In a Vase on Monday: The Wind Factor

I've been fretting off and on about when to clear my cutting garden of the dahlias that have done so well this year.  Given their vigor, I anticipated that the majority could hold up well into November if I allowed it, which meant that my cool season garden would get off to a very late start.  While the dahlias were negatively impacted by the severe heatwave we had in September, they'd come roaring back and even the two stragglers finally offered blooms as our temperatures cooled down.  However, my predictions about the dahlias' staying power failed to take account of Southern California's virulent Santa Ana winds.  As a life-long resident of Southern California, how I managed to miss that factor in making my predictions suggests an element of delusion on my part.  The fierce winds were actually fairly late this year, with the first major event kicking off last Friday.  I lost more dahlia flowers overnight to the strong, dry winds than to the earlier heatwave.  The top-heavy flowers snapped their stems and petals quickly withered.  I'd hoped I could give away lots of flowers to neighbors when I pulled up the dahlia tubers but at the moment I suspect I may be squeaking by just to have sufficient blooms to fill one or two more vases next week.

The first few blooms of Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera' opened this weekend but I cut only one stem, filling in my first vase with two stems of Dahlia 'Fairway Spur'.  The latter had performed nose dives in response to the wind's ferocity.

I also included zinnias and Grevillea stems to add interest

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Cuphea 'Honeybells', Grevillea 'Superb', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera', D. 'Fairway Spur', Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Coral', and Z. e. 'Zinfandel Peach'

Unlike the dahlias, my seed-sown zinnias were hardly bothered by the wind.  I cut a lot of them for this week's arrangements and made them the centerpiece of my second vase.

The largest zinnias shown here were all grown from seed as 'Benary's Giant Wine' but some are noticeably darker than others, as evidenced in this photo.  I added 2 stems of Amarine, hybrids of Amaryllis belladonna and Nerines, to lighten the combination somewhat.

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', Amarine belladive 'Emanuelle', 2 variations of Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Wine', and Z. e. 'Zinfandel Lilac'

I threw a handful of stems of Dahlia 'Summer's End' and a couple zinnias into a small vase for the kitchen island.

This vase also contains a single stem of Leptospermum 'Copper Glow'

Our morning marine layer deserted us while the winds were blowing but we're expecting its return here along the coast as early as tomorrow, which should bring our temperatures back down into the 70sF (21-26C) and raise our humidity to a more comfortable level.  Time permitting, I may start digging up the most woebegone of my dahlias tubers later this week.  I put out a handful of small bottles containing flowers late yesterday afternoon but it's possible the wind may take them out before anyone stops by to pick them up.

Most of what was really battered went into our green bin but the flowers I cut to give away had a couple days of life in them.  If they're scattered all over the street in the morning, I'll know that was a useless gesture.

For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy in Rambling in the Garden, the leader of the merry band of flower arrangers working with what we have on hand in our own gardens.

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

An unplanned nursery stop

Although, like Alice in Wonderland's white rabbit,  I seem to be running late for everything recently, I took off on a whim on Monday morning for Flora Grubb Gardens in Marina Del Rey in response to notice of a flash twenty percent off sale.  Halfway there, after getting a late start, then getting caught up in traffic delays related to construction projects I encountered everywhere, I decided to stop in at Deep Roots Garden Center in Manhattan Beach instead.  I'm currently focused on finding multi-petaled Osteospermums to fill in empty spots in my back garden and I thought Deep Roots was more likely to have those than Flora Grubb anyway.  As it turns out, I didn't sacrifice on a sale offer either.

Here's the sign I saw as soon as I stepped into the garden center:

The garden center is scheduled to move early next year.  It'll reopen in the new location nominally closer to my home on a date TBD in March or April.

Deep Roots is small but generally well-stocked (except during the lead up to the year-end holidays starting in mid-November).  And, like Floral Grubb Gardens, it emphasizes waterwise plants.

Despite their ongoing sale, most areas were still relatively well-stocked.

The bedding plants on display included some Osteospermums but not the multi-petaled varieties I was looking for

A wide selection of succulents in both small and big sizes was available

There were plenty of shade plants too.  I've been on the look-out for more coleus and they had a couple of varieties that are hard to find.

The forty percent off sale on all plants was compelling but I still talked myself out of several plants.

