Bloom Day - September 2020

As if the pandemic and the awful political state of affairs in the US weren't bad enough, Mother Nature threw us a couple of new challenges in September: a truly nasty heatwave and a boatload of terrible wildfires that have left us blanketed in smoke that refuses to move out of here.  Still, I recognize that my husband and I are very lucky - we have our lives, our home, and our health, ignoring the persistent throat irritation and headaches I've had since the smoke arrived.

As spending a lot of time outside is inadvisable at the moment, half the photos I'm using for this Bloom Day post were taken earlier in the month; however, with one exception, all the plants shown are still in bloom now.  I'll start with the exception.

The second (and largest) Yucca 'Bright Star' developed a bloom stalk in late August.  It was nearly at full bloom when I took this photograph on September 4th, just before the horrendous heatwave settled in.  It declined rapidly in the heat and I cut it down on September 11th.

The Yucca bloom was a short-lived surprise but let's proceed to September's floral stars, starting with the dahlias and the zinnias.

Dahlia 'Labyrinth' wins the top spot.  It has big, beautiful flowers and it's produced a steady stream of new blooms. 

Other dahlias currently in bloom include, clockwise from the upper left: 'Belle of Barmera', 'Loverboy', 'Mr Optimist', 'Iceberg', 'Enchantress' and 'Einstein'.  'Candelight' bloomed at the end of August but the next set of blooms haven't fully opened yet and 'Rip City' is full of buds but no blooms.  'Rancho' and 'Gitts Crazy' are still keeping me waiting.

I planted two mixed packets of Zinnia seeds and four named varieties but they were also mixed together when I seeded the raised planters in my cutting garden.  I think flowers from 'Northern Lights Mix', 'Unicorn Mix', 'Benary Giant Lilac' and 'Envy' are represented in this array.

I planted plugs from 'Dreamland' and 'Profusion' Zinnia mixes here on the south side of the house

There are plenty of other blooming plants making a statement this month too.

The Hong Kong orchid tree (Bauhinia x blakeana) looked terrible for months but its twiggy branches are finally covered in both leaves and flowers

I finally got Clematis terniflora (aka sweet autumn Clematis) properly tied up against the south side arbor, encouraging it to climb but a couple of stems have also sought to weave themselves through the Coprosma 'Plum Hussey' at the plant's base

Cosmos bipinnatus is continuing its bloom-fest this month

The sunflower seeds I sowed produced disappointingly small plants but the Helianthus 'Delta Sunflower' (left) and 'Sunfinity' (right) I bought as plants are doing well

Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum' will only get better as we head into fall

Rudbeckia hirta 'Denver Daisy' lasts longer in a vase than anything else in my garden

I made repeated attempts to get a decent shot of this large Vitex trifolia purpurea in full bloom but none of my photos captured the plant's beauty well.  The leaves are olive green on top and purple on the bottom and the flowers are a delicate blue.

The dependable large-flowered Grevilleas are particularly floriferous this month.  They didn't pay our recent heatwave a speck of notice as far as I can tell.

This is Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream'

and this is Grevillea 'Superb'

I had a few surprises as well this month.

I didn't notice the blooms on this Leucophyllum laevigatum until mid-day yesterday.  Regrettably, the greatest profusion of flowers faces the hedge.

This is the first time I've ever gotten a passionflower vine to bloom in this garden and this is the only bloom I've seen thus far.  This is hybrid Passiflora 'Oakland'.

I discovered this noID Stapelia (aka starfish flower) in bloom earlier this month.  It didn't last long.  It's odor is said to attract flies but I didn't see many.

  

I'd also like to offer special notice to a plant that normally gets little love.

Phyla nodiflora (aka Lippia and frogfruit) has done a nice job as a groundcover below the backyard fountain.  The flowers are tiny but colorful.

With that I'll conclude as I usually do with color-coded collages featuring the best of what else is in bloom this month.

Clockwise from the upper left: self-sown Amaranthus, Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun', Grevillea 'Ned Kelly', Penstemon mexicali 'Mini-bells Red', Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy', Salvia lanceolata and, in the middle, Grevillea 'Scarlet Sprite'

Clockwise from the upper left: Cuphea 'Vermillionaire' , Lantana camara 'Irene', Rosa 'Medallion', and Rudbeckia 'Sahara'

Left to right: Alstroemeria 'Inca Sunshine', Lantana 'Samantha', and noID Phalaenopsis

Clockwise from upper left: Allium tuberosum, Asparagus fern, noID Hoya, Gaura lindheimeri, self-sown Osteospermum, Pandorea jasminoides, and Coriandrum sativum

Clockwise from upper left: Cuphea 'Honeybells', C. 'Starfire Pink', Rosa 'Pink Meidiland', Eustoma grandiflorum, Osteospermum 'Berry White', Pentas lanceolata, and Echinacea 'Cheyenne Spirit' (with 'Pow-wow Berry')

Top row: Erigeron glacus 'Wayne Roderick', Liriope muscari, and Melaleuca thymifolia
Middle row: noID Phalaenopsis, Plectranthus neochilus, and Plumbago 'Imperial Blue'
Bottom row: Polygala fruticosa, Symphyotrichcum chilense, and Trichostemma 'Midnight Magic'

For more Gardeners' Bloom Day posts, visit our host, 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