June Gloom Bloomsday

Ordinary Ageratum houstonianum.  I love the fuzzy leaves, too--not just the fuzzy flowers:
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June in Southern California is normally overcast and gray, and we've had a decent share of overcast lately.  The nickname for this weather is "June Gloom".  A weather phenomenon known locally as "Catalina Eddy" pulls cold moisture-laden ocean air over the warming land, creating what Raymond Chandler called "high fog":  a blanket of thick gray that does not hug the land but rather hovers over it for much of the day, clearing out only in the late afternoon--if then.  The soil is warm, but the air is cool, and most plants are happy. 

 Blue is the beautifully evil and evilly beautiful Salvia 'Black and Blue', strangling the rest of the plants nearby with its invasive and aggressive root system:
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The flowers have fangs, just like rattlesnakes.  See?
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Blue/lavender/gray is the emerging flower stalk of Graptoveria 'Spirit Of 76':
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Gray/lavender, can we deem this seedling Clematis?
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Masses of little Begonia flowers, enjoying the mildness:
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The roses last longer and retain better color when Catalina Eddy is in town.
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In late afternoon the sun comes out, but the day is pleasant despite bright sun, because of the ocean breeze that reaches inland.
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The sunny flowers of Echeveria 'Sunita':
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I hope your day is not gloomy at all, even if its cloudy, or rainy.  Blooms, of course, are made of sunshine!




Comments

  1. Pretty, pretty blooms!

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  2. Lovely pictures. Awesome rose!

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  3. Very nice photos! The color of the Graptoveria 'Spirit Of 76'flowers is simply stunning. I also love the salvia 'Black & Blue'. It just scares the heck out of me that you said repeatedly that it is so invasive. I just planted a couple of this plant in my small garden and hope they don't take over.
    Christina

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  4. Thanks, goodtogrow and redneckrosarian!

    Christina, if I had had it to do over, I would plant them in a 10 gallon "squat" pot and sink the pot into the ground.

    If you are in a colder climate it may be well behaved.

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  5. nothing much to add except that your photos and blooms are magnificent!

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  6. Hoov, I love your pictures. Thank you for your focus on those easier-to-overlook smaller blossoms. My Salvia 'Black and Blue' died to the ground in true perennial fashion and its small foliage mass has yet to get going this summer. After reading your post, I'm wondering if I really want it to...

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  7. Interesting coincidence; I work at a nursery and was just admiring the gallon cans of "Black and Blue" salvia, thinking what a nice deep blue they are and wondering if I should take some home. I may just rethink that now! I have enough headache with Oxalis pes-caprae(sourgrass). Btw, found a fascinating article about how gophers probably spread sourgrass. By Jeffrey Caldwell a CA native plant writer; http://jeffreycaldwell.blogspot.com/2005/01/oxalis-bermuda-buttercup-dispersed-by.html

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