Despite my neglect so far this year, my yard is in bloom. This hibiscus is in a pot, rarely gets watered, and still produces these lovely blooms. It's got a few ants on it now, but hopefully some cayenne will chase them away.
The day lilies, of course, bloom no matter what. In the past year, my Jungle Princess daylilies have endured a hurricane, record snow, and ice, yet the foliage remained green all year and they bloomed again right on schedule. What more could I ask of such a wonderful plant?
I was pleasantly surprised by my blanket flower. Sure, I'd heard that it would come back year after year, but mine was in the height of the Gustav winds and had zero protection from the snow. When little shoots started emerging from the ground, I was so hopeful that it was my blanket flower and not another weed, and YES! I was so happy to see the flowers in bloom. And some have even taken up residence in a nearby pot, but they will be planted in the ground shortly.
I was equally happy to have my dinner plate hibiscus come back after the year its had. I planted it last summer, and yes, the flowers are as big as plates ... maybe not dinner plates, but at least as big as a large saucer. There are no blooms yet from this year, but hopefully some will show their pretty faces soon.
