I was late putting together a Bloom Day post and, as Carol of May Dreams Gardens, the creator of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, is in the process of retiring the meme anyway, I thought I'd do my own thing this month. Rather than cover virtually everything I currently have in flower as I've done in the past, I picked just the plants that drew my eye right now. It's still a relatively long list!
I'm starting with a few plants I recently acquired.
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| I lost a significant number of plants due to a February heatwave and my inability to properly care for my garden when medical issues sidelined me for an extended period. I refilled this pot with a Digiplexis 'Illumination Raspberry' and 2 peachy Osteospermums. |
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| Tired of waiting for my first dahlia tubers to bloom, I bought this Dahlia 'XXL Veracruz' at my local garden center already in flower and potted it up |
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| A small Dahlia 'Karma Carolina' I'd back-ordered in January (and promptly forgotten) was delivered in April. The plant flowered before any of the bare tubers I planted. |
As it's easier to simply present the rest of my selections in alphabetical order, that's what I've done.
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| Cuphea 'Vermillionaire' is now blooming with abandon |
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| One of several artichokes (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus) are flowering on our back slope, overlooked by 2 neighboring homes |
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| These Gaillardia 'Spintop Copper Sun' returned to bloom more vigorously than ever this year |
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| Hebe ''Grace Kelly' is flowering better than ever this year, although its lost most of its variegation |
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| The Hemerocallis 'Sammy Russell' daylilies originally came with the house |
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| Another noID Hippeastrum flowered this month. Their schedule is unpredictable. |
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| The noID purple Iris germanica at the bottom of my back slope are the only ones I can depend upon to bloom each year. They came with the garden. |
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| The 2 tree-like Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' in the front garden are flowering more profusely than they ever have before |
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| The noID Leucanthemum x superbum I received from a friend years ago as a gift have picked up their flower power this month |
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| The last of this year's Lilium 'Orange Planet' are finishing up but luckily other lilies are preparing to make an entrance |
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| The red-orange flowers of the Lotus berthelotii I planted last year are also finally blooming in earnest |
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| The Phlomis fruticosa (aka Jerusalem sage) I thought had finished up in April seem to be back! |
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| I've been largely avoiding my semi-treacherous back slope but I did notice that the Matilija poppies (Romneya coulteri) are in flower. Pretty as they are, I tried to remove them again last year and clearly failed. |
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| This is Rudbeckia 'Juliana', which I didn't expect to last the season summer, much less to be flowering again this year |
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| Salvia 'Mystic Spires' is also back and flowering with greater vigor thus year |
That's enough for now, wouldn't you say? More dahlias are on the heels of those I shared at the top of this post, and there are at least a couple more lilies in the wings. I have lots of tiny zinnia and sunflower seedlings coming up too but, if they survive, I expect it'll be a couple of months yet before they amount to anything as they got a very late start this year.
Meanwhile, I hope your summer is off to a good start!
All material © 2012-2026 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Retiring IAVOM!? Wow! An end of an era.
ReplyDeleteI expect that with your love of bloom, Kris, you'll continue to share photos of the flowers in your garden had to offer, meme or no meme.
The color of that Digiplexis 'Illumination Raspberry' is gorgeous! They are suppose to be perennials, I think (though mine was a one-season-wonder). Will you plant it later in the garden proper?
Lotus berthelotii has beautiful bloom color and excellent foliage. Very well placed too, gently 'spilling' into the path.
Chavli
IAVOM isn' retiring retiring, Chavli! It's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day that I understand is planning to do that! As to the Digiplexis, I'll have to see how it does. The other time I grew it (years ago) it died in short order. in contrast, that Lotus is tough.
DeleteOf course, it's the bloom's day meme... I should never comment before I had my first cup of coffee 😂
DeleteChavli
Just the other day I was thinking of Carol and the Bloomday posts and wondering how long she'd keep it going. Perhaps you should take over the hosting? (kidding) Nobody does flowers quite like you!
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if Carol will change her mind before the year is out. She's been heading that meme for a very long time, though. She deserves a break!
DeleteAmazing to have things in bloom that you inherited with the house. Your garden is great therapy for you, physical and otherwise!
ReplyDeleteIt is, although I could use more time doing "garden therapy" than I'm getting at present, Denise.
DeleteThat Cuphea is amazing and hurray for the inherited Iris that blooms! I love osteospermums, but don't often find truly spectacular ones like those I see when we travel- the colour on yours is just gorgeous! Are they perennial in your garden?
ReplyDeleteThe Osteospermums are mostly short-lived perennials here, although some hang on for years. There are also some - usually the less flashy ones (of course) - that self-seed.
DeleteLove to see you're out and about in your wonderful garden. Pretty, pretty flowers!
ReplyDeleteHopefully, there are more coming as as the dahlias get moving!
DeleteGorgeous blooms Kris! I especially love the shot of the artichoke bloom and all the glorious texture and color behind it. Can't wait to see more dahlias :).
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see more dahlias either, Tracy!
DeleteLove the first photo plant combination. A perfect colour echo. Everything looks fantastic. Your Vermillionaire is gorgeous. Ours never reach that size as we have to treat them as annuals. We are off to a very slow start this season. Super cold, lots of rain and wind. A late cold spell hit all the flower buds on the trees and shrubs so it's been a rather less colourful Spring. Always something.
ReplyDeleteUgh! Yes, Mother Nature is fond of throwing up challenges. I hope summer brings you more favorable weather, Elaine!
DeleteI've missed your bloom-day posts, but glad you'll still be showing us what's happening now and again. Any chance for wide shots to resume? :) Eliza
ReplyDeleteI'd understood that Carol of May Dreams Gardens plans to phase out GBBD at year end and I'd planned to follow suit but I hadn't thought about what I was going to do with my quarterly wide shots posts. I'll give it some thought - I missed my April post but the usual July post is coming up, isn't it?
DeleteIt's an awful feeling when you can't get out their to tend the garden as much as you would like. Every summer I panic because it dries out earlier in the year and it gets hotter and I am unable to keep up. I planted a "drought tolerant, heat loving" perennial on Saturday, watered it in well, and two days later it was half dead. Even though it had plenty of water, the roots simply couldn't keep up with the heat. Despite all of that, as you show in your garden, there are still those plants that survive and thrive. Your gaillardias are pretty with their little wheels of orange and yellow - I love how compact your plants are! My Romneya is also starting to run more. I am tempted to let it take over.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I was frustrated with my ability/inability to keep up with my garden before my medical "event" but I'm really behind the game now! I've lost a lot of plants this year - but maybe I can look forward to investing in a lot of new plants this coming fall...
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