Bloom Day - July 2024 (Early Edition)

Time is short and the heat is on so I got an early start on my Bloom Day post this month.  Even though my eyes see a diminished supply of flowers, there's still plenty of color in my garden, although the blooms do wither faster than they did in May and June.  As mentioned in Wednesday's post, a persistent marine layer, relatively unusual in July, has helped us out along the coast, keeping temperatures from soaring sky-high as they've done in many parts of the country.  How much longer that'll last is anybody's guess.

I'll start with five megastars of my July garden.

The last 2 years, Agapanthus have peaked in July rather than June as they formerly did.  With the exception of 'Twister' on the lower left, all those shown here are unnamed varieties that came with the garden.

To the best of my knowledge, the succulents in the top row are Crassula pubescens and those on the bottom are C. p. ssp radicans.  They occupy a variety of spaces throughout my garden.

Somewhat to my dismay, Daucus carota 'Dara' has also popped up throughout my garden, all self-seeded.  They're a pretty pest but I hope they don't continue to spread to the same extent in subsequent years.

The 2 tree-sized Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' in my front garden are blooming like never before, probably because I never got around to pruning it back last year

Salvia clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman' in my south-side garden is having a banner year

There are a host of other plants pumping out blooms on a lesser scale too.

Bignonia capreolata on my back slope is another plant inherited with the garden

The blooms of Cistus 'Grayswood Pink' (left) and C. 'Sunset' don't last long but the plants continue to produce new flowers

The flowers of (left to right) Cuphea 'Honeybells', C. 'Starfire Pink', and C. 'Vermillionaire' are small but profuse

I planted Euphorbia 'Dean's Hybrid' on my back slope in 2012 and they continue to spread there.  I like the way they play off the succulents and I'm thinking of trying them in my recently renovated succulent bed adjacent to the garage next year. 

Gaura lindheimeri, now classified as Oenothera lindheimeri, is as pretty but equally as weedy as pink evening primrose.  I cut it back soon after taking these photos.

Gazanias self-seed as well but, unlike Oenothera, they're relatively manageable.  Their seedlings don't always replicate their parents, however.

Clockwise from the upper left are the Grevilleas currently in bloom: G. alpina x rosmarinifolia, G. 'Poorinda Leane', G. 'Peaches & Cream', G. 'Moonlight', G. 'Superb' (in a wide shot and closeup), and G. sericea

My noID shaggy Leucanthemum x superbum

Magnolia grandiflora - if only it didn't continuously drop leaves and petals by the bucketfuls during the summer months!

Pandorea jasminoides and Trachelospermum jasminoides doing their summer thing sharing an arbor

Polygala myrtifolia continuing its relentless effort to fill every open spot in my garden

Rosa 'Pink Meidiland' also came with the garden

Long-blooming Salvia canariensis var candissima 

Sollya heterophylla (aka Australian bluebell creeper), now classified as Billardiera heterophylla, continues to spread, which may necessitate adjustments to its bed

I planted 2 small Tanacetum parthenium as fillers in one of the raised planters of my cutting garden late last year.  They remained small until last month when they mounted a takeover.  The T. p. 'Aureum' remains relatively modest in size but the straight species is now feet taller and wider.

There are some new arrivals this month.

The Begonia 'Roseform Pastel Mix' tubers I potted up earlier this year just started to bloom this week

The Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus) I planted as plugs received by mail order are finally blooming but I've lost a few already to dry conditions

Excuse the Daucus carota photobombing the Leonotis leonurus on the left.  The lion's tail shrubs want more room and more sun than they're getting.

Hybrid Monarda 'Peter's Purple' is the only bee balm that's survived in my garden

Despite the influence of the marine layer, there are a significant number of plants headed for the exits as the temperatures climb.

Clockwise from the upper left, the pending exits include: Achillea 'Moonshine', Arctotis 'Large Marge', Cynara 'Purple Romagna', and Digitalis purpurea 'Peach Dalmatian'

Other exits include the daylilies, clockwise from the upper left: Hemerocallis 'Apollodorus', H. 'For Pete's Sake', H. 'Strawberry Candy', H. 'Persian Market', and H. 'Sammy Russell'

After delaying their blooms for well over a month, the lilies are now sprinting for the finish line.  Clockwise from the upper left are: Lilium 'Conca d'Or', L. 'Friso', L. 'Orange Planet', and 'Pretty Woman'.  The latter has 2 more bloom stalks but they're still without buds.

I never got a good shot of the tall red flower stalks of Melianthus major growing up through one of my strawberry trees but the spent flowers with the lime green seedpods show up better

I'm surprised that some Osteospermums have hung on for this long.  Clockwise from the upper left are O. 'Coral Magic', O. 'Double Moonglow', O. 'Purple Spoon', and O. 'Violet Ice'.

This has already been a long post but, as usual, I've gone ahead and appended photos of the best of the rest in collages organized by color with names noted clockwise from the upper left.

