It's easy to get fixated on the ugly bits of my garden during summer's seemingly endless stretch of hot, dry weather but, despite the the challenges of our Mediterranean climate and our ongoing home remodel, many, if not most, sections of my garden still look halfway decent. (It helps that we've yet to have a truly horrific heatwave this year!) Last Friday, I shifted my attention to
the trees that add so much to my garden but this Friday my eye was drawn to some of the plants that manage to flower during this difficult time of year.
As I scanned my garden, I realized that there's suddenly a lot of pink!
![]() |
| Somehow, Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' always manages to surprise me. Instead of showing up one at a time, the flowers seem to appear en masse. Yesterday, I looked across my garden and there they were. The bees are fixated on these flowers and I expect heightened butterfly activity too. |
![]() |
| The flowers of Cotyledon orbiculata, more peach than pink, are also making a strong showing at the moment |
![]() |
| Several of my roses have thrown out a bloom or two this week too. This is Rosa 'California Dreamin'. She's pretty but not vigorous. |
![]() |
| Amaryllis belladonna, aka naked lady (left), has made an appearance, as has a single Lycoris squamigera, aka surprise lily (right). The Amaryllis were gifts from Tammy of Casa Mariposa years ago. I planted Lycoris bulbs in 2016 and this is the first bloom I've ever seen. |
Much of the flower action at the moment is in my cutting garden, which will probably be true until rain returns in October or November.
![]() |
| The blooms of Dahlia 'Otto's Thrill' are absolutely huge. The view of this first bloom of the season is marred somewhat by the tomato cage I use to support the plant but the stem on this bloom is very short and I didn't have the heart to cut it. |
![]() |
| Dahlia 'Hollyhill Karen Lee' didn't impress me when she first began to unfurl her petals but her appearance changes dramatically as she matures |
![]() |
| I've long admired the blooms of Amaranthus caudatus when I've seen them featured in the vases of IAVOM contributors but this is the first time I've tried the plant for myself. I bought 3 plants in 4-inch pots 2 weeks ago and they've already grown nearly a foot. |
Not quite everything that caught my eye was a shade of pink.
![]() |
| The Zinnias are kicking off at last. The first seeds I sowed were those of 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose' and they're the first to bloom as well. |
![]() |
| Last but not least is this noID Scaevola, which has the deepest purple color of any of these I've ever grown. Now, if I'd only kept the tag... |
That's it from me this week. Have a pleasant weekend!
All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
