Monday, September 15, 2014

Bloom Day - September 2014

Today is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, a monthly event hosted by Carol of May Dreams Gardens to celebrate the flower power of our gardens.  Last September, I complained that finding flowers for my Bloom Day post resembled a scavenger hunt.  It's much the same this September, although some flowers present at this time last year, like the Japanese anemones, Camellias and Salvia leucantha, have yet to make an appearance while other plants, like Echinacea and Leucanthemum, have stopped blooming.  After a brief but unexpected rainstorm a week ago, our temperatures soared over 100F (37C) and the hot Santa Ana winds have returned, sparking a fire in nearby Orange County.  Given the combination of heat, dry winds, and reduced irrigation in response to our drought, perhaps it isn't surprising that most of the flowering plants in my garden are showing few, if any, blooms.

The most significant exceptions are 2 blue beauties.

Despite the heat, the second round of blooms on the Eustoma grandiflorum 'Borealis Blue' is more robust than the first

Next year, I'm planting more of these in a broader range of colors!

With periodic deadheading, Salvia 'Mystic Spires' keeps on pumping out new flower spikes


There are a few other blue and purple flowering plants to be found, tucked into corners here and there but none have the presence of the Eustoma (aka Lisianthus) or Salvia.

Angelonia  augustifolia

Brachyscome 'Brasco Violet' has bloomed almost continuously since March

I almost missed the blooms of the Liriope muscari 

The flowers on Salvia macrophylla aren't profuse but you can't miss that bright blue color

The intense heat has scorched the leaves of Tibouchina urvilleana but not the blooms



Yellow flowers demand notice, even when there are few to be found.

This Anigozanthos 'Big Roo Yellow' is new to the garden

Succulent Bulbine frutescens have bloomed non-stop all summer

Coreopsis 'Big Bang Redshift' is on its second run

I showed this Phalaenopsis orchid last month but it deserves another mention - it keeps producing new blooms while sitting outside with only partial shade and haphazard watering

Rudbeckia 'Prairie Sun' is trying to upstage Grevillea 'Superb'

But the Grevillea can't be side-lined by anything



There are some pink, red, white and cream-colored flowers too, if you look hard enough.

Gaura lindheimeri 'Snow Fountain' has come back after an infestation of aphids and mid-summer pruning, providing a nice complement to recently planted Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy' in the background

Hibiscus trionum started blooming in earnest following the little bit of rain we got a week ago

Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' is entering its peak bloom period

Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum' is in its glory



There were even a couple of surprises as I searched high and low for flowers.

This unidentified Cyclamen, plunked in the side yard when I changed out the contents of a pot in late June, not only survived in the dry shade but has flowered ahead of schedule

The Digiplexis I hadn't cut back yet is blooming again



I also found signs of coming attractions.

Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Warrior' is getting ready to bloom

And the first few flowers have appeared on Tagetes lemmonii



Before I close, as it's Monday and I usually post photos of a bouquet in connection with the "In the Vase on Monday" meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, I'm appending photos of a bouquet I created from flowers collected from my garden as I conducted by Bloom Day survey.  Cathy's vase post can be found here.

A 'Buttercream' rose, slightly past its prime, is surrounded by Angelonia, Abelia, Bulbine, Rudbeckia, feverfew, ornamental oregano and sprigs of thyme

A closer look at Rudbeckia 'Prairie Sun' and Bulbine frutescens 'Hallmark'
  


That's it for September's floral round-up.  Hopefully, temperatures will cool and my garden will rebound in October.  In the meantime, please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens, the host of the monthly Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day event, to see what's in bloom elsewhere around the world.


All material © 2012-2014 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

29 comments:

  1. Cyclamen blooming???? How screwy!!! I love this bouquet better than most because of its "wildness". Four more days to go of weather highs over 95, then maybe showers from Hurricane Odile which would be as welcome as Norbert's visit was.

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    1. The cyclamen came as a complete surprise, Jane. I couldn't bring myself to toss it in the compost heap when I changed out the contents of the pot it had been in but I thought its prospects for survival in my garden bed were low. Now, I'm wondering if I should get more this fall.

      The weather here is getting tedious, isn't it? Last week, I ventured into the garden to work for an hour or two in late afternoon/early evening but I haven't been able to bring myself to do that for the last few days. I hope that rain materializes!

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  2. Happy GBBD, Kris! Well, your intense search managed to turn up quite a few pretty flowers. I also hope you have a mild October, and that you get some rain over the winter.

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    1. Some tropical storms are blowing into the western deserts but, other than the light rain we got a week ago, it has eluded us thus far. However, as Jane mentioned above, the next hurricane may drop a little rain toward the end of the week. Hope springs eternal.

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  3. Hi Kris, I love your cottage garden style bouquet today - a lovely combination of flowers and herbs. I also have to admire your stunning pennisetum ... I've just acquired the same plant for my garden but will be over-wintering it in my little greenhouse, otherwise it may not survive the harshness of a Scottish winter.

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    1. I hope you enjoy the Pennisetum, Elizabeth. It's such a tough plant here - its vulnerability to cold almost comes as a surprise, but then I suspect I'd have a hard time standing up to a Scottish winter too!

