Bloom Day - September 2019

Note: If you experience a sense of deja vu as you read this post, you're not delusional.  I took a look at my August Bloom Day post and, while not identical, there's a significant overlap.  What can I say?  Even if the calendar says fall is near, coastal SoCal is stuck in summer-mode.

We've been riding a weather roller-coaster lately, with bursts of heat for several days at a time followed by brief breaks before temperatures ramp up to uncomfortable levels again.  With the exception of a couple light showers in late May, we've no rain since April and the garden is very dry.  Irrigation only does so much and, as it's been a relatively mild summer overall, I haven't provided the garden the extra water I did during last year's difficult summer.  Only my cutting garden can be considered well-watered and, not unexpectedly, it's the most floriferous area by far.

So let's walk through the gate to see what's going on in the cutting garden this month

Dahlias have played a major role in my late summer cutting garden for the past 3 years.  They hold the starring roles this month.
Top row: 'Bluetiful', 'Diva', and 'Hollyhill Karen Lee'
Middle row: 'Enchantress', 'Otto's Thrill', and 'Labyrinth'
Bottom row: 'Citron du Cap', 'Punkin Spice', and 'Terracotta'

Zinnias take second place among the top bloomers in the cutting garden.  As I mixed up my seed packets, I can't identify all the varieties shown here; however, the one in the center is 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose'.  'Queen Lime Orange' is shown in the upper right and I think the 2 below it may have sprung from the 'Benary's Giant Wine' seed packet.

My sunflowers didn't do especially well this summer but at least I got some to bloom.  Clockwise from the top is Helianthus annuus 'Panache', what I'm fairly certain is a mutant form of 'Panache', stunted 'Garnet Star', and the disappointing 'Moonshadow'.

I haven't grown Cosmos in quite awhile but I do love it.  I picked up a 3 varieties in 4-inch pots in mid-July, which looked great until powdery mildew suddenly set in last week.  From left to right are: 'Double Cranberry', 'Prom Dress', and a noID white cultivar.

This is the first year I've grown Amaranthus caudatus and I love it.  So do the visiting skipper butterflies.

Rudbeckia is an expensive annual here but I couldn't resist bringing home a 6-pack of R. hirta 'Denver Daisy' in early August

The Delphinium 'Pacific Giants' I planted in early spring surprised me by producing another round of bloom spikes.  They (and a few leftover foxgloves also sporting occasional blooms) are clear evidence of our mild summer.

The plants making a splash outside the cutting garden are tough drought-tolerant specimens.

This is the time of year the ornamental grasses are at their best, although I cut them back later than I should have, delaying their progress somewhat.  Clockwise from the top are Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum', P' 'Fireworks', P. 'Sky Rocket', and Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition'.    The latter doesn't bloom heavily but I still appreciate the airy touch it adds to my back border.

Aster x frikartii 'Monch' (left) doesn't seem to have been formerly reclassified as Symphyotrichum, unlike our native California aster, S. chilense (right)

A variety of Leucadendrons are still convincingly impersonating flowers this month.  Clockwise from the top are Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' (with an unidentified relative), L. 'Devil's Blush', and L. 'Summer Red'.

Lantana relishes the heat.  Clockwise from the upper left: Lantana 'Lucky White', L. 'Irene', noID orange and yellow varieties, and variegated L. 'Samantha'.

There were a few surprises.

Hemerocallis 'Plum Perfect' is presenting an encore performance

Roses are going another round too, in small numbers.  Clockwise from the left: Rosa 'Medallion', noID pinkish-lavender rose; R. 'Pink Meidiland', and noID white rose (accompanied by a Marine Blue butterfly and another unidentified bug).

A few noID Japanese anemones (Anemone hupehensis) and Hong Kong orchid tree blooms (Bauhinia x blakeana) appeared seemingly overnight

I'll end with a few color collages featuring some of the other blooms found during the scavenger hunt of my late summer garden.

Clockwise from the upper left: Evolvulus 'Blue My Mind', Plumbago auriculata 'Imperial Blue', Polygala fruticosa, Salvia canariensis, Salvia 'Mystic Spires', noID Scaevola, Tulbaghia violacea and, in the center, Trichostemma 'Midnight Magic'

Clockwise from the upper left: Eustoma grandiflora 'Cherry Sorbet', noID pink Eustoma (aka lisianthus), Pelargonium peltatum 'Pink Blizzard', Gomphena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy', Aechmea fasciata, and Pentas 'Graffiti Pink'

Clockwise from the upper left: Clematis paniculata, Abelia x grandiflora 'Edward Goucher', Pandorea jasminoides, Myrtus communis 'Compacta', Phyla nodiflora, and Tanacetum parthenium

Top row: Aloe 'Rooikappie' Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer' and Bulbine frutescens 'Hallmark'
Middle row: Cuphea 'Vermillionaire' and Dimorphotheca sinuata 'Peach Delight'
Bottom row: Grevilleas 'Ned Kelly', 'Peaches & Cream', and 'Superb'

Visit our Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day host, Carol at May Dreams Gardens, to find posts by other gardeners featuring what's flowering in their gardens this month.


