Puzzling While Puttering

Hemerocallis 'Pandora's Box'

Garden blogging has taken a back seat to actual gardening lately.  

Gardening:  Peak Daylily, All Those Zinnias, new plants, a reconsideration of the humble Marigold, a texture problem, siting Dahlias and Catharanthus.

While the roses are developing new flower buds and the Dahlias are growing large enough to bloom, Agapanthus 'Indigo Frost' and Hemerocallis are peaking.

'Strawberry Candy' in the foreground, 'Pandora's Box' at the top:

 I don't remember the name of this one:

 All those Zinnias seedlings are finally planted in the ground.  

 

Seeds sown May 7th,  just in time for a long long stretch of May-Gray/June-Gloom.  Filled one of the raised beds emptied of onions with 'Northern Lights', scattered a few 'Giant Purple' plants here and there, but most of the 'Giant Purple' are massed around the new 'Valencia' orange tree which is carefully screened against pests and lightly shaded: 

We'll see what happens.  Their growth has sped up considerably since sunny days returned.  

New plants:  a few more--small, heat-loving ones. 

 Lavender 'Platinum Blonde', Lantana 'Lucky White', Lavender augustifolia 'Layla Presto Blue' :

And Cuphea 'Blackberry Sparkler':

Dwarf Lavender 'Layla Presto Blue':

Lavender 'Platinum Blonde' planted down near the 'Valencia' Orange and the Zinnias.  The Lantana planted at the base of rose 'Brass Band' out front.  

'Presto Blue' being a dwarf could take a couple of different locations currently occupied by Zinnias.  Potted up, 'Presto' can spend the summer potted until the Zinnias fade away in October.  

 The Cuphea is already in  a larger pot to grow a bit more before being planted in the garden:  

Speaking of Cupheas, C. purpurea planted near the 'Valencia' is doing very well.  Its flowers are much larger than both 'Vermillionaire' and 'Blackberry Sparkler'.

Another one for the hummingbirds:

Hmm.  Dirt under the fingernails much?

Reconsidering the humble Marigold.  I was not ever much of a fan of them.  My Mom grew the compact rust-with-yellow T. patula type now and then--never liked those.  

Off and on in this garden, a very different Tagetes, T. lemonii has been a success.   

Late this winter an impulse purchase of three six-packs of T. erecta 'Inca Orange' has proven to been a good buy:

T. erecta are larger flowers on larger plants.  I like them better.  They improved the area where I'd removed a rose.  This is a hot spot difficult to keep moist, and they've handled those conditions very well:

 T. patula for the parrot pot--will they grow enough to hide their nursery container? 

Commenter Chavli suggested orange Marigolds for the Parrot pot.  (Thank you!)  I went looking for more T. erecta plants.  None to be found.  Ended up with T. patula--in cheerful orange at least, not icky rust-and-yellow.

  Beloved, having patiently and kindly taken me on several of those shopping trips looking for T. erecta plants, found and bought me some T. erecta seeds.  It's a bit late in the year but, we have a long warm season so we could get some flowers from the seeds before November.  Seedlings started appearing only 5 days after planting:

Placing the potted Dahlias and the new Catharanthus in the garden chugs along.  Catharanthus planted here and there in empty sunny places, the Dahlias set in other empty places with the nursery pot inside something more ornamental.  

A couple Catharanthus where the sweet peas were:

Pots of Dahlias nestled between plants growing in the soil.  They do much better this way rather than sitting on hot dry concrete:

Still puzzling here.  I'm out of ornamental pots of the right size.  One of the in-ground Dahlias is struggling.  I'll have to dig it out and put in one of the potted ones.

Texture issue irking me here:  foliage all sort of small.  The Aechmaea blanchtiana got covered up by a rapidly growing Dahlia so there is no visual contrast to the small foliage.  Must at least move the Aechmaea...

Another place emptied of sweet peas--tried a pot on a riser of concrete blocks--nope, doesn't work.  Too small.

This Abelia needs to snuggle amidst the protection of other plants for the summer, but the foliage size is also too much like its neighbors...

Well, I'll puzzle more later.  Like the Grinch, my puzzler is sore.   Out front I did instantly come up with a replacement for the bloomed-out 'Joe Hoak' here:

All I have to do is dig out and chop up 'Joe' and some of the Dymondia.  "All"-hahaha!  It's a job getting an Agave out. 

 

At least there are still pretty sites to enjoy in the garden.  Shrubbery in the gully--some of it the neighbors.  Lower plants are the chartreuse new foliage of Metrosideros 'Springfire' on the left with a mix of Mexican lime and Pittosporum 'Marjorie Channon' on the right.  Above left a young Olive or Acacia, on the right a Heteromeles arbutifolia (Toyon) in flower, looking very fine:

Agapanthus 'Indigo Frost' with Rose 'Easy Spirit' which does not quite work because the Agapanthus white is an icy white-white, while the white rose has a slight peach hue. 

Still, the plants look happy. 

Agave mitis 'Nova', looking particularly good:

'Molineux' rose, seven feet tall:

One of the neighbor's unhealthy Jacarandas.  At least the flowers are pretty:

The potted Sprekelias continue to slowly bloom, one or two flowers at a time.  Wonderful. 

That's what's up here.  It's been warm but not overly hot--yet.  Can you tell by the hurried text in this post that I'm anxious to get back out to the garden?