I'm never particularly happy with my garden in late summer and, even though this summer has been milder than some, it's no exception. Everything looks dry. Plants that were flowering beautifully one week are withered beyond recognition the next. It doesn't help that construction tools and debris related to our ongoing home remodel clutter much of the area surrounding the house and dust covers everything, including plants. I've responded by developing selective vision. To the extent possible I focus on what's looking good, ignoring what's dusty, dying or dead.
This week, my selective vision had me focusing on the "blooms" of
Leucadendron 'Blush' in my front garden.
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| This Leucadendron's colorful bracts always make me think of rose buds |
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| Can you see it? |
While inspecting the
Leucadendron, I noticed the
Phormium tucked into a corner next to it. It was one of the very first plants I installed in my new garden after moving in more than 8.5 years ago. It's in bloom! None of my
Phormiums have ever bloomed so I count this as a special event.
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| I planted it sometime during the first quarter of 2011. I wasn't keeping records of my plants then but I think this is Phormium tenax 'Atropurpureum'. |
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| The flowers appear in clusters at intervals along the tall bloom spikes |
But what's the blue thing just visible in the first photo of the Phormium above? Here's the larger picture:
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| A port-a-potty set up for the use of construction workers sits directly next to the Phormium at one edge of our driveway |
It's unfortunate that the
Phormium doesn't have an opportunity to shine as part of the landscape on this occasion as it should. On the other hand, who knows? Maybe the port-a-potty provided the favorable conditions it needed to bloom.
Before I close this post, it seems appropriate to include an unrelated postscript here. I've featured the mimosa tree (
Albizia julibrissin) in our backyard garden in at least two prior Wednesday Vignettes. The tree's future has been in question since we removed half its limbs last year following an infestation by shot-hole borers. It was late to leaf out and late to bloom but here it is at last in all its glory:
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| There are still a few dead branches that could be pruned out but, all in all, the tree looks like it has some life left in it yet |
For more Wednesday Vignettes,
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All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
