Saturday, June 15, 2019

Bloom Day - June 2019

Summer usually kicks off well before Memorial Day here but the heat that marks its arrival didn't show up until the very end of May this year.  The return of the morning marine layer on Wednesday took the edge off the heat for several days but I know it's not going to last.  The only question now is: how high will it go?  Last year we hit 110F in early July, incinerating many of my plants and causing the loss of every piece of fruit on our lemon tree nearly overnight.  I'm hoping we won't have a replay of that event this summer.

I checked last June's Bloom Day post and, even if summer got off to a slow start, most of my plants seem to be right on track.  Like last year, the stars of my backyard garden this June are Achillea 'Moonshine' and Agapanthus.

There's a lot of yellow in my garden right now but Achillea 'Moonshine' leads the parade

The Agapanthus were at least 2 weeks late in getting started this year but they're now making up for lost time


Meanwhile some of my cool season bloomers are still putting on a good show.

Wind and the first heatwave of summer have taken out some stems of Arthropodium cirratum (aka Renga Lily, a New Zealand native) but there are still plenty in full bloom

Dorycnium hirsutum (aka hairy Canary clover) is still delighting the bees


Other plants that get their bloom on in late spring can be expected to continue blooming into early summer, absent another heat apocalypse.

Erigeron glaucus is doing particularly well this year.  'Ron's Pink' is shown in close-up on the lower left and 'Wayne Roderick' is on the right.

Globularia x indubia (aka globe daisy) is also blooming heavily this year


Plants that appreciate a touch of summer heat are also off and running.

I love the artichoke-shaped buds as much as the full-blown flowers of Centaurea 'Silver Feathers'

Among the Cistus (aka rockrose) 'Sunset' is currently making the biggest statement

Gaura lindheimeri peaks in early summer.  I understand that it's been reclassified as part of the Oenothera genus now but it's still better known as Gaura.

Gaillarida 'Arizona Sun' isn't the flashiest cultivar but it's surely the toughest

Gazanias are mutating - and proliferating - throughout my garden

Daylilies don't put on a spectacular performance in my garden but that hasn't prevented me from tucking them in here and there.  Hemerocallis 'Spanish Harlem' (top photo, backed by Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy') is one of my favorites.   Also blooming at the moment, bottom left to right: H. 'Plum Perfect', 'Indian Giver', and 'For Pete's Sake'.

The flowers growing over the arbor between my cutting garden and the backyard are performing their annual dance (marred a bit by the conduit set in place for the temporary kitchen necessitated by our remodel).  I inherited the Pandorea jasminoides 'Alba' (lower left) and Trachelospermum jasminoides (lower right).  I planted the dark pink Pelargonium peltatum (aka ivy geranium) when we moved in, never expecting it would climb as it has.

Romneya coulteri (aka Matilija poppy) is becoming a thug on the back slope but I'll cut it back even harder this winter in the hope of controlling it

Salvias love summer heat.  The top photos feature Salvia clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman'.  Bottom left to right: Salvia lanceolata, S. heldreichiana, and S. canariensis.

I'd rather my Santolina didn't bloom but I can't seem to stop it from doing so.  Santolina chamaecyparissus is on the left and S. virens is on the right (mingling with Helichrysum 'Crystal Ice').


Some plants appear to ignore seasons entirely.

Grevillea 'Superb' literally blooms year round.  Cuphea 'Vermillionaire', growing next to it, also flowers through all seasons, although the blooms seem heaviest at this time of year.

Tagetes lemmonii is supposed to bloom in the fall and winter months.  It's confused.


I also have a few favorites this June I want to share.

I've let some of the artichokes on my back slope bloom.  Each flower always seems to have 3-5 bees wiggling through it.

I really love Calendula officinalis 'Zeolights'

Sideritis cypria, with its gray foliage and red stems sporting lime green cups containing tiny yellow flowers, is truly unusual

I've had Wahlenbergia 'Blue Cloud' for years and it's slowly spread itself around in this bed consisting mainly of succulents


Another group of plants deserve a wave goodbye as they prepare to exit the garden scene for the year.

Centranthus ruber (top) doesn't look as good as it did a month ago but the butterflies don't mind.  Also waning, bottom left to right: Leucospermum 'Brandi', Limonium perezii, and Ozothamnus diosmifolius.


But as some plants prepare to exit, others are only just arriving on scene.

Still in limited release are: Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' (top) and (bottom, left to right) Eustoma grandiflorum (aka lisianthus), Leucanthemum x superbum, and Magnolia grandiflora

And the very first Dahlia, 'Enchantress', not quite fully open


I'll close as I usually do with collages showing the best of the rest currently on display.

Top row: Buddleja davidii 'Buzz Purple', Consolida ajacis, Corydalis flexuosa 'Porcelain Blue' and Iris douglasiana
Middle row: Lathyrus odoratus 'Celeste Blue', Linum perenne, and Pelargonium peltatum
Bottom row: Melaleuca thymifolia, Polygala fruticosa, and Teucrium cossonii majoricum

First row: noID Anigozanthos, Bignonia capreolata, and Cotula 'Tiffindell Gold'
Second row: Euphorbia 'Dean's Hybrid', Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', and Hymenolepsis parviflora
Third row: Leucadendron 'Pisa', Lonicera japonica, and Mimulus 'Jelly Bean Buttercream'
Fourth row: Pelargonium  hortorum 'Tweedle Dee' and Rosa 'Lady Emma Hamilton'

First row: Abelia grandiflora, Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', Arctotis 'Opera Pink', and Arctotis 'Pink Sugar'
Second row: noID Bougainvillea, Cistus 'Victor Reiter, Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', and Grevillea Ned Kelly'
Third row: Hebe 'Wiri Blush', Lobelia laxiflora, Lotus 'Amazon Sunset', and Lotus jacobaeus
Fourth row: Oenothera speciosa, Oscularia deltoides, Pelargonium peltatum, and Rosa 'Pink Meidiland'

Top row: Agonis flexuosa, Agrostemma 'Ocean Pearls', and Alstroemeria 'Claire'
Middle row: Coriandrum sativum and Orlaya grandiflora (similar in form but not size)
Bottom row: Nandina domestica, Nigella papillosa, and Scaevola 'Surdiva White'


My Bloom Day posts haven't gotten any shorter, have they?  Oh well, one never knows when summer may kick my garden to the curb.  For more Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens.


