Sunday, September 15, 2019

Bloom Day - September 2019

Note: If you experience a sense of deja vu as you read this post, you're not delusional.  I took a look at my August Bloom Day post and, while not identical, there's a significant overlap.  What can I say?  Even if the calendar says fall is near, coastal SoCal is stuck in summer-mode.

We've been riding a weather roller-coaster lately, with bursts of heat for several days at a time followed by brief breaks before temperatures ramp up to uncomfortable levels again.  With the exception of a couple light showers in late May, we've no rain since April and the garden is very dry.  Irrigation only does so much and, as it's been a relatively mild summer overall, I haven't provided the garden the extra water I did during last year's difficult summer.  Only my cutting garden can be considered well-watered and, not unexpectedly, it's the most floriferous area by far.

So let's walk through the gate to see what's going on in the cutting garden this month

Dahlias have played a major role in my late summer cutting garden for the past 3 years.  They hold the starring roles this month.
Top row: 'Bluetiful', 'Diva', and 'Hollyhill Karen Lee'
Middle row: 'Enchantress', 'Otto's Thrill', and 'Labyrinth'
Bottom row: 'Citron du Cap', 'Punkin Spice', and 'Terracotta'

Zinnias take second place among the top bloomers in the cutting garden.  As I mixed up my seed packets, I can't identify all the varieties shown here; however, the one in the center is 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose''Queen Lime Orange' is shown in the upper right and I think the 2 below it may have sprung from the 'Benary's Giant Wine' seed packet.

My sunflowers didn't do especially well this summer but at least I got some to bloom.  Clockwise from the top is Helianthus annuus 'Panache', what I'm fairly certain is a mutant form of 'Panache', stunted 'Garnet Star', and the disappointing 'Moonshadow'.

I haven't grown Cosmos in quite awhile but I do love it.  I picked up a 3 varieties in 4-inch pots in mid-July, which looked great until powdery mildew suddenly set in last week.  From left to right are: 'Double Cranberry', 'Prom Dress', and a noID white cultivar.

This is the first year I've grown Amaranthus caudatus and I love it.  So do the visiting skipper butterflies.

Rudbeckia is an expensive annual here but I couldn't resist bringing home a 6-pack of R. hirta 'Denver Daisy' in early August

The Delphinium 'Pacific Giants' I planted in early spring surprised me by producing another round of bloom spikes.  They (and a few leftover foxgloves also sporting occasional blooms) are clear evidence of our mild summer.


The plants making a splash outside the cutting garden are tough drought-tolerant specimens.

This is the time of year the ornamental grasses are at their best, although I cut them back later than I should have, delaying their progress somewhat.  Clockwise from the top are Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum', P' 'Fireworks', P. 'Sky Rocket', and Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition'.    The latter doesn't bloom heavily but I still appreciate the airy touch it adds to my back border.

Aster x frikartii 'Monch' (left) doesn't seem to have been formerly reclassified as Symphyotrichum, unlike our native California aster, S. chilense (right)

A variety of Leucadendrons are still convincingly impersonating flowers this month.  Clockwise from the top are Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' (with an unidentified relative), L. 'Devil's Blush', and L. 'Summer Red'.

Lantana relishes the heat.  Clockwise from the upper left: Lantana 'Lucky White', L. 'Irene', noID orange and yellow varieties, and variegated L. 'Samantha'.


There were a few surprises.

Hemerocallis 'Plum Perfect' is presenting an encore performance

Roses are going another round too, in small numbers.  Clockwise from the left: Rosa 'Medallion', noID pinkish-lavender rose; R. 'Pink Meidiland', and noID white rose (accompanied by a Marine Blue butterfly and another unidentified bug).

A few noID Japanese anemones (Anemone hupehensis) and Hong Kong orchid tree blooms (Bauhinia x blakeana) appeared seemingly overnight


I'll end with a few color collages featuring some of the other blooms found during the scavenger hunt of my late summer garden.

Clockwise from the upper left: Evolvulus 'Blue My Mind', Plumbago auriculata 'Imperial Blue', Polygala fruticosa, Salvia canariensis, Salvia 'Mystic Spires', noID Scaevola, Tulbaghia violacea and, in the center, Trichostemma 'Midnight Magic'

Clockwise from the upper left: Eustoma grandiflora 'Cherry Sorbet', noID pink Eustoma (aka lisianthus), Pelargonium peltatum 'Pink Blizzard', Gomphena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy', Aechmea fasciata, and Pentas 'Graffiti Pink'

Clockwise from the upper left: Clematis paniculata, Abelia x grandiflora 'Edward Goucher', Pandorea jasminoides, Myrtus communis 'Compacta', Phyla nodiflora, and Tanacetum parthenium

Top row: Aloe 'Rooikappie' Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer' and Bulbine frutescens 'Hallmark'
Middle row: Cuphea 'Vermillionaire' and Dimorphotheca sinuata 'Peach Delight'
Bottom row: Grevilleas 'Ned Kelly', 'Peaches & Cream', and 'Superb'


Visit our Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day host, Carol at May Dreams Gardens, to find posts by other gardeners featuring what's flowering in their gardens this month.


