After a hiatus of six weeks I led two tours through the
South Coast Botanic Garden this week. After the second yesterday, I went back to photograph some of the garden's mid-summer highlights. Unfortunately, snapping photos when the sun is at its zenith doesn't render the best images but, as the morning marine layer has thinned dramatically this week and a ridge of high pressure promises to keep it at bay for much of the next week, I don't expect I'll have much opportunity to capture better shots any time soon so I'm sharing those I have.
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| This is Tithonia diversifolia, aka Mexican sunflower and marigold tree. I was so impressed by it last year that I hunted down seeds to grow it for myself; however, having only vague notions as to where I could put a tree-like shrub that gets this big, I've held off on planting them. |
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| True sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) are in bloom nearby |
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| The Living Wall, shown here fronted by an herb garden and seating area, is looking great |
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| Closer views of the mix of succulents, ferns and rubber plants (Ficus elastica) growing in felt pockets sustained by a hydroponic system |
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| The giant bird of paradise (Streletzia nicolai) is loaded with blooms |
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| There are still plenty of roses in full bloom, although I don't envy the job of the volunteers tasked with keeping them deadheaded |
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| I thought this section of the Garden of the Senses looked particularly good but unfortunately the pretty blue Plumbago looks washed out in this photo. My real objective in passing through this area was the lavender field just visible beyond the Plumbago. |
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| This area was planted with a mass of lavenders relatively recently. I didn't notice it until I began conducting tours again in early spring. I think it's peaking now. |
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| The brightly colored crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia) adds a nice contrast to the lavender |
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| I'm guessing the stick-like tree with the burgundy foliage on the left in this photo is another crepe myrtle |
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| The same area is also home to 2 nice Chitalpa trees. xChitalpa tashkentensis 'Morning Cloud' is an intergeneric hybrid of Chilopsis linearis (aka desert willow) and Catalpa speciosa. I wish I had someplace for a specimen this large! |
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| On my way back to the parking lot, I snapped a final photo: Dahlia 'Dark Side of the Sun', blooming en masse |
We enjoyed an extended period of pleasantly cool weather into the early part of July but it seems that summer's heat has finally reached us. I'm hoping we can at least avoid another horrific heatwave of the kind we got last year.
Best wishes for favorable weather wherever you are this weekend!
All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
