Bloom Day - June 2019

Summer usually kicks off well before Memorial Day here but the heat that marks its arrival didn't show up until the very end of May this year.  The return of the morning marine layer on Wednesday took the edge off the heat for several days but I know it's not going to last.  The only question now is: how high will it go?  Last year we hit 110F in early July, incinerating many of my plants and causing the loss of every piece of fruit on our lemon tree nearly overnight.  I'm hoping we won't have a replay of that event this summer.

I checked last June's Bloom Day post and, even if summer got off to a slow start, most of my plants seem to be right on track.  Like last year, the stars of my backyard garden this June are Achillea 'Moonshine' and Agapanthus.

There's a lot of yellow in my garden right now but Achillea 'Moonshine' leads the parade

The Agapanthus were at least 2 weeks late in getting started this year but they're now making up for lost time

Meanwhile some of my cool season bloomers are still putting on a good show.

Wind and the first heatwave of summer have taken out some stems of Arthropodium cirratum (aka Renga Lily, a New Zealand native) but there are still plenty in full bloom

Dorycnium hirsutum (aka hairy Canary clover) is still delighting the bees

Other plants that get their bloom on in late spring can be expected to continue blooming into early summer, absent another heat apocalypse.

Erigeron glaucus is doing particularly well this year.  'Ron's Pink' is shown in close-up on the lower left and 'Wayne Roderick' is on the right.

Globularia x indubia (aka globe daisy) is also blooming heavily this year

Plants that appreciate a touch of summer heat are also off and running.

I love the artichoke-shaped buds as much as the full-blown flowers of Centaurea 'Silver Feathers'

Among the Cistus (aka rockrose) 'Sunset' is currently making the biggest statement

Gaura lindheimeri peaks in early summer.  I understand that it's been reclassified as part of the Oenothera genus now but it's still better known as Gaura.

Gaillarida 'Arizona Sun' isn't the flashiest cultivar but it's surely the toughest

Gazanias are mutating - and proliferating - throughout my garden

Daylilies don't put on a spectacular performance in my garden but that hasn't prevented me from tucking them in here and there.  Hemerocallis 'Spanish Harlem' (top photo, backed by Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy') is one of my favorites.   Also blooming at the moment, bottom left to right: H. 'Plum Perfect', 'Indian Giver', and 'For Pete's Sake'.

The flowers growing over the arbor between my cutting garden and the backyard are performing their annual dance (marred a bit by the conduit set in place for the temporary kitchen necessitated by our remodel).  I inherited the Pandorea jasminoides 'Alba' (lower left) and Trachelospermum jasminoides (lower right).  I planted the dark pink Pelargonium peltatum (aka ivy geranium) when we moved in, never expecting it would climb as it has.

Romneya coulteri (aka Matilija poppy) is becoming a thug on the back slope but I'll cut it back even harder this winter in the hope of controlling it

Salvias love summer heat.  The top photos feature Salvia clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman'.  Bottom left to right: Salvia lanceolata, S. heldreichiana, and S. canariensis.

I'd rather my Santolina didn't bloom but I can't seem to stop it from doing so.  Santolina chamaecyparissus is on the left and S. virens is on the right (mingling with Helichrysum 'Crystal Ice').

Some plants appear to ignore seasons entirely.

Grevillea 'Superb' literally blooms year round.  Cuphea 'Vermillionaire', growing next to it, also flowers through all seasons, although the blooms seem heaviest at this time of year.

Tagetes lemmonii is supposed to bloom in the fall and winter months.  It's confused.

I also have a few favorites this June I want to share.

I've let some of the artichokes on my back slope bloom.  Each flower always seems to have 3-5 bees wiggling through it.

I really love Calendula officinalis 'Zeolights'

Sideritis cypria, with its gray foliage and red stems sporting lime green cups containing tiny yellow flowers, is truly unusual

I've had Wahlenbergia 'Blue Cloud' for years and it's slowly spread itself around in this bed consisting mainly of succulents

Another group of plants deserve a wave goodbye as they prepare to exit the garden scene for the year.

