Even though it's July and it's been warm, we haven't had any temperatures higher than 95F yet this month. Better still, the mercury has fallen this week and at the moment temperatures are in the downright comfortable range of the mid-70sF. There are still a lot of different flowers in bloom but the quantities are small in most cases. I'll start off with those that are most abundant or eye-catching.
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| Our native California aster, Symphyotrichum chilense, is blooming both early and vigorously. While it's very pretty, it's spread with abandon to take over much of one bed and I'm going to have to do something to corral it at the end of the season as it's threatening to choke out other plants. |
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| Leonotis leonurus (aka lion's tail) isn't invasive but it's having a very good year |
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| Okay, these Leucadendrons aren't true flowers but they do a good job of imitating the real ones. Those shown here are Leucadendron 'Jester' and L. 'Summer Red'. |
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| I've shown the Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' and L. 'Devil's Blush' before but they're almost impossible to ignore |
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| I don't envision Cupheas as the stars of my garden but, like some actors in supporting roles, they do occasionally steal the show. This is hybrid Cuphea 'Starfire Pink'. |
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| This is Cuphea 'Vermillionaire' |
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| It's hard to ignore the exuberance of Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun' either. They're the Energizer Bunnies of my summer garden. |
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| Pandorea jasminoides (aka white bower vine) is having a good year too |
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| I haven't kept the Globularia x indubia (globe daisies) as manicured as I like but they're blooming better than ever this year |
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| This noID Lavandula angustifolia (English lavender) has been here for years and always put on a good show. It's bee and butterfly approved. |
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| The blooms of Phyla nodiflora (aka frogfruit) are tiny but profuse, choking out most weeds (except for the occasional opportunistic Gazania) |
Other blooms are fading but still deserve a shout-out.
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| The Agapanthus didn't get the attention I usually give them this year and now they're waning, although there are new blooms opening here and there |
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| Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' has continued to produce new flushes of blooms and, photographed from this angle, it does a nice job of playing off the blooms on the mimosa tree in the background |
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| The dark blue Eustoma grandiflorum (Lisianthus) bloomed all at once this year and, in this location at least, appear to be preparing to exit on the same schedule too. I don't have the range of colors in these plants I've had in prior years. They're short-lived perennials here and I pulled most of last year's plants, expecting to get new plugs this spring, which didn't happen. |
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| Most of my daylilies are done blooming. This deciduous variety, probably Hemerocallis 'Sammy Russell', which came with the garden, is finishing up now. |
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| The foliage of Lagurus ovatus (bunny tail grass) died out a month or more ago but the flowers still look fresh |
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| A friend of mine bought these frilly noID Leucanthemum x superbum (Shasta daisies) for me following my mother's death in 2013. My friend passed away somewhat unexpectedly last year. I think of both of them every time I look at these flowers. |
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| The flowers of Limonium perezii (aka sea lavender) dries well but, as it gets scruffier, I start cutting it back |
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| Two of my largest Salvias, Salvia canarienesis var candidissima (left) and Salvia clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman' (right), are finishing up the season |
There are some recent arrivals to admire as well.
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| I expect this is as good as the mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin) is going to get. It was literally cut in half in December 2018 in an effort to save what we could from the damage done by shot hole borers. It looks okay as long as I don't let myself compare it to a healthy intact specimen. The good news is that it drops a lot less leaf and flower litter than it used to. |
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| The red fountain grass (Pennisetum x advena 'Rubrum') is just starting to bloom |
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| As I was late in sowing Zinnia seeds in my cutting garden this year, I added plugs purchased at my local garden center to this bed on the south side of my garden when I pulled the remains of my California poppies to provide an immediate Zinnia fix |
What's most obviously missing from my July garden this year are
Dahlia blooms. As with the
Zinnia seeds, I was late in getting my tubers in. They were planted between mid-April and early May instead of early March as was the case in 2019. I'm trusting that those blooms will make an appearance eventually.
I'll conclude as usual with color collages featuring the best of the rest.
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Top row: Anagallis monellii, Duranta repens 'Sapphire Showers', and remnants of Monarda 'Peter's Purple'
Middle row: Platycodon grandiflorus, Plectranthus neochilus, and Plumbago auriculata 'Imperial Blue'
Bottom row: Thymus serphyllum 'Minus', Trachelium caeruleum, and Trichostemma 'Midnight Magic' |
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Top row: Alstroemeria 'Inca Vienna', noID Cosmos, and noID Crassula
Middle row: Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Magnolia grandiflora
Bottom row: Myrtus communis 'Compacta' and Orlaya grandiflora
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Top row: Achillea 'Moonshine', Alstroemeria 'Inca 'Sundance', and Cuphea micropetala
Middle row: self-seeded Gazania, Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', and Lantana camara 'Irene'
Bottom row: noID dwarf Phalaenopsis and Phlomis fruicosa |
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Top row: Bignonia capreolata, Cotyledon orbiculata, and Grevillea 'Superb'
Middle row: Ammi majus 'Dara' and Calibrachoa 'Cabernet Coral Kiss'
Bottom row: Grevillea 'Ned Kelly' and Pelargonium peltatum 'Dark Burgundy' |
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Top row: Abelia grandiflora 'Edward Goucher', Arbutus 'Marina', Arctotis 'Pink Sugar', and Cistus 'Sunset'
2nd row: Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy', G. pulchella, Hebe 'Wiri Blush', and noID Hoya
3rd row: Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, Origanum 'Monterey Bay', Osteospermum 'Berry White', and Pelargonium cucculatum
Bottom row: Pelargonium peltatum 'Pink Blizzard', Rosa 'Pink Meidiland', and Scabiosa columbaria |
That's a wrap! Drop in on
Carol at May Dreams Gardens to discover what she and other gardeners have blooming in their gardens this month.
