Bloom Day - October 2017

It's a subdued October Bloom Day.  Some of the flowers I count on to make the biggest splash at this time of year are running late relative to the last 2 years, which I find strange as we were plagued by drought conditions and serious water restrictions in 2015 and 2016.  However, Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Wonder' bloomed right on schedule.

This year, Plectranthus 'Zulu Wonder' is keeping happy company with burgundy flowered Pelargonium peltatum (ivy geranium)

The late-comers, Barleria obtusa and Senna bicapsularis, have barely said hello but I expect they'll both be coloring up the garden within the next couple of weeks.

Barleria obtusa (bush violet) shows signs of wishing to take over various sections of my garden but, with healthy green foliage and masses of purple-blue flowers, I can forgive it almost anything

The first buds of Senna bicapsularis 'Worley's Butter Cream' opened just yesterday and, as the plant serves as host to sulphur butterflies, I expect to see them make an appearance soon too

Tagetes lemmonii is also late in making its regular fall appearance, probably due to tardy pruning, but the dwarf form is trying to make up for its absence with a carpet of bright yellow blooms.

The compact form is right at home at the base of Agave 'Jaws' and Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder'

While Eustoma grandiflorum has moved on prematurely, leaving only a few blooms behind, Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum' continues its long seasonal performance.

Two of the 5 purple fountain grass clumps in my garden

I discovered a few surprises on my rounds.

I inherited a few Anemone hupehensis japonica with the garden but they bloom only sporadically and in small numbers if at all

Salvia 'Mystic Spires' can be found in various areas of my back garden but this clump in a corner of my south side succulent bed, while short in stature, is the healthiest one in my garden despite the fact that I've almost entirely ignored its existence

This Tibouchina urvilleana (Princess Flower), also inherited with the garden, has produced more blooms this year than I can ever recall it doing in the 6+ years we've had the garden

The rest is bits and pieces of this and that.

Top row: noID Angelonia, noID Duranta (sold as 'Gold Mound'), Erigeron glaucus 'Wayne Roderick' and Iochroma 'Mr Plum'
Second row: Lotus jacobaeus, Osteospermum '4D Silver', lavender Pelargonium peltatum, and noID Plumbago
Third row: Lavandula multifida and noID Leucophyllum
Fourth row: Polygala myrtifolia 'Mariposa' and Trichostema 'Midnight Magic'

Top row: Achillea 'Moon Dust', Clematis paniculata, Eustoma grandiflorum, and Gazania 'White Flame'
Second row: self-seeded Gazania, Lantana 'Samantha', Leucanthemum x superbum, and Oncidium 'Wildcat'
Third row: Gaura lindheimeri, Hunnemannia fumariifolia, and Lantana 'Lucky White'

Top row: Aloe 'Johnson's Hybrid', Arbutus 'Marina', Cuphea 'Vermillionaire' and Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun'
Second row: Grevillea 'Ned Kelly', G. 'Peaches & Cream', G. Superb', and Lantana camara 'Irene'
Third row: Leonotis leonurus, Mandevilla 'Sun Parasol Apricot', and Salvia elegans

Top row: noID Argyranthemum, Bauhinia x blakeana, Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy', and dark pink Pelargonium peltatum
Second row: Pentas 'Graffiti Violet', noID rose, and Rosa 'Pink Meidiland'
Third row: Correa 'Wyn's Wonder', Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', and the last of the Zinnias

I'll close with blooms of 2 of the prettier weeds in my garden.

Top row: tiny cream-colored blooms of Artemisia ludoviciana
Second row: the buff-colored blooms of Helichrysum petiolare 'Silver Mist'

That's it for my October bloom summary.  Visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens for more posts celebrating Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.


All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Bloom Day - June 2016

My Southern California garden has benefited from the June Gloom that has kept the heat at bay thus far.   A heatwave is expected to arrive this weekend, however, and, although the coastal area in which I live should fare better than the inland valleys, I anticipate this may signal the beginning of the end for some of the flowers included in this post.  All the better reason to give them a moment of glory.

I'll start with the stars of my late spring/early summer garden:

Achillea 'Moonshine' has been blooming for at least 2 months now

The Agapanthus, which were just getting started last Bloom Day, now dominate the entire garden

Arbutus 'Marina' have some blooms most of the year but the trees are dripping with flowers at the moment

Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink' is another year-round bloomer - the only time it isn't in bloom is following the severe haircut it gets in late winter

Gaura lindheimeri 'Snow Fountain' is continuing to strut its stuff in the front garden

The sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) surprised me by hanging onto into June this year

Leucanthemum x superbum (aka Shasta daisy) usually blooms on the same schedule as the Agapanthus, which is lucky as they make good partners

Magnolia grandiflora began producing its massive flowers early this year, to the delight of the bees

Salvia 'Mystic Spires' is living up to its name this month

My daylilies were slow to get started but have bloomed in fits and spurts this month.  I haven't had a mass of bloom in most cases but rather a steady production of a few blooms at a time.

Clockwise from the upper left: Hemerocallis 'Spanish Harlem', 'For Pete's Sake', 'Indian Giver', Russian Rhapsody', 'Persian Market' and what I believe is 'Sammy Russell'

In contrast, the large-flowered Grevilleas continue to produce blooms on a steady basis.