All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Wispy Blues & Sugary Pinks

The weekend weather carried a hint of fall.  Dare I hope that we'll get through the summer unscathed by another searing heatwave of the type we had last year?  We can't really count summer's heat out of the picture until late October but, with much of the country - and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere - experiencing severe heat at intervals, we can at least count ourselves lucky to have had a relatively pleasant summer thus far.

While the Dahlias are still the flashiest flowers I've got on hand at this time of year, the Delphiniums I planted in early spring surprised me by producing a second round of blooms.  I steered away from Delphiniums (as opposed to larkspur, Consolida ajacis) for years in the belief that they're impossible to grow here.  On a whim, I tried them in my cutting garden last year and they did okay.  This year, I put some plugs in my cutting garden and one of my backyard beds.  The backyard bed didn't get enough water to keep them happy but they've hung on in the cutting garden; however, I never expected more blooms in August.

I'm still stuck using our less-than-optimal temporary kitchen to photograph my vases.  The way things are proceeding with our remodel, my guess is that'll be true for at least a couple more months.

Back view: Along with 2 Delphinium stems, the other main ingredient is the rangy native California aster (Symphyotrichum chilensis)

Last year's heavier rain prompted the aster to spread with abandon.  I like the flowers but, even with our mild summer weather, the stems burn out and look unattractive if not cut back regularly.

Clockwise from the upper left: Delphinium 'Pacific Giant', Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Aloysia citrodoa (aka lemon verbena), Symphyotrichum chilensis 'Purple Haze', and Pandorea jasminoides

Of course, I can't ignore the Dahlias while they're still plentiful and, as there are also lots of naked ladies (Amaryllis belladonna) in bloom, pairing them up was a no-brainer.

I paired Dahlia 'Otto's Thrill' and the Amaryllis 2 weeks ago but changed out the accents and the vase this time for a somewhat different look

I selected Caladium 'Tapestry' as the foliage accent this time but the leaves refuse to stand up properly

I'd hoped the dark flowers of Cosmos 'Double Cranberry' would cut the sugary sweetness of the arrangement but I think I needed more of them

Clockwise from the upper left: Amaryllis belladonna, Caladium 'Tapestry', Cosmos 'Double Cranberry', Dahlia 'Otto's Thrill', and Eustoma grandiflorum (aka lisianthus)

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

All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Bloom Day - August 2019

Following our plentiful winter rains, my spring garden was loaded with flowers.  I unrealistically expected that trend to continue into summer, especially as our daytime temperatures have been relatively mild by comparison to prior years.  Instead, the floral display is on par with last year's.  I probably should reevaluate the mix of plants in my garden to put more emphasis on heat and drought-tolerant summer-through-fall bloomers.  On the other hand, more flowers would require more maintenance and sweating under the summer sun isn't particularly enjoyable.  From that perspective, continuing to focus my summer flower fetish on the more manageable dimensions of my small cutting garden may make more sense.

The summer cutting garden got off to a slower start this year, mainly because the cooler temperatures that persisted throughout the spring months continued into June and July, allowing cool season plants like foxgloves and Delphinium to hang on.  The space they took up delayed sowing of summer annuals; however, I planted my Dahlia tubers on a timely basis and their flowers currently reign supreme.

Dahlia 'Bluetiful' is new to my garden this year.  Although more subdued than some of the others, I appreciate both its form and its blue-ish color.

'Enchantress', also new this year, undergoes the most dramatic changes as she matures

I wasn't enamored with this newbie, 'Hollyhill Karen Lee', when she first emerged but her incurved petal have grown on me (pun intended)

I knew 'Labyrinth' was a winner the first moment she began to unfurl her petals.  The tuber I planted last year rotted.  I'm happy to have 2 healthy plants this year.

'Otto's Thrill' is returning for his third season.  I planted 2 tubers, believing the second was 'Loverboy' because I'd messed up my labels.  The actual 'Loverboy' still hasn't produced a single bud but both 'Ottos' are going strong.  This variety has the largest flowers of any of this year's dahlia crop, followed by 'Labyrinth'.

'Punkin Spice' is also on her third run.  I've got one in a large pot and another in one of my raised planters.  The flower shown is in the pot, which sits in partial shade and isn't blooming as heavily as she has in the past.  The second one was belatedly moved from a plastic pot to the raised planter once room became available and is only now budding up.  My recollection is that, given enough sun, her flowers will show as much variability as those of 'Enchantress'.

'Terracotta' is a semi-cactus type, also on his third run in my cutting garden.  This one is also a prolific bloomer.  In addition to 'Loverboy', 2 other dahlias are missing from this line-up: 'Citron du Cap' and 'Diva'.  Both are new to my garden this year.  'Citron' produced a few blooms earlier but only has buds at the moment.  I'd thought 'Diva' was going to blow me off entirely but it seems she's just living up to her name.  She's now developing buds.

