Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Bloom Day - October 2014

The monthly floral celebration that is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, hosted by Carol of May Dreams Gardens, has sneaked up on me yet again.  With most of my available time absorbed in preparing the former lawn area in the front yard for planting, I've given very little attention to tidying up my garden, which makes picture-taking more difficult.  In addition, almost one month into the fall season, I'd normally have refreshed my garden beds but there's been no time for much of that either.

I took a look at last year's October Bloom Day post and, while some of the same plants are blooming for me on schedule this year, others are no-shows.  In some cases, as with my Coreopsis, Eustoma, and Osteospermum, my plants have already exhausted themselves (although I think the Eustoma is gearing up for a return visit).  Other plants, like my Acanthus mollis 'Summer Beauty' and Argyrantemum, haven't made an appearance since spring, which I attribute to the reduced irrigation associated with our drought.  Still others, like Centranthus ruber and Agapanthus appear disinclined to make the unseasonably early appearances they made last year.

With those disclaimers, here are the plants currently blooming in my garden, listed alphabetically by genus.

Ageratum houstonianium 'Blue Horizon' has perked up since the weather began to cool

Anigozanthos 'Bush Gem Yellow' is still blooming

I recently discovered that this Bougainvillea, on the back side of the hedge I thought represented our property line, is officially on our property

Camellia sasanqua has produced just a few tentative blooms thus far

Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink' and Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold' have been in bloom most of the year

Duranta erecta, in a pot, has responded to haphazard watering by blooming more this year

Flowers produced by an Echeveria (no record of variety)

Gazania 'New Day Yellow' blooming at the feet of Mexican feather grass

One of my most recent acquisitions, red and orange Gomphrena haageana

Grevillea 'Superb,' seated in front of Nandina domestica, is suddenly producing abundant blooms

Hebe 'Wiri Blush,' sitting in front of Phormium 'Dark Delight,' has produced a new flush of flowers

I'd planned to move this Hemerocallis 'Spanish Harlem' but it won't stop blooming - it's on it's 3rd cycle this year

An unidentified Hoya I've had forever is blooming again despite repeated aphid infestattions

Lavandula multifida (aka fernleaf lavender) is hard to photograph but so are skipper butterflies

Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' dried up a bit in the last heatwave

The flowers of Nandina domestica have been replaced by orange berries, which will gradually turn red (ignore the ugly air conditioning unit behind the shrub)

Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum' is doing its best to hide the bare dirt formerly covered by lawn behind it

Pentas lanceolata 'Kaleidoscope Appleblossom' has also produced a new flush of bloom

Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Warrior' celebrates every October by bursting into bloom (although its foliage gets a little ratty)

Prostrate rosemary, almost always in bloom, plays host to bees all day

Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy' handled the recent heatwaves better than the rest of my Rubeckia, although the foliage on most of my plants doesn't look as good as this

Salvia leucantha (aka Mexican bush sage) is another reliable October bloomer

Salvia 'Mesa Azure' looks better in person than it does in this photo

If dead-headed every 2-4 weeks, Salvia 'Mystic Spires' keeps on blooming

This dwarf Tagetes lemmonii (aka Copper Canyon Daisy) has lost its bushy shape and flopped over but I still love the sweet-smelling flowers



That's it for this month's bloom wrap-up from my little corner of coastal Southern California.  Carol  at May Dreams Gardens can connect you with other gardeners from all over the world with blooms to share.


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

28 comments:

  1. Kris I cannot get over all that is blooming. So many unusuals and that Hoya...beautiful!

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    1. I just wish the aphids would leave that Hoya alone! Perhaps the plant is stressed - I think it might get too much sun at present.

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  2. Such a beautiful collection of plants. Keep up the good work and good luck with the new space.

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    1. Thanks Patrick! The new space is a big challenge on multiple levels.

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  3. So many blooms even at this time of the year! The Rudbeckia, even its foliage I find attractive.

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    1. The Rudbeckia foliage doe have an interesting texture, although you probably wouldn't like the brown patches. I think that may be a heat effect as I made sure they got extra water.

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  4. Beautiful selection of blooms. I love Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum' too, it has never survived winter for me.

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    1. That's too bad, Jessica. It does make a statement at this time of year.

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  5. Ah your Grevillea 'Superb' really is!

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    1. It is doing well, Loree. I hope my other new Grevillea do as well as it seems I've been getting carried away with the genus.

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  6. I've not encountered Gomphrena haageana before; again you have found an interesting plant that might just grow here and I found lots of companies offering seed. I'm very envious of your Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum', I really must try this again, if we have a mild winter it would survive and maybe would set seed if I'm lucky. I am convinced that I should plant some more Salvias in the border 'looking west'. I've been so unsure of what to plant but seeing how well yours look, I think they are the answer.

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    1. The Gomphrena are definitely worth a try, Christina, especially as they have a long "vase life." I have mixed results with Salvia but the 2 varieties I featured in this post have done well here.

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  7. So many beautiful blooms. Yes, bougainvillea makes a great property line divider with its thorny branches. I am glad to know about that red gomphrena which has shown up in my garden and now appears every year and "cherry brandy" is a beauty. Somehow I never have success with the hybrids but would love to have that one. Happy bloom day.

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    1. I haven't got a good track record with Rudbeckia generally speaking, Jenny, but, for whatever reason, R. 'Cherry Brandy' has done far better than most. It's offered as an annual here but the last batch I planted bloomed off and on for more than a year.

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  8. Love, love, love that cuphea combination and that phormium with the hebe is divine! beautiful post

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    1. Thanks Deanne! The plants in both those combinations have the added benefit of requiring very little maintenance.

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  9. I just love the shape of the flowers on the Gomphrena haageana - they are quite structural aren't they?
    Glad you know you are the proud owner of the Bougainvillea, that must have pleased you. I know it would me.
    Despite your drought many of your carefully chosen plants are doing well and long may it continue for you Kris.

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    1. The funny thing about the Bougainvillea is that, although it's officially on our property, getting to it would require either cutting a hole in the Xylosma hedge or trespassing through the neighbor's property. It's odd that the prior owner who planted the hedge essentially handed off responsibility for that portion of the property. Maybe he didn't want to deal with any more steeply sloped land.

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  10. The pairing of Hebe 'Wiri Blush,' sitting in front of Phormium 'Dark Delight' is incredibly beautiful! "Lavandula multifida (aka fernleaf lavender) is hard to photograph but so are skipper butterflies." Looks like you did a bang up job of both! Gorgeous blooms all around!

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    1. In this case, the butterfly photo was pure serendipity, Peter.

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  11. For two years into the drought I'd say your garden is looking mighty fine, Kris. We grow many similiar plants, although I grow them as annuals. Happy GBBD!

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    1. Thanks Sue! Hopefully, by switching to mostly drought tolerant plants, I can keep the garden looking alright, despite the reduced irrigation.

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  12. Despite the nasty heat of Aug-Sept, you have some beautiful flowers for October. Isn't this cooler weather heavenly?

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  13. Lots of great blooms! If Leptospermum was just a little hardier I would have planted a bunch of different ones at my parents' house in Washington. I didn't even get a chance to put in any of the hardy Leptospermums while I was there this summer.

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    1. That's too bad, Evan - the genus is full of beautiful plants. My mother-in-law grew some that grew to be tree-height.

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  14. You have a lot blooming still! I love the Hoya flowers -- very unique and lovely. And adorable picture of the skipper!

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    1. The photo of the skipper was pure serendipity, sweetbay. I've had the Hoya for years and would like more, even though the one I have seems to be a magnet for aphids.

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