I took a LOT of photos for one of my usual Bloom Day posts but frankly felt both overwhelmed by the sheer volume of photos and underwhelmed by the prospect of throwing all of them at readers in one fell swoop. So I decided to limit this post to my back garden, using wide shots to provide context for the floral closeups.
I'll start with the view from our back door, looking in the direction of the Port of Los Angeles.
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| The details aren't clearly discernible but selected colors stand out, particularly the yellows, blues and purples. The area has moved from its spring best to a messy stage, with bulb foliage dying back all over as summer looms ahead. |
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| Clockwise from the upper left, here are the brightest notes: noID Ageratum, with white flowers slowly turning brown; Arctotis 'Large Marge' with its large daisy-like blooms; Berlandiera lyrata, aka chocolate flower; Cotula lineariloba, which is almost a weed; one of many Gazanias; and Phlomis fruticosa, aka Jerusalem sage. I've already started cutting back the rampant growth of the Cotula and Phlomis. |
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The blue and pinky-purple notes include, top row: Felicia aethiopica, Iris germanica 'City Lights', and Pelargonium cucullatum
Middle: Self-seeding Polygala myrtifolia, hybrid Salvia 'Pozo', and Tulbaghia violacea (aka society garlic)
Bottom: 2 views of Salvia canariensis candidissima |
The previous wide shot routinely ignores the bed that runs along the southeast side of the house, as well as plants on the patio.
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| This bed is roughly 3 feet wide and 25 feet long. It gets only early morning sun. |
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| The plants currently in bloom in the bed shown above are Ageratum corymbosum (left) and Campanula portenschlagiana (middle). One of 3 identical pots, the patio pot on the right is planted with a blueberry bush and self-seeded Persicaria capitata. |
The next photos focus on the north end of the back garden.
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| View from the patio area looking north |
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| View of the same area from the north end looking back in the direction of the patio |
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| Clockwise from the upper left, the flowering plants here include: Aeonium haworthia 'Kiwi Verde', Gazania 'Otomi', Lobelia laxiflora, Lantana camara, and Leucospermum 'Royal Hawaiian Brandi' |
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| Other flowering plants, mostly out of sight in the wide shots, include: Alstroemeria 'Claire', A. 'Inca Sundance', Hemerocallis 'For Pete's Sake', Hippeastrum 'Luna', tree-like Leucadendron 'Pisa' (which has colorful bracts), and Sonchus palmensis (mostly hidden behind the Arbutus 'Marina' (strawberry tree). Hippeastrum 'Luna' is naturalizing nicely but the last of the blooms were taken out by the wind after these photos were taken. |
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| The blue notes include Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata' (mint bush, left) and noID Scutellaria (scullcap, right) |
Most of my wide shot posts also miss the plants on the east side of the patio.
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| This is the area formerly occupied by the huge mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin) that died out and I replaced with a Ginkgo biloba tree in May 2021. The tree is surrounded by Agapanthus, most of which are still in bud. |
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| Flowers currently in bloom here are a noID pink Alstroemeria that came with the garden and Limonium perezii (aka sea lavender) |
Next up is the view from the flagstone path adjacent to the back patio, looking south.
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| Many of the flowers visible in this shot were identified above with the first wide shot but there are lots of flowering plants with lower profiles here as outlined below |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: a mix of self-sown blue and orange Anagallis, Anchusa capensis 'Blue Angel', Echium gentianoides 'Tajinaste', Salvia 'Mystic Blue', and Sisyrinchium 'Devon Skies' |
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| From left to right: the first blooms of Achillea 'Moonshine'; more Arctotis 'Large Marge'; and Osteospermum '4D Pink', already preparing to exit for the summer like the other Osteospermums to reserve energy for another flush of bloom in the fall |
The final wide shots show the main area of the back garden once again, albeit from different angles.
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| View of the mid-sections of the beds on either side of the flagstone path |
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| A second view of the same area, taken after stepping back several feet to capture more of the south end |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Alstroemeria 'India Summer'; Arctotis 'Pink Sugar'; Hemerocallis 'Elizabeth Salter' and H. 'Blythe Belle'; Leucospermum 'Sunrise', blooming only lightly this year; Osteospermum 'Serenity Bronze'; and Salvia africana-lutea, tucked mostly out of view behind Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' (not shown) |
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| Other plants in this area, clockwise from the upper left: Daucus carota 'Dara', preparing its summer takeover; Gaillardia 'Amazon Sun'; yellow and orange Gazanias, all self-sown; and Geranium 'Tiny Monster', which occupies positions in various areas of my garden |
That's it for my official post this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. I may offer coverage of other areas of my garden in the course of the next couple of weeks. For other GBBD posts,
visit our host, Carol at May Dreams Gardens.
All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