All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Still lots happening in your garden Kris. Our summer so far has been very cool so plants aren't growing very quickly. Don't really miss the heat or the usual accompanying smoke. Your garden is a lovely place to be in the cooler weather.
ReplyDeleteI'd be very happy if our summer stayed on the cool side, Elaine, and happier still if we got a stray tropical storm or two. Our weather forecasters are expecting a gradual warm-up to "normal" temperatures in the low 80s over the next week. That would be okay - it's the temperatures that soar above 100F that make both me and the garden miserable.
DeleteAs always, your garden takes the prize for variety and color! It's your enviable weather I think. No, it must be good soil. Some people have it, others try to build it. My grandmother lived in Salinas, and she didn't have to anything to have jungles of plants!
ReplyDeleteMy soil is actually very heavy on sand, Lisa. It drains well but the flip side of that is that my plants don't always have the moisture they need, especially when we don't usually get any rain from April through October. It's tempting to irrigate more but I've tried to keep my water use at the level established during our drought.
DeleteVery nice variety of flowers for this time of year. Your Mimosa looks like it is struggling. I know that feeling from when we had a beauty in our yard in Maryland.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your cooler weather. That would be such a treat here. Nothing but 90's on the foreseeable future :(
It's awful how much of the country has been afflicted with miserably high temperatures, Cindy. I usually dread July and August here because our temperatures often get stuck on "high" too. Our side of the peninsula doesn't get the cooling ocean breezes enjoyed by those on the other side of the peninsula or in the nearby beach cities, so it can be 10 degrees warmer on average here in the summer. However, recently the morning marine layer has returned to moderate our temperatures a bit, for which I'm very grateful.
DeleteWow, you still have Orlaya and Phlomis ? Mine are long gone. Still, you have way more bloominess than I do.
ReplyDeleteBoth the Orlaya and Phlomis blooms were flukes I think, Kathy. The Orlaya I grew from seed in my cutting garden went to seed a month ago but I added 3 Orlaya to one of my Annie's orders in April and those plants are still blooming, albeit not as vigorously as those I grew earlier from seed. I thought the Phlomis but I got a handful of stray flowers out of the blue this month. Whether that was a response to the late fluke rainstorm we had or simply to the return of somewhat cooler temperatures following our two early heatwaves, I can't say.
DeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeleteHappy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!
Thanks Lea!
DeleteI can only dream of having these blooms right know in my garden.I always think how tough it would be to care so many varieties of blooms every time I got to see plethora blooms in your garden Kris.We are into monsoon season which is definitely the best season of the year .
ReplyDeleteAt some point, I think I will need to simplify my garden just to keep up with maintenance, Arun!
DeleteGoodness, so many blooms. I like lavender so much and can't find a place in my garden that it is happy. Happy GBBD.
ReplyDeleteLavender seems to like the sandy soil here, Lisa. I think it wants good drainage.
DeleteSo many flowers despite it being July. Maybe it's not bad the Dahlias are late--you have so much to enjoy as it is. Mine are a little slow this year--that April rain maybe kept it a little cooler a little longer this year.
ReplyDeleteHappy GBBD!
I also wondered if the cooler temperatures delayed the dahlia blooms but, after I cross-checked my planting dates last year and this year, I concluded delayed planting is the chief reason my blooms are so late this year. I found the first real buds on 'Sellwood Glory' yesterday, though - whoop, whoop!
DeleteSo many fabulous flowers, and yet my favorites are the Leucanthemums (which I still can't grow). Beautiful stuff all around, and I'm happy your tree is hanging in there, despite the dramatic thinning.
ReplyDeleteI recently photographed a couple of mature mimosa trees at my local botanic garden so I was particularly struck by the stark difference in my own tree, Anna. Even so, it's hard to imagine the view in the back without any tree in that spot - I expect that's a road I'll have to cross at some point, though.
DeleteThat white agapanthus is just gorgeous, it upstages the blue version! And ugh. I forgot it's almost time for my chocolate albizia to start blooming and blanket the garden in trash. I think that tree's days are numbered here.
ReplyDeleteWell, as with Jacarandas, I expect placement is everything if you want to enjoy a mimosa tree, Loree. It looks fabulous at my local botanic garden. Warning: they're sneaky about self-seeding.
DeleteTo you, it may be 'garden lite' this month, but I am always amazed at the variety of flowers you have in your garden no matter the month. So much loveliness!
ReplyDeleteI admit that I had a lot less in flower in July several years ago, Eliza. As the saying goes, everything is relative!
DeleteI think we probably could all admit to having more flowers than we think we have, but you certainly win the prize for having the most. A belated happy bloom day to you and your garden.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jenny!
DeleteOh my goodness Kris! I love the collages and all that fabulous color! It is always a pleasure to visit your garden.
ReplyDeleteThe main purpose of the collages is to help me keep track of what I haven't highlighted, Lee, but I'm glad you like them!
DeleteI always enjoy my visits to your blog because of all the unique (to me) and different blooms that do not grow here in Washington DC area.
ReplyDelete-Ray
Mine is very definitely a Mediterranean climate and plants that do well in that climate do generally thrive here, Ray. Hence my accumulation of plants originating from Australia and South Africa.
Delete