a try. So, I look forward to attempting to see if they'll 'take' from seed. Anyway, my point of this is while I WAS LOOKING online, I found a great site. All about identifying [with photos] wildflowers. Not only Texas [which this site has Texas divided into areas of the big state]...but, EACH state in America!! You may be interested in it, so I thought I'd share the links.

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/

Use the drop down menu found on the site for each individual state [and Canada]