Monday, August 15, 2022

IAVOM & Bloom Day Mash Up - August 2022

I don't much like it when In a Vase on Monday and Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day fall on the same day as it makes for a very long post but this is the first and only occasion on which this will happen in 2022 so I hope you'll bear with me.  The fact that this particular confluence falls in August is helpful in that my garden is at low ebb at this time of year so there are fewer photographs to wade through.  In addition, as my husband is scheduled for surgery this week, I'm planning to take a brief blogging break to focus on him so cramming everything into a single post offers the advantage of efficiency.

I'll start with an abbreviated view of this weeks floral arrangements, created from materials collected from my garden.

Even the flowers in my cutting garden were thin on Sunday after a week of temperatures in the low-to-mid 90sF/32-35C but I cobbled together an arrangement from my toughest Dahlias and Zinnias.  Clockwise from the upper left of the lower collage are Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Coleonema album, Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Dahlia 'Enchantress', D. 'Iceberg', and Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Purple'.

I scouted elsewhere in my garden for the makings of a second, smaller arrangement.  Clockwise from the upper left in the second collage are Agapanthus 'Elaine', Angelonia 'Archangel White', Eustoma grandiflorum 'Blue Balboa Rim', and Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata'.

To find IAVOM creations from other contributors to this popular weekly meme, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.


 

Now on to Bloom Day.  Our temperatures haven't climbed as high as those in many other parts of the country or the world but it's still been uncomfortably warm.  As there's been no rain since April and rain levels have been far lower than average for the past two years, the garden is also very dry.  I've been diligent in abiding by water restrictions in my area in spirit as well as practice so I'm not providing as much supplemental water as I've done in summers past.  As a result, the garden - and the gardener - are both stressed at the moment.  But let's start with the plants making the biggest statements this August.

Amaryllis belladonna (not to be confused with Hippeastrum) is blooming throughout the back garden.  They're commonly known as naked ladies because the flowers appear on leaf-less stems.  The foliage appears following our winter rainy season and dies back in early summer before the flowers emerge.

Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' seems to produce a flush of bloom whenever our humidity level rises, as it's done recently with monsoonal moisture creeping in from the desert areas to the east of us.  However, since I took this photo, most of the flowers have turned a dusty beige.

Seven Dahlias have bloomed but several others are still taking their time.  Clockwise from the upper left are: 'Breakout', 'Calin', 'Summer's End', 'Enchantress', 'Iceberg', 'Lavender Ruffles', and 'Southern Belle''Breakout' surprised me by popping up in 'Calin's' pot.  I apparently left a piece of a tuber in the pot I used to grow 'Breakout' last year.

Magnolia grandiflora is producing flowers in record numbers this year

I treat Rudbeckia hirta 'Denver Daisy' as a splashy annual

I grew several of the Zinnias shown here from seed, including 'Carmine Rose', 'Benary's Giant Purple', 'Benary's Giant Deep Red', 'Queen Lime Red', and 'Queen Lime Orange'.  The others were planted from plugs of a 'Magellan Mix'.


Plants that are just now getting their bloom on include the following:

Increased humidity also prompts Bauhinia x blakeana (aka Hong Kong orchid tree) into bloom

Succulent flowers aren't as flashy as some others but those of Crassula pubescens (left) and C. falcata (right) make an impression by means of repetition

While most of my Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) are done for the season, 'Blue Balboa Rim', planted from plugs in February, has only just started to bloom

Leucophyllum laevigatum (aka Chihuahuan sage) also responds to heightened humidity by flowering

The Pennisetums are just starting to flower.  Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum' is on the left and P. 'Sky Rocket' is on the right.

Coleus 'Vino' (now classified as Plectranthus scuttellarioides) is blooming despite my efforts to stop it.  The plant itself is huge.

This is one of 2 noID Plumerias I have in pots


Even when summer throws its worst at us, there are some plants I can depend upon to add floral color.

Cupheas 'Honeybells', 'Starfire Pink', and 'Vermillionaire'

After being cut back hard in late winter, Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy' is exploding with flowers once again

Grevilleas 'Peaches & Cream' and 'Superb'

Lantanas 'Lucky Orange' and a mix of yellow and orange varieties

Leucadendrons 'Safari Sunset' and 'Blush'

A host of Pelargoniums.  Top row: Pelargonium peltatum 'Deep Burgundy'
Middle row: Pelargonium sidioides and P. peltatum 'Lavender'
Bottom row: Pelargonium schizopetalum and a noID variety

Orchids in my lath (shade) house: Oncostele 'Wildcat' (upper left) and a variety of noID Phalaeonopsis

 

I'll close the Bloom Day segment of this post as I usually do with the best of the rest organized in collages sorted by color.

