Hello neighbor! I agree - the rain was really getting old. But I think we are now going to have a sunny week. (My husband is wanting to get out and mow too! 😄)

@@ButterfliesNBirds 😂

Mine has grown a lot, but just isn't flowering. It put on a show in the spring, and I suspect it will also bloom very well sometime after August, depending on temperatures. Last year I had gardeners comment that their Mexican Flame Vine flowered all summer long. Now I am wondering if they weren't in maybe a more temperate climate? I appreciate the spring and fall blooms, but this might prompt me to move mine in the yard next year.

I am with you on the Mexican vine flame. Mine flowered in the spring and I go out everyday to see signs of flowering but haven’t yet seen one. So keeping my fingers crossed😊

Hi Renae! I agree - the passion vine is showing off right now! 😄 Your passion vine will start blooming again when temps get a little lower. After the heat passes, fertilize them a little and they will not disappoint you. My son lives in the Dallas area, and he has some Turk's cap in his backyard and it looks so good right now.

I am right there with you - I really like Tithonia in my pollinator garden. You bring up a valid point about the migrating monarch butterflies. I think you are okay with nectar plants (which Tithonia is a fantastic nectar plant) because they don't discourage the monarchs from migrating. Zinnias are also flowers monarchs love, and I believe they are still doing well in the more northern states at this time of year. The issue is the milkweed since it is their host plant supporting the eggs and caterpillars. Native milkweed in each state has a time that it starts to die back. Since the monarchs lay their eggs on this plant, they take their cues from nature.

Good idea - thank you! 😊👍

We live south of Pearland. I'm sorry you lost a lot of oak trees. Our neighborhood had a lot of tree damage too. 😢

That is SO EXCITING about your hummingbird sighting on your blue Porterweed!!! 😄 It sounds like the plants in your garden are doing well given the circumstances of the hurricane. (I lost my Tithonia too, although I have some seedlings coming up. We'll see if they do anything.)

I just love mine this year too! Last year in our 100+ degree temperatures and drought my cardinal climber struggled. But this year they are looking fantastic. We plant quite a few seeds each year so we get large vines that are thick. I haven't grown them in a container yet, but have thought about it. 😊

Hi Renae! Hmmm - I haven't run into what you describe. I don't really fertilize them, but I do use new potting soil when I plant them (with compost in it). I will probably fertilize them at the beginning of Sept. though. I do know Porterweed want water and don't do the best in very high temperatures. My Porterweed quit blooming last year when we had temps over 100 and were in that awful drought. I always watered them well, but they didn't start blooming again until the beginning of Sept. when the temperatures were not scorching. This year they have been blooming up a storm, but we haven't had really high temperatures yet either.

@@ButterfliesNBirds Hi Crystal. Hmm, you may be right. It could probably be the heat. We’ve been really hot here in North Texas, and we are expected to have 100 degree temps, later in the week. I may move it to the covered pot and see what happens.

Last year our summer was particularly brutal for us. This summer so far has not been oppressive. (We could have done without the hurricane though, but that happens in SE Texas. 😁)

We propped up our salvia madrensis and tied it to a "criss-cross" of bamboo stakes. They seem to be doing well now that they are up off the ground. I was afraid I lost them in the hurricane, but thank goodness the stems didn't snap off. We gardeners have such a time with all the "stuff" that can be thrown at us. I hope you are doing well and your garden is recovering not only from the hurricane, but from all the workers that were in your yard repairing the electrical poles/lines! 😲

You are so sweet! I went back and looked at this video because I took it before the hurricane. I liked looking at "what the garden should look like", and not "post hurricane"! lol. 😂

You know, I think you are right - it was a sign. No one wants bad weather, but we just have to roll with it. And now we have had all this rain ... boy is this different from last summer!

I don't think you will be disappointed! I really love mine for all that it brings into the yard. 😊

Great advice! 😊 I also give myself grace to not try to get everything done all at once. It can be overwhelming. (Plus, I cannot do everything all at once anymore. 😂)

I would guess 6 - 8 hours (the pink penta). It does get some late afternoon shade. I have had 10 (yes, that is the number!) butterfly bushes. They just hate all the water we get. So I had the brilliant idea of potting them up (I potted 4 and still have 3). They just don't like our clay soil and the amount of rain we usually get. 🙁

@@ButterfliesNBirdsit’s amazing how this summer has been so different than last. From drought to near swampy!

