June Bloom Day

"June gloom" has persisted all month thus far in my area of Southern California.  The sun usually appears, at least for a time, in the afternoon and, while the gray morning skies get disheartening after awhile, the marine layer has kept the temperatures down which has prevented sudden plant deaths of the kind I experienced during some of the short but miserable hot, dry spells we had earlier this spring.  The fall and winter months are the safest periods to plant here - spring planting can be dicey and summer planting is almost a self-defeating exercise (which isn't to say that I don't do some of that anyway).

As I tend to focus on close-ups of individual plants for Bloom Day posts, I thought I'd try to offer more in the way of context with the blooms presented in this post.  In addition to trying to determine what will survive here and what won't, I've also been trying to determine what plants fit together well in terms of cultural requirements, color and form.  As with most gardens, mine is a work in progress.

Last month, I announced here that the Agapanthus were coming.  Well, they're omnipresent now.

Agapanthuss and Hemerocallis (no ID) inherited with the property

Agapanthus and Salvia mexicana, backed by a hedge of Xylosma congestum, all inherited with the property.  I added the Osteospermum '3D Silver' last year.

Another clump of Agapanthus, this one backed by Nandina domestica

White Agapanthus with Coleonema (no longer in bloom)

The front garden borders are in full bloom.

Gaura lindheimeri 'Snow Fountain' borders both sides of the front walkway (it's less overwhelming than it looks in this photo)

Prominent in the right border are the Gaura, Hemerocallis 'Spanish Harlem', Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy', an unnamed Pelargonium, and Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink'

Another view of the plants featured above plus fernleaf lavender and white Angelonia

Don't the Pelargonium and the Rudbeckia play nice together?

The left border contains many of the same plants, although it's not identical in all respects

Here are some plant combinations in other areas of the garden:

Agastache 'Acalpulco Rose' with Hemerocallis 'For Pete's Sake' and Limonium perezii in my dry garden

Catananche caerulea (aka Cupid's Dart) and lavender (Lavandula x heterophylla) in the backyard border

Hemerocallis (no ID) and Coreopsis grandiflora surrounding one side of the fountain

Salvia 'Mystic Spires' with Hemerocallis and a snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) on another side of the fountain

Geranium 'Brookside" and Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink' in the backyard border

Short Leucanthemum x superbum with Cuphea aff. aequipetala, annual Gomphrena and Pentas 'Nova' in the back border

Achillea 'Moonshine' with lavender (Lavandula x heterophylla) also in the back border

And here are a few more blooms that are just too pretty for me to ignore:

Arbutus 'Marina' blooming again

Tagetes lemmonii (Copper Canyon Daisy)

Leonotis menthifolia just coming into bloom

Hemerocallis 'Dallas Star' received as a 'gift with order" last year, blooming on my hot, dry slope

Please go to Carol's May Dreams Gardens to see blooms posted by other gardeners.  My thanks to Carol for hosting this monthly event for garden bloggers.