Clockwise from the upper left: Agapanthus 'Elaine', Delphinium elatum 'Cobalt Dream', noID Delphinium, Felicia aethiopica, noID Plumbago, and Rotheca myricoides

Clockwise from upper left: noID Calibrachoa, blue Eustoma grandiflorum, Limonium perezii, and Hebe 'Grace Kelly'

Clockwise from the upper left: Alstroemeria 'Inca Vienna', Cistus x skanbergii, pink Eustoma grandiflorum, Fuchsia 'Old Berkeley', Oxalis triangularis, and Scabiosa columbaria 'Flutter Rose Pink'

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', A. g. 'Kaleidoscope', Angelonia 'Archangel White', Cosmos bipinnatus, Daucus carota 'Dara', Osteospermum '4D Silver', Westringia fruticosa 'Morning Light', and white Calibrachoa

Clockwise from the upper left: Alstroemeria 'Inca Lucky', Anthurium 'Maine', Aloe 'Rooikappie', noID Coreopsis, Echeveria 'New Black', and Grindelia camporum

 

For other Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts, check in with our host, Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

 

I hope to be back to creating blog posts by next week but I'll be following other blog posters in the meantime as time and circumstances permit.


All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

37 comments:

  1. First, best of health to your husband and success with his surgery. We have nothing if we don't have our health.
    I'm impressed how you managed to squeeze everything into one post; now you can relax and earn a much needed respite.
    I loved your second vase today, how it pops; a small but very impressive "package": Wow
    And finally: Plumeria spells Hawaiian vacation, at least to me, like nothing else does. And it smells good too.
    Chavli

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    1. I love Hawaii and Plumerias, Chavli. We used to visit Hawaii annually but due to a health condition that causes my husband to experience bouts of vertigo, we haven't flown anywhere in years. I was pleased that I actually managed to get 2 Plumeria plants to bloom, even if not in the abundance you see in the islands.

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  2. You still have an impressive amount in bloom, Kris. I really like the bi-colored Eustoma and the dark Agapanthus. The Callistemon put on a nice show, and at least your dahlias are happier than mine. (They are water-starved and being on a well, I'm afraid to give out the amount of water my garden could use.)
    I hope your husband's surgery goes smoothly and he has a speedy recovery. Eliza

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    1. In locally relative terms, it seems everyone everywhere is struggling with drought this summer, Eliza. The raised planters in my cutting garden are the only spots that get a good amount of water. Even there, I've been stingier than in prior years but at least I can more carefully meter out the water within that restricted space. Growing dahlias in my borders proved to be impossible.

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  3. Bear with you? Of course! Plus, your blooms, gardens, arrangements, and photos are so beautiful. Happy IAVOM and Bloom Day!

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  4. Your Bloomday photos are extra lovely this month Kris, I especially love the Bauhinia x blakeana portrait. On a side note, I am finally caught up on your blog again! Life has been busy. I hope your husband's surgery goes well.

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    1. I needed a telephoto lens to photograph the Bauhinia flowers this time, Loree - they all seem to be congregated at the top of the tree right now.

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  5. Hope your husband's op is successful, Kris, and that he makes a speedy recovery. It is always interesting to see the wider picture of your garden as I don't look at GBBD posts these days. Your 'blue' vase is especially appealing today, looking fresh and clean with the blue and white and green

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    1. The blue vase is proof that sometimes simpler is better...

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  6. Wow, all of your photos were beautiful. Amazing to see such beauty all in one place. Your dahlias are stunning!

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    1. Thanks Judy. At this time of year, it's mainly a little of this and a little of that. The broad swaths of color are mostly gone.

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  7. I'm not really into Dahlias, but yours are just gorgeous! I especially like the creamy, pale yellow ones. Happy Bloom Day!

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    1. There's one more yellow-toned dahlia yet in the wings. Last year, I leaned into the red-colored varieties but this year I seem to have gone in a yellow direction ;)

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  8. Beautiful, efficient and a Southern Magnolia! Life is good. Your Zinnias and Dahlias are marvelous. Good luck with the surgery. Amelia, I can never remember my proper website address to register..all those slashes, etc;

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    1. The Southern Magnolia came with the garden and, thankfully, it's well-established and more resilient in the face of drought, Amelia. I'm sorry about the problem with registering your web connection - that change was Blogger's big idea.

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  9. I find it amazing just how many blooms you have during peak summer, despite your measly rainfall, Kris. I know you irrigate, but wow! And your bunches are gorgeous, as usual. Best wishes to your husband for his surgery. Hope everything goes to plan and that his recovery under your care is speedy.