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

26 comments:

  1. Love how you're working the cutting garden, Kris!

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    1. The cutting garden has changed my outlook on summer dramatically, Denise.

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  2. Nice collection of blooms - I'm surprised delphinium does well there. The anemone may be 'September Charm'. What is the white flowered vine over the gate?

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    1. Delphinium doesn't normally do well at all here, Phillip - the plants are usually incinerated well before summer gets started but we've had an abnormally cool summer (by comparison to our norms anyway). Thanks for the ID of the inherited Anemone. The white-flowered vine is Pandorea jasminoides,

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  3. Still so much blooming despite lack of rain and heat. Everything still looks wonderful. A real find this year was Cuphea 'Vermillionaire'. It has bloomed it's head off all summer despite cold, heat and hail. A real winner.

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    1. Cuphea 'Vermillionaire' was slow to get started its first year, Elaine, but it's proved to be a winner here ever since. I cut it back after its heavy spring flower flush and its come back well this summer.

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  4. Your Dahlias are fab Kris... there never seems to be a shortage of blooms down your way !

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    1. I haven't directly compared the Bloom Day posts in my first couple of years with my more recent ones, Kathy, but I think there's been a dramatic change. While the introduction of the cutting garden is a major factor there, I think the gradual introduction of more drought-tolerant bloomers has also made a contribution.

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  5. Gorgeous dahlias and all the rest, too. Such amazing variety you have, Kris, no wonder you seldom repeat vases!

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    1. Maybe I've managed to avoid repeating vases thus far but it seems I'm repeating Bloom Day posts, Eliza!

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  6. Dry or not, lots of beautiful flowers! :)

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    1. Believe it or not, the number of flowers I manage to photograph each month surprises me, HB.

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  7. Kris, it's all amazing...and those cutting flowers - the zinnias and dahlias, oh my. You make me want to add dahlias to the garden next year. Do you find them to be high maintenance?

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    1. I don't consider dahlias high maintenance at all, Tamara. The most time-consuming aspect of growing them is lifting the tubers at the end of their season and dividing them. Technically, lifting isn't required in my climate but as I grow them in a cutting garden used to grow other flowers during the course of the year, I lift the tubers both to free up space and ensure that steady watering of the raised beds doesn't cause them to rot. Once the tubers are planted, they just need to be watered and tied up as the stems grow so they don't topple over. I made the support issue easier for myself by putting tomato cages around each plant.

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  8. Beautiful! Love the Dahlias, and the 'Plum Perfect' Lily lives up to its name!
    Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!

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  9. Kris if this is your dry summer mode..then you are fortunate enough to not see our harsh summer months..Spectacular blooms of Zinnias,Lantanas,Cosmos,Dahlias.
    Leaucadendron is new to me are these drought resistant..Lovely blooms of delphinium they cant survive our summer months...shade of day lily is sparkling..your post every month is my gateway to heaven.
    Happy blogger blooms day...keep sharing your wonderful garden.

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    1. Leucadendron are native to South Africa and, in my experience, very drought tolerant., Arun. I hope the monsoonal rains have given you some relief from the heat in your part of the world.

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  10. What an enormous amount of flowers all ready to cut! I am jealous.. I think the Dahlias are my most envied; I just can't get them to do well here. I may try lots (and lots!) of new soil this winter. We shall see!

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    1. I hope you can get dahlias to bloom for you, Libby - they ensure a colorful summer!

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  11. Your comment "Irrigation only does so much and, as it's been a relatively mild summer overall, I haven't provided the garden the extra water I did during last year's difficult summer" rang so true to me. Even though our summer wasn't as hot as last year's my garden had to get by on significantly less water, mainly because I wasn't as generous. Your blooms certainly don't seem to have minded!

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    1. The cutting garden has done well but the rest of the garden less so. I was surprised to see what was in bloom last year at this time when I went back to review my prior post, especially as last summer, when we hit 110F in early July, was brutal. The extra water I provided then in an effort to help plants survive had more of an impact than I'd realized.

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  12. My gosh, you have lots of blooms this month. Not so much here. We are having a dry spell. Only the annuals are blooming for the most part. Just a sputter here and there. Nothing to get excited about for sure.

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    1. Just for kicks, I looked back at my very first September Bloom Day post in 2013. There was more there than I'd have expected, although nothing like the display I have since establishing my cutting garden. What was most surprising, however, was that there were plants in bloom then that I haven't a chance of finding in September now, like Acanthus and Shasta Daisy. I still had lawn in those days and everything was getting much more water than my summer garden gets now.

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  13. Kris-Your blooms are amazing and I love the collages! The Dahlias and Zinnias are gorgeous and I wouldn't be able to resist that Rudbeckia either! Your September garden is wonderful!

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    1. I wish I had better luck in getting Rudbeckia to live beyond a single season, Lee. I do love the blooms.

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