From the left: Grevillea 'Ned Kelly', 'Superb' and 'Peaches & Cream'

A few plants, while not blooming in profusion, nonetheless deserve special mention for a variety of reasons:

The tall yellow-flowered Anigozanthos did me the honor or returning to flower for another year despite receiving less water than they'd like

My Brugmansia 'Charles Grimaldi' finally did me the kindness of blooming even though it receives haphazard watering and is regularly battered by the wind here

The Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus) have begun to bloom - although generally treated as annuals even here, many of my plants, like the one shown here, are holdovers from prior years

Phylica pubescens (aka Featherhead), my latest plant crush, has produced dozens of flowers that look like miniature feather dusters

As I use my Bloom Day posts to keep a record of what's in flower each month, I'll end with a few collages showing the best of what I haven't already captured above:

Top row: Convolvulus sabatius (with no ID Brachyscome), Erigeron glaucus 'Wayne Roderick', and Felicia fruticosa
Middle row: Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy', Linum perenne, and Lupinus propinquus
Bottom row: Phyla nodiflora (aka Lippia), Prunella grandiflora 'Freelander Blue' (with violas), and Scutellaria 'Violet Cloud'

Top row: Abelia x grandiflora, Achillea millefolium 'Appleblossom',  and Agastache 'Kudos Mandarin'
Middle row: Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun', Gazania 'Sunbather Otomi', and Lantana camara 'Irene'
Bottom row: Origanum 'Monterey Bay' (with Scutellaria sufffrutescens), Pelargonium peltatum, and Rosa 'Pink Meidiland'

Top row: Cotula 'Tiffendell Gold', Euphorbia 'Dean's Hybrid' and Gaillardia aristata 'Gallo Peach'
Middle row: Gazania 'White Flame', Jacobaea maritima, and Nandina domestica
Bottom row: Rhodanthemum hosmariense, Tagetes lemmonii, and Tanacetum niveum

Succulents in bloom include, clockwise from the upper left: Oscularia deltoides, Aloe 'Johnson's Hybrid', Aloe 'Rooikappie', Crassula dubia (my best guess), Crassula pubescens ssp. radicans, and Delosperma cooperi 

Visit Carol of May Dreams Garden, the host of the monthly Bloom Day phenomenon, to get a look at what's blooming in other parts of the world.


All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Bloom Day - September 2014

Today is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, a monthly event hosted by Carol of May Dreams Gardens to celebrate the flower power of our gardens.  Last September, I complained that finding flowers for my Bloom Day post resembled a scavenger hunt.  It's much the same this September, although some flowers present at this time last year, like the Japanese anemones, Camellias and Salvia leucantha, have yet to make an appearance while other plants, like Echinacea and Leucanthemum, have stopped blooming.  After a brief but unexpected rainstorm a week ago, our temperatures soared over 100F (37C) and the hot Santa Ana winds have returned, sparking a fire in nearby Orange County.  Given the combination of heat, dry winds, and reduced irrigation in response to our drought, perhaps it isn't surprising that most of the flowering plants in my garden are showing few, if any, blooms.

The most significant exceptions are 2 blue beauties.

Despite the heat, the second round of blooms on the Eustoma grandiflorum 'Borealis Blue' is more robust than the first

Next year, I'm planting more of these in a broader range of colors!

With periodic deadheading, Salvia 'Mystic Spires' keeps on pumping out new flower spikes

There are a few other blue and purple flowering plants to be found, tucked into corners here and there but none have the presence of the Eustoma (aka Lisianthus) or Salvia.

Angelonia  augustifolia

Brachyscome 'Brasco Violet' has bloomed almost continuously since March

I almost missed the blooms of the Liriope muscari 

The flowers on Salvia macrophylla aren't profuse but you can't miss that bright blue color

The intense heat has scorched the leaves of Tibouchina urvilleana but not the blooms

Yellow flowers demand notice, even when there are few to be found.

This Anigozanthos 'Big Roo Yellow' is new to the garden

Succulent Bulbine frutescens have bloomed non-stop all summer

Coreopsis 'Big Bang Redshift' is on its second run

I showed this Phalaenopsis orchid last month but it deserves another mention - it keeps producing new blooms while sitting outside with only partial shade and haphazard watering

Rudbeckia 'Prairie Sun' is trying to upstage Grevillea 'Superb'

But the Grevillea can't be side-lined by anything

There are some pink, red, white and cream-colored flowers too, if you look hard enough.

Gaura lindheimeri 'Snow Fountain' has come back after an infestation of aphids and mid-summer pruning, providing a nice complement to recently planted Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy' in the background

Hibiscus trionum started blooming in earnest following the little bit of rain we got a week ago

Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' is entering its peak bloom period

Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum' is in its glory

There were even a couple of surprises as I searched high and low for flowers.

This unidentified Cyclamen, plunked in the side yard when I changed out the contents of a pot in late June, not only survived in the dry shade but has flowered ahead of schedule

The Digiplexis I hadn't cut back yet is blooming again

I also found signs of coming attractions.

Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Warrior' is getting ready to bloom

And the first few flowers have appeared on Tagetes lemmonii

Before I close, as it's Monday and I usually post photos of a bouquet in connection with the "In the Vase on Monday" meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, I'm appending photos of a bouquet I created from flowers collected from my garden as I conducted by Bloom Day survey.  Cathy's vase post can be found here.

A 'Buttercream' rose, slightly past its prime, is surrounded by Angelonia, Abelia, Bulbine, Rudbeckia, feverfew, ornamental oregano and sprigs of thyme

A closer look at Rudbeckia 'Prairie Sun' and Bulbine frutescens 'Hallmark'

  

That's it for September's floral round-up.  Hopefully, temperatures will cool and my garden will rebound in October.  In the meantime, please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens, the host of the monthly Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day event, to see what's in bloom elsewhere around the world.

All material © 2012-2014 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party