My Southern California garden has benefited from the
June Gloom that has kept the heat at bay thus far. A heatwave is expected to arrive this weekend, however, and, although the coastal area in which I live should fare better than the inland valleys, I anticipate this may signal the beginning of the end for some of the flowers included in this post. All the better reason to give them a moment of glory.
I'll start with the stars of my late spring/early summer garden:
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| Achillea 'Moonshine' has been blooming for at least 2 months now |
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| The Agapanthus, which were just getting started last Bloom Day, now dominate the entire garden |
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| Arbutus 'Marina' have some blooms most of the year but the trees are dripping with flowers at the moment |
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| Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink' is another year-round bloomer - the only time it isn't in bloom is following the severe haircut it gets in late winter |
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| Gaura lindheimeri 'Snow Fountain' is continuing to strut its stuff in the front garden |
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| The sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) surprised me by hanging onto into June this year |
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| Leucanthemum x superbum (aka Shasta daisy) usually blooms on the same schedule as the Agapanthus, which is lucky as they make good partners |
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| Magnolia grandiflora began producing its massive flowers early this year, to the delight of the bees |
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| Salvia 'Mystic Spires' is living up to its name this month |
My daylilies were slow to get started but have bloomed in fits and spurts this month. I haven't had a mass of bloom in most cases but rather a steady production of a few blooms at a time.
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Hemerocallis 'Spanish Harlem', 'For Pete's Sake', 'Indian Giver', Russian Rhapsody', 'Persian Market'and what I believe is 'Sammy Russell' |
In contrast, the large-flowered
Grevilleas continue to produce blooms on a steady basis.
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| From the left: Grevillea 'Ned Kelly', 'Superb' and 'Peaches & Cream' |
A few plants, while not blooming in profusion, nonetheless deserve special mention for a variety of reasons:
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| The tall yellow-flowered Anigozanthos did me the honor or returning to flower for another year despite receiving less water than they'd like |
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| My Brugmansia 'Charles Grimaldi' finally did me the kindness of blooming even though it receives haphazard watering and is regularly battered by the wind here |
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| The Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus) have begun to bloom - although generally treated as annuals even here, many of my plants, like the one shown here, are holdovers from prior years |
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| Phylica pubescens (aka Featherhead), my latest plant crush, has produced dozens of flowers that look like miniature feather dusters |
As I use my Bloom Day posts to keep a record of what's in flower each month, I'll end with a few collages showing the best of what I haven't already captured above:
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Top row: Convolvulus sabatius (with no ID Brachyscome), Erigeron glaucus 'Wayne Roderick', and Felicia fruticosa
Middle row: Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy', Linum perenne, and Lupinus propinquus
Bottom row: Phyla nodiflora (aka Lippia), Prunella grandiflora 'Freelander Blue' (with violas), and Scutellaria 'Violet Cloud' |
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Top row: Abelia x grandiflora, Achillea millefolium 'Appleblossom', and Agastache 'Kudos Mandarin'
Middle row: Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun', Gazania 'Sunbather Otomi', and Lantana camara 'Irene'
Bottom row: Origanum 'Monterey Bay' (with Scutellaria sufffrutescens), Pelargonium peltatum, and Rosa 'Pink Meidiland' |
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Top row: Cotula 'Tiffendell Gold', Euphorbia 'Dean's Hybrid' and Gaillardia aristata 'Gallo Peach'
Middle row: Gazania 'White Flame', Jacobaea maritima, and Nandina domestica
Bottom row: Rhodanthemum hosmariense, Tagetes lemmonii, and Tanacetum niveum |
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| Succulents in bloom include, clockwise from the upper left: Oscularia deltoides, Aloe 'Johnson's Hybrid', Aloe 'Rooikappie', Crassula dubia (my best guess), Crassula pubescens ssp. radicans, and Delosperma cooperi |
Visit Carol of May Dreams Garden, the host of the monthly Bloom Day phenomenon, to get a look at what's blooming in other parts of the world.
All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
