Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - July 2015

Two words for July: heat and snake! It's very hot and I actually saw a snake less than a metre from me. Yikes! 

 

For a few weeks now temperatures have been rising above 35ºC mid-afternoon. It's simply too hot to venture out of the air-conditioned house between ten in the morning and eight in the evening. Sadly, this means I have neglected my garden. And having a snake around hasn't helped matters.

Mr. Ladder Snake, I believe?

It may seem weird that someone who lived in Africa for seventeen years never encountered a snake there, but it is the truth. I remember my mother telling me about the snakes she had seen around the yard but nothing similar ever happened to me, thank goodness! You see - I am a wuss; I'm petrified of snakes. 

There are no really dangerous Portuguese snakes but I go to pieces just at the thought that there was a ladder snake on my compost bin. I got Miguel, the friendly gardener, to come in and demolish the potato vine and jasmine because it was getting too dense and large and I had this vision of an imaginary snake hiding in its expanse and dropping down on me as I walked by. You see how my irrational fear creates worst case scenarios? Well, Miguel laughed as he removed the innocent potato vine, poked at the compost bin and tried to convince me that the snake was long gone. Heck, a kind snake would have left the premises in front of my eyes to make me feel better.

Now, back to the blooms. The oleander is looking superb.

The neighbour's creeper is adding colour and height to my border.

There are some lilies.

And there is always some action around my lavender.

Some roses would be nice - maybe next month. I'm looking forward to a cooler, calmer August. 

Now, I'm off to link up to May Dreams Gardens, where Carol hosts Bloom Day.