Clockwise from the upper left these included: Aeonium 'Pink Witch' (hard to find but priced at $40 before the discount for plants in 4-inch pots), a Lophospermum (not well suited to the conditions in my garden), Veltheimia (I already have 3 bulbs that haven't proven themselves), and Cereus forbesii ($48 even after the sale discount)

as well as a mature Beschorneria in bloom (I couldn't find a price tag and decided not to bother asking)

However, I didn't walk out empty-handed.

I brought home a Cordyline 'Can Can', 2 Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Lime Shrimp' (coleus in the 'Under the Sea' series) shown with 3 Gazania 'White Flame', and 3 Crassula 'Sea Urchin'

It's been a remarkably cool and dreary week and I haven't touched most of the items on my ridiculously long to-do list but the sun came out mid-day yesterday and the weekend should be beautiful so I'm hoping to get back to work.  The biggest issue currently distracting me are some behavioral problems with Meeko.  Other than her continued insistence on using furniture to sharpen her claws, she seemed to be adapting well, until she suddenly went on the attack this past week, turning on me a few times, as well as my husband.  I think this is attributable to stress related to a few random incidents involving stray dogs in our unfenced garden and also scent sprayed by skunks near her catio.  She actually scared me on two of these occasions, as well as leaving me bloodied.

Meeko was peaceful and relatively laid back yesterday afternoon.  I lined up an appointment with my vet next week to discuss both additional methods to manage the furniture scratching (already covered with two-sided tape and other deterrents) and the sudden aggressive behavior.  In the meantime, I've started giving her Zylkene, a hydrolyzed milk supplement designed to help cats relax in stressful situations.  I've also picked up a chewable vitamin-based treat intended to make cats feel more comfortable.

Hopefully, we can resolve the issues soon.  My husband is already in favor of taking her back to the shelter, something I can't even imagine.  I've never given up on an animal, even when vets on two separate occasions encouraged me to take cats I'd adopted back to the place I got them.  The prospect of doing so this time is heartbreaking. 

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Bloom Day - October 2024 (Late Edition)

As temperatures begin to drop and it's finally feeling more like fall here in coastal Southern California, the bulk of the flowers are still those in my cutting garden but I'll start with the ones that can be found in other areas of my garden.

All 4 Arbutus 'Marina' (strawberry trees) are suddenly laden with flowers.  The hummingbirds are going crazy, as is my cat, who's watching them from behind the windows as they careen about.

Two of the 3 of the Australian fuchsias, Correa 'Ivory Bells' and C. 'Wyn's Wonder', have come into flower

The Cupheas - 'Honeybells', 'Starfire', and 'Vermillionare' - are putting on a good show too

I cut back most of the Lantana 4-6 weeks ago and they came roaring back.  Clockwise from the upper left are: Lantana camara 'Irene', noID orange variety, L. 'Little Lucky Lavender', and L. 'Lucky Yellow'.

Although they're not true flowers but rather colorful bracts, Leucadendrons 'Blush' and 'Summer Red' are in fine form

Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum' and P. 'Sky Rocket' got a slow start

The dahlias and zinnias in the cutting garden aren't ready to throw in the towel.  As it's already past time to get my cool season garden started, which requires clearing the raised planters they occupy, I may have to evict them before they're ready to go this year.

Two dahlias have only recently deigned to grace my garden with flowers.  Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera' (left) is just a day or 2 shy of opening its first blooms of the season while D. 'Hometown Hero' (right) produced its first flowers only last week.

Dahlia 'Excentric' didn't really get started until last month but it's peaking this month

All the orange and peach-colored dahlias are continuing to produce flowers.  Clockwise from the upper left are: Dahlias 'Brown Sugar', 'Creme de Cognac', 'Fairway Spur', 'Labyrinth', 'Lady Darlene', and 'Summer's End'.

The other dahlias that keep on flowering include, clockwise from the upper left: Dahlias 'Catching Fire', 'Iceberg', 'La Luna', and 'Mikayla Miranda'.  The only dahlia that seems done for the season so far is 'Break Out'.

The seed-sown zinnias also continue to do well, although the same can't be said of those I planted as plugs to fill in empty spots.  Clockwise from the upper left are: Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Coral', 'Benary's Giant Wine', 'Golden Hour', 'Raspberry Limeade', 'Zinderella Lilac', and 'Zinderella Peach'.

