September Flowers 2019

Dahlia time is coming to an end
 
Many plants in the garden bloom most of the year.  Only a few restrict their flowering to this time of year:  mostly Lagerstroemias and Yucca 'Bright Star':
Yucca are very different than Agaves--the Yucca bloom stems emerge, flower, and start to dry up all in about two weeks.  

This Yucca's flower appears to be spouting from an Agave--the Yucca plant is hidden behind the Agave, which will eventually take six months or more to go through the same process. 
 A 'Blue Glow' Agave in flower.  Mobbed with bees.
 Lagerstroemias.  'Ebony Fire'
 'Ebony Embers'
 Aloe reitzii is a mid-to-late Summer bloomer.  This is its second year flowering.  The plant itself is very elegant:  forming a rosette that is solitary, with clean lines. 

Roses and Geranium 'Rozanne' are, undoubtedly, part of the most-of-the-year bloomers club.  
 'Munstead Wood' seemed to finally establish itself this year due to the winter's wonderful rain.  The summer color is far lighter than cool season color.  Finally established, the flowers finally have  fragrance, a luscious, complex old rose perfume.  Worth the wait. 
Daylilys almost but don't make the most-of-the-time club--only most of spring, all of summer, and some of autumn.
'Janice Brown', a petite variety, got engulfed by a rose and I nearly lost it.  It's in a good spot now.  Happy I still have this one.  
 No, not rain drops.  I was filling the urn fountain and these flowers got splashed.
 The purple of 'Apollodorus' is striking backed by the gold and yellow foliage of Abelia 'Kalaidescope'
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The Leonotis leonurus got a hard pruning after its first round of flowering and it has produced another flush.  Hummers go for the nectar, finches for the seeds.  Not a California native, but the native birds love this plant.  
 September also means big-bug time.  Mantids...
 ...and these dramatic spiders.  They stretch their webs across paths and I walk into them and produce colorful language. 
 Bedraggled Dahlias.  They are getting tired. 
 The 'Imperial Thai Pink' Bougie has now fully engulfed the tower support and looks really good.  I hope I can keep it relatively confined to the tower. 
 These are the actual Bougainvillea flowers.  The brilliant color belongs to bracts, not petals. 
 Protea 'Pink Ice' has a dozen or so flowers, but another one from 'Sylvia', its second, is particularly anticipated.  It will open in a few days.
 To finish,  a second round of flowers from Hydrangea 'Endless Summer' which got cut back to a few inches tall this past winter because it was going to get moved to a shadier location.  That didn't happen this year.  

The mix of different plants is pleasing at this moment:  Alternathera, Abutilon, Dichondra argentea, the Hydrangea, the Acer Palmatum trunk, and Sedum 'Angelina':
 Bloom Day meme, the 15th of each month, is hosted by May Dreams.  Happy flowers!




 

Comments

  1. Your garden looks great this Bloom Day, HB! I love your daylilies. There's still no sign of Yucca flowers here - maybe next year my 'Bright Stars' will have a breakthrough. The fact that Geranium 'Rozanne' does so well in your garden has me wondering why it's been difficult to establish in this garden but perhaps I'll try it in a shadier location next time. I'm hoping to hold on to my dahlias for at least another month, although the foliage is already becoming quite ugly.

    Our temperature was significantly lower here today. I hope yours dropped too.

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    1. The 'Bright Star's lose their symmetry somewhat after flowering, so I think they are better off without flowers. 'Rozanne' best planted in autumn and generously watered the following summer to establish--even established, can't be classified as xeric. Dahlia foliage still good here, but they are all too tall and are flopping over.

      Yes cooler here, happy, happy!

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  2. A mantid came to visit on one of my Eryngiums this week -they always seem to vanish the next day ! What a gift a mild summer is--and there is even a small chance that we will see some rain here this week-it won't be enough to actually water anything but it would wipe the dust away.

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    1. The male mantids don't seem to survive long. The ladies, a different story. I usually see them for weeks.

      Best wishes for some rain!

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  3. It all looks fantastic, Hoover Boo. Those yucca en masse...be still my heart! Wow.

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    1. Thanks, CG! The Yuccas are brief, but glorious.

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  4. Your yucca photo is magical, I love it. Is leonotis a perennial there? I grew it the past two years as an annual here. It is such an interesting bloom. I love the bougainvillea too.

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    1. Yes the Leonotis was planted from a 4" pot Fall of '17. They are somewhat short lived because they get woody at the base, like Fuchsias. There were a couple of seedlings this spring but I didn't get around to transplanting any. Maybe next year.

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  5. Precioso... parece mentira pero a tantos kilómetros distante en Galicia, tengo muchas de las plantas que están ahí...

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    1. Both our climates are mild, so perhaps it is not so surprising. I think though you get more rainfall than we get here. It would be lovely to get 40" (100 cm) a year.

      Ambos climas son suaves, por lo que quizás no sea tan sorprendente. Aunque creo que llueve más que nosotros aquí. Sería maravilloso obtener 40 " (100 cm) al año.

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  6. I too am wondering why Rozanne won't grow in my garden. I had it one whole summer and not a leaf returned the following year. Crazy. You have so many things blooming at this time. I think it looks wonderful. Happy GBBD.

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    1. Your growing conditions are so different from mine. I looked it up it said 'Rozanne' zones 5-8, and I'm in 10. I'm glad I never read that--would never have tried it!

      Happy GBBD!

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  7. You have some incredible blooms and visitors in your garden! That first Dahlia melted my heart. I really must plant more Dahlias in the future. Sigh. Oh, and 'Munstead Wood' is gorgeous!

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    1. Dahlias made the summer more fun. :) 'Munstead Wood' has a wonderful fragrance, too. Worth a try!

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