I'm embracing my inner flower floozie and posting an addendum to my lengthy
mid-May Bloom Day post with photos of flowers that have made an appearance since that date. Some of these may still be here when next month's Bloom Day rolls around but not all and I can't deny them the opportunity to strut their stuff.
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| The parade of Agapanthus blooms has begun! |
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| Arthropodium cirratum (aka Renga Lily) has begun producing sprays of flowers in all the dry shade areas of my garden |
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| This Echinopsis oxygona (aka Easter lily cactus and night-blooming hedge-hogs cactus) is looking a little yellowish despite the feeding I gave it last month but it's still producing blooms |
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| I inherited this noID Knipfofia with the garden. This is the first and only bloom I can remember it producing in 8 years. |
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| Last July's horrific heatwave sent the Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) covering the back slope into retreat but our winter rains have brought it back. I'm having a hard time keeping it under control. |
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| Melaleuca thymifolia has an extraordinarily complex flower that's also very difficult to photograph |
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| The Matilija poppies (Romneya coulteri) believe that summer has arrived whether the temperatures indicate that or not |
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| I won this David Austin rose, 'Lady Emma Hamilton', in the DC Garden Bloggers' Fling in June 2017. The rose was shipped to me in March 2018 but the plant and its first blooms were incinerated in last summer's heat. Although the plant's still small and it's only produced a handful of buds, things are looking better this year. |
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| Rosa 'Medallion', inherited with the garden, is currently producing its first flowers of the season too |
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| The unusual flowers of Sideritis cypria are opening. Last year they appeared in April but didn't hang around long. The tiny flowers filling the cupped calyces will turn yellow as the buds mature. |
And, for the record, here's another collage of flowers I managed to skip over in that earlier photo-dense Bloom Day post.
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Top row: Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid', Campanula portenschlagiana with Pelargonium peltatum, and Feijoa sellowiana
Middle row: Geranium 'Tiny Monster', Hebe 'Wiri Blush', and Melinus nerviglumis (aka ruby grass)
Bottom row: Pelargonium 'Tweedle Dee', Salvia 'Mystic Spires', and Trachelospermum jasminoides |
Memorial Day is the unofficial kick-off to summer in the US but weather reports for the holiday weekend are decidedly mixed. In my area of coastal Southern California, we're still cooler than usual for this time of year and there's even yet another chance for a rainstorm over the weekend. Whatever the weather or your plans, best wishes for an enjoyable weekend!
All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
More lovely goodies! The Sideritic cypria is so unusual - and very cool. Love the agapanthus - wish we could grow it.
ReplyDeleteHave a good weekend - cool weather is better than a heat wave any day!
I hope the heat is hitting you too, Eliza! All I can say is Mother Nature is very confused, although I admit I like the prolonged cool season we're enjoying here this year ;)
DeleteEnjoy your Flowers you little Flower Floozie. Flowers are already receding somewhat here. It has turned hot. 88F and feels like 91F. It is so darned humid. We will be in the hot zone now for some time I am afraid. Time will tell. The purple flower that is difficult to photograph is interesting. Japanese Honeysuckle is considered an invasive here. Makes me shiver ever time I see it. It does take over. Enjoy this long weekend amid your flowers.
ReplyDeleteYour early heatwave sounds hideous, Lisa. Japanese honeysuckle is considered invasive here too, although, if I've correctly guessed the identity of the cultivar some prior owner planted on our back slope, it's the least awful choice he/she might have made within the species.
DeleteWhat an abundance of beauty - as always - in your garden. We have jumped headlong into hot summer, in the 90s, here in NE Alabama. It's too hot too soon but the bad storms have missed us, so I'm not going to complain too much.
ReplyDeleteIn SoCal, we're used to those early blasts of summer heat (which is NOT to say we like them). Somehow, we've avoided them thus far, although with each passing day I can't help wondering when the other shoe will drop. Apparently, El Nino is keeping us in a more comfortable temperature range, at least for a time.
DeleteSuch variety, and you still bring us more. I am so amazed. I like that purple swirly flower that is hard to photograph. It looks delightful!
ReplyDeleteI love the flowers on that Melaleuca but the foliage isn't so lovely and interferes with close-up photos of the flowers. I actually cut off some small pieces of foliage that kept blurring my photos.
DeleteWhy not embrace it!? I hope to see lots of Feijoa sellowiana flowers this year, my two shrubs are covered in buds.
ReplyDeleteThe flowers on my 2 pineapple guavas seem to be relatively spare, Loree. Unless I make a point of checking for them, I often miss the blooms entirely.
DeleteFellow Flower Floozie, well done!
ReplyDeleteHasn't this March-like May been fun?
I can't help wondering when the other shoe is going to drop, HB, but, yes, the cool temperatures - and touches of rain - have been wonderful!
DeleteThat Melaleuca thymifolia is amazing - I've never seen a bloom quite like it. And get this - I ALSO won a David Austin Rose in DC and I'm pretty sure they only gave out two - how's that for coincidence?! I chose the very peachy Crown Princess Margareta - and not because of the name, although that was a bonus :). Mine is also still tiny, but it managed a few amazingly fragrant blooms last year. Most importantly, though, it survived the winter under a thick covering of mulch - hurray! It's just starting to leaf out now and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it grows this year.
ReplyDeleteAnd somehow we never met, Margaret! The DC Fling was my first. Were you at the Austin Fling too? I'm going to miss the next one due to our pending remodel but I hope to make it to the one after that.
DeleteYes - I was at the Austin fling - and once again, we didn't meet! There are so many of us, though, that it's really not too surprising. This will be my 5th fling and each time, I end up knowing a few more people. So sad that you will not be there this time as I would actively seek you out :) But there's always next year - already looking forward to it!
DeleteAs ever a stunning selection of blooms to make me jealous. Those sideritic blooms are quite fascinating.
ReplyDeleteThe green flower stems of the Sideritis stand out dramatically against its gray foliage too. It really is an unusual plant.
DeleteThe plant that really catches my attention is Sideritis cypria, but you are blessed with such a wealth of gorgeous blooms. I love that last collage. I envy your weather right now. Spring came to a screeching halt for us a couple weeks ago with sudden temps well into the 90s, high humidity, and no rain! Feels exactly like mid August.
ReplyDeleteYour weather sounds horrid, Deb! We've been blessed with an unusually cool (and wet) spring. Another blogger likened the conditions to those we'd normally see in November. Weird - but in our case, in a good way.
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