A Tardy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - August, 2015
With most of Friday and Saturday taken up by pesto-making and helping at a yard sale, I finally made some time Sunday to sit down and write my GBBD post. Be sure to check out May Dreams Gardens for Carol's August Bloom Day post and those of other bloggers. I wasn't quite as thorough this month as I usually am (I can hear your sighs of relief) but here's a good sampling of the few things blooming this month in my garden.
It's a bit early this year, but the Calluna vulgaris are in peak bloom now and are the most floriferous feature in my garden at the moment. There would be even more if I hadn't moved a dozen or so in the spring right before that first heat wave. Talk about bad timing. They're almost all completely crispy, but there are plenty I didn't move.
I often say I don't like pink, and while I would prefer a different color, I have to admit the lavender-pink color of many of the heather blooms is nice, and it works, even (to my eye) with the orange heathers. Variegated purple moor grass and 'Kent Beauty' oregano play accompaniment in this photo.
Still, I love my one white-flowered heather, if only because it was a volunteer and it's different from all the others.
I don't remember the orange heathers blooming this much before. They must like this hot summer. Below, one of the orange heathers is covered in tiny pink blooms, while a Salvia x nemorosa 'East Friesland' is sending forth a second round of blooms.
The Mimulus cardinalis in the paperbark maple bed are still going strong. I haven't watered these all summer. The soil brought in to form this bed is just full of uranium or something. The other scarlet monkey flowers are taking a break now, though they are gearing up for another round after I watered them.
Iris domestica 'Gone With the Wind' continues to pump out yellow flowers that almost match the yellow of Cistus 'Mickie' in the background. Oops, mixing my GBBD post with Foliage Follow-up.
My yellow Kniphofia seedling continues to bloom, while the oranges all seem to be done for the year.
Echinacea purpurea, represented below by 'Magnus' continue to be magnets for bees and butterflies, though the number of fading blooms is starting to outnumber the fresh ones.
Rudbeckia fulgida is a powerhouse of blinding yellow. Almost too bright to photograph in the middle of the day, the glowing flowers are visible long into the evening. I need to figure out where to put the darn things, though. I don't want them in the driveway island, where they currently grow. I've been thinking of taking out a strip of turf along the dry creekbed on the far side from the house and planting some of the excess Carex comans there. Perhaps a few bunches of rudbeckia will find there way over there, too.
Lobelia cardinalis 'Queen Victoria' is coming into bloom. She's been rather droopy in the heat, so I finally gave her some water and she's perking back up.
Aster x frikartii 'Monch' is starting its long season of bloom, contrasting nicely here with the dark Japanese maple leaves in the background.
In the greenhouse, little Abutilon 'Hot Pepper' is producing one bloom after another. No, literally. It's just a little thing yet, and it only has one flower at a time.
While I grow Fuchsia 'Autumnale' primarily for the foliage, I do enjoy the simple, classic blooms of this fuchsia. I'm so happy to have this plant again. This time, it will be wintering in the greenhouse rather than the uninsulated garage.
And I'll round out this Bloom Day with Streptocarpus 'Waterbug' blooming happily indoors. Poor thing was wilting in the greenhouse. Streps don't like heat. I can sympathize.
It's a bit early this year, but the Calluna vulgaris are in peak bloom now and are the most floriferous feature in my garden at the moment. There would be even more if I hadn't moved a dozen or so in the spring right before that first heat wave. Talk about bad timing. They're almost all completely crispy, but there are plenty I didn't move.
I often say I don't like pink, and while I would prefer a different color, I have to admit the lavender-pink color of many of the heather blooms is nice, and it works, even (to my eye) with the orange heathers. Variegated purple moor grass and 'Kent Beauty' oregano play accompaniment in this photo.
Still, I love my one white-flowered heather, if only because it was a volunteer and it's different from all the others.
I don't remember the orange heathers blooming this much before. They must like this hot summer. Below, one of the orange heathers is covered in tiny pink blooms, while a Salvia x nemorosa 'East Friesland' is sending forth a second round of blooms.
The Mimulus cardinalis in the paperbark maple bed are still going strong. I haven't watered these all summer. The soil brought in to form this bed is just full of uranium or something. The other scarlet monkey flowers are taking a break now, though they are gearing up for another round after I watered them.
