My excuse this month is legit. This past week has been ridiculously busy as I've had to organise a heap of stuff just so that I can enjoy 3 weeks of holidays. One has to wonder whether holidays are really worth the effort!

Anyway, that week has finished and I'm now sitting here relaxing and about to hit the garden this arvo. But first things first. I had promised both Ewa and Carol, the instigator of Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, that I would post pics from my garden for this month's meme.

The pics had to be delayed by a few hours due to rain but as you will see this has had a wonderful effect on the blooms. So without any further adoo, here they are (click on the image to see it enlarged);

Lady Bug on Dusty Miller

One of my favourite annuals (which we grow as a perennial) is Dusty Miller, Senecio cineraria. It's awesome silver-grey foliage throughout the winter followed by the burst of yellow flowers in spring pales in significance, IMHO, with the drying brown flowers in summer through autumn. To top it off, I managed to snap this image with a ladybird foraging on some of the blooms.

Penstemon "Husker's Red"

12 years ago this plant won the US Perennial Plant of the Year and it's easy to see why. As most penstemons go this one seems more complex and intricate and certainly worthy of a spot in the garden. This is the first year it has flowered and has exceeded my expectations.

Arctotis "Red Magic"

I showed this plant last month but couldn't go past this flower which doubled as a water catcher. It goes to show the strength that these blooms have in their stems to hold these big bloomin' heads plus the added rainfall.

Juncis kraussii "Sea Rush"

One of my favourite grasses is this delicious sea rush. More suited to sandy soils than well manured garden beds it is starting to do well in our dry creek bed.

Anigozanthos sp. "Kangaroo Paws"

Lovin' the Kangaroo Paws that are growing so well in my garden at the moment. Our neighbour handed me another hybrid a few days ago which will eventually find its way into the garden somewhere...still looking for space.

Lavandula sp.

The one on the left is Lavandula x. intermedia "Sumion" and the one on the right is Lavandula stoechas "Dark Plum". I'm a big fan of lavender but with a smaller garden we needed some compact species and these two have seemingly filled the void quite well. They are both flowering now and the scent, while not as strong as augustifolia is still apparent.

The rest of the blooms have been uploaded to my Flickr account so you can see them there.