Dahlia buds take their time about opening but 'Mikayla Miranda' came through this week while my others continue to dilly-dally. Luckily, it's one of my favorites, which makes the slow roll of the rest more tolerable.
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| This is the 4th year in a row I've grown 'Mikayla Miranda', all from divisions of a single tuber I purchased in 2022 |
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| Back view: I used foxglove stems as the primary accent, the majority of which came from a single plant that keeps on giving. The other 2 fillers, stems of common myrtle and the sweet pea shrub (Polygala myrtifolia), were mostly buried in the mix. |
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| Overhead view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Mikayla Miranda', Digitalis purpurea, Myrtus communis, and Polygala myrtifolia |
Dahlia 'Labyrinth' has produced just a single open flower thus far so I elected to hold off on using it until it makes more of an effort. Three other dahlias are showing color and all but eight of my twenty plants are flaunting buds. The stragglers look as though they're ready to pop, however. In the interim, I decided to take advantage of the newest Agapanthus blooms as the blue notes in my garden are rapidly fading under our increasingly warm temperatures.
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| I used 3 different varieties of Agapanthus |
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| Back view: I struggled to find suitable filler and ended up with a diverse hodge-podge |
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| Overhead view |
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Top row: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Billardiera heterophylla, and Myrtus communis
Middle: Agapanthus 'Elaine', noID, and 'Twister'
Bottom: green Eustoma grandiflorum, Felicia aethiopica, and Globularia x indubia |
The afternoon temperatures are relatively comfortable by our standards, running in the low-to-mid 80sF (28-29C) but our air quality is awful. I can't even see the outlines of the mountains to the east and I'm not inclined to take deep breaths when outside. While I'd gotten a little tired of our persistent afternoon winds, I'm now wishing they'd kick up again. Under the circumstances, I'm not sure how much work I'll be putting into the garden until there's some improvement.
For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, the conductor of our merry band.
All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
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