As usual, I came across a few surprises this October.

Certain bulb blooms surprise me whenever they appear.  Clockwise from the upper left are: Amarine belladiva 'Emanuelle', Hymenocallis festalis (aka Peruvian daffodil), and Lycoris sprengeri.

I believe this is the first time Aloe labworana has bloomed

I thought Eriocapitella hupehensis (left, aka Japanese anemones) were fried during last month's severe heatwave but flowers have arrived anyway.  Eustoma grandiflorum 'Light Apricot' (middle, aka lisianthus) flowered after I'd given up on it.  Sollya heterophylla (right, syn Billardiera heterophylla, aka bluebell creeper) has produced purple berries to follow its blue flowers.

Hebe x speciosa 'Grace Kelly' keeps trying to shake loose its variegation but it blooms now and then

I have Protea flowers at last!  Protea neriifolia 'Claire' (left) and P. n. 'Pink Ice' (right) look nearly identical to me

Some salvias are springing back after being pruned.  Salvia canariensis candidissima (left) and Salvia discolor (right) are flowering again.

I also added a couple of flowering plants to the garden within the past month, both of which I planted in barrel containers.

This is Helianthus 'Sunfinity'

I grew Rotheca myricoides (formerly known as Clerodendron ugandense) successfully years ago in Santa Monica.  I tried a small plant here and it failed but I couldn't pass up this larger specimen when I saw it at my local garden center a couple of weeks ago.  It's in a barrel in partial shade with its own drip irrigator, underplanted with violas and Lobelia.  My fingers are crossed. 

Everything else I photographed during the past few days was tucked into color-themed collages, as is my standard practice.

Clockwise from the upper left: Digitalis purpurea, Echinacea purpurea, Polygala myrtifolia, Pelargonium peltatum 'Lavender Blizzard', Felicia aethiopica, Leucophyllum laevigatum, Salvia rosmarinus (aka rosemary), and Tulbaghia violacea

Left to right: Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Fuchsia 'Windchimes White', and Osteospermum 'Violet Ice'

Clockwise from the upper left: Hemerocallis 'Persian Market', Pelargonium hortorum 'Dynamo Hot Pink', Stachys 'Lilac Falls', Pelargonium 'Little Pink Splash', Gazania 'Otomi', P. sidoides, Rudbeckia hirta 'Sahara', and Pentas lanceolata

Clockwise from upper left: Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', G. 'Superb', Salvia 'Skyscaper Orange', and a mix of Gazanias

That's a wrap for my October report for Garden Blogger's Bloom Day.  For more GBBD posts, visit our host, Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: The hero shows up at last

I'm having a good dahlia season, even though two dahlias have been especially tardy about showing up.  'Belle of Barmera' is within days of opening its first blooms; however, 'Hometown Hero' finally made its first appearance last week.  Fortunately, it's made up for lost time by producing a large number of blooms all at once.

'Hometown Hero' was named to honor the firefighters who fought wildfires in Oregon in 2020

Back view: In addition to Zinnias, I reused the stems of Leucadendron 'Blush' I originally cut for my "Flashy Lady" IAVOM post 2 weeks ago, which still look fresh. 

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Dahlia 'Hometown Hero', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Leucadendron salignum 'Blush', Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Coral', and Z. e. 'Golden Hour'

Meanwhile Dahlia 'Catching Fire' has been on fire all season.  I haven't used it often for IAVOM but I've given the flowers away now and then.  As the season gradually draws to its end, I thought it deserved a swan song.

Dahlia 'Catching Fire' was joined on this occasion with a single bloom of Dahlia 'Iceberg', which has been stingy with its flowers this year

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Correa 'Ivory Bells', Dahlia 'Catching Fire', D. 'Iceberg', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Pelargonium peltatum 'Dark Burgundy'

The heat is trailing off at last here.  This week's forecast shows temperatures ranging from the low-to-upper 60sF (17-20C), which in our terms is practically cold!  Of course, that doesn't mean we won't see another heatwave but it's a good sign.  There are even chances of drizzle in the coming days but I'm not counting on that.  The marine layer is expected to be heavy most of the week so we may pick up a hundredth of an inch of precipitation here and there in any case.

For more floral arrangements, check in with our IAVOM host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party