Bloom Day July 2019

 Big box store Canna

Rose 'Twilight Zone': 
Trachelium peaking.  Deadheading brings more flowers, from what I remember when I last grew it, some years ago. 


First Eustoma flower.  Poor photo, but cool flower! 
 Hunnemannia fumariifolia.  You can toss seeds everywhere, but they only sprout where they want to. 

 Big box store Daylily at noon
Rose 'Bishops Castle'.  Silvery in morning light, Pittosporum 'Ivory Sheen' behind.
 The three 'Bishops Castle's had a marvelous first flush back in May. and here they are again, just as good. 
 One of last year's purchased Big Box store Dahlias
 Pass along, unknown rose.  It's a stellar plant--pristine foliage, constant flowers.  Grew it from a cutting from a garden buddy, who got it from another garden buddy, who got it from her Mom's garden in Tennessee. 
 Lotus jacobeus
 Purchased a few months ago, Cryptanthus 'Absolute Zero' is already flowering.  Monocarpic, but it has several offsets forming.  At least I didn't kill it.  I read Cryptanthus must be kept at the very least damp at all times, preferably steadily moist.  Drying out kills them.  I don't know if this applies to all Cryptanthus, or just some of them, but it is how I've been treating 'Absolute Zero'.  It's been faithfully watered, unlike a lot of the small potted plants on the patio.  Actually the small potted plants on the patio have been getting watered regularly again, because I'm constantly checking the Cryptanthus to make sure it doesn't dry out.  Huh.  How 'bout that? 
 The pale yellow flowers of Crassula pubescens match pale yellow areas of Agave 'Joe Hoak's foliage, and the burgundy stems accent the pairing.  Unplanned serendipity.
Down at the bottom of the garden, by the pergola, the Stephanotis finally looks like something.  I had it in a hot sunny spot for a couple of years, where it came close to dying.  It has recovered here and this past winter's perfect rain seems to have established it.
 I'm encouraging it to grow up onto the Pergola.  Eventually it might be impressive. 
 I've had various generations of 'Irene Nuss' Begonia in the garden since we move here.  Before we moved here, even.  Always a superb plant, there was a long stretch where it was dismal and I kept meaning to pull it, baffled by its steady decline.  

Circumstances led me to pull out the huge old woody Fuchsia next to 'Irene' first--whereupon I discovered there was a Fuchsia root 4" (10 cm) in diameter(!!!) running under 'Irene' sucking up all the moisture in the soil for itself.  I should have taken a photo of that root, because who can imagine a Fuchsia root 4" in diameter? 

But you know how it is when you are pulling something big out of the ground.  You just want to get it done and get the mud off your hands, knees, socks, shoes, face...of course I rooted several cuttings of the Fuchsia which are now growing elsewhere, as well as several cuttings of 'Irene Nuss', which are growing well, and even flowering at the height of 3". 
 After pulling the Fuchsia root, original 'Irene Nuss' stayed where it was, given the excuse it had for underperforming.  It immediately began to recover and is impressive once again, after what must have been nearly a decade of struggling.  Huh.  How 'bout that? 
 Another big box store Dahlia purchased last year
 First flower cluster of the year from one of the black-foliaged Lagerstroemias
 This July has been more mild than last year, the year before that, the year before that, the year before that...it has been more like the historic average.  So much still looks very good. 
A little June Gloom has lingered to keep July temperatures down a few degrees, making all the difference for the plants.  

Agave marmorata.  Note the bird at the tip top of the cypress on the right:
I've even once or twice sat under the pergola for a few minutes, because it wasn't unbearably hot.  
Then off to admore some other plant
 The neighbor's Magnolia grandiflora can be closely admired by standing on the retaining wall, which puts some flowers at exactly nose-height.  I get to enjoy the heavenly fragrance at full strength... 
 ...and watch the exuberant joy of the honey bees feeding upon it. 
Happy July flowers.  May you be feeling the same joy as those bees!  Bloom Day meme hosted by May Dreams Gardens

Comments

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you for visiting Tracy. Happy you liked the photos.

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  2. Is it greedy to wish for a continuation of this unprecedented stretch of pleasant weather? In summer yet! Some blooms, like my own Eustoma, have been slower than usual to take off but that's okay. I fear the Trachelium I planted several months ago are going to be a bust because I foolishly planted them in one of the sandiest areas of my sandy-soiled garden. I shall take the lesson of your experience with Cryptanthus to heart. Happy GBBD, HB!

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    1. A historically average summer so far. It's been wonderful, hasn't it? Haven't run the A/C once. Yet. Have still been able to garden!

      Happy GBBD to you, Kris!

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  3. I never see a shot of your Hunnemannia wall (and this is a particularly lovely one) without the mind's-eye addition of Boris and his ball. Sometimes with sound, too: Ka-thwop! Ka-thwop! Ka-thwop-thwop-thwop...

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    1. There would be more Hunnes along the bottom of the wall, but Boris tends to sit on them in between ball tosses.

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  4. Your garden is still full of lovely bloom. The colour of the Lotus is stunning. The purple with white tips dahlia looks like it could be Rothsay Reveller. Always a good performer and usually available in box stores. Glad you are still able to enjoy gardening in the cooler weather.

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    1. Thank you, luv2. Thank you also for the name suggestion. I looked up the dahlia posts from last year and that white-tipped one is 'Duet', which is an oldie/goodie here. Very similar to Rothsay Reveller.

      So nice to be able to go out and garden a little. Last year was dreadfully hot.

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  5. Isn't it amazing how those daylily blooms can sit there in the noonday sun and just look beautiful! Your roses are spectacular. I have two roses and they are so so. I am sure with more sun they would be better, or so I tell myself. ha... I had one of those Cryptanthus and it died on me. A very expensive mistake on my part for not keeping it damp I guess. It grew well in the house during winter but when I put it outside it died on me. I didn't know why. Since you say it needs to be kept wet I am sure that is what happened. These plants are not easily found around here for sale.
    I am always amazed at the fuchsias that grow like shrubs. Fascinating.

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    1. Cryptanthus are not that easy to find around here, either.

      When I was a little kid and lived even closer to the ocean where it was cooler, there were several really skilled gardeners across the street and around the corner and they had Fuchsias 6 or 7 feet tall...they gave my Mom and Dad cuttings and talked them into putting up lath structures all around the back yard so growing up I had these towering Fuchsias all around. Wonderful memory. Maybe that's why I became a plant lover?

      Now I need to go check my Cryptanthus again. ;^)

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  6. Beautiful blooms! I have mixed results with dahlias but keep trying more. I love the eustoma - I thought it was a rose at first.

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    1. The Eustoma flowers remind me of roses, too. Such pretty things. The plants are very small, and would be annuals in your zone. Highly recommend!

      Swan Island Dahlias is up in your region and has a big festival late in August--have you been? Looks gorgeous...

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  7. Lots of beautiful here. I'm especially taken with the photo of the Crassula pubescens and Agave 'Joe Hoak', well and the Agave marmorata bloom too...

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    1. Thanks, Danger! The number of bees and birds in the marmorata flowers is wildlife party right now.

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  8. HB your roses are breathtaking! incredibly gorgeous! they look untroubled by the summer. I didn't prune my roses this year, I only cut spent blooms and some very tall canes, I will begin to feed them next month, maybe a miracle finally happens! Have a wonderful day!

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    1. Thank you MDN! Our wonderfully rainy winter and mild spring made the roses here so very happy (and the rose gardener, too). Best wishes for your region to get a long stretch of great weather as well.

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