The garden is already switching into summer mode here, although thankfully the toasty temperatures we had in late April and early May have shifted back to spring-like levels in my area of coastal Southern California, if only temporarily. I recently pulled out my Iceland poppies and my sweet peas, both of which suffered when the temperature soared and winds up to 30 miles per hour battered us for days. I've planted
Dahlia tubers and
Zinnia and sunflower seeds in my cutting garden, which I hope will enjoy summer's heat when it returns.
This month, I'm featuring some of my favorite plant combinations for Bloom Day, hosted by Carol of
May Dreams Gardens. I've also added a floral bouquet for In a Vase on Monday, hosted by Cathy of
Rambling in the Garden. I've used collages in most cases but, be warned, this is still a photo-heavy post.
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| Only one of my large-flowered bearded Iris have bloomed thus far. Iris germanica 'Haut les Voiles' is shown here with Alstroemeria 'Claire', Euphorbia 'Blue Lagoon', Anagallis monellii, and Lobelia erinus. |
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| The mass of Achillea 'Moonshine' is probably the most dramatic element in my back garden at the moment. Erigeron glaucus 'Wayne Roderick' and Geranium 'Tiny Monster' (photo upper right) provide accents on one side while Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun' and Euphorbia x martinii 'Ascot Rainbow' (lower right) offer accents on the far side. |
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| Clockwise from the upper right, the bed adjacent to the back patio on the north side contains: Anigozanthos 'Yellow Gem', Gaillardia aristata 'Gallo Peach' (shown with blue and yellow violas), Leucadendron 'Pisa', self-seeded California native Solanum xanti, and Tanacetum niveum |
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| This bed directly across from the previous one contains: a noID yellow-red Anigozanthos, Grevillea 'Ned Kelly', Lantana camara 'Irene', and Lobelia laxiflora. After more than a year in the ground, Leucospermum 'Brandi' in the same bed still isn't blooming but at least the plant seems healthy. |
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| I took the photo on the left from the dirt path just inside the hedge surrounding the main level of the back garden looking toward the house. The bed in the foreground contains: the fading flowers of Pelargonium cucullatum 'Flore Pleno', Polygala myrtifolia 'Mariposa' and no ID Scabiosa (row, top right). The bed in the background contains: Santolina chamaecyparissus, Lobelia valida 'Delft Blue', and Santolina rosmarinifolia (row, lower right). |
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| The floral highlights of this area are (bottom row): Euphorbia characias 'Black Pearl', Nierembergia linarifolia 'Purple Robe' and Ozothamnus diosmifolius |
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| These photos show 2 sides of the arbor between my vegetable-turned-cutting garden and the dry garden on the northeast side of the house. The vines in flower over the arbor are: dark pinkish-red Pelargonium peltatum, Trachelospermum jasminoides, and Pandorea jasminoides. |
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| I don't have a good photo that captures all of the blooms on the steep back slope but, clockwise from the left, the blooms there include: Bignonia capreolata (first 2 photos), a very happy artichoke, Centranthus ruber, Drosanthemum floribundum, Oenothera speciosa, and Romneya coulteri. I inadvertently omitted photos of Pelargonium 'White Lady' and Euphorbia 'Dean's Hybrid' but they're still in full bloom on the slope too. |
There are also some heavy bloomers with a presence in spots throughout the garden.
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| Clockwise from the left: Dorycnium hirsutum (aka Hairy Canary Clover), Gaura lindheimeri, Gazania 'White Flame', Gazania 'Yellow Flame', Pelargonium peltatum, Pelargonium "Georgia Peach' (one of several of the Regal Geraniums currently in bloom), and noID Violas. |
And, as usual, I have a few color collages of flowers I didn't manage to work into the preceding collections.
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Top row: Aquilegia 'Spring Magic', Catananche caerulea, and Cynoglossum amabile
Middle row: Eryngium alpinum, Limonium perezii, and skunky smelling Plectranthus neochilus
Bottom row: Salvia 'Mystic Spires', Verbena bonariensis, and Wahlenbergia 'Blue Cloud' |
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Top row: Cistus ' Grayswood Pink', Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', and noID Dianthus
Middle row: Hebe 'Wiri Blush', Hesperaloe parviflora 'Brakelights', and Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset'
Bottom row: noID rose, Salvia lanceolata, and Rosa 'Pink Meidiland' |
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Tow row: Aloe 'Rooikappie', noID Calendula, and thuggish Cotula lineariloba
Middle row: Cuphea 'Vermillionaire, Hemerocallis 'Elizabeth Salter', and noID Lonicera
Bottom row: Rosa 'Golden Celebration', Rosa 'Joseph's Coat', and Tagetes lemmonii |
Finally, to close the Bloom Day portion of this post, here's a look at some of the blooms that signal summer's arrival here:
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| Clockwise from the left: the first of 200+ Agapanthus, Arthropodium cirratum (aka Renga Lilies), Centaurea 'Silver Feather', Globularia x indubia (or what I call "hairy blue eyes"), dwarf Jacaranda 'Blue Bonsai', Leucanthemum x superbum, and recent purchase, Leucospermum 'High Gold' |
Visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens for more Bloom Days posts.
Those of you who follow my posts for IaVoM may be surprised that I'm offering only one vase this week. Last week's yellow vase is still holding up well in my front entry so I've prepared just one vase inspired by the first blooms of the
Arthropodium cirratum and
Centaurea 'Silver Feather' for my dining room table.
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| From left to right, views of the vase from the front, back and top. The vase contains: Arthropodium cirratum, Centaurea 'Silver Feather', Jacobaea maritima, Polygala myrtifolia 'Mariposa', Trachelospermum jasminoides, and Verbena bonariensis. |
Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see more vases created from materials on hand in bloggers' gardens.
All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
