July Bloom Day: A Transition Period

Mid-July represents a transition period in my garden.  The flowers that arrived with a bang in May and June are beginning to wane as the temperatures soar.   While those temperatures have reached the mid-90s on some days, we've yet to have the sustained periods of miserably high temperatures that typically characterize summer in this area of Southern California but I'm fairly certain we're headed in that direction.

The Agapanthus blooms that have dominated both my front and back gardens since their arrival in May (which I wrote about here), generally look shabby now.  I can still find fresh blooms here and there, like this one:

But the vast majority look like this:

I'm going to have to dedicate a few hours this week to cutting back the fading flower stalks.  Last week I finally got around to cutting back the Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticosa) and I've been cutting back daylily (Hemerocallis) spikes for weeks as each variety, in turn, ended its spring run.

The Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum x superbum) are still going strong with regular deadheading; however, the taller varieties, have begun to flop over, as they're inclined to do.

July marked the flowering of the mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin).  As mentioned in an earlier post, this is a mixed blessing.  The tree is currently covered in blooms.

One branch laden with fuzzy pink blooms

View of the backyard tree peaking over the roof, photographed from the front yard

But, in addition to all the flowers on the tree, there is a huge quantity of litter on the ground, on the patio, on the patio furniture, in the nearby fountain, and covering every plant in the general vicinity.

Lawn below the mimosa tree less than a day after a major clean-up

On a more positive note, the plants just beginning their summer bloom cycle include the following:

Abelia x grandiflora (no ID on variety)

Achillea millefolium

Angelonia 'Angelmist Dark Pink'

Aster novae-angliae 'Skyscraper'

Convolvulus  sabatius

Coreopsis 'Big Bang Redshift'

Coreopsis 'Tahitian Sunset'

Echinacea hybrid 'Sombrero Hot Coral'

Tanacetum parthenium (with dried mimosa bloom)

Geranium 'Rozanne'

Asiatic lily (no ID), received as a gift with an early spring bulb purchase, surrounded by Cuphea 'Starfire Pink'

Leonotis leonurus, performing well for the 1st time this year after a hard pruning last year

Lisianthus 'Echo Pink'

Pentas lanceolata 'Kaleidoscope Appleblossom', a recent purchase

Russelia equisetiformis 'Flamingo Park'

Tibouchina urvilleana

Trachelium caeruleum 'Devotion Purple'

In addition to these recent bloomers, some of the spring/summer stalwarts of my garden are still going strong.

2 new bloom spikes on this Acanthus mollis - maybe it prefers its full sun exposure to the shady condition it grew in before removal of a nearby tree

Achillea 'Moonshine' and Geranium 'Brookside', both returning after a late spring trim

Echinacea 'Pow Wow White'

Gaillardia x grandiflora 'Arizona Sun'

Gaura lindheimeri 'Snow Fountain', Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy', and Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink'

Geranium 'Tiny Monster'

Gomphrena 'Las Vegas Mix' with a Nemesia returning for a 2nd year (and a couple of dried-up mimosa blooms)

Osteospermum '3D Silver' still going (decorated with more mimosa blossoms)

Pansies in July in Southern California!

I'm joining the gardeners who link up on the 15th of each month to share what's blooming in their gardens.  This monthly event is hosted by Carol of May Dreams Gardens.  You can connect to other bloom posts by going to her site.  Thanks for visiting mine!