Red flowers: Allium spaerocephalon, Alstroemeria 'Inca Lucky', Fuchsia 'Voodoo', Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun', G. 'Spintop Copper Sun', Lotus berthelotii, Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy', and Pelargonium peltatum 'Dark Burgundy'

Orange and yellow flowers: Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', Argyranthemum 'Angelic Maize', Eriogonum nudum 'Ella Nelson's Yellow', Lantana 'Lucky Yellow', Lonicera japonica, and Santolina 'Lemon Fizz'

White flowers: Alstroemeria 'Claire', Fuchsia 'Windchimes White', Phyla nodiflora (aka Lippia), 2-headed Acanthus mollis, and Dipladenia

Pink and lavender flowers: Pelargonium hortorum 'Dynamo Hot Pink', P. peltatum 'Lavender Blizzard, P. hybrid 'Orange Fizz', Teucrium cossonii majoricum, and Tulbaghia violacea

Blue and purple flowers: one of 10 Gladiolus 'Purple Flora' quickly withered by the heat, Globularia x indubia, Salvia 'Mystic Spires', noID Scaevola, Viola 'Sorbet XP Neptune, and Wahlbergia 'Blue Cloud'

I hope I haven't bored you with another long Bloom Day post.  For more posts from a range of locations in the US and beyond, visit Carol, the host of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, at May Dreams Gardens on July 15th.

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

In a Vase on Monday: Last call for summer flowers?

We were hit with a wicked heatwave last Wednesday and it's not over yet.  On top of that, we received belated notification the same day that our area is subject to a 15-day ban on outdoor watering starting September 6th while the water district that provides water to our local water company repairs a critical pipeline.  I've been scrambling ever since to prepare the garden as best I can to handle the double whammy.  As we were warned that temperatures could reach historic highs on Sunday, I gathered flowers from my garden early Saturday morning.  Whether there will be anything vase-worthy to cut next week or the following week remains to be seen.

The inspiration for my first arrangement was provided by a succulent flower.  

The short-stemmed succulent flower is front and center.  The plant is Crassula falcata, aka airplane plant and propeller plant due to the growth habit of its foliage.

Back view: I cut the succulent's flower, planning to complement it with the always plentiful blooms of Grevillea 'Superb', only to find those flowers were largely spent by the heat.  I cut just 3 stems, feeling somewhat guilty about reducing the hummingbirds' favorite source of nectar.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Leucadendron 'Summer Red', Crassula falcata, Dahlia 'Summer's End', Grevillea 'Superb', and Zinnia elegans 'Queen Orange Lime'

Heat and humidity, courtesy of the monsoonal moisture in the desert areas east of us, brought out the flowers of Leucophyllum laevigatum (aka Chihuahuan sage).  I've had this shrub in my garden since 2012 but it's easily overlooked - except when it suddenly bursts into bloom.  It inspired my second vase.

Because everything was fading fast during the extended heatwave, I cut almost every passable bloom I could find

Back view: The stem of the larger of these 2 dahlia blooms collapsed under its own weight during the hot, dry winds that accompanied the heatwave

Top view: The navy blue flowers of Agapanthus 'Elaine' don't really fit the composition in my view but it seemed better to enjoy them inside than watch them wither outside

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Agapanthus 'Elaine', Amaryllis belladonna 'Alba', Dahlia 'Lavender Ruffles', blue and white Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus), and Leucophyllum laevigatum

Except for its focal flowers, the vase featuring the red and white dahlia last week held up well.  There were two more blooms on what for lack of a positive ID I'm calling Dahlia 'Catching Fire' so I cut those and a few 'Benary's Giant Red' Zinnias to fill in.  The dahlia blooms should do better in a vase than in 100F+ heat.

Large as it is, I decided to leave this arrangement on the kitchen island so I could enjoy it while it lasts

Sunday's heat proved to be as nasty as advertised.  It was already 88F (31C) at 7am when I went back to work in the garden on my preparations for the looming outdoor water ban.  I retreated inside two hours later as the thermometer continued to climb.  Sunday's temperature  in my location peaked at just under 106F (41C) mid-day before slowing cooling falling below 100F (37C) when clouds moved in from the east.  The expected duration of our current heatwave has been extended into Thursday.  Meanwhile the 15-day outdoor watering ban starts tomorrow.

For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

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

Bloom Day - August 2020

Until this week, I'd been exclaiming over what a comfortable summer we've been enjoying in my area of coastal Southern California.  This week, the thermostat has been turned up and each day has been getting more toasty.  Forecasters say this heatwave is going to be with us for awhile.  With the heat on, I've confined my garden activity to early morning rounds delivering extra water to bolster sensitive plants - and taking photos for this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day post.

I'll start with this month's star performers.

This is Amaryllis belladonna, also called the naked lady because the flowers bloom well after the foliage has died back.  Tammy of Casa Mariposa kindly sent me a couple dozen of these bulbs back in 2015 after she decided they weren't a good fit in her Virginia garden.  They're having their best year ever here.

