Bloom Day - October 2024 (Late Edition)

As temperatures begin to drop and it's finally feeling more like fall here in coastal Southern California, the bulk of the flowers are still those in my cutting garden but I'll start with the ones that can be found in other areas of my garden.

All 4 Arbutus 'Marina' (strawberry trees) are suddenly laden with flowers.  The hummingbirds are going crazy, as is my cat, who's watching them from behind the windows as they careen about.

Two of the 3 of the Australian fuchsias, Correa 'Ivory Bells' and C. 'Wyn's Wonder', have come into flower

The Cupheas - 'Honeybells', 'Starfire', and 'Vermillionare' - are putting on a good show too

I cut back most of the Lantana 4-6 weeks ago and they came roaring back.  Clockwise from the upper left are: Lantana camara 'Irene', noID orange variety, L. 'Little Lucky Lavender', and L. 'Lucky Yellow'.

Although they're not true flowers but rather colorful bracts, Leucadendrons 'Blush' and 'Summer Red' are in fine form

Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum' and P. 'Sky Rocket' got a slow start

The dahlias and zinnias in the cutting garden aren't ready to throw in the towel.  As it's already past time to get my cool season garden started, which requires clearing the raised planters they occupy, I may have to evict them before they're ready to go this year.

Two dahlias have only recently deigned to grace my garden with flowers.  Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera' (left) is just a day or 2 shy of opening its first blooms of the season while D. 'Hometown Hero' (right) produced its first flowers only last week.

Dahlia 'Excentric' didn't really get started until last month but it's peaking this month

All the orange and peach-colored dahlias are continuing to produce flowers.  Clockwise from the upper left are: Dahlias 'Brown Sugar', 'Creme de Cognac', 'Fairway Spur', 'Labyrinth', 'Lady Darlene', and 'Summer's End'.

The other dahlias that keep on flowering include, clockwise from the upper left: Dahlias 'Catching Fire', 'Iceberg', 'La Luna', and 'Mikayla Miranda'.  The only dahlia that seems done for the season so far is 'Break Out'.

The seed-sown zinnias also continue to do well, although the same can't be said of those I planted as plugs to fill in empty spots.  Clockwise from the upper left are: Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Coral', 'Benary's Giant Wine', 'Golden Hour', 'Raspberry Limeade', 'Zinderella Lilac', and 'Zinderella Peach'.

As usual, I came across a few surprises this October.

Certain bulb blooms surprise me whenever they appear.  Clockwise from the upper left are: Amarine belladiva 'Emanuelle', Hymenocallis festalis (aka Peruvian daffodil), and Lycoris sprengeri.

I believe this is the first time Aloe labworana has bloomed

I thought Eriocapitella hupehensis (left, aka Japanese anemones) were fried during last month's severe heatwave but flowers have arrived anyway.  Eustoma grandiflorum 'Light Apricot' (middle, aka lisianthus) flowered after I'd given up on it.  Sollya heterophylla (right, syn Billardiera heterophylla, aka bluebell creeper) has produced purple berries to follow its blue flowers.

Hebe x speciosa 'Grace Kelly' keeps trying to shake loose its variegation but it blooms now and then

I have Protea flowers at last!  Protea neriifolia 'Claire' (left) and P. n. 'Pink Ice' (right) look nearly identical to me

Some salvias are springing back after being pruned.  Salvia canariensis candidissima (left) and Salvia discolor (right) are flowering again.

I also added a couple of flowering plants to the garden within the past month, both of which I planted in barrel containers.

This is Helianthus 'Sunfinity'

I grew Rotheca myricoides (formerly known as Clerodendron ugandense) successfully years ago in Santa Monica.  I tried a small plant here and it failed but I couldn't pass up this larger specimen when I saw it at my local garden center a couple of weeks ago.  It's in a barrel in partial shade with its own drip irrigator, underplanted with violas and Lobelia.  My fingers are crossed. 

Everything else I photographed during the past few days was tucked into color-themed collages, as is my standard practice.

Clockwise from the upper left: Digitalis purpurea, Echinacea purpurea, Polygala myrtifolia, Pelargonium peltatum 'Lavender Blizzard', Felicia aethiopica, Leucophyllum laevigatum, Salvia rosmarinus (aka rosemary), and Tulbaghia violacea

Left to right: Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Fuchsia 'Windchimes White', and Osteospermum 'Violet Ice'

Clockwise from the upper left: Hemerocallis 'Persian Market', Pelargonium hortorum 'Dynamo Hot Pink', Stachys 'Lilac Falls', Pelargonium 'Little Pink Splash', Gazania 'Otomi', P. sidoides, Rudbeckia hirta 'Sahara', and Pentas lanceolata

Clockwise from upper left: Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', G. 'Superb', Salvia 'Skyscaper Orange', and a mix of Gazanias

That's a wrap for my October report for Garden Blogger's Bloom Day.  For more GBBD posts, visit our host, Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: The hero shows up at last

I'm having a good dahlia season, even though two dahlias have been especially tardy about showing up.  'Belle of Barmera' is within days of opening its first blooms; however, 'Hometown Hero' finally made its first appearance last week.  Fortunately, it's made up for lost time by producing a large number of blooms all at once.

