I'm getting a one day jump on Garden Bloggers Bloom Day as Wednesday is a better fit for my schedule this week. Due to the extended heatwave that concluded just last Friday, there are far fewer flowers to be found in my garden this month. We're also in the middle of a 15-day outdoor watering ban and I've been running around like a madwoman with watering cans just trying to provide emergency rations to plants where I can. A random tropical storm, the remnants of Hurricane Kay in the Pacific, provided an assist but any rebound the garden may get from that event isn't evident yet.
I took many of the following photos during the heatwave. I'm going to start with those that don't usually receive much attention.
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My ornamental grasses are getting started. This Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum' looks better than almost anything else in my front garden.
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Tulbaghia violacea (aka society garlic) is easily overlooked most of the year but it makes a statement when it's one of the few things in full bloom
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Clematis terniflora (aka sweet autumn clematis) is the only member of the genus I've been successful at growing. I managed to train most of the vine up the arbor but one long stem evaded me and managed to weave itself through a Cistus shrub (photo on the right).
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I took this photo of Leucophyllum laevigatum (aka Chihuahuan sage) a little before our heatwave swung into full gear. Responding to an uptick in humidity, it exploded into bloom for a brief period before fading away almost as quickly as it appeared.
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Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy' may have tiny flowers but they're abundant and keep on blooming regardless of weather conditions
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I haven't been thrilled by the performance of my dahlias this year. Even now, in mid-September, there are several that have yet to bloom. Clockwise from the upper left, here are those that are blooming now with varying levels of vigor: Dahlia 'Calin', D. 'Summer's End', D. 'Southern Belle', D. 'Catching Fire', D. 'Enchantress', D. 'Lavender Ruffles', D. 'Karma Prospero', and D. Mikayla Miranda'.
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The performance of my zinnias have also been spotty. These 3, all grown from seed, have been the most rewarding: Zinnia elegans 'Carmine Rose', Z. 'Benary's Giant Deep Red', and Z. 'Benary's Giant Purple'. For some reason, those in the 'Queen Lime' series, also grown from seed, have been disappointing this year.
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I've crammed everything else into collages organized by color. This month even old standbys like my large-flowered, ever-blooming Grevilleas are looking a little forlorn.
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Clockwise from the upper left: Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus)'Balboa Blue Rim' and a noID blue variety, Geranium 'Tiny Monster', Petunia 'Night Sky', and noID Phalaenopsis
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| From the upper left: Agastache 'Morello'(still in its temporary pot), Alstroemeria 'Inca Vienna', Anthurium 'Maine', Cosmos bipinnatus, Eustoma grandiflorum, Hoya carnosa, Osteospermum 'Berry White', and Persicaria capitata |
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| From the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', A. g. 'Kaleidoscope', Amaryllis belladonna 'Alba'(which crashed early into the heatwave), Cosmos bipinnatus, Pandorea jasminoides, Pelargonium peltatum 'White Blizzard', noID Phalaenopsis, and Phyla nodiflora |
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| From the upper left: Grindelia camporum, noID Phalaenopsis, noID Plumeria, Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', G. 'Superb', Gaillardia aristata 'Spintop Copper Sun', Leonotis leonurus, and Rudbeckia 'Denver Daisy' |
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| From the upper left: Alstromeria 'Inca Lucky', Cosmos bipinnatus (in true red!), Leucadendron salignum 'Blush', Bauhinia x blakeana (aka Hong Kong orchid tree), Pelargonium sidioides, and noID Phalaenopsis |
For more Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts, check in with Carol at May Dreams Gardens.
All material © 2012-2022by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
