Bloom Day October 2016

Above, the very first flowers from Grevillea 'Medusa'
Below,  Aloe deltoideodontea
 We've had several days of cool weather, so it was a chance to get outside and hack back some of summer's tired and sunburnt growth.  The cooler nights have caused several different plants to break out in flowers again--Hemerocallis, for example.

 Also reactivating are Aloes.  Besides A. deltoideodontea, the easier-to-spell species A. suprafoliata is developing a flower stem:
Farther along is Aloe fosteri, which produces a single, very branched and towering stem
 It displayed a beautiful range of colors just as the sun appeared.  The leaves of Aloe vanbalenii glow in the background. 
 Even reluctant bloomer 'Grassy Lassy' has flowers again. 
Also reawakened by cooler nights are the young Grevilleas.  Perhaps when more established they will be able to bloom in summer, but this year, they rested.  'Superb':
 The cooler nights of October also mean the end of Dahlia season.  'Catching Fire'
October is also usually the stellar month for individual rose flowers, but not this year.  It's been a terrible year for the roses, with Chili Thrips destroying nearly every flower.  If I want roses next year I face regular insecticide spraying.  Still, a few roses survive to bloom, like 'Yves Piaget':
Months of heat have nurtured the few subtropicals in the garden.  Truly fierce heat seems to have stimulated the new Bougainvillea 'California Gold'.  Surrounded by reflected heat from tile and stucco, in a heat-absorbing ceramic pot, it is thriving where the previous plant,  Rosa 'Iceberg' failed to be happy.

 A bright pink Pentas has also enjoyed the long hot summer.  It looks very happy:
 While Echeveria 'Pollux' bloomed in summer heat,  the new round of flowers are not infected with heat-loving black aphids. 
 Much better!
To end, a goodbye to the Brassica/Miltonia hybrid orchid, about to bloom out.  Who knows if it will ever bloom again, but the ten-year wait since the last flower stem wasn't so bad...
Huh.  More flowers than I thought I'd find.  More also of garden bloggers celebrate the blooms of October--links at May Dreams.  Enjoy!


Comments

  1. So many beautiful flowers, love that Brassica orchid but I'm also surprised you have now Hemerocallis blooming in your garden. As always extra-ordinary beautiful photos of lots of flowers which don't grow in our climate (except in hot greenhouses).
    Regards, Janneke

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    1. Long blooming season here for Hemerocallis. It is a good thing. :)

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  2. Beautiful flowers. I miss all my orchid plants but got tired of fighting scale insects. So nice to see yours. I had some daylilies still blooming but the deer ate them before I could take a photo. My roses, those the deer couldn't get to, really thrived this year.

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    1. Deer! At least we do not have them here. We have squirrels, though. :(

      Have never had scale on the orchids, only on succulents here. I will be on the lookout now.

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  3. Many of your plants are so different from anything I can grow outdoors. Our growing season is almost over, period, and it gives a hint of sadness to this particular GBBD. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

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    1. Well, you have a rest though for a few months, time to think and rework things. We garden on here--I think a pause would be a benefit.

      It's fun to see what grows in other climates, isn't it? I enjoy seeing the unfamiliar plants.

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  4. Every one of your photos captured a jewel! Grevillea 'Medusa' is new to me. I gather that it's a low-grower - where did you find it? (My resident raccoons appear to be put off only by extensive ground covers so I'm now on the hunt for more of those.) I'm sorry the Chili Thrips caused such extensive damage. My own roses look like crap but the thrips aren't responsible - I think I'm just not giving them enough water.

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    1. It's my substitute for Acacia 'Cousin Itt' because it seems something like Itt--shaggy, drape-y. I'm hoping it will be easier to grow--so far it is.

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  5. So many warm blooms in your garden, I'm especially enchanted by the not-pink-Bougainvillea.

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    1. Yes, not-pink! The warm golden orange is wonderful in early morning light.

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  6. Three times attempting to comment...Lordy I need a new iPad for late night blog reading. If this one does make it through...well...I had something smart to say but I don't remember what it was...I do love the bougainvillea.

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    1. Well, two made it, both smart. Perhaps it was just time for some sleep?

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  7. That Brassica orchid is well worth waiting for, if you ask me. Very, very cool. And I love the flower of the Echeveria 'Pollux'. Sorry all your roses had a hard time this year. Hopefully next year will be better - and fingers and toes crossed for a wet winter for you all. Heaven knows we got enough in the past few days, to share.

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    1. It showed me how tough an Orchid can be. I'm going to take better care of it now--it earned it a million times over.

      Happy to hear you got some good rain, even if you didn't particularly need it. That storm was so large, here we got enough over night to wet the pavement (that is a lot these days)!

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  8. So THAT is a Grevillea : very exotic, like many of your plants. So lovely so see them on one page. Great post and I am so glad you have the Lightbox switched on.

    joanna
    http://bloomday.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/october-bloom-day.html

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    1. If you can imagine a repeat-blooming hydrangea in yellow/orange/red range for sun--that is what they are like. A nicely rounded shrub with beautiful complex flowers evenly spaced all over, pretty foliage, and low water requirements.

      Your photos are fantastic, wish I could take some like that!

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  9. All your 'exotics' are such a cheery sight. They keep me going over the dull English winter to come.

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    1. As are your "exotics" to me--Asters! The thought of your "dull English winter" will keep me going this week, 38C is predicted in a few days.

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  10. What an elegant bloom on the Echeveria

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