All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

27 comments:

  1. I love your amazing abundance of June blooms. Your garden is fabulous.

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    1. Mother Nature has been kind to us thus far this year and the garden shows that; however, I can't help wondering when the other show will drop...

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  2. Wow ! That seems to be floral paradise ...Last snaps of collages are giving the idea about how lovely the spring is in full swing in your region ...Day lilies shade are drool worthy ...hope I get some in upcoming days.
    Have a great week ahead.

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    1. I'm still hoping that more of my daylilies will bloom here, Arun. After all the rain we had this winter I expected a better show but, thus far, only the 'Spanish Harlem' and 'Plum Perfect' are putting on really good shows.

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  3. Absolutely incredible! Hoping there are no spiking temperatures this year. We have yet to get into the 20s(C)..

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    1. I consider 20C (68F) the perfect temperature for gardening activities. Right now we're hovering closer to 23-24C, which is okay, but it's probably not realistic to think we'll avoid another heat blast for much longer. Like earthquakes, heatwaves are to be expected here as our climate continues to get warmer.

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  4. Always a delight to see your Bloom Day post, Kris. I swear you could start your own nursery!

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  5. I read Tagetes lemonii will often bloom during May-gray-June-gloom because it blooms in response to a shortening of daylight hours--apparently the "gloom" counts as night!

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    1. That's a helpful explanation, HB. I've often had a smattering of blooms on the Tagetes but this spring's display is even heavier than the usual fall display. Maybe the heavier rainfall contributed to it too.

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  6. Oh wow! Everything looks so wonderful, Kris, full and colourful and abundant as a garden should be. I'm very taken with your Globularia indubia which looks like a plant that would be happy in my garden. I've never seen one here. I hope your good weather continues and that heat waves stay away.

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    1. thanks Jane. Globularia x indubia is apparently a natural hybrid of 2 other globe daisy species native to the Canary Islands. It's drought tolerant and copes with our hot summers well. According to a prominent California grower, it can handle winter temperatures down to 20-25F (minus 3 to minus 6C).

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  7. Hopefully your gorgeous garden is juiced up enough from the winter rains this year to bear some of that horrid heat if it strikes. There is a house here in town that nurtures a line of agapanthus. I think they are the prettiest blue like yours. The Eustoma Grandiflora looks like a rose to me. Love all of this color. Happy GBBD.

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    1. The double-petaled Eustoma (Lisianthus) remind me of roses too, Lisa, which is probably what drew me to them. I have fewer plants than in the past but I'm hoping to get a good show from them this year. The breeders seem to be coming out with new colors every year. I tried and failed to grow them from seed so I buy them as plugs. They're short-lived perennials here.

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  8. holy wow! Your garden is amazing! I am going to have to come back later tonight when I have some silence and re=read this post because you have some beautiful plants that I have not heard of before (hope you don't mind). Thank you for generously sharing your garden with us!

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    1. I love to share my garden, Angie, so you're welcome to come back and meander through my posts any time ;)

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  9. Your garden is wonderful and I recognize a few of them from my own garden. I would love to have some of the more colorful calendulas. Mine are all yellow and very abundant!

    My Corner of the World

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    1. Ours is a Mediterranean climate, Betty, and I borrow plants from similar climates like yours.

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  10. How do you keep track of all of them? I especially like your overall and close-ups of the same plant. They helps me decide if something in your garden would work here.
    -Ray

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    1. Ha! I keep an Excel file of what I plant for reference purposes but I usually only have to refer to it one or two times in connection with a Bloom Day post. As the list gets longer (and my memory gets less sharp and recordkeeping less meticulous), identifying some of the more unusual genera may get harder.

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  11. As usual, it's wonderful to see all your bright flowers. I took photos of what's blooming in my garden but never did get a post together before leaving for the Fling. I should probably take some time to write one, but I'm still exhausted. That Dahlia 'Enchantress' is gorgeous! The bees love my cardoon flowers too, very similar to artichokes.

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    1. I remember how tired I was after getting home from the 2 Flings I've attended so I can sympathize, Alison. I hope you'll share some of what's blooming in your garden once you get your pep back, though.

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  12. What a wonderful display! In my garden, too, plants started blooming about two weeks later than last year, but are making up for lost time. And we both have irises in bloom! (I think it's pretty rare for you and I, with our very different climates and seasons, to have the same or similar plants in bloom at the same time.)

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    1. That IS unusual, Jean, although those Pacific Iris blooms were stragglers - the main show was over a month earlier.

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  13. It's so amazing how many flowers you have. I don't know how you keep them all straight and taken care of. One of your photos made me just want to curl up on the soft green carpet among the stepping stones and take a nap.

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    1. You deserve a nap on a nice green carpet after the week you had, Cindy! I'm not sure how soft those flagstones are, though ;)

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