Bloom Day - September 2022

I'm getting a one day jump on Garden Bloggers Bloom Day as Wednesday is a better fit for my schedule this week.  Due to the extended heatwave that concluded just last Friday, there are far fewer flowers to be found in my garden this month.  We're also in the middle of a 15-day outdoor watering ban and I've been running around like a madwoman with watering cans just trying to provide emergency rations to plants where I can.  A random tropical storm, the remnants of Hurricane Kay in the Pacific, provided an assist but any rebound the garden may get from that event isn't evident yet.

I took many of the following photos during the heatwave.  I'm going to start with those that don't usually receive much attention.

My ornamental grasses are getting started.  This Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum' looks better than almost anything else in my front garden.

Tulbaghia violacea (aka society garlic) is easily overlooked most of the year but it makes a statement when it's one of the few things in full bloom

Clematis terniflora (aka sweet autumn clematis) is the only member of the genus I've been successful at growing.  I managed to train most of the vine up the arbor but one long stem evaded me and managed to weave itself through a Cistus shrub (photo on the right).

I took this photo of Leucophyllum laevigatum (aka Chihuahuan sage) a little before our heatwave swung into full gear.  Responding to an uptick in humidity, it exploded into bloom for a brief period before fading away almost as quickly as it appeared.

Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy' may have tiny flowers but they're abundant and keep on blooming regardless of weather conditions

I haven't been thrilled by the performance of my dahlias this year.  Even now, in mid-September, there are several that have yet to bloom.  Clockwise from the upper left, here are those that are blooming now with varying levels of vigor: Dahlia 'Calin', D. 'Summer's End', D. 'Southern Belle', D. 'Catching Fire', D. 'Enchantress', D. 'Lavender Ruffles', D. 'Karma Prospero', and D. Mikayla Miranda'.

The performance of my zinnias have also been spotty.  These 3, all grown from seed, have been the most rewarding: Zinnia elegans 'Carmine Rose', Z. 'Benary's Giant Deep Red', and Z. 'Benary's Giant Purple'.  For some reason, those in the 'Queen Lime' series, also grown from seed, have been disappointing this year.

I've crammed everything else into collages organized by color.  This month even old standbys like my large-flowered, ever-blooming Grevilleas are looking a little forlorn.

Clockwise from the upper left: Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus) 'Balboa Blue Rim' and a noID blue variety, Geranium 'Tiny Monster', Petunia 'Night Sky', and noID Phalaenopsis

From the upper left: Agastache 'Morello' (still in its temporary pot), Alstroemeria 'Inca Vienna', Anthurium 'Maine', Cosmos bipinnatus, Eustoma grandiflorum, Hoya carnosa, Osteospermum 'Berry White', and Persicaria capitata

From the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', A. g. 'Kaleidoscope', Amaryllis belladonna 'Alba' (which crashed early into the heatwave), Cosmos bipinnatus, Pandorea jasminoides, Pelargonium peltatum 'White Blizzard', noID Phalaenopsis, and Phyla nodiflora

From the upper left: Grindelia camporum, noID Phalaenopsis, noID Plumeria, Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', G. 'Superb', Gaillardia aristata 'Spintop Copper Sun', Leonotis leonurus, and Rudbeckia 'Denver Daisy'

From the upper left: Alstromeria 'Inca Lucky', Cosmos bipinnatus (in true red!), Leucadendron salignum 'Blush', Bauhinia x blakeana (aka Hong Kong orchid tree), Pelargonium sidioides, and noID Phalaenopsis

For more Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts, check in with Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

 

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

In a Vase on Monday: A few more dahlias

The dahlias are oh so slowly making an appearance.  There are more buds each week, although the plants still haven't delivered an overwhelming number of blooms and, at this point in the season, it's unlikely that I'm going to see an end-of-season extravaganza but I can hope...

My first arrangement features a single bloom of Dahlia 'Summer's End'.  I'd initially planned to combine it with other dahlias but in the end I decided it had more impact with a collection of supporting players in harmonious colors. 

'Summer's End' is called a water lily dahlia because it resembles a water lily in form.  I complemented its soft peach color with other plants that echoed that color.

Back view: I just happened to notice that the berries of Auranticarpa rhombifolium were ripening.  Including stems of Zinnia 'Queen Lime Orange' as a filler was a no-brainer.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Auranticarpa rhombifolium, Leucadendron salignum 'Summer Red', Dahlia 'Summer's End', Eriocapitella hupehensis (aka Japanese anemone), Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream, and Zinnia elegans 'Queen Lime Orange'

I collected flowers of two dahlias in the 'Cafe au Lait' series, thinking to combine them but, the more flowers and foliage I collected to accent them, the more I disliked the pairing.  So I ended up with two separate arrangements, the first of which stars the creamy blooms of Dahlia 'Cafe au Lait'.