I know ... right?! 😲

Do you still do this in the middle of a hot summer? It is great advice and I have thought about doing this, but hesitate because it is in the middle of summer where we are hot and humid.

I do it on plants like salvias, pentas, the aforementioned African Basil and catmint. Here in central Florida, we are also hot and humid with fairly frequent rain storms. One of the basils I trimmed 4 days ago is already forming new flower spikes. I am a little hesitant to do this pruning on things that don't branch as much, like my Scarlet Hibiscus. And my Blanketflowers don't like this kind of hard trimming in summer. If you haven't acquired African Blue Basil yet, see if you can find some (I have yet to find it in a big box store). This plant doesn't just attract pollinators, it drowns in them.

That makes sense - thank you for your reply! I do need to get some African Blue Basil, as others have also recommended it including you. It just was never on my radar, but now is! 😊

I love that outlook! 🥰

How sweet you are! 🥰

Thanks for the suggestions ... they are good ones. Yes, I like to use organic if possible, but do use synthetics if needed. I have just put down compost and will boost with some fertilizers. The plants have been through a lot.

Firebush are just one of the most fantastic plants for the areas near the Gulf of Mexico. They don't have the most beautiful flowers, but because of all that they provide I have come to love them more and more. I covered our firebush with frost cloth and they still died to the ground during our freeze. We have only frozen for 2-3 days a year for the last 3 years or so, but it is always enough to kill them above ground. The frost cloth didn't prevent the above ground die off. I would suggest bringing them into your garage if you don't want them to start all over from the roots. Interesting thing with the firebush, even through they die above the ground during a freeze, they really create wonderful root structures which allow them to come back larger each year.

@@ButterfliesNBirds thanks for your advice. I like the orange to yellow orange color so much. I have a lot of red, orange & some yellow as my favorite colors. Your right about only a couple of days of below freezing is all we get too and makes it tough to have plants that 363 days of year would be fine. So I’m going to keep them in planters & can move inside for those occasions. By the way I now have 2 ice cream variety style banana plants in bloom with a nice bunch of bananas forming. I’m so pleased I could make that happen. It involved some special overwintering frost protection

Congrats on your bananas!!! I think I have mentioned to you that I am "too chicken" to try to grow them! lol. 😂

@@ButterfliesNBirds they are really easy and winter protection where you live is simple if you want to know more plus they do well in pots.

Good to know if I ever decide to dip my toe in and try growing them! 😊

Love your brand new baby 🦋 it is GORGEOUS 😍

Hello neighbor! I just cannot say enough about Firebush for our area. It just is a wonderful garden workhorse. The Pride of Barbados is really a pretty flower ... and the pollinators love it too. I wish mine would bloom a little longer, but I will take what it gives me! When I take my puppy on walks there is a gardener in my neighborhood who has a hedge of Pride of Barbados and it is absolutely stunning. 😍 Thanks for your encouragement! This hurricane was hard on all of us for sure. 🥰

Hi Renae! The Cardinal Climber are wonderful vines for us that grow from seed. It flowers profusely starting towards the end of August through October. It is right in time for the fall hummingbird migration! And yes, the hummingbirds survived the hurricane! Yay! I don't have as many flowers as before, but my regular hummingbird still comes each day to visit all that I have. We also have enough small flying bugs for her too! lol!

@@ButterfliesNBirds that’s wonderful Crystal! I’ve been seeing a couple of hummingbirds, but not like they were last year. I’m happy that at least I get to enjoy them still.

Are you by any chance seeing more hummingbirds? I am starting to see more, so I wonder if the early migrators have started?

@@ButterfliesNBirds Hi Crystal. It’s been up to four visiting now! So I’m up 3 😂 I’m ready for however many may come. How many are visiting you?

Still only about three ... but I have only had the one female this summer, so watching them doing their "aerial acrobatics" in the yard is really fun! 😀

Thank you! Yes, we love to grow it each year particularly for the hummingbirds. But butterflies also visit the flowers, so that is "win-win"! 😊

You are so sweet! I am so glad that your garden is also pulling through! Thank you for thinking of the pollinators in your gardens! 🥰 Hurricanes are awful and do so much damage, but life motors on. It might need help now and again, but it is pretty resilient.

