Shade Plant Successes

I began stocking my lath (shade) house shortly after my husband completed its construction in late December 2017.  I moved my small orchid collection there immediately but other additions were haphazard.  Over time, I've scrapped some plants and added others.  The space is relatively small after all so I can't load it with every pretty shade plant I see.  Much of what I added early on wasn't particularly interesting or unusual and those items, if they survived, have slowly been dropped to make room for others.  Many represent experiments and everything must prove its worth to earn its place.

Ferns were an early focus as, with the exception of the weedy western sword fern (Polystichum munitum), most ferns don't survive long in the open areas of my garden.  Several of those I tried failed quickly even in my lath house but there are two that have earned their stripes.

Asplenium nidus, aka lasagna fern

Platycerium veitchii, a variety of staghorn fern

Begonias, particularly those grown more for their foliage than their flowers, have earned a lot of space, surprising even me.  Here are just a portion of those on display in the lath house:

Begonia 'Amberley'

Begonia 'Champagne Bubbles' was neglected and got a bit crispy a couple of months ago but it seems to be recovering.  I've got it planted in a small African violet pot, which has a water reservoir.

This begonia came without a label.  I originally guessed it was 'Nautilus Lilac' but I now think it could be 'First Blush'.

This is 'Little Darling', planted in another African violet pot

I'm very pleased with how well this unidentified Begonia looks in its Muradian pot

This is 'Palomar Prince', another begonia I thought I'd killed at one point that rebounded given time and patience

There are also a few plants grown exclusively for their foliage.

Philodendron 'Prince of Orange' was a gift.  Its stay in the lath house was intended to be temporary but it's so happy there, I haven't been able to bring myself to move it into the drier conditions of our house.

I've tried growing several fuchsias in the lath house.  I suspect they don't get enough light there as they've been disappointing thus far but I still have four that occasionally flower.  The hydrangeas haven't thrilled me either, although I still have one of those.

I've had this Hydrangea macrophylla 'Shooting Star' for many years and, although I repeatedly mistreat it, it's been very forgiving

Hoyas, which I introduced more for their foliage than for their flowers are slowly growing on me (no pun intended).

I have three of these trailing plants in the lath house (as well as one on my south patio).  Two have recently started to bloom, perhaps because I've been more conscientious about watering them this year.

Based on the heart-shaped leaves, I believe this one is Hoya kerrii.  I received it as a gift last Christmas and tucked it into a pot given to me by the same friend on another occasion.  It's still a small plant and hasn't flowered yet but it's sent a stem straight up this year as if it has something planned.

This one was sold to me without a name but, based on the variegated foliage and the occasional pink leaves it produces, I think this may be Hoya carnosa tricolor.

I also bought this one without a label.  My best guess is that it's Hoya obovata 'Splash'.

Orchids have retained a good portion of the space available in the lath hours but several are facing the possibility of eviction.  Few orchids have attractive foliage in my opinion and, while many have long-lived flowers, most don't flower very often.  A few of the smaller varieties have been especially rewarding.

I've had this one for a long time and it goes by a variety of names but I currently refer to it as Oncostele 'Wildcat'

If I had a name for this one I've lost it but I believe it's a Phalaenopsis

This is another noID Phalaenopsis.  It's been blooming for at least two months already.

I recently acquired a couple of new plants for the lath house, neither of which I've ever grown before.  The first is grown as much for its foliage as its flowers while the second is known primarily for its unusual blooms.

This was sold as Ric Rac Orchid Cactus.  Its proper name was harder to nail down as I found it listed as both Epiphyllum anguliger and Cryptocereus anthonyanus.  Still another source says that plants known by the former name have recently been reclassified as Disocactus anguliger.

This somewhat sorry looking specimen is Tacca integrifolia, aka white bat flower.  Recently received in a tiny pot by mail order, it's still settling in.  When I saw its foliage, I thought I'd been sent a Spathiphyllum by mistake but the Tacca's foliage is similar.

This is by no means a complete inventory of the contents of my lath house and, like other parts of my garden, I suspect what's there will continue to turn over with some regularity as I continue to work out what thrives  and what doesn't.

Between recent bouts with hot temperatures and poor air quality, I've accomplished very little in my garden thus far this month.  I received a mail order delivery of twelve plants on Wednesday but I've done nothing with them beyond unpacking and watering them.  If conditions improve, getting them potted or planted out will be my weekend focus.

Wherever you are, I hope conditions are favorable to do something you enjoy this weekend.

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

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

In a Vase on Monday: Dahlias, dahlias, and more dahlias

As the title indicates, this week's "In a Vase on Monday" post is all about dahlias.  They put a positive spin on what has otherwise been a dismal week.  We're luckier than many people in California and the Pacific Northwest but it's hard not to get depressed when everything around us is shrouded in a smoky haze and our air quality vacillates between "unhealthy for sensitive groups" to flat-out "unhealthy," coming close to "very unhealthy" at some points when the wind shifts.

When our view of the Los Angeles harbor is obscured like this, the cause is usually the marine layer that helps keep temperatures down; however, it's smoke blown in from wildfires both north and east of us that has kept the harbor partially or entirely hidden for days now

While the smaller dahlia buds in my cutting garden were scorched during our recent heatwave, the larger buds and those already starting to open fared relatively well.  One of these, Dahlia 'Iceberg', mocked its name and bloomed despite the fact that its outer petals were badly singed the week before.

I took this photo of 'Iceberg's' bud on September 8th, as our heatwave was waning.  I considered cutting it on the spot to encourage new buds but I decided to wait it out and see if it would bloom anyway.

Unless you saw the back of the flower, you probably wouldn't know 'Iceberg' had been damaged at all.  Dahlia 'Enchantress', which joined 'Iceberg' in this arrangement, was wholly unaffected by the heatwave.

Back view: Cosmos and Zinnias served as fillers

The top view allows 'Enchantress' to strut her stuff

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Enchantress', Cosmos bipinnatus, Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata', Dahlia 'Iceberg', and lilac and purple Zinnia elegans

Dahlia 'Labyrinth' has also defied expectations.  I grew a dahlia labeled as 'Labyrinth' last year that flowered with blooms that were a pale imitation of the blooms I got this year.  This dahlia, grown from a new tuber, has also been the most prolific in my garden by far this year.

There were eight flowers in full bloom on 'Labyrinth' this morning and I cut five of them for this arrangement

I was tempted to accent the dahlias with foliage alone but, in the end, I couldn't help throwing in a few things to dress up the back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Labyrinth', Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum', and Zinnia elegans.  I sowed my Zinnia seeds haphazardly again this year so I can only guess that the first two Zinnias are  from the 'Unicorn Mix' and  the last is 'Envy'.

Dahlia 'Mr Optimist' has also been an exuberant grower, although the open blooms I failed to cut last week shriveled when our temperature reached 108F (42C) during the worst of our heatwave.  I therefore felt I owed it to him to showcase a few of the blooms that made an appearance over the course of the past week.

I kept this arrangement relatively simple

I used two varieties of yellow-flowered Lantana to pick up the yellow touches in the tips of the dahlia petals

Top view

From the left: self-sown Amaranthus, Dahlia 'Mr Optimist', and variegated Lantana 'Samantha'.  (I also used Lantana 'Lucky Yellow'.)

For more IAVOM creations, visit the woman leading our parade, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

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