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August Favorites

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On the last Friday of each month, Loree at danger garden hosts a roll call of her favorite plants.  I usually participate but I admit I'm having a hard time getting excited about my garden right now.  In the midst of our second heatwave this month, I'm feeling disillusioned with its performance.  When I go out there, I see dead things.  I lost an Agastache 'Summer Glow', my Grevillea 'Bonfire', both of my Philotheca myoporoides, most of my Fuchsias (which I frankly had no business planting under current conditions), and 1 of my 3 Pittosporum 'Silver Magic', among other things.  Additional plants seem to be hanging on by a thread.  Of course, it's not all bad.  The plants I raved about in my Foliage Follow-up post earlier this month, are still looking great.  But beyond those drought and heat tolerant stalwarts, I had to look more closely to find plants I could declare my favorites this August.

With that long-winded disclaimer, here are my August 2015 favorites:

Agastache 'Sunset': Grown in partial shade, it responded well to being cut back by half shortly after I put it in the ground

Dorycnium hirsutum (aka hairy canary clover): It didn't produce more than a few blooms this year but its foliage is fabulous and it has self-seeded like crazy

Duranta erecta 'Sapphire Showers': It's spent its entire life (5 years thus far) in a pot but it has bloomed prolifically since I put it on a steady diet of graywater collected from the kitchen

Eustoma grandiflorum 'Echo Pink' and Yucca 'Bright Star': With apologies for the sun-drenched photo and the over-exposure both plants have received on my blog, the appeal of these plants can't be denied.  The nearby Gaillardias are looking haggard but look at those Eustomas!

Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy': The heat seems to have coaxed the plant into full bloom.  Its flowers, floating like satellites on wiry stems, are tiny but numerous.

Grevillea 'Superb': If my other Grevilleas bloom as well when they reach maturity, I'll be a happy camper.  Summer heat or not, I just added 2 more of these plants to my garden after finding 1-gallon plants in a local garden center.

Lemon (no ID): I inherited this tree, sitting at the bottom of our back slope, with the house.  It's ALWAYS laden with fruit.  I seldom give it any supplemental water.  It survives on our meager rain, run-off from the slope, and the graywater fed by our washing machine (a system we didn't know we had until the Yucca elephantipes was removed earlier this year).

Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum': The undisputed star of my late summer garden

Phyla nodiflora (aka Lippia): Its flowers are tiny (about 1/4 inch/6.35mm) but profuse and colorful

Salvia 'Amistad', S. lanceolata and S. 'Mesa Azure': I've had spotty luck with Salvias but these 3 appear happy in my dry soil

It's supposed to begin cooling off beginning tomorrow and the marine layer is expected to return next week.  There are no signs of fall yet that I can see or feel but the cooler temperatures will be welcome.

Visit Loree at danger garden to see what plants have found favor with her and other bloggers this month.


All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party



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