Iris domestica 'Gone With the Wind' continues to pump out yellow flowers that almost match the yellow of Cistus 'Mickie' in the background. Oops, mixing my GBBD post with Foliage Follow-up.
My yellow Kniphofia seedling continues to bloom, while the oranges all seem to be done for the year.
Echinacea purpurea, represented below by 'Magnus' continue to be magnets for bees and butterflies, though the number of fading blooms is starting to outnumber the fresh ones.
Rudbeckia fulgida is a powerhouse of blinding yellow. Almost too bright to photograph in the middle of the day, the glowing flowers are visible long into the evening. I need to figure out where to put the darn things, though. I don't want them in the driveway island, where they currently grow. I've been thinking of taking out a strip of turf along the dry creekbed on the far side from the house and planting some of the excess Carex comans there. Perhaps a few bunches of rudbeckia will find there way over there, too.
Lobelia cardinalis 'Queen Victoria' is coming into bloom. She's been rather droopy in the heat, so I finally gave her some water and she's perking back up.
Aster x frikartii 'Monch' is starting its long season of bloom, contrasting nicely here with the dark Japanese maple leaves in the background.
In the greenhouse, little Abutilon 'Hot Pepper' is producing one bloom after another. No, literally. It's just a little thing yet, and it only has one flower at a time.
While I grow Fuchsia 'Autumnale' primarily for the foliage, I do enjoy the simple, classic blooms of this fuchsia. I'm so happy to have this plant again. This time, it will be wintering in the greenhouse rather than the uninsulated garage.
And I'll round out this Bloom Day with Streptocarpus 'Waterbug' blooming happily indoors. Poor thing was wilting in the greenhouse. Streps don't like heat. I can sympathize.
You have lots of great blooms! Once again, I am jealous of your Mimulus. Gotta get some seeds and grow that again.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alison! Darn, I should have brought some seeds with me when I saw you. I'll try to remember, but remind me again when we get closer to the swap. I'll also have divisions to share.
DeleteGreat blooms! I love how tidy your gardens are, as well as how they strike a perfect balance of structure and order, mixed with just enough of a cottage garden feel. Well done!
ReplyDeleteWow, thank you for the great compliments! Much appreciated!
DeleteEvan, your heather clumps look so neat, and I like them with the Kent Beauty Oregano. The radioactive monkey flowers are amazing, and so is the white-streaked foliage in the Magnus Echinacea photo, is that the Echinacea foliage or another plant? Pretty reds, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Hannah! I've sheared the heathers annually in the past. Now that they are nice and full, I'm thinking of relaxing that habit a bit, maybe every other year. The white streaked foliage belongs to a hybrid calla lily. It doesn't bloom very well, unlike the big Zantedeschia aethiopica with plain green leaves, but I love the spotted foliage.
DeleteEchinacea purpurea 'Magnus' with the spotted leafs: is that for real?
ReplyDeleteI wonder if any rudbeckia could survive at the end of the driveway.
Ha! Fooled you! Unintentionally, of course. Sorry. A few Echinacea stalks flopped over into the neighboring calla lily. It's a hybrid calla, not Zantedeschia aethiopica with the plain green leaves. Thanks for the great idea, Chav! The rudbeckia could probably make it on the western side at the end of the driveway. Unlike the other side, there isn't a tree growing right there, so it has a bit more moisture and sun. And the deer don't bother it, which is why I planted it in the first place.
DeleteHmmm, you've reminded me that I used to have a pair of Lobelia cardinalis 'Queen Victoria'. I wonder where she went? Love the color of your Abutilon 'Hot Pepper' ...
ReplyDeleteThat's funny, I have a pair, too. Maybe they moved to my garden. That abutilon is one of my favorites among the collection at Cistus.
DeleteThe heathers always look to me like something that should grow in SoCal but, while they're occasionally seen in local garden centers, unfortunately they don't like it here. I like how you have them mixed with the ornamental oregano and other low-growing plants.
ReplyDeleteThey would look right at home with the other plants in your garden. Pity so many of my plants don't like your zone, and so many of your plants don't like mine.
Delete