It's been hot here - very, very hot. Monsoonal rain to the east of us raised our humidity levels, adding to the heat's misery. My mother took me to a sauna once when I was a child as an introduction to my Finnish ancestry and for days I've been reminded of walking into that sauna every time I stepped outside. I have not enjoyed it.
What I found in bloom when I scurried through the garden this weekend looks much the same as last month's inventory, only there's less of it. The plants making the biggest impact are pretty much the same.
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| Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum' is still the star of my late summer garden |
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| The Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus) continues to impress. The white form is taking a time-out but the yellow and blue forms have returned on a small-scale. However, the 'Echo Pink' cultivar, planted from 6-packs in early May, is putting on a great show. |
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| Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun' and Agastache 'Sunset' are looking less vigorous but still provide a good deal of color in the front garden |
During a lull between heatwaves, I jumped the gun on fall planting and installed a few new plants. I donated much of what I had left in my rain collection tanks to sustaining them during the latest heatwave.
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| Clockwise from top left the new plants include: Angelonia 'Archangel Raspberry', Celosia argentea 'Intenz', Euphorbia 'Breathless White' and Grevillea 'Pink Midget' |
Not a flower but a remnant of a flower, the immature seedpods on the
Magnolia grandiflora are as eye-catching as any bloom I've currently got:
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| While I've collected the dried seedpods in years past, I haven't noticed how brightly colored the pods are before they dry, exposing the bright red seeds |
Two of the indoor plants in my home office surprised me with another bloom cycle.
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| Left to right: Hoya multiflora (aka Shooting Stars Hoya) and Miltassia shelob 'Tolkien' |
As to the rest of the garden, here's what the garden still has to offer if you look hard enough:
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| Blue & purple flowers, clockwise from upper left: Tulbaghia violacea, Campanula primulifolia, Duranta erecta 'Sapphire Showers', Plectranthus zuluensis, Salvia 'Mesa Azure' and Salvia 'Mystic Spires' |
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| White flowers, clockwise from upper left: Abelia 'Radiance', Crassula (no ID), Gaura lindheimeri and Gazania 'White Flame' |
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Yellow & orange flowers, top row: Aloe 'Rooikappie', Bulbine frutescens 'Hallmark', and Dahlia 'XXL Hidalgo'
Middle row: Gaillardia aristata 'Gallo Peach', Gazania 'Yellow Flame' and Grevillea 'Superb'
Bottom row: Leonotis leonurus, Portulaca umbraticola and 'Buttercream' rose |
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Pink & red flowers, top row: Bauhinia x blakeana, Bougainvillea (no ID) and Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy'
Middle row: Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun', Helianthus annuus and Pelargonium peltatum 'Burgundy'
Bottom row: Pelargonium peltatum 'Pink Blizzard', Pentas 'Nova' and Salvia lanceolata |
I've been blaming the heat and dry conditions for the speed at which the flowers in my garden have been disappearing but I discovered another explanation this past weekend.
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| I caught sight of a squirrel hanging out in the flower bed alongside the backyard fountain. He was eating something but what? Upon investigation, I discovered that he's developed a taste for Gazanias. There's evidence that he and his brethren are chowing down on Gazanias throughout the garden. |
Daytime temperatures dropped below 90F (32C) at last on Sunday and Monday was the first day in a week we didn't turn on the air conditioner. I woke up early this morning to rain - 0.35 inches (9mm) of rain so far. Things are looking up.
Visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens, the host of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, to see what other gardeners have going on.
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© 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