The Dahlia 'Cafe au Lait' blooms, especially the one on the lower right, are somewhat distorted.  The upper part of the lower bloom didn't fully open.  Both dahlias were full of ants, which I spent time carefully flushing out with water.  I checked online and found that, while ants won't cause any damage to dahlia blooms, their presence suggests that there may be an aphid problem and aphids can damage dahlia plants.

I dressed up the back of the arrangement with colorful coleus foliage (Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Dragon Heart')

Top view

 

Clockwise from the upper left: Correa 'Ivory Bells' (aka Australian fuchsia), Dahlia 'Care au Lait', noID Gladiolus, Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Dragon Heart', and Zinnia elegans 'Queen Red Lime'

The two blooms of Dahlia 'Cafe au Lait Royal' I'd already cut ended up in a third arrangement, with a few stems of Dahlia 'Enchantress' thrown into the mix to flesh it out.  Once 'Enchantress' starts blooming, she never hits the pause button.

Dahlia 'Cafe au Lait Royal' changes a lot as the flower matures, starting off a dark purple infused with pink and fading to a much paler pink

Back view, showing the splashier Dahlia 'Enchantress'

Top view

Top row: Angelonia 'Archangel White', Cosmos bipinnatus, and Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy'
Middle row: Dahlia 'Cafe au Lait Royal' in its later and earlier colors
Bottom row: Dahlia 'Enchantress' and Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata'

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

All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: More than I expected!

When I stepped into the garden on Sunday morning, I really had no idea what I could put in a vase this week that I hadn't already used recently.  I made an entire circuit of my garden ruling out possibilities until I saw the white snapdragons in my cutting garden.  They'd been beaten down by rain on Saturday (one-third of an inch) and their stems were lying on their sides as if to say "save me" so I cut them.  That started me on a roll collecting bits of this and that in white and blue.

Anemone 'Lord Lieutenant', also in my cutting garden, had one small bloom and another bud just opening

Back view: the Osteospermums have responded quickly to the shift back to cooler temperatures and sea lavender (Limonium perezii) is beginning its annual flush

The top view highlights the bloom of a noID tazetta Narcissus that was supposed to be Narcissus 'Geranium'

Top: Anemone coronaria 'Lord Lieutenant', Antirrhinum majus, and noID Ceanothus
Middle: Echium handiense (recycled from last week), Lavandula multifida, and Limonium perezii
Bottom: noID Narcissus, Osteospermum 'Violet Ice', and Westringia fruticosa 'Morning Light'

As I was assembling my varied collection for that vase, I suddenly remembered that I'd seen buds on a bearded Iris by my shade house the week before.  I'd planted all blue and white varieties in that area - or so I'd thought.  The Iris in question was indeed blooming but it wasn't blue or white.  I cut it anyway and then did another round of the garden looking for suitable companions for it.  I checked my records, which showed no Iris in a mauve and burgundy color, leading me to conclude that the rhizome I planted had been mislabeled.

I played off the yellow beard of the Iris and the flower's petal colors in selecting the plants to accompany it in a vase

Back view: as usual, Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy' came in handy

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold', Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey', Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy', Hebe 'Purple Shamrock', noID Iris germanica (possibly 'Prince of Burgundy' or 'Right Already'), Narcissus 'Geranium', and Hebe 'Grace Kelly' (in bud)

Buds are forming throughout my garden.  I could swear that the Freesias next to my backyard fountain covered themselves in buds in response to Saturday's rain.  More rain is expected this week and I hope I'll be tripping over new blooms in the weeks to come.  Spring does come early in coastal Southern California!

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

All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Bloom Day - November 2020

Temperatures have finally come down here and, in our view, it's been cold for more than a week now (even if much of the country wouldn't consider daytime temperatures in the upper 50s-low 60sF "cold"). With the exception of a single flower, the Dahlias and Zinnias are gone. There are still flowers but they're harder to find and sparser in number. I'll start with the plants providing the most prominent splashes of color. 

Barleria obtusa (aka bush violet) was just getting started  in mid-October.  It peaked earlier this month and is already waning but there's still a plentiful supply of blue flowers in both the front and back garden.

Senna bicapsularis is a reliable fall bloomer.  I cut the plant back hard early in the year hoping it might bloom on shorter stems but, once again, it's reaching for the sky.

The Australian fuchsias (Correa) were starting to bloom last month but they've really got their bloom on now.  Clockwise from the upper left are Correa 'Ivory Bells', 'Pink Eyre', 'Sister Dawn', and 'Wyn's Wonder'.

Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy' got hacked back by an overly exuberant gardener a few months ago but it's coming back.  The gardeners usually restrict their brief visits to trimming hedges and blowing leaves so I don't know what compelled the serious haircut this plant received.

