Wholly Anole

Because it is past the halfway mark for August...

Because others have already blogged about the few things that are in bloom for us this time of year...

And because I didn't even have to go back for a few weeks to cull out the best shots...

I only had to go outside with my camera and pay attention this morning.

This guy was out sipping up what remains of water droplets from last night's watering.

Anoles are everywhere these days and nobody could ask for a more appealing companion in the garden.

This last anole almost completely escaped my attention.  Well camouflaged and all snugged up tight against the pole to the left of the butterfly, he seems to be waiting for a little privacy to make his move.

Or maybe it is just too hot to do anything more than look.   Here's to the winding down of August and to the easing off of Summer's worst heat.  Home stretch, people!

Hot but not especially bothered

It took longer than expected this summer, but the temperatures have most definitely eased up into "hot enough for you?" range.  Faced with daily highs in the upper nineties and the occasional foray into triple digits, even established plants begin to look tired, especially those planted in full sun.  It is too late to prune, too early to plant and too hot to weed.  As a result, there's not a lot to post about this time of year.

Nothing much bothers with setting flowers in August under ordinary circumstances, and after our colder than usual winter, a lot of my usual late summer bloomers (most of them non-natives) are running several weeks late. The vast majority of my native plants have bloomed and set seed and are now content to coast and reserve their energies for cooler days to come.  The view outside is set for the season and at the risk of sounding like a piker, things in the garden just now are fairly boring.  That is what makes these exceptions so notable.

Garlic chives have taken advantage of their propagation dominance and are overrunning their bounds.  But.  They bloom in the heat of August, and though the cut stalks smell (and taste) like garlic?  The flowers at least look sweet, a bit like miniature lilies.

Another bed bully that at least partially redeems itself this time of year is mint.  I harvest a bit of it to use for tea, salads, and sauces, but mostly I appreciate how it holds up in the heat, blooming when little else will.  Bees seem to enjoy the tripartite spears and I can only imagine what a lovely top note that might give the resulting honey.  The white blooms in combination with the bluish green of the leaves and stems are as refreshing to the eyes as they are to the palate.

Then there are the annuals, typically much more well mannered. Specifically, the basils.  I cook with them some, but I plant a smattering of these in the garden each year just as much for their contrasting foliage, late summer blooms, and seeds.  Finches love basil and I enjoy watching the tiny birds hanging on to nodding stems as they work to harvest seed.  This year I planted purple,

Thai basil,

and the usual sweet green Basil.

I didn't spot the crab spider hiding behind the white blooms until after I enlarged the photo for editing. These little guys have fewer potential lairs this time of year so I'm happy he found a good spot. Did you know basil blossoms are as delicious as the leaves?  They are not only beautiful looking but quite tasty sprinkled into salads or arrayed atop sliced tomatoes for a more floral version of a Caprese salad.  Just be sure to shake the spiders out, first.

Last but certainly not least is a native workhorse, Prairie verbena (Glandularia bipinnatifida) which is apparently a distant relative to teak trees.  These purple blooms are central Texas garden standbys, persistently offering a bright splash of color to their surroundings from March through at least October, and occasionally blooming through until our first frost.  It is my tendency to take these little troopers a bit for granted because they are so reliable.  In mid to late August however they prove they are stars in their own right, as they shake off heat and drought in a beautiful way, inviting late Summer skippers into the garden.  Here, a verbena offering what I'm pretty sure is a Erynnis funeralis a midafternoon meal.

I haven't always done a great job of planning for year 'round beauty in my garden beds, but late August, even with its blaring afternoon heat and searing breezes, still holds plenty of rewards for any soul brave (or crazy) enough to venture out.  That suits me just fine. I grew up here and enjoy mad dogging it outside in the summertime no matter how toasty it gets.  Now, if I could only get a handle on my January and February views!

August angst...

I complain as bitterly as any about our heat and humidity and how I long for the ease of cooler days.  But in actual fact, August as it passes is bittersweet for me, signaling as it does the beginning of the end of summertime.

For the most part I am in complete agreement with Henry James who said...

Summer afternoon-summer afternoon:to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language."