Devil's Trumpet Blasting on Bloom Day

It is Garden Blogger's Bloom Day again! On the 15th of each month, we gardeners with blogs share a few bloom photos from our gardens.

Here in the Mid-Atlantic USA (USDA zone 7) on the DC-MD border, the past month has been another HOT ONE -- the big difference from last month to now is that we have RAIN and lots of it and cooler temps coming with it. Hurray!

For this month's Bloom Day. I thought I'd share a pic of a Datura Hybrid  'Double Purple' aka Devil's Trumpet, aka Horn of Plenty aka Downy Thorn Apple aka Angel's Trumpet aka Brugmansia. Those late two names really apply to a totally different plant, but they have been used so interchangeably that much confusion still ensues. 

To easily tell the difference between Datura (Devil's Trumpet) and Brugmansia (Angel's Trumpet), think of which way they would be pointed when played. The devil from below points his trumpet facing up and the angel from heaven points hers facing down.

My photo here is looking straight down into the trumpet as it is just starting to unfurl. That is my favorite stage of these flowers. They are so amazingly beautiful -- like a dancer swirling and unswirling her skirts.

This datura is a tropical plant and will only last until a frost. One could try to winter it over indoors, but I will not as it is poisonous and I have cats that like to nibble on growing things. I bought this one from Thanksgiving Farms in Adamstown, MD, on a whim and plan to just enjoy it for the season.

In the rest of the garden today, I have blooming: Sunflowers, Abelia, Lycoris, Goldenrod, Celosia, Tall Phlox, Japanese Anemone, Butterfly Bush, Tall Verbena, Petunias, Agapanthus, Hydrangea, Black-eyed Susan, Zinnias, Cosmos, Daylilies, Fuchsia, Bacopa, Impatiens, etc.

Be sure to follow @WDCgardener on Instagram for daily pics of what is blooming in the garden and area gardens that I visit.

So what is blooming today in YOUR garden?