July Favorites

I'm still in my summer doldrums, where it's hard to see my garden's pluses.  The sun's glare shines a spotlight on its imperfections and, despite all the mulch and soil amendments I've added, my sandy soil sheds water faster than I can deliver it, leaving many plants looking perennially parched.   The mimosa tree's pink flowers have turned brown and continue to drop fuzz under its wide canopy.  Nonetheless, the favorite plant selection hosted monthly by Loree at danger garden encouraged me to take a closer look at what I've got and I found plenty to be pleased about.

I see this Agave ovatifolia (aka whale's tongue agave) first thing every morning through the bathroom window.  It looks good regardless of the season.  It was one of the first plants I put in the dry garden on the northeast side of the house after I cleared the area of weeds and the plastic sheeting buried several inches below compacted soil and gravel.  Planted almost 5 years ago in August 2012, it's still only 18 inches tall and about 28 inches in diameter.  Although it wasn't labeled as such, my guess is that it's the cultivar known as 'Frosty Blue'.

In March 2012, I planted 3 Cuphea 'Starfire Pink' in the backyard border, where they've performed admirably ever since.  They're not actually in peak condition in the middle of summer but, if you could see the mass of bees and tiny butterflies that swarm the plants from early morning into evening at this time of year, you'd understand how they ended up on my July list.  Annie's Annuals & Perennials recently featured this Cuphea on its "indestructable plants" list.  Mine get watered 2x a week during the summer months by our automated irrigation system but I don't consider it a water hog and it takes our hot summers in stride.  As an aside, the unidentified butterfly is smaller than the average skipper and seemingly impossible to catch with its blue wings open.  Amy of A Small Sunny Garden has seen it in her garden in the Sonoran Desert too. It's underside wings appear similar to butterflies identified alternatively as the Hammock Skipper and the Cassius Blue but on-line input makes both IDs unlikely.

So far, Dahlia 'Loverboy' is the most vigorous of the Dahlias I purchased by mail order as tubers this spring.  Several others have yet to flower and a few plants, most notably 'Otto's Thrill', don't look as though they'll even reach bloom size this year.  'Loverboy' is identified as a semi-cactus type.  I don't usually go for red flowers and this one wasn't originally on my shopping list but, when many of my top picks sold out before I reached check-out, I picked this one as a substitute on the fly.   'Loverboy' may be a turning point in my relationship with red flowers.

The Echeverias are looking good in mid-summer.  All 3 of these are in pots kept in afternoon shade.  Left to right, they are: Echeveria 'Afterglow', E. cante, and E. 'Raindrops'.

Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus) has been the star of my summer garden for several years now.  In prior years, the pink forms outshone the blue, white, and yellow varieties but this year the blues have it.  The semi-succulent leaves help the plants survive our summer heatwaves.  The blue form appears to appreciate some afternoon shade.

The sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) I planted from seed in April finally began to bloom this month.  The first to do so are 'Lemon Queen', shown here.  Half a dozen or more flowers have opened since I took these photos.  So far, none of the plants have toppled over or broken in the wind but I did have to add supports to some of the taller stems.

Okay, I featured Leucadendron salignum 'Chief' in last month's favorites post but, when I caught a photo of the leaves in the early morning sunlight, I had to share it again.  It makes great use of the early morning and late evening sunshine and, in my opinion, should always be sited to take advantage of it.

Rudbeckia hirta 'Cherry Brandy' has provided me a lesson in patience.  I planted 2 six-packs (plugs) of these plants in early November last year.  They've previously bloomed off and on throughout the year for me but this time they made me wait until summer to bloom.  However, this is the only Rudbeckia that's ever done well here so I'll forgive it the delay, especially as every source I've consulted indicates that my prior experience was unusual and that it normally blooms summer to fall.

This is Sedum oxypetalum (aka dwarf tree stonecrop), which I picked up earlier this year at the local Cactus & Succulent Society show and sale.  The plant is suitable to treatment as a bonsai subject to keep it smaller than its projected mature size of 2-4 feet tall and 1-2 feet wide.  While mine is placed in full sun, it tolerates shade as well.  It also has low water requirements.  The flowers are a bonus in my view as its foliage and tree-like form is what attracted me to it.

My Zinnias, most grown from seed, are even splashier than the Dahlias in my cutting garden.  They do need a substantial amount of water to thrive, which is why I've restricted them to these raised planters in what formerly functioned as my vegetable garden.  However, they handle summer's heat with aplomb.  The variety of colors and flower forms also makes them useful in floral arrangements.

With the exception of succulents, buying new plants in summer is at the top of my list of garden don'ts; yet it's a rule I break just about every year.  Featuring any such recent purchase as a "favorite" within a month or less of purchase also seems inadvisable as it could easily be dead before summer draws to a close but, because I can't help myself, here are 3 additions to my list of favorites this July.  Perhaps I should refer to them as "plant crushes" rather than favorites as they could be history in no time.

The burgundy beauty in these 2 photos is Alternanthera 'Little Ruby'.  I added 5 of them at the edge of the narrow bed that runs outside our dining and living room windows.  I like how they pick up the purple in the stems and leaf undersides of Plectranthus 'Zulu Wonder' (left) and complement the deep burgundy of Pelargonium peltatum (right).  They get morning sun and afternoon shade.  I've grown other Alternanthera as ground covers with relative success.  They're short-lived perennials here and most have gotten by with moderate water but the descriptions of 'Little Ruby' all refer to moist, well-drained soil so I have some concern in that regard.  Hopefully, I'll keep it from going belly up before the winter rains return.

The grass-like plant in the middle of this photo is Lomandra 'Platinum Beauty', a new hybrid.  I picked it up and put it down several times before I took it to the check-out stand.  It was a pricey plant but I've had great success with Lomandra 'Breeze' so I found I couldn't pass this one up.  It's a low-water evergreen plant that grows no bigger than 3x3 feet and it's good in sun or partial shade.  I've planted it among succulents on my front-facing slope, replacing Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln', which apparently wanted more water than it got in this location.

Mandevilla 'Sun Parasol Apricot' was another impulse purchase.  I first saw it in early June and managed to walk away but I ran into again a week ago at my local garden center, offered in its own hanging basket at a lower cost than the plant in the nursery pot I originally saw.  As the succulent planter I had hanging by the front door was in need of an overhaul, I decided this could be a summer substitute.  Mandevilla generally do well here year-round, although I've never grown one in a hanging basket before.  According to on-line sources, it should be allowed to dry out before being watered. which gives it improved chances of survival.

That's my July list.  I can only hope things look as positive at the end of August.  Visit Loree at danger garden to see what's found her favor this month, as well as links to related posts by other bloggers.  And, for what's looking good across the pond, check Chloris' top 10 list for July at The Blooming Garden.

Best wishes for a wonderful weekend!


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