This is a white Amaryllis belladonna from the same shipment.  They're somewhat more unusual it seems.

I got yet another flush of flowers from Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' this month.  As soon as the heat turned up this week, they started fading from this lovely peachy-pink to dusty beige.

This is Crassula pubescens.  It flowers later than the yellow-flowered variety with smaller leaves but it has almost as much impact in my succulent beds.  I've discovered that the flower stems are great in arrangements too.

Cuphea 'Vermillionaire' just keeps on flowering

Ditto for Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun'

This combination of orange and yellow Lantana has been blooming buoyantly for a good month

One border in my back garden is dominated by this variegated Lantana 'Samantha'

Symphyotrichum chilense, aka California aster, is something of an out-of-control monster, but it's pretty even so

I've come to love this hybrid of California's native woolly blue curls, Trichostema 'Midnight Magic'

Last year, Dahlias were the headliners of my August post but this year they're only just getting started.  This is entirely my fault, as I planted my tubers a good six weeks later on average than I did last year.  I'm including the few blooms I have thus far with the other recent arrivals.

The first and second Dahlias to bloom were 'Sellwood Glory' (left) and 'Mr Optimist' (right)

Dahlias 'Enchantress' (left) and 'Labyrinth' (right) didn't quite make full bloom status in time for their Bloom Day portraits yesterday but I expect they'll be in full flower later today

Most of my Agapanthus are early summer bloomers.  I added five bulbs of Agapanthus 'Stevie's Wonder' last year and two of those produced their first blooms this month.  The flowers are a deeper blue than any of those I inherited with the garden.

I didn't get around to sowing any Cosmos seeds until July but I bought a six-pack of white Cosmos bipinnatus to provide a supply of those blooms as the seedlings grow

I saw this plant out of the corner of my eye on my last trip to the garden center and found I couldn't leave without it.  This is Cuphea ramossima 'Pink Shimmer'.  The flowers are truly tiny.

I planted Gladiolus in my cutting garden this year after finding the corms on a last-chance sale.  These are 'Green Star' (left) and 'Vuvuzela' (right).

I've killed Grevillea 'Moonlight' twice before.  This one, planted in early March, seems happy.

Rudbeckia hirta 'Sahara' was purchased by mail order in July

Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum' came with the garden.  It's starting its summer/fall bloom phase.

I planted several packs of Zinnia plugs in July to provide a quick splash of color on the south end of my garden but the seed-sown plants in my cutting garden are finally starting to bloom too.  The large photo in this collage features Zinnia elegans 'Queen Lime Blush'.

I had a few surprises too, which deserve special notice.

I fell in love with Coreopsis 'Redshift' in 2012 and planted several in various areas of the garden.  This plant in the back border is the only one that survived.

This unnamed Crocosmia popped up, seemingly out of nowhere, belatedly reminding me that I'd planted a dozen bulbs a few years ago.  This is the first to ever make an appearance.

I planted  a huge bulb of Drimia maritima, aka sea squill, on our back slope last year.  The foliage died down in March and it's producing its first bloom spike now.  The bloom hasn't flushed out yet and I hope I don't miss it when it does.  Although I've never discovered their nest, there are fire ants down there and, when I checked on the Drimia earlier this week, I got stung (again).  I suited up in protective gear to get this photo yesterday morning.

As has become my practice, I'll close with the best of the rest, organized in collages by color.

Clockwise from upper left: Erigeron glaucus 'Wayne Broderick', blue and lavender Eustoma grandiflorum, Plectranthus neochilus, Salvia canariensis var candidissima, and Salvia x jamensis 'Ignition Purple'

From the upper left: Pandorea jasminoides, Achillea ptarmica 'Peter Cottontail', Coriandrum sativum, Eustoma grandiflorum, Magnolia grandiflora, Mimulus bifidus, and Tanacetum parthenium 'Aureum'

From the upper left: Achillea 'Moonshine', self-sown Gazania, noID Phalaenopsis, and Rudbeckia hirta 'Denver Daisy'

From the upper left: Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', G. 'Superb', Hemerocallis 'Persian Market', Hesperaloe parviflora 'Brakelights', Echinacea 'Cheyenne Spirit', Lantana 'Irene', and Russelia 'Flamingo Park'

From the upper left: Leucadendron 'Summer Red', self-sown Amaranthus, Grevillea 'Ned Kelly', Penstemon mexicali 'Mini-bells Red', and Pelargonium peltatum 'Burgundy'

Top row: Alstroemeria 'Inca Vienna', Bauhinia x blakeana, and Cuphea 'Starfire Pink'
Middle row: Eustoma grandiflorum, Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy', and Fuchsia 'Old Berkeley'
Bottom row: Osteospermum 'Berry White', Rosa 'Pink Meidiland, and Scabiosa columbaria

For more blooms, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens.  

All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party