Bloom Day - October 2025

It's scavenger hunt time in my garden.  I'm never utterly without flowers, winter being virtually a foreign concept here in coastal Southern California, but, at the end of summer, having had months without measurable rain, my garden can't be described as particularly floriferous.  This is especially true since the dahlias made an early exit this year.  (If you missed it, you can find my salute to the dahlias here.)  There isn't a lot of any one kind of flower but I took a careful survey of what's out there and here it is, starting with the most prominent specimens:

Aloe labworana, surprising me with a second round of flowers at the start of fall

Not flowers, but the berries of Auranticarpa rhombifolium provide a colorful display

After a second flush of the bottlebrush flowers of Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid', I recently got a third one

I added Chrysocephalum apiculatum 'Desert Flame' to my garden earlier this year, not knowing what to expect.  It's a winner.

Okay, the flowers of Coleus 'Florida Sun Rose' (shown on the right) aren't impressive (and I usually cut them off) but you've got to give it credit for its foliage color.  I planted this one in 2024 and it sailed through last year's winter season, getting bigger and better.

The Correas (aka Australian fuchsias) are getting their bloom on.  From left to right are Correa glabra, C. 'Ivory Bells', and C. 'Wyn's Wonder'.

Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus) hasn't done all that well for me this year but I've got a scattering of the plants in different colors in various areas of my garden

The large-flowered Grevilleas bloom year round here.  On the left is Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' and the more profuse G. 'Superb' is on the right.

I cut back all my Lantana a month ago and they responded with another flush of flowers.  Clockwise from the left are: Lantana camara 'Irene', L. 'Lucky Yellow', and variegated L. 'Samantha'.

The colorful bracts of Leucadendron aren't true flowers either but many make good substitutes to fill vases.  Leucadendron salignum 'Summer Red' is on the left and L. 'Safari Sunset' is on the right. 

I can't say I love the flowers of Mangave 'Pineapple Express' but it has stature

Rudbeckia 'Juliana' has been putting on a good show for the past 2 months.  Even though I treat them as annuals, they're definitely worth the investment.  I wish I'd added more this year.

These are the flowers of Xylosma congestum, which forms a hedge running along major sections of my garden.  It doesn't seem to bloom every year, or at least not on a significant scale, but the bees love those tiny yellow flowers when they show up,

I added a few annuals earlier this month and also waved goodbye to the last of my seed-sown zinnias.

I recently planted plugs of Cosmos bipinnatus to fill holes in my garden

I cut the last of the Zinnia elegans I grew from seed earlier this week after mildew badly marred their foliage.  Left to right are 'Benary's Giant Lime', 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose', and a variety I can't account for.

There were a few surprises as usual too.

My one remaining Japanese anemone (now classified as Eriocapitella hupehensis), inherited with the garden, has managed to offer a few blooms even though summer's hot, dry conditions virtually torched its foliage.  I hope to add more of these plants, if I can find them, to a shadier section of my garden.

I cut back my ruffled Leucanthemum x superbum in early summer, hoping to prompt a second flush of bloom.  I didn't get that but I did get this one photogenic flower!

I cut back my Polygala myrifolia (aka sweet pea bush) and Tulbaghia violacea (aka society garlic) too and this pairing sprang back in bloom.  The former has become something of a self-seeding weed in my climate but it's admittedly pretty.

Yucca 'Bright Star' doesn't bloom every year but the largest of my 3 plants is getting ready to do so this year.  My guess is that it'll end up looking like an unshapely mess once it's done but perhaps I can divide it.

I've planted numerous rain lily bulbs (Zephyranthes) over the years but I rarely spot them.  I saw this one when I almost stepped on it following the tiny bit of rain we had earlier this month (0.02/inch). 

I've thrown the rest of my photos of bits of bloom into color-themed collages.

Clockwise from the upper left: Catharanthus 'Blueberry Kisses', Hebe 'Grace Kelly', Lavandula multifida, Liriope muscari, Pelargonium peltatum 'Lavender Blizzard', Rotheca myricoides 'Ugandense', Salvia 'Mystic Spires', and Symphyotrichum frikartii 'Monch'

From the upper left: Arbutus 'Marina', Argyranthemum 'Aramis Apricot', Boronia crenulata, Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', bud of Medinilla myriantha, Penta lanceolata, and Xerochrysum bracteatum

From the upper left: Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', Argyranthemum 'Everest', Catharanthus 'Peppermint White', noID Dianthus, Fuchsia 'Windchimes White', and noID self-seeded Osteospermum

From the upper left: Gazania, Gaillardia 'Spin Top Copper Sun', Pelargonium peltatum, and Salvia 'Skyscraper Orange'

That's it!  Visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens to find other Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts.

As an aside, we got our first real rainstorm of the 2026 "water year" yesterday!  The total was 0.56/inch, which probably doesn't sound like much to those of you in wetter climates but it's a pretty good showing for us, especially this early in our rainy season.  Our total rainfall for the 2025 water year (October 1, 2024-September 30, 2025) was a measly 7.03 inches.

All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party