Bougainvillea 'Imperial Thai Pink'
Hot, so I took photos early. The light was harsh even then, and that early, shadows were still dark.
Agapanthus 'Queen Mum':Gasteria acinacifolia:The first Zinnia flower buds have appeared:Hunnemannia fumariifoliaAgapanthus unkown cultivar:Leonotus leonurus:California native Salvia apiana. The flower stalks can be 8 or 10 feet tall, but the individual flowers are tiny and delicately translucent, like a snowflake just about to melt. Globularia x dubia looking a little toasted. Daylily in intense summer light:Aloe x noblis:Yellow Calylophus 'Southern Belle' flowers surround Agave 'Blue Glow':A few fresh Leucospermum flowers, later than normal. Some years they are finished by May Day.One of the South African Ericas, looking far better than it ever has. I cut it back and the rainy winter did the rest:With fellow Eucomis, Aloe cameronii, and Dymondia margaretae:Daylily 'Victorian Lace'Rose 'Darcey Bussell':Saliva 'Mystic Spires Blue'Dahlias!White Catharanthus with Leucadendron 'Blush':Agapanthus 'Atomic Bloom':Trachelium caeruleum:Agapanthus 'Twister':Echeveria species: Happy July blooms!
Lots to love in this sunny summer bloomday post!
ReplyDeleteHope you are enjoying a mild, endlessly sunny summer. That study weekend in BC looked like great fun.
DeleteVery pretty blooms! I like the white agapanthus, and Twister. The Hunnemannia is so nice.
ReplyDeleteThanks! The Hunnemannia is very similar to California Golden Poppy, but it has a much longer flowering season.
DeleteThat's a gorgeous Bougainvillea! (Too bad my husband has decided he hates the entire species.) I need to add more Agapanthus 'Twister' to my own garden. I love the Calylophus 'Southern Belle' with Agave 'Blue Glow' too. I also got a late bonus bloom from my Leucospermum 'Royal Hawaiian Brandi' - weird. No dahlia buds here yet but the plants are looking more promising each day.
ReplyDeleteI got into the garden early this morning to get a few pony-packs of annuals I bought as fillers in the ground. It was a lovely 67F! The temperature climbed of course but it's not as hot as yesterday. While there was no marine layer at our elevation, the harbor was hazy and still is so maybe it's providing us some insulation from the heat.
Bougainvillea is certainly a plant to be very wary of! That one is growing on a tuteur with one stem (becoming a trunk) coming out of the soil. I chop it back severely in late fall to control it. I've seen decades-old examples grown around the neighborhood in this manner and it makes them fairly easy to manage while still giving a good show of color. The flowers only appear on new growth so no use keeping the old.
DeleteYes it seems just a bit cooler today--we had an hour or two of marine layer this morning and there's a cool-ish breeze now and then this afternoon. Still the small plants need attentive watering here and there. Good luck with the new fillers--the heat lovers like Catharanthus are loving it here.
Fascinating plants...wow! I'm familiar with most of them, but some are new, like the Hunnemannia. Beautiful bloom! I'm very familiar with the Bougainvillea, but I wish I could grow it here. :( Regarding the Zinnias, I cheated and started mine indoors in the sunroom in late winter, so they had an early start. Happy Bloom Day!
ReplyDeleteHunnemannia is a delight but they grow where they want to, not where the gardener wants them to.
DeleteIndoor starts are not cheating--it's thinking ahead and you got rewarded for it with flowers.
Happy Bloom Day, Beth!
Yellow Calylophus looks gorgeous with Agave 'Blue Glow', a composition made even better by the silver-gray foliage on the right hand side.
ReplyDeleteI often see South African Ericas being offered for purchase in the NW Flower and Garden Festival: I'm always disappointed because they're aren't zone appropriate for my Seattle garden (and I so wish they were).
Once I became aware of Agapanthus 'Twister', I can't look at any other variety: it has the most dazzling bloom.
Chavli
Sort of exasperating to hear that, because SA Ericas are not easy to find here where they are perfectly hardy for our more mild climate!
Delete'Twister' is a really good one. Lots of flower stems! The ones that are really blue or darker towards indigo are also lovely, too. I just got 'Brilliant Blue', and it's--yes, brilliant blue.
Lots of gorgeous blooming happening. The Calyophus with the Blue Glow is stunning. Might try that here but with Lemon Gem marigolds. I just planted my Leonitus yesterday. Love this plant. Hopefully it fills out as much as yours has. Kept one back to try and overwinter as it's tough to find seeds.
ReplyDeleteNow you give me the idea to surround other 'Blue Glow's with the shortie marigolds. Next year!
DeleteLeonotius reseeds a tiny bit and is very easy here but it looks bad at certain times of the year. The Hummers love it, so it stays. When a good strong seedling starts to grow and thrive I pull the oldest mature plant so the garden always has one or two young ones that look decent.
A blue-yellow combination gets me every time. Classic, cheerful, and just downright pretty. Love the Thai bougainvillea, too. The thorns are wicked, to be sure -- but sometimes you want wicked. Keeps a variety of pests at bay. I've noticed a lot of plants blooming longer than their normal periods this year. I can only attribute it to all the glorious rain we received earlier, but I can't explain why. That rain was gone awhile ago. What causes the lasting effects? Mid-July -- only three more months to go . . . . Elizabeth
ReplyDeleteWe had that long stretch of cool May-Gray/June-Gloom, I think that extended the bloom for a lot of plants. And of course the rain helped a lot. 68 days until autumn!
DeleteSo beautiful! Lots of wonderful colours! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks--I like a lot of bright colors--they make my eyes happy.
DeleteEach photo made me ooh and aah. Leucospermum is lovely. I don't know how it would do in NC. Your Agapanthus 'Twister' is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteLeucospermum is cold hardy to about 25F, and they are not so good in high humidity. Maybe close to the ocean in NC? I'm not super familiar with your growing conditions there.
Delete'Twister' is a gem, really enjoying it!
I keep going back to that Hunnemannia photo. Beautifully composed with so much detail. What a gorgeous flower.
ReplyDelete