This week I felt the first subtle signs of the seasonal shift toward fall. The days are perceptibly shorter. Evening temperatures are cooler. The marine layer, although thin, was present more mornings than not. No plants have been newly incinerated by intense sun exposure. The neighborhood kids returned to school. And the late afternoon light accentuates everything it touches.
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| The northwest corner of the garden shines. With added water, the shrubs and perennials I planted there are filling out at last. |
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| The peppermint willows (Agonis flexuosa) look their best when back-lit by the sun |
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| Even in partial shade, these large Agave attentuata, inherited with the garden, were scarred by the nuclear heat blast we experienced in early July, but they still look stunning in the lower afternoon light |
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| The paddle plants (Kalanchoe luciae) in the same succulent bed positively glow |
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| The sun picked up the color of Duranta repens 'Lime', also sold as 'Gold Mound'. Although I have several of these plants, it makes me nervous as one of them shot up over 7 feet tall when they were marketed as growing 2-3 feet tall. This one's minding its manners (so far). |
The peppermint willows at the southwest end of our lot create a natural sun screen.
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| This Agonis shows signs of sun scorch but still looks pretty. In contrast, the under-story Western redbud trees (Cercis occidentalis) were more badly damaged by July's heat blast but I expect they'll eventually recover. |
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| The Aeonium arboreum planted along front the slope below the trees curl up during the hot summer months but the mass display here still shimmers in the late afternoon sun |
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| Variegated Agave mitis also shows itself off well in the sun. Planted from a small pot in February 2017, I was startled to see how much it's grown. |
In the lath house, the new sun screens my husband built seem to be doing the trick in protecting my burgeoning shade plant collection.
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| July's heatwaves left this noID Rex Begonia with only one leaf |
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| Caladium 'Candyland' looks as pretty as any flower |
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| Caladium 'Miss Muffet, also planted as a tuber, is looking pretty good too |
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| Plectranthus scutellaroides 'Dipt in Wine' (aka coleus) may be my favorite of the species |
Am I suffering from a delusion that summer is reaching its end? Almost certainly. Summer's high temperatures can easily extend into late October and even early November here. We toured our current house for the first time during a nasty heatwave in early October nearly 8 years ago - I had to beg my husband to get out of the car when we arrived. It's reasonable to expect we'll get another blast of heat or two before summer bids its seasonal farewell. I don't plan to cut back the foliage burned in July for another month or so yet, much less start replanting the areas left bare by summer's brutality, but I'm enjoying the first signs of fall in the meantime. Fall's arrival means winter is coming and the prospect of our first real rain since March 22nd grows closer.
Whether you're continuing to celebrate mid-summer or joining me in anticipating fall's cooler days, best wishes for a pleasant weekend!
All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