Centranthus ruber (top) doesn't look as good as it did a month ago but the butterflies don't mind.  Also waning, bottom left to right: Leucospermum 'Brandi', Limonium perezii, and Ozothamnus diosmifolius.

But as some plants prepare to exit, others are only just arriving on scene.

Still in limited release are: Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' (top) and (bottom, left to right) Eustoma grandiflorum (aka lisianthus), Leucanthemum x superbum, and Magnolia grandiflora

And the very first Dahlia, 'Enchantress', not quite fully open

I'll close as I usually do with collages showing the best of the rest currently on display.

Top row: Buddleja davidii 'Buzz Purple', Consolida ajacis, Corydalis flexuosa 'Porcelain Blue' and Iris douglasiana
Middle row: Lathyrus odoratus 'Celeste Blue', Linum perenne, and Pelargonium peltatum
Bottom row: Melaleuca thymifolia, Polygala fruticosa, and Teucrium cossonii majoricum

First row: noID Anigozanthos, Bignonia capreolata, and Cotula 'Tiffindell Gold'
Second row: Euphorbia 'Dean's Hybrid', Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', and Hymenolepsis parviflora
Third row: Leucadendron 'Pisa', Lonicera japonica, and Mimulus 'Jelly Bean Buttercream'
Fourth row: Pelargonium  hortorum 'Tweedle Dee' and Rosa 'Lady Emma Hamilton'

First row: Abelia grandiflora, Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', Arctotis 'Opera Pink', and Arctotis 'Pink Sugar'
Second row: noID Bougainvillea, Cistus 'Victor Reiter, Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', and Grevillea Ned Kelly'
Third row: Hebe 'Wiri Blush', Lobelia laxiflora, Lotus 'Amazon Sunset', and Lotus jacobaeus
Fourth row: Oenothera speciosa, Oscularia deltoides, Pelargonium peltatum, and Rosa 'Pink Meidiland'

Top row: Agonis flexuosa, Agrostemma 'Ocean Pearls', and Alstroemeria 'Claire'
Middle row: Coriandrum sativum and Orlaya grandiflora (similar in form but not size)
Bottom row: Nandina domestica, Nigella papillosa, and Scaevola 'Surdiva White'

My Bloom Day posts haven't gotten any shorter, have they?  Oh well, one never knows when summer may kick my garden to the curb.  For more Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens.


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

Wednesday Vignette: The Price of Inattention

Back in April, in a Tell the Truth post, I included photos of the clover (Trifolium repens) overtaking the flagstone pathway in my front garden.  I justified leaving it alone based on the arguments that clover fixes nitrogen in the soil; its dense foliage prevents the raccoons from digging; the bees like it; and the flowers are pretty.

I also said that, when our long-awaited remodel started, the clover would get trampled down anyway.  What I failed to consider was how far it could spread, especially as we continued to get rain into May and as the date for our remodel got pushed out time and again.  It spread last year too but not to the extent it has this year.

Not only can you not see much of the path here, you can barely make out the Artemisia versicolor 'Seafoam' (the silver gray foliage), Cordyline 'Renegade' (burgundy foliage), or Phormium 'Tom Thumb'.  The clover is also encroaching on the surrounding Leucadendrons, hellebores and other plants on the left.

Yesterday morning, before the temperature climbed into the 90s on the second day of our first heatwave of the summer season, I spent a good hour cutting back the area immediately surrounding the flagstone path.  (I need to buy a string trimmer.)

You can see most of the flagstones again and I cleared much of the clover choking out the Artemisia

but the clover's steady march into the beds on either side of the flagstone path still needs to be curtailed

Lesson learned.  In addition to cutting back "weeds" like Erigeron karvinskianus (aka Santa Barbara daisy) and Centranthus ruber (aka Jupiter's beard), I should be cutting back the clover in late spring.  Hopefully, next year I won't allow myself to get distracted.

This post owes credit to both Alison of Bonnie Lassie, who spearheaded the idea of "Tell the Truth Tuesday," and Anna of Flutter & Hum, who hosts Wednesday Vignette.


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

In a Vase On Monday: In Remembrance

My first vase was originally inspired by the flowers of a Hebe I've been admiring for weeks.