Thank you! 🥰 Having a pollinator garden just doesn't get old for us. There is always something new to look at and experience. My husband and I have been astounded by all the native bees that started coming to our yard when we put plants in for them. It has been a process though. The first year was a big learning curve. Then we started to get "the hang" of things. I am so glad that you are enjoying your pollinator garden too. It really makes a difference when gardeners plant for nature. 👍😊

You are so sweet! 🥰 As a gardener yourself, you know how much we put into our gardens. A couple years ago we had dime sized hail and I watched it just pummel my plants ... I couldn't believe it ... because we never get hail. So, we just have to roll up our sleeves and get to work. As I get older it takes me longer, but thank goodness plants are resilient!

You're right, we just have to roll up our sleeves and get to work. Good luck Chrystal 😊​@@ButterfliesNBirds

🥰

I bet they are beautiful in your yard! 😍

We have St. Augustine grass and it doesn't grow from being smothered. But, if you put down cardboard that should help smother the grass. Then put the soil, compost, etc. on top of the cardboard.

When I watched your video of the linemen coming through your garden I just cringed ... I can only imagine what you were thinking!!! You and your neighbors need the power ... but parts of your garden got trampled. 😭 It was really hard to be out of town and see how much Beryl impacted the Houston area. When we left the hurricane was going into Mexico south of Brownsville. It just goes to show how unpredictable they are. Yes, we had lots of Pipevine and Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillars. It is amazing how life finds a way and they survived the hurricane. 😊

I know I should dig mine up too and overwinter them, maybe this year will be the year! 😄

I believe they can. They won't get as big, but that isn't necessarily such a bad thing.

No, Texas lantana is a native plant. This Bloomify series is a sterile hybrid variety that has a mounding habit. I just love it!

We aren't too far from each other! My favorite nursery is Enchanted Gardens in Richmond (which is SW of Houston). I do purchase plants from other nurseries too ... but that one is my favorite one. 😊

If you are dealing with ants, purchase an "ant moat for hummingbird feeders" and they won't be able to get to the nectar. (You can search on Amazon). The hummingbird feeders I use have ant moats built in, but if you already have hummingbird feeders, buying just the ant moat will work too.

This is a female hummingbird that I feel we have had year-round for 2 years now. She is pretty comfortable in the yard with me. Other hummingbirds that come through are more hesitant around me. Although I feel we get some of the same ones that migrate because they look in areas of my yard where I had flowers for them the year before. It is fun to have "regulars"! 😄

This was taken before the hurricane. Janey asked for videos in June. It was fun to look at what my gardens looked like before the hurricane. (Sorry I wasn't clear on that!)

Your comment made my day - thank you so much! 😊 While I do love flowers that are beautiful and stand out, I guess I like the life in my yard more. I get asked now and then down here why I don't grow roses. Although I LOVE roses, they don't attract any life. So, I try to pick other plants that are beautiful, grow well in our heat and humidity, but also attract pollinators. The more life I attract, the more interesting my yard is to my husband and I. My neighbors benefit too because they notice visits to their yard. I will hear, "where are all these butterflies coming from? I just love it!". Janey included the video I submitted to her in November 2023 when she first did this series. My garden wasn't in great shape last November, but it was fun to do. Even if gardeners only plant a few plants for pollinators, it really does make a difference! Thanks so much for your comment!!!🥰

It was fun to see what my garden looked like before the hurricane! 😄 I submitted a video to Janey last November when she first did this series. My gardens weren't in the best shape in November, but it was fun to do. She included my video then. I hesitated to do one again this summer because I assumed she would choose others she hadn't featured last year, but thought, why not? If she doesn't have room I will just publish it on my dinky channel. 😂

@@ButterfliesNBirds you are not dinky! You have a beautiful garden and lots of info to share

@@ButterfliesNBirds, you’re not dinky! My channel is what you call dinky.🤗 I’m in Mississippi and can relate to hot and humid.🥵 I too submitted a video to DPWR and didn’t make the cut, so I published it to my channel.👍 You’re full of fun information in which I can relate. Keep up your good work!💚

You're sweet! 😊

That is awesome ... I'll watch your video! 😊

Thank you! 🥰 I watch Janey's channel too and I really like when she does these videos featuring the different growing zones. The gardens are so fun to see. 😍 And although she is in the same growing zone as I am (9b) she is dry and we are wet and humid. So, many of the plants she plants don't do well for me. I really like her channel and I watch a few other channels to get inspiration or find new plants. Happy gardening! 😊

That is so sweet of you! 😊🥰 We have been getting all the tree debris cleaned up and getting that to the curb for removal. I have been starting to work on the garden. I like your outlook - it will be a new phase of the garden! Most plants are resilient and should bounce back.

Thanks for the "heads up"! 😊👍