Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - August 2017

Though I'm a day late, the month has rolled around to Bloom Day, the day on which we celebrate and document the flowers in our garden. It's a lot less floriferous in my garden this month, but I do have a few to share with you.

First up, Lagerstroemia 'Natchez", my white crape myrtle, is in full splendor. It just gets better every year.

I am infatuated with this genus and have been scheming on ways to add more of them to my gardens.

In the front garden, where I lost a big Ceanothus 'Victoria', I have some temporary perennial plantings around the new, small Ceanothus.  Here is Silene dioica 'Ray's Golden', appropriately from Amy Campion.


Geranium sidoides is hanging out with the young Ceanothus, too.

As is Agastache 'Apricot Sprite'.
And Agastache 'Coronado Red' (looking a little summer-weary now.)

In that same bed, Crocosmia 'Corona' is blooming its last few flowers. The hot spell we had two weeks ago shortened all the summer bloom times this year.

Echinops ritro is also on its last blooms. I have enjoyed this plant along with several Crocosmia cultivars this past month.

The crowning glory of this bed is Eucomis 'Sparkling Burgundy'. I don't know why I have such good luck with this cultivar, but I never water them and they thrive. That's my kind of plant!

Across from the Eucomis is Daphne 'Eternal Fragrance', still blooming up a storm.
It's hard to photograph, but I must include Hesperaloe parviflora, blooming in the south hell strip. It took