Yet Pelargonium 'Rembrandt' and Cistus 'Sunset' took over the front of the vase

And Digitalis purpurea grabbed attention in the back

With the ruffled Shasta daisy, a gift from my friend Daria following the death of my mother years ago, rising to the top

Clockwise from the upper left: Leucanthemum x superbum (Shasta daisy), noID Alstroemeria, Cistus 'Sunset', Digitalis purpurea, Hebe 'Wiri Blush', Helleborus 'Anna's Red' (with Abelia grandiflora 'Edward Goucher'), and Pelargonium 'Rembrandt'

My second vase was prepared to take advantage of the blue Delphiniums and larkspur in bloom in my cutting garden before the summer heat diminishes their beauty.

Two stems of Delphinium elatum stretch heavenward

The wispy white stems of Coriandrum sativum provide light

Larkspur and love-in-the-mist round things out

Clockwise from the upper left: Delphinium elatum 'Pacific Giants', Consolida ajacis (larkspur) in various hues, Coriandrum sativum (aka cilantro/coriander), Lathyrus odoratus 'Blue Celeste', and Nigella papillosa 'Starry Night Mix' (love-in-the-mist)

The third vase contains peonies I picked up tightly in bud at a local market last Wednesday because the two plants in my garden refused to bloom again this year.

The buds have been opening ever so slowly since Wednesday

All my vases this week are offered in remembrance.

In memory of: Daria, dear friend
Nothing will be the same without you

For more Monday vases, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.


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

My Burgeoning xMangave Collection

I don't collect many things other than plants.  Well, and garden books.  Once I find myself under the spell of a particular plant, I tend to gravitate to others in the same genus.  That's how I ended up with collections of Leucadendrons, and Grevilleas, and Agaves.  Mangaves, properly referred to a xMangaves as they're intergeneric hybrids of Agaves and Manfreda, are a relatively recent fixation.  Collecting them hasn't been easy as the plants are rarely found in garden centers, as least in my area.  'Bloodspot', a hybrid of Agave macroacantha and Manfreda maculosa, was the first one I purchased.  I picked it up 4 years ago.  This one is still the most commonly variety available in my area.  However, within the past year, I've managed to acquire 9 other cultivars, most obtained by mail.  With a birthday present of 6 plants from Plant Delights, my husband increased my total collection from 8 to 14 plants.

I recently got all my new plants in the ground so I thought it was a good time to document my newest plant collection in a post.  The largest group have found a home in the succulent bed in front of our garage.

In retrospect, I planted this bed more sparsely than I'd like, using too many small succulents.  As many of the Mangaves will develop some girth in time, I'm hoping their addition will go a long way to filling in the space.

Clockwise from the upper left:
1) 'Bad Hair Day', perhaps my favorite, a hybrid of Agave geminiflora, A. nizandensis, and Manfreda maculosa
2) 'Jaguar' (2), part of my b-day haul, a hybrid of an unidentified Agave and Manfreda guttata
3) 'Kaleidoscope' (2), a prolific pupper, a sport of Mangave 'Jaguar'
4) 'Snow Leopard' (2), also part of my b-day present, another sport of Mangave 'Jaguar'

Manfreda maculosa, a parent of many of the xMangaves, also occupies a pot in this area

There's a second group of xMangaves in the dry garden area on the north side of the house.

I have plans to fill in the gaps between the 5 Mangaves here with other succulents

Clockwise from the upper left:
1) 'Bloodspot', one of the smaller Mangaves, a hybrid of Agave macroacantha and Manfreda maculosa
2) 'Lavender Lady', a hybrid of Mangave 'Bloodspot' and Agave attenuata
3) 'Purple People Eater' (2), from my b-day collection, a hybrid of Agave pablocarrilloi, A. macroacantha, and Manfreda
4) 'Silver Fox', another pupper, a hybrid of Agave gypsophila, A. macroacantha, and Manfreda

A few others are scattered about the garden at the moment.

