I had a different post in mind for today but that required time in the garden and it's scorching hot out there. I also had a trip to my local garden center in mind but it's even too scorching hot for that. However, I did manage a little time in the garden early this morning, tamping down the latest gopher mound, watering a few things with what's left of my stored rainwater, and deadheading the remaining cool season flowers I should probably just pull. However, during the course of those chores, I noticed a few lovely flowers that may not make it to Bloom Day next Monday given the aforementioned scorching hot temperatures we've experienced over the last few days. I thought I'd share their fleeting beauty while I can.
 |
| These noID lilies were received as a gift with purchase years ago. Other lilies I've tried die out within a year or two but this one comes back reliably year after year. |
 |
| By definition, daylilies don't last more than a day but some of them produce one flower after another. Hemerocallis 'Elizabeth Salter' hasn't been so accommodating in the past but she's looking more robust this year. |
 |
| This is Hemerocallis 'Joan Senior', which I originally received as a gift with purchase. I liked it so much that I bought two more plants last year. The flower fades to near white. |
 |
| I planted bulbs of Triteleia 'Queen Fabiola' two years ago. They never hang around long and they're largely hidden under tall shrubs but they're so pretty - and blue! - I'm left wondering why I haven't planted more. |
 |
| I'd given up thinking that the drumstick Alliums (Allium sphaerocephalon) were going to show up for a third year in a row when a handful did. I'd forgotten that these were late bloomers. |
Some plants have already given up the fight.
 |
| This Kniphofia looked much better a few days ago when I first noticed it. This morning it was simply sad. It seems something commonly known as a "red hot poker" should hold up better to the heat than it did. |
 |
| My favorite scented noID rose took its time to bloom and then got singed |
 |
| Can I hope for any better for Rosa 'Lady Emma Hamilton'? Won during a raffle at a prior Garden Bloggers' Fling, she hasn't proven to be very tough here and, thus far, only offers we one flower at a time. |
While some things don't hang around anywhere near as long as I'd like, others seem to hang on forever.
 |
| This dead mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin) branch has been hanging here, well out of reach above the steepest part of our back slope, for more than a week. Even several days of high winds haven't managed to jostle it into falling. |
For more Wednesday Vignettes,
visit Anna at Flutter & Hum.
All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Lady Emma Hamilton is beautiful, even one flower at a time. Mine is doing something similar but she’s sulking because I just moved her. Not the best time of year.
ReplyDeleteKeep cool!
'Lady Emma Hamilton' has only been in the ground 2 years here, Jessica - I keep hoping she'll adapt but she hasn't lived up to her reputation thus far.
DeleteI can't keep Kniphofia alive. On the mountain they grow along seeps with wet feet - I obviously don't water them enough.
ReplyDeleteYes, I read that they need plentiful water as flowers are developing. This plant came with the garden 9+ years ago but last year was the first time I saw a flower. We got decent rain this year too but one flower per year is still a poor performance in my book.
DeleteThose daylilies are so lovely! We've had some scorchers here as well - it was in the high 80's today & the humidity was awful. I actually made it into the garden for a few hours this morning while it was overcast - 3 hours later & I was drenched with sweat. You would have thought I ran through a sprinkler (other than the frizzy hair, lol!)
ReplyDeleteWell, as they say here, Margaret, at least our heat is dry heat. Our humidity level has varied between 12 and 15% at mid-day for a few days now. Less uncomfortable than your high humidity but still hard on the plants. We've had strong dry winds almost every afternoon of late and, as my soil is sandy, the plants are quickly parched. We're also missing out on the marine layer we usually enjoy this time of year.
DeleteI'll tell you Kris, we have had way too many 90 degree days this spring ! Waiting impatiently for June Gloom. I would move to the coast in 5 seconds if I had the funds.Monterey perhaps. You can grow anything there.
ReplyDeleteWe had relatively little "May Gray" and even less in the way of "June Gloom" thus far this year, Kathy. I hope the marine layer hasn't entirely deserted us!
DeleteSorry the heat has caught up with you. Even fleeting beauties are beauties, so glad you got a chance to document them. We've had rain, rain, rain, alternating with heat, so everything seems to have either a fungal affliction or rust. Ugh... Hope you get cooler weather soon.
ReplyDeleteToo much of anything is a problem it seems. I SO wish Mother Nature was more even-handed!
DeleteHa! I've had a branch or two like that in the past. They drive me crazy!
ReplyDeleteThis morning I noticed that the birds are taking turns sitting on that hanging branch. It's conveniently poised just above the feeders. I need a hawk or a crow to settle there - the finches don't weigh enough to bring it down. Or maybe I need to try my hand with a lasso...
DeleteIt is so disappointing when the weather does a number on flowers but those first ones seem to be standing up for themselves. I don't remember there being such hot days when we lived there isn the 80s. Is it that I was younger and could withstand the heat better or is it like Texas which in the last 20 years had just got hotter and hotter? Either way it is tough on plants and people too. I am sad to see the kniphofia struggling as I planted one last year. Yet to grow big enough to support a bloom but maybe it is in the wrong place. Morning sun might be better. Hope you get some cooling temperatures and rain soon.
ReplyDeleteNo, it's gotten steadily hotter, Jenny. I grew up in an inland valley and the temperature increases got steadily more pronounced there - I avoided seeing my family during the summer except during emergencies.
DeleteSorry you are experiencing such heat, Kris, baking you and your plants to a crisp. A huge garden challenge, I imagine.
ReplyDeleteWe're experiencing a lot of humidity today, but got a good downpour at least, everything was so stressed. Our plants don't handle drought like yours do. Coddled, they are!
We usually get a good deal of June Gloom but that's been noticeably absent for most of the month, Eliza. We didn't get much in the way of May Gray either.
DeleteThose Aliums are cool. Your fabulous 'Itt' in the background of the Kniphophia, sigh.
ReplyDelete'Lady Emma' should get better. Third year is "leap" year. Her flowers are never lavish, but many more than one at a time on mine. Water/Fertilizer. The Lady likes life luxurious.
Hmm. None of my roses are allowed to live it up. They probably all want to lift their roots and go somewhere else.
DeleteSo sorry you're having a heat wave. I know how hard that is on our flowers and it is always sad to see them go over prematurely. I hope you're not sending that heat our way, We just got through a 95 degree day with high humidity, but now it's cooler and less humid. Just the way it should be in June.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, the heat will just blow out to sea and dissipate, Cindy. We got a bit of a marine layer overnight but it's already broken up this morning.
DeleteYour blooms look great. That blue blooming bulb is pretty. I don't think I have seen it before, such a clear blue. Doesn't that drive you crazy when a stick stays up in a tree like that.
ReplyDeleteYes! And once you see the stick, you can't help seeing the stick (which in this case is readily visible from my office window). The birds continue to find it a useful resting spot while waiting for space on the feeders below to open up but they're not heavy enough to bring it down.
DeleteIt's definitely too hot when it's too hot to visit a garden centre Kris. Beautiful day lilies.I'm waiting for my 'Lady Emma Hamilton' bought as a bare root plant last autumn to flower for the first time. As of now she has all of three flowers. I hope that both of our specimens become more prolific with their flowers in due course.
ReplyDeleteI hope so too, Anna!
Delete