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

Bloom Day - July 2020

Even though it's July and it's been warm, we haven't had any temperatures higher than 95F yet this month.  Better still, the mercury has fallen this week and at the moment temperatures are in the downright comfortable range of the mid-70sF.  There are still a lot of different flowers in bloom but the quantities are small in most cases.  I'll start off with those that are most abundant or eye-catching.

Our native California aster, Symphyotrichum chilense, is blooming both early and vigorously.  While it's very pretty, it's spread with abandon to take over much of one bed and I'm going to have to do something to corral it at the end of the season as it's threatening to choke out other plants.

Leonotis leonurus (aka lion's tail) isn't invasive but it's having a very good year

Okay, these Leucadendrons aren't true flowers but they do a good job of imitating the real ones.  Those shown here are Leucadendron 'Jester' and L. 'Summer Red'.

I've shown the Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' and L. 'Devil's Blush' before but they're almost impossible to ignore

I don't envision Cupheas as the stars of my garden but, like some actors in supporting roles, they do occasionally steal the show.  This is hybrid Cuphea 'Starfire Pink'.

This is Cuphea 'Vermillionaire'

It's hard to ignore the exuberance of Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun' either.  They're the Energizer Bunnies of my summer garden.

Pandorea jasminoides (aka white bower vine) is having a good year too

I haven't kept the Globularia x indubia (globe daisies) as manicured as I like but they're blooming better than ever this year

This noID Lavandula angustifolia (English lavender) has been here for years and always put on a good show.  It's bee and butterfly approved.

The blooms of Phyla nodiflora (aka frogfruit) are tiny but profuse, choking out most weeds (except for the occasional opportunistic Gazania)

Other blooms are fading but still deserve a shout-out.

The Agapanthus didn't get the attention I usually give them this year and now they're waning, although there are new blooms opening here and there

Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' has continued to produce new flushes of blooms and, photographed from this angle, it does a nice job of playing off the blooms on the mimosa tree in the background

The dark blue Eustoma grandiflorum (Lisianthus) bloomed all at once this year and, in this location at least, appear to be preparing to exit on the same schedule too.  I don't have the range of colors in these plants I've had in prior years.  They're short-lived perennials here and I pulled most of last year's plants, expecting to get new plugs this spring, which didn't happen.

Most of my daylilies are done blooming.  This deciduous variety, probably Hemerocallis 'Sammy Russell', which came with the garden, is finishing up now.

The foliage of Lagurus ovatus (bunny tail grass) died out a month or more ago but the flowers still look fresh

A friend of mine bought these frilly noID Leucanthemum x superbum (Shasta daisies) for me following my mother's death in 2013.  My friend passed away somewhat unexpectedly last year.  I think of both of them every time I look at these flowers. 

The flowers of Limonium perezii (aka sea lavender) dries well but, as it gets scruffier, I start cutting it back

Two of my largest Salvias, Salvia canarienesis var candidissima (left) and Salvia clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman' (right), are finishing up the season

There are some recent arrivals to admire as well.

I expect this is as good as the mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin) is going to get.  It was literally cut in half in December 2018 in an effort to save what we could from the damage done by shot hole borers.  It looks okay as long as I don't let myself compare it to a healthy intact specimen.  The good news is that it drops a lot less leaf and flower litter than it used to.

The red fountain grass (Pennisetum x advena 'Rubrum') is just starting to bloom

As I was late in sowing Zinnia seeds in my cutting garden this year, I added plugs purchased at my local garden center to this bed on the south side of my garden when I pulled the remains of my California poppies to provide an immediate Zinnia fix

What's most obviously missing from my July garden this year are Dahlia blooms.  As with the Zinnia seeds, I was late in getting my tubers in.  They were planted between mid-April and early May instead of early March as was the case in 2019.  I'm trusting that those blooms will make an appearance eventually. 

I'll conclude as usual with color collages featuring the best of the rest.

Top row: Anagallis monellii, Duranta repens 'Sapphire Showers', and remnants of Monarda 'Peter's Purple'
Middle row: Platycodon grandiflorus, Plectranthus neochilus, and Plumbago auriculata 'Imperial Blue'
Bottom row: Thymus serphyllum 'Minus', Trachelium caeruleum, and Trichostemma 'Midnight Magic'

Top row: Alstroemeria 'Inca Vienna', noID Cosmos, and noID Crassula
Middle row: Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Magnolia grandiflora
Bottom row: Myrtus communis 'Compacta' and Orlaya grandiflora

Top row: Achillea 'Moonshine', Alstroemeria 'Inca 'Sundance', and Cuphea micropetala
Middle row: self-seeded Gazania, Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', and Lantana camara 'Irene'
Bottom row: noID dwarf Phalaenopsis and Phlomis fruicosa

Top row: Bignonia capreolata, Cotyledon orbiculata, and Grevillea 'Superb'
Middle row: Ammi majus 'Dara' and Calibrachoa 'Cabernet Coral Kiss'
Bottom row: Grevillea 'Ned Kelly' and Pelargonium peltatum 'Dark Burgundy'

Top row: Abelia grandiflora 'Edward Goucher', Arbutus 'Marina', Arctotis 'Pink Sugar', and Cistus 'Sunset'
2nd row: Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy', G. pulchella, Hebe 'Wiri Blush', and noID Hoya
3rd row: Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, Origanum 'Monterey Bay', Osteospermum 'Berry White', and Pelargonium cucculatum
Bottom row: Pelargonium peltatum 'Pink Blizzard', Rosa 'Pink Meidiland', and Scabiosa columbaria

That's a wrap!  Drop in on Carol at May Dreams Gardens to discover what she and other gardeners have blooming in their gardens this month.



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