From left to right:
1) 'Blazing Saddles', a Christmas gift from a friend, currently in a pot, a hybrid of xMangave 'Bloodspot' and a noID Agave
2) Another 'Kaleidoscope', this one from a benefactor who wished to remain unidentified, on my front slope
3) 'Spotty Dotty' in my bromeliad bed, a hybrid of Agave gypsophila, A. boviconuta, and Manfreda

Since most of the plants arrived in small nursery pots within the past year, they're all still relatively small but several of them are already producing pups so I hope my collection will grow in size over the next few years.  And, hopefully, local garden centers will begin to offer a broader range of choices as well.

What plants are grabbing your attention at the moment?


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

Wednesday Vignette: Patience

I've been told - repeatedly - that patience is a virtue.  I can't claim that it's one I possess to any great degree but I'm working on it.  Some plants in my garden test my patience, like the peonies that fail to bloom year after year.  However, I haven't pulled them, at least not yet.  My mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin) tests my patience too.  In mid-April I posted a Wednesday Vignette showing the first leaves on the tree after the major surgery we subjected it to last December.  In earlier years, it's had full leaf coverage as early as late April but, after my initial excitement about its first leaves, it's been slow going again this year.  To be fair, we've had an unusually cool spring, which may have contributed to the delay.

While the leaves close to the tree's base are fully developed, the leaves in the upper canopy have been slow to unfurl

But the good news is that almost all the branches have at least some leaves, which I wasn't able to say last year

So perhaps the major surgery that involved removing half the multi-trunked tree was successful in halting the damage done by the shot hole borer beetles.  Fewer branches should also mean less debris to clean up when this notoriously messy tree sheds both leaves and flowers later in the season.  Patience - it provides perspective.

For more Wednesday Vignettes, visit Anna at Flutter & Hum.


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

In a Vase on Monday: Wild in more ways than one

Ever since the Matilija poppies (Romneya coulteri) produced their first blooms a few weeks ago, I've been thinking of cutting some for a Monday vase.  However, with so many flowers still clamoring for attention, it was easy to ignore the poppies down at the bottom of my back slope for a time.  Sunday morning, I decided their time had come and marched down there to clip a couple of stems.

The poppies are already blooming well above my head.  I knew the plant could spread but I wasn't aware it' could grow 8-10 feet tall.

I've got plenty of white and yellow elements in the garden to accent the crinkled white petals and yellow centers of the poppies

I threw in a couple of the unusual flowers of Sideritis cypria for added drama (and because they'd toppled over into a pathway)

Clockwise from the upper left: Romneya coulteri, Lonicera japonica, Orlaya grandiflora, Achillea 'Moonshine', persimmon buds, and Sideritis cypria.  A critter of some sort broke 2 large branches of one of my persimmon trees over the weekend, resulting in the loss of dozens of the budding fruits.

An unexpected bloom in my back border provided the impetus for a second vase.  I'd almost entirely forgotten about the dozen dwarf Gladioli bulbs I planted there over a year ago.  One lone bulb produced a flower this year and the color wasn't at all what I'd expected.   While pretty on its own, it looked terrible among the surrounding plants so I cut it and went looking for suitable companions.  This year, I've become more confident about my ability to find appropriate color matches somewhere within my garden but this flower's wild colors presented an exceptional challenge.

According to my records, the Gladiola's flowers were supposed to be white and pink.  The coral, pink and magenta flowers were a surprise.

Once I'd assembled my odd mix of flowers, only this vase created in the form of manicured hands seemed right to hold them

I used stems of my 'Pink Meidiland' rose to pick up the coral pink in the Gladiola and stems of a magenta-flowered Pelargonium peltatum (aka ivy geranium) to echo the bright spots in the petals.  The gray foliage of Dorycnium hirsutum (aka hairy Canary clover) brings down the voltage a bit.

Clockwise from the top: Gladiolus nanus 'Nymph', Rose 'Pink Meidiland', Pelargonium peltatum, and Dorycnium hirsutum

As you may have noticed, our kitchen (where I take most of my photos) remains intact.  We're still awaiting the sign-off from the Air Quality Management District required by our city to issue our construction permit and, even after we have that, it may take 2 weeks before the asbestos removal crew is available to start.  Meanwhile, a huge storage pod is sitting in our driveway waiting to be loaded with our living and dining room furniture.  But at least I still have spots to put flowers!

For more "In a Vase on Monday" posts, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.


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