'Hometown Hero' was named to honor the firefighters who fought wildfires in Oregon in 2020

Back view: In addition to Zinnias, I reused the stems of Leucadendron 'Blush' I originally cut for my "Flashy Lady" IAVOM post 2 weeks ago, which still look fresh. 

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Dahlia 'Hometown Hero', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Leucadendron salignum 'Blush', Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Coral', and Z. e. 'Golden Hour'

Meanwhile Dahlia 'Catching Fire' has been on fire all season.  I haven't used it often for IAVOM but I've given the flowers away now and then.  As the season gradually draws to its end, I thought it deserved a swan song.

Dahlia 'Catching Fire' was joined on this occasion with a single bloom of Dahlia 'Iceberg', which has been stingy with its flowers this year

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Correa 'Ivory Bells', Dahlia 'Catching Fire', D. 'Iceberg', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Pelargonium peltatum 'Dark Burgundy'

The heat is trailing off at last here.  This week's forecast shows temperatures ranging from the low-to-upper 60sF (17-20C), which in our terms is practically cold!  Of course, that doesn't mean we won't see another heatwave but it's a good sign.  There are even chances of drizzle in the coming days but I'm not counting on that.  The marine layer is expected to be heavy most of the week so we may pick up a hundredth of an inch of precipitation here and there in any case.

For more floral arrangements, check in with our IAVOM host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Windcliff, the final stop of the Puget Sound Fling

As I explained in the introduction to my post on the Brindley garden, it and the Windcliff garden next door were bundled together.  The only downside to that was that my attention was divided as I went back and forth between the two gardens.  I've never been good with spatial relations to start with so it was very frustrating when I tried to to determine which of my jumbled photos were taken where at Windcliff some two-plus months after I took them.  So I consulted the book written by Dan Hinkley about Windcliff, the home and garden he and his partner Robert Jones created in Indianola, Washington.

Luckily, I had a copy of the book on hand.  You can find the book here

This hand-drawn map is part of of the book's frontpiece

I organized my photos by referencing that map in preparing a rundown of my visit to Windcliff.  My photos don't do the garden justice but the book itself is a wonderful read should you wish to explore it further.  There are also posts by other Flingers you can consult.  I've provided links at the bottom of this post.

I'll start with the front drive coming up upon the house.

We walked in off the driveway though a bamboo tunnel

The official canine greeters met us as we approached the house

These totems signified our arrival

The plant with red and yellow flowers at the front of the house is a species of Cautleya, a plant in the ginger family

The look-alike containers are a great focal point at the front of the house, although with apologies to all those who love Pseudopanax ferox, that's one plant I've never warmed up to

I moved on next to an area northeast of the house that encompassed the greenhouse, potager, and nursery.

I just peeked into the greenhouse

The potager included flowers like sweet peas as well as vegetables

What I assume is a morning glory vine growing up a ladder

Just one section of many containing nursery plants

Lots of delicious dark-flowered Agapanthus were growing in pots.  I understand that Hinkley has been actively breeding deciduous varieties that can survive colder temperatures.

Moving to the back of the house brought me to the deck, pond and terrace areas.

Two unique containers created using harvested wood stood next to the house itself

Hinkley lost a large number of plants in this area of the bluffs during a particularly brutal winter this year.  He's solarizing the soil in preparation for replanting.

This area off the deck features sculptures designed by Dustin Gimbel

View of the house with Agapanthus and Salvia in the foreground

Humongous planters made a statement on the terrace

A pond meanders through the area between the terrace and the bluffs

A large Arctostaphylos (manzanita), bordered by a palm and Yucca rostrata, sit at the pond's edge

I'm guessing that this shrub is an Indigofera tinctoria

Carnivorous plants in a bog setting

A handsome set of circular stairs linking the terrace to a more heavily planted area

As I recall, I moved from the stairs toward the bluff.

A firepit (aka The Council Ring) overlooks the bluff with the Salish Sea in the distance

I smiled at seeing this beautiful mass of Lobelia laxiflora.  I have a much smaller clump that a neighbor once insisted I should treat as a noxious week.

These are just a handful of the lovely plants I spotted throughout the area south of the house.  Clockwise from the upper left, I'm guessing they are: Ammi majus, Grevillea 'Canterbury Gold', noID Dyckia, Salvia patens 'Deep Blue', and Nolana reichei. 

I couldn't remember where I saw the plants shown above but they were too attractive to ignore: Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', noID lily, and Roscoea 'Family Jewels'.

This post ends my Puget Sound Fling coverage.  It was a wonderful experience and I'm glad I was able to attend.  For anyone interested in more cogent coverage of Windcliff garden, here are the additional links I promised in my introduction:

Succulents and More (Gerhard Bock) - https://www.succulentsandmore.com/2024/08/windcliff-too.html

Digging (Pam Penick) - https://www.penick.net/digging/?p=95491

Digging (Pam Penick) - https://www.penick.net/digging/?p=95541

Paintbox Garden (Janet Davis) - https://www.thepaintboxgarden.com/the-wonders-of-windcliff/

Hello Garden (Kate David) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z52SspAjXjA

 Best wishes for an enjoyable weekend!

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party