Although my sunflower seedlings are still spindly, my Zinnias are finally taking off and, after pulling several foxgloves, I've planted a few other summer annuals from small nursery pots too.

I planted 3 named varieties of Zinnia elegans and 3 mixes in my raised planters.  They're all mixed up and a good many were removed when I thinned the seedlings so which is which will be hard to say.  I think the two on top in this photo are 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose' and 'Benary's Giant Wine'.  The bottom 3 came out of a 6-pack, purchased when I became frustrated by the slow progress of my seedlings.

I picked up 3 Amaranthus caudatus in small pots a month ago.  They're growing well and I love their unique flowers.

A few Cosmos bipinnatus have also migrated to the cutting garden in small nursery pots over the past month after I failed to sow the seeds I've had on hand for months.  That's 'Double Cranberry' on the left and 'Prom Dress' in the middle.  The white form came without a cultivar name.

  Outside the cutting garden the flowers are fewer but some are worthy of note.

Amaryllis belladonna (aka naked lady) is having a banner year.  Tammy of Casa Mariposa sent me about 2 dozen bulbs she'd dug out of her garden in 2015.  I promptly planted all of them and, although the foliage showed up in 2016 and every year thereafter, I'd previously only had one or 2 blooms each year.  This year closer to a dozen flower stalks have made an appearance.  That was undoubtedly a byproduct of our ample winter rainfall.

Among the succulents, Cotyledon orbiculata has one of the prettiest flowers

The Eustoma grandiflorum (aka lisianthus) have been a bit of a disappointment this year.  Last year's August post showed the broadest collection of the varieties within this species I've ever had, despite the truly terrible heat wave we had in July 2018.  Admittedly, I planted fewer plugs this year but I've also had more losses among the new plants and fewer returnees from prior years.  Could it be that they want more heat than they've had thus far?  More likely, I've simply paid them less attention this year.

Drought tolerant heat-lovers, the Lantanas are doing just fine this month.  The only one that's not blooming at the moment is the 'Lucky White' cultivar in my front garden but I suspect my delayed pruning set those plants back.

Symphyotrichum chilensis 'Purple Haze', a California native aster, has gone nuts.  I knew that it spreads by rhizomes but in "low water gardens" it was said to be manageable.  It was, while we were in a state of acute drought.  The heavier-than-usual winter rains set it running amok.

Trichostemma 'Midnight Magic', a hybrid of California's native woolly blue curls, is much more well behaved

My perpetual bloomers are still blooming as well.

Clockwise from the upper left: Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy', Grevilleas 'Ned Kelly', 'Peaches & Cream' and 'Superb', and Cuphea 'Starfire Pink' (with and without bee) are always in bloom.  The Cuphea and Grevilleas attract hordes of bees and hummingbirds.

Two of the largest blooming plants in last year's August garden burned out earlier than usual this year.  They peaked during the first few days of the month and look a good deal sorrier today than they did in the following photos.

Albizia julibrissin (aka mimosa) bloomed well this year despite literally being cut in half last year when surgery was performed to eliminate limbs infested by shot-hole borers

Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' surprised me with a mass of blooms in late July.  In my defense, I was distracted by the kick-off of our home remodel.  This tree-like shrub is also a bee and butterfly magnet.

As usual, I've assembled collages featuring the less dramatic blooms August has to offer.

Top row: one of the last Agapanthus, late-blooming Digitalis purpurea, and Platycodon grandiflorus
Middle row: Polygala fruticosa, Salvia canariensis, and Salvia clevelandii 'Winnefred Gilman', finishing out the season
Bottom row: a very purple Scaevola, Tibouchina urvilleana, and Tulbaghia violacea

Top row: late blooms on Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold', Daucus carota 'Dara', and stray flowers on Leptospermum 'Pink Pearl'
Middle row: Leptospermums 'Safari Sunset' and 'Summer Red' and Lotus jacobaeus
Bottom row: Lycoris squamigera, Pentas 'Graffiti Pink', and noID rose

Top row: Abelias 'Edward Goucher' and 'Hopley's Variegated' and Achillea ptarmica 'Peter Cottontail'
Second row: Aloysia citrodora, noID succulent flower, and Gaura lindheimeri's second flush
Third row: Leucanthemum x superbum, Mimulus 'Buttercream', and Myrtus communis
Bottom row: Pandorea jasminoides and Tanacetum parthenium

Top row: Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer' and Coreopsis 'Big Bang Redshift'
Middle row: Gaillardias 'Arizona Sun' and 'Fanfare Citronella' and Lonicera japonica
Bottom row: Sedum reflexum and Rosa 'Medallion'

That's it for my August 2019 Bloom Report.  For more Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts, check in with Carol at May Dreams Gardens.


All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party