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    1. Thanks Horticat. The surgery isn't high risk but I'm a worrier by nature. He's calmer about the whole thing than I am.

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  10. Best wishes to you and your husband for a very successful surgery and a quick recovery.

    Wonderful array of flowers--'Elaine' does look like the Agapanthus I'm so besotted with, will buy one to compare. Especially enjoyed your array of Pelargoniums--their beautiful colors--
    and of course the Dahlias.

    Do you get the scent of the Magnolia flowers? I climb on my retaining wall so I can get close to the neighbor's flowers and inhale. Sweet!

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    1. The flowers on the Magnolia are so far above my head I'm not able to stick my nose in and get a whiff, HB. (I take most of my photos of those flowers with a telephoto lens.) The fallen petals have no scent that I can detect but then my nose isn't all that good.

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  11. I am going to be a Bloomday deadbeat this month as I have immersed myself in cleaning up my photo files. I think I had my Pelargonium schizopetalum at least 3 years before it bloomed--maybe 4. But I get reblooms now ! I don't think your Breakout is really Breakout. Mine looks like a completely different flower. Google it and see what you think. It can be variable, but it always has pointy petals.

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    1. That could be true, Kathy, although dahlias can be variable. This first flower is nearly identical to the first blooms the dahlia labeled 'Breakout' produced for me last year. It's definitely not 'Calin' in any case. As to the Pelargonium schizopetalum, I'd assumed I'd have to wait years for blooms. When red blooms appeared in the half-barrel, I thought I'd been sent the wrong plants but then these blooms appeared and I concluded that the first (red) flowers were simply hitchhikers. I ordered 3 plants, all of which have bloomed, albeit on different schedules. Most produced 2 flower stems.

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  12. So many gorgeous blooms! I especially love the dahlias and zinnias. I am growing dahlias for the first time this year and think I have the bug now. I keep walking around, figuring out where I can fit more in.

    I hope your husband’s surgery and recovery go well.

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  13. Wow, so many flowers in August Kris! You must be so happy you have managed to keep them going through the dry summer. I understand how stressed you feel about the water situation. You do so well with so little watering. I recently watched a video where someone managed to keep the vegetable garden going through this heatwave without watering for four weeks! Soil improvement and mulching made it possible. Not sure I would want to try! Your vases are lovely. Best wishes to your husband - hope all goes well.

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    1. Mulch is a key requirement. I'm not sure we can ever apply it often enough. I wish I'd added another layer before summer hit.

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  14. If I had your garden, I don't think I would ever go inside - it's so beautiful. I thought of you the other week when, at the town square I bought some Eustoma to bring home to my mother. She (and the ensuing dinner guests) marveled over these beauties that neither had seen before. Other than the Eustoma and some Baby's Breath, most of my bouquets consisted of things I picked along the road. In my head, I made unfair comparisons to your ever fabulous bouquets, but hey - they filled their purpose - LOL!

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    1. I understand that Eustoma/Lisianthus is particularly difficult to grow from seed, which may have something to do with its limited availability, Anna. There are pelleted seeds now that are supposed to be easier to work with but I've continued to rely on the plugs - when I can get them. Luckily, they're perennials, if short-lived ones, in my climate, although the water restrictions here may jeopardize their resiliency.

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    2. Oh dear, I somehow missed the part about your husband's surgery. Sending him all kinds of well wishes from afar. And you too, for that matter. xoxo

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  15. I hope your husband's surgery goes well. The blue bouquet is absolutely stunning. You say you don't have much blooming in your garden at the moment but from your photos it looks like lots is happening. Love the blue and white lisianthus.

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    1. The surgery is done and I've got my husband home - yesterday was rough but now the really hard part has begun...It surprised me that the 'Balboa Blue Rim' Lisianthus took so long to reach bloom stage. It's getting fried by the heat at the moment but at least it flowered ;)

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  16. I love your collages arranged by color! Heck, I love your collages, period. Nobody does them like you do!

    What you said about growing Rudbeckia hirta 'Denver Daisy' as an annual confirms my experience. I so want rudbeckias to be perennials here, as they're supposed to be, but i find them very difficult to grow. Ditto for echinaceas.

    Glad to hear your husband's surgery well well!!!

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    1. Yes, my experience with Echinacea is exactly the same. I've occasionally had Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy' and Echinacea 'White Swan' carry over into the following year but that happened when temperatures were less extreme and rain was more plentiful. It's not something I'd depend on anymore.

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