I can always count on the large-flowered Grevilleas to continue blooming while everything else settles down for a nap.  The two large shrubs on the left are 'Superb' (top) and 'Peaches & Cream' (bottom).  'Ned Kelly' (lower right) is less prolific but still a year-round bloomer.

Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum' and its cousins are still going strong

Since our trees were trimmed, the Tagetes lemmonii (aka Copper Canyon Daisy) is getting more sun and will hopefully produce more flowers over the next several weeks

The garden offered a couple of surprises this month.

Dahlia 'Rancho' produced its first, and probably last, bloom last week.  It's pretty but 6 months to obtain a single bloom isn't worth the investment.

Our Xylosma congestum hedges all produced these blooms after their last shearing.  The bees have swarmed them.

There are a few new blooms as well. 

The noID Camellia sasanqua inherited with the garden have just begun flowering.  Unfortunately, hybrid Camellia 'Taylor's Perfection' lost a lot of its buds during our late heat spells but new buds are forming so I hope I'll see some of those flowers in the new year.

Now that the heat is off, the Gazanias are blooming again

Our periodic flashes of hot weather usually take a toll on Violas here but I still can't resist planting a few every year

There's a little of this and a little of that scattered elsewhere in the garden.  Here's the rest, sorted as usual by color.

Clockwise from the upper left: Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus), Brachyscome 'Brasco Violet', Leucophyllum laevigatum, Polygala myrtifolia, noID Osteospermum, Pandorea jasminoides, noID Scaevola, and Trichostemma 'Midnight Magic'

Clockwise from the upper left: Arctotis 'Pink Sugar', Cuphea 'Honeybells' C. 'Starfire Pink', Eustoma grandiflorum, Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun', Osteospermum 'Berry White', Penstemon mexicali 'Mini Red Bells' and Pentas lanceolata

Clockwise from the upper left: Argyranthemum 'Yellow Beauty', Achillea 'Moonshine', Cuphea 'Vermillionaire', Lantana 'Lucky Orange', Leonotis leonurus, Osteospermum 'Sunshine Beauty', and Zauschneria californica

For more posts celebrating Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, visit our host, Carol of May Dreams Gardens.

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

 

In a Vase on Monday: In remembrance of the Notorious RBG

We received yet another blow to the gut last week when news came that the Notorious RBG, the esteemed US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, passed away on Friday.  As the news was reported, I literally stood up and shouted "NO!" at the TV as if I could stop what had already happened.  She had a difficult climb to reach the pinnacle of the nation's judicial system, only the second woman to be appointed to that station, and she spent her 27 years there pursuing the cause of equal justice under the law.  Everyone knew she was ill as she'd fought various forms of cancer over the past decade but she was a fighter who seldom lost a day of testimony before the court throughout those battles.  Many, myself included, hoped and prayed that she'd outlast the current administration but that was not to be.  We owe her much and can only hope that we can channel some of the courage, strength, and dedication to the causes she pursued on our behalf.  Anyone unfamiliar with her history or achievements can find a summary here.  

Flowers are a traditional form of remembrance and, other than tears and a commitment to pursue the battles she fought using my vote in the coming and future elections and whatever my pocketbook can spare, flowers are the best I have to offer today.

Vase #1:

Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera', larger than the span of my hand, was the inspiration for this vase

Back view, featuring assorted Zinnias and Grevillea foliage

Top view

Top row: Alstroemeria 'Inca Sunshine', Amaranthus, Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Mocha Mint', and Zinnia elegans
Second row:Dahlias 'Belle of Barmera' and 'Labyrinth'
Third row: Grevillea foliage and Grevilleas 'Ned Kelly', 'Peaches & Cream' and 'Superb'

Vase #2:

An unplanned combination of Dahlias 'Candlelight' and 'Enchantress'

Plectranthus scutellariodies 'Florida Sun' (coleus) dresses up the back view

Top view

Clockwise from upper left: Dahlia 'Candlelight', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy', Dahlia 'Enchantress', Leucanthemum x superbum, and Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Florida Sun'

Vase #3:

A last minute creation for the kitchen island

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Cosmos bipinnatus, Leucophyllum laevigatum, Salvia leucantha, and Vitex trifolia

For other IAVOM creations, visit our host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

The political fight over RBG's replacement is already gearing up and it threatens to eclipse our mourning of her loss as hypocrites in the Senate (who refused former President Obama a vote on his Supreme Court candidate's nomination 7 months before the last election because the selection was "too close" to the next presidential election) now rush to fill her seat before this November's election.  I think they may underestimate the response if they pursue that goal - I believe that the backlash may cost them much more than they realize in the long run.  VOTE!!!

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