In a Vase on Monday: Getting ahead of the heat

Our morning marine layer is still in place but it's retreating earlier and earlier each day.  Yesterday, we were socked in at 6am but the sunshine cut through the gloom well before 8am.  I dashed out the door before breakfast (albeit after feeding the cat) to cut flowers.  Our temperature hit 89F (31C) on Saturday but, although Sunday ended up a few degrees cooler, it was still on the toasty side.

I'd already decided to cut a stalk of Lilium 'Friso' and planned to accent it using stems of Daucus carota 'Dara' but I struggled a bit to find plant material that'd help the lily stand straight in its vase.  I settled on Myrtus communis, which is just now producing its first flowers.

'Friso's' flowers tend to point downward and the stalk wants to lean in one direction or another under its own weight

Back view: The Daucus flowers are especially prolific this year, all self-sown

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Argyranthemum 'Grandaisy Dark Pink', Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', Daucus carota 'Dara', noID ruffled Leucanthemum x superbum, Lilium 'Friso', and Myrtus communis

Much as I love lilies, my second floral arrangement turned out to be my favorite this week.  I still don't have many foxglove stems in bloom but, given the warmer temperatures, I thought it best to cut what I had before they fried.

I used a small piece of plastic-coated hardware cloth to support the flowers I cut, which works well

Back view

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Ageratum corymbosum, Consolida ajacis, Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple', Digitalis purpurea, Pelargonium peltatum 'Lavender Blizzard', and Polygala myrtifolia

We're headed into the 4th of July holiday.  The reminders that fireworks are illegal here given the high risk of wildfires and numerous warnings that violators will be prosecuted and fined finally seem to have made a difference.  The fact that Southern California was devastated by a series of wildfires earlier this year may also have had an impact.  We usually hear "practice" fireworks every day and night for a month or more prior to the holiday but there's been far less of that this year.  We've heard a couple of what I assume were authorized public displays (presumably overseen by fire department personnel) but that's it.  We'll see what happens this coming Friday!

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

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

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: More lilies

After teasing me with promising buds for well over a month, my lilies are now unfolding one after another.  This week, in recognition of Independence Day, I chose to cut one stem of Lilium 'Friso' to start with.  The lily's color is described as raspberry-red and white but that was close enough for me.  All my lilies are hybrid mixes of Asiatic and Oriental species (aka Orienpets and tree lilies).

After viewing my photos, I thought I erred in placing the large disc flower of Daucus carota 'Dara' front and center.  The dark burgundy flower creates something of a black hole effect, sucking up the light, but I'd no time or patience to reconstruct the arrangement.

The back view presents a more balanced distribution of light and dark colors, showing off the small white flowers of Leptospermum 'Copper Glow'.  Holding off on pruning the tree-like shrubs was rewarded with more flowers than they've ever produced this summer season.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: noID white Agapanthus, noID pink Alstroemeria, Daucus carota 'Dara', Digitalis purpurea, Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Orienpet Lilium 'Friso' 

You probably noticed that I didn't weave any blue flowers into the first arrangement.  I made up for that by creating a second arrangement of blue and white flowers (with touches of yellow).

This arrangement strikes me as more balanced than the first one

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', noID blue Agapanthus, noID Leucanthemum x superbum, Sollya heterophylla (aka Australian blue creeper), Tanacetum parthenium (aka feverfew), and Viola 'Sorbet XP Neptune' 

Last week's arrangement with Lilium 'Orange Planet' held up well so I cut it down to size for the kitchen island.

I added one stem of Digitalis purpurea 'Peach Dalmatian' and a few short stems of Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' to the leftover stems of Lilium 'Orange Planet' and Leucospermum 'Royal Hawaiian Brandi'

Our marine layer is still in place during the early morning hours but it's been lifting early, generally around 8am.  It still provides us some insulation from the afternoon heat, although the residual humidity makes it feel hotter than the mercury level suggests.  The local television stations keep warning us of a pending heatwave but it isn't reflected in the local projections posted online.  I can only hope that it'll be more comfortable here than elsewhere in Southern California.

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

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