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Aloe zubb, yellow flowered version
The Aloes seem late this year. A very dry last winter and an extra long and hot summer may be the cause.
Emerging stems on A. thraskii
Flower color showing on A. suprafoliata
After taking the summer off, Aloe aff. melanacantha is flowering again.
As for other succulents, there goes the big Agave marmorata. The flower stem may reach 20' (6 m) in height
Senecio vitalis does not have the prettiest flowers, so I am always tempted to take them off, but multiple pollinators love them, so they will remain where they are.
Though planted just last year, these Kalanchoes are blooming already. Still, the tall spikes are fun and change the area with their sudden height.
As for other African and Australian plants, Protea 'Pink Ice' is in its leap year, with an extended bloom period and many more flowers than its first three years.
Seedling of 'Yellow Bird' Leucospermum, you have taken over and are spilling out of a 4 x 4 (122cm x 122 cm) bed. When are you going to flower?
Flower? Or yet more growth?
Grevillea 'Kings Fire' looks awful. Yet it blooms. What am I doing wrong? All the leaves are brown.
Very different is Grevillea 'Coastal Gem', purchased and planted in January 2012, still looking pristine nearly seven years on. Nonstop bloomer.
South African Gazanias. These are seedlings that came up from last year's plants. You see them a lot here in mass plantings as a ground cover. I prefer individual plants here and there, pulling them when they look tired and healthy new seedlings appear to replace the old ones.
Some of them look hand-painted, the lovely things.
Garvinea Gerbera with Drakensberg Daisy and rose 'Rouge Royale
These took the hottest part of summer off. Sweet to see them again.
Roses looking pretty good again.
'Valencia'
'The Endeavour'
Still a few Hemerocallis flowers. The weather has been warm
Mexico/Southwestern plants like Leucophyllum
Salvias
Cuphea 'Vermillions', which the hummingbirds are starting to feed from
Tagetes lemonii, which all sorts of bees love.
Tree Arbutus 'Marina', blooming in its pot
Patio sized tree Metrosideros 'Springfire', blooming in the ground
My garden focuses on nearly year-round bloomers that feed hummingbirds, so Bloom Day unfortunately tends to be repetitive. Not great fodder for Bloom Day posts, but great for hummingbirds.
What happens to the Kalanchoes post bloom? Does the part that bloomed die and new babies take over? As always the Protea is magic.
ReplyDeleteThe plant that blooms dies, there are often offsets at the base of the old plant, and in addition, at the base of each leaf there will be an offset as well. You can end up with dozens of new plants from one old one.
DeleteFirst picture: superb, very artistic, a surprise!
ReplyDeleteThat was the only angle I could access. Thanks!
DeleteWhat are the tall green spires next to 'Springfire'?
ReplyDeleteThe developing bloom stalk on the Agave marmorata is awe-inspiring (and sad; that's such a pretty agave).
I never get tired of Grevilleas! Or roses or salvias, for that matter. Well, maybe I could do without seeing 'King's Fire' in December's GBBD if it hasn't greened up by then. I'm so sorry about that one, hope you find the answer.
The image that's going to stay with me is the self-sown Gazania; those uncannily precise stripes that fade softly away as they near the center...
Alluaudia procera, from Madagascar.
DeleteNot sad; it has two offsets ready to take over. Scary to get the future bloomed-out husk in the trash...
I don't get tired of Grevilleas etc either! We and the hummers and the bees.
Reminds me there is a wonderful much much larger Alluadia procera growing nearby in someone's rich velvety green lawn. Always makes me laugh to see it.
DeleteI'm all for year-round bloomers that support bees and the hummers! I love your Aloes and I remain exceedingly impressed with your success with Leucospermums. Most of my Gazanias have gotten ratty and need to be replaced as the seedlings are coming up in the "wrong" colors in most areas - or maybe I just need to adjust my priorities. Happy GBBD!
ReplyDeleteThe only wrong color I can think of right now is the color of the 'Kings Fire' foliage.
DeleteHappy GBBD!
I do like the striped gazanias. I am used to the wild ones with a peacock eye, but no stripes.
ReplyDeleteAnd you get to see them in their fabulous habitat!
DeleteOh Hoov your Aloe collection has really become impressive. That Aloe zubb !
ReplyDeleteThey are wonderful plants for this climate. And feed bees, hummingbirds, warblers, and orioles. :^)
DeleteBeautiful flowers! I love the rose 'The Endeavour'. I imagine your roses must be appreciating the cooler days of autumn, here days get very hot and seemingly summer will be extra rainy just like spring was, not a nice situation for roses. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteYes the warm not hot day and cool nights and the cooler soil, we get the best flowers of the year from roses in the autumn.
DeleteI admit to being wistfully jealous of "extra rainy". So dry here. Have a beautiful weekend.
I think it is fun to see your plants blooming up a storm. I had one of those pancake kalanchoes that bloomed one winter. I now have a whole pot full of its babies growing together. I think they are fascinating the way they bloom and reproduce. My garden is covered in ice and snow on this bloom day. It should melt in the next couple of days. They predict more of same. I guess winter just couldn't wait to get here.
ReplyDeleteThey are very interesting plants, Kalanchoes. Some species you can lay a fallen leaf on the ground in shade and the edge of the leaf will grow new plants. Great you were able to get new ones from the old.
DeleteIce and snow. Trying to imagine. Is that earlier than normal in the season for your region?
What beautiful pictures.
ReplyDeleteI loved meeting your flowers and your
foliage.
Good weekend.
janicce.
Thank you Janice! A good weekend to you as well.
DeleteI always marvel at your flowering succulents. That Leucophyllum is new to me - love the silver with the purple, and I'm also a big fan of that little Tagetes. So amazingly fragrant... when are they going to let us upgrade to scratch-and-sniff blogs...?
ReplyDeleteI've been very impressed with Leucophyllum. Very, very tough, can be cut back hard to grow afresh, and yes the silver with the purple.
DeleteI too love the Tagetes scent, though it is powerful, sometimes too powerful.
Is the salvia Wendy's Wish? How much of it do you prune, and when? As always, your plants look fantastic. Hope you are enjoying the fall weather.
ReplyDeleteSorry, how did I forget to answer? It might be 'Wendy's Wish', though that is not the name that was on the tag. I constantly take off the finished flowers along with a node or two of leaves, so as to increase branching. This has been very effective at keeping the plant looking good and bushy.
DeleteWhen WW starts to look lanky I take it almost down to the ground, leaving some foliage and giving it a bit of fertilizer and a soak of water. Grows back fast. Eventually gets woody at the base. There's usually a fairly fresh piece of stem with roots I can pull off to replant, throwing the old woody plant out.