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  4. Sorry to hear your hot torrid weather returned after your rain. You still have a lot of blooms considering the drought conditions. Do you have to irrigate the Salvias a lot? I find they need more water than I imagine although some, once really well established seem to cope better.

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    1. There are SO many holes in my garden now, Christina - the increased heat and winds have pushed many already water-starved plants over the edge. The Salvias are quite variable in terms of their water needs. Salvia 'Mesa Azure' and S. leucantha are the most reliably drought tolerant varieties I have. I'd say S. 'Mystic Spires' requires a moderate amount of water. I've had a surprisingly difficult time getting S. greggii established.

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  5. A scavenger hunt? But you have so many beautiful things in bloom. Those Eustomas never seen out of flower and what I' d give for a Grevillea like that or a Leptospermum with its scrunched tissue paper flowers.
    Pretty flower arrangement too.

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    1. Perhaps it seems that way as I photographed just about everything with even a single flower, Chloris. The only masses of flowers I have were those pockets created by the Eustoma and Salvia 'Mystic Spires.' I planted 2 varieties of the Eustoma, which seem to flower off-cycle with one another, creating the impression of continuous bloom, but I have to say that I'm very impressed overall with the performance of that genus in my garden, even if it's best treated as an annual. So far, plants with Australian parentage like the Grevillea and Leptospermum seem to be good choices here too, although I did lose my first Leucadendron last week.

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  6. You know I love your grevilleas and anigozanthos - favs I wish I could grow in the ground. I am surprised we both have lliriope growing (and blooming), I forgot to photograph mine. That poor plant gets no respect!

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    1. Liriope is a plant that's hard to get excited about but it's a trooper. The one I photographed is L. muscari but I've put in a lot of L. spicata as well, which can become invasive - I hope I don't regret that choice downstream.

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  7. Fabulous two in one post :) great selection of blooms as usual and that Eustoma, wow!

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    1. I'm tempted to buy more Eustoma every time I see it in the garden centers now but the plants that have held up the best are those I planted in May. I tried adding more in late June but they just got the vigor of that 'Borealis Blue' variety. Next year, I'm getting loads of them as soon as they arrive in the garden centers!

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  8. Kris I really love all the blooms in your garden. Lots of favorites of mine that I plant as annuals in containers...and the vase is lovely...a wonderful collection of blooms from your garden especially the rose...seems many roses are making it into vases this week.

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    1. Thanks Donna. Roses are actually very hard to come by in my garden this year - for whatever reason (most likely my water rationing), they've performed poorly throughout my garden. I have 3 'Buttercream' rose bushes but they've probably produced only half a dozen roses thus far this year. Even my 'Pink Meidiland' shrub roses are off-kilter.

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  9. Oh I enjoyed your September blooms Kris - I don't know how you or they survive such scorching temperatures! A most attractive vase as always.

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    1. The reduced irrigation is even a bigger problem here than the heat, Anna. There have been all too many plant losses this summer. I may become a pauper buying plants to fill all the holes once the temperatures come down and, hopefully, we get some rain...

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  10. Lovely collection of flowers in your vase and all around the garden Kris. I am a big fan of Angelonia and missed getting any for my garden this year, so am happy to see it in yours today. susie

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    1. Thanks Susie! Although plant tags and my garden guides say the Angelonia want full sun, those I planted in partial shade have done much better than those in full sun this year. I have to remember that next year!

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  11. I love the colors on your Digiplexis, and your bouquet. Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' reminds me of a cross between a flowering quince and a rose.

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    1. Digiplexis is a wonderful plant, even if it can now be found everywhere you look - I look forward to the introduction of new varieties. The flowers on the Leptospermum are small but gorgeous.

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  12. It is hard to believe you have so many pretty blooms after the hot dry weather you have had. My favorite is Zulu Warrior, for its name! Your garden is well-tended and loved, and it shows.

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  13. I haven't planted Eustoma since I moved from San Diego in 1986. What a great cut flower; I like the singles too. Isn't that Digiplexis crazy ? Mine has never stopped blooming, and I have never seen such clean foliage on a plant in Sept....It's a keeper.

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  14. Love the pretty vase this week! It's so interesting to see what grows in your garden, and then see a familiar flower like the rudbeckia among all the exotic blooms that don't grow here!

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  15. It amazes me that any plants survive at all in your conditions. I love the Hibiscus.

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  16. No much blooming!!!! We have had a dry summer but nothing like yours although I do realise that perhaps watering my borders occasionally would have helped..... Your eustoma looks as wonderful in situ as it does in a vase - such a star! I love the selection you have used in your vase today which individually might not look as if they would particularly complement each other but somehow do - you must have a good eye for the potential :) Thanks for sharing

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  17. You've got a lot blooming in your garden despite the drought! Eustoma grandiflorum is beautiful. I've only seen it as a cut flower from florists but after seeing yours, I want to try growing it myself. Your grevillea is gorgeous as is your lovely and airy arrangement.

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  18. Glad your garden survived the heat wave. Pasadena was scorching! Everything looks lovely. Especially the Eustoma grandiflorum. By the way, I love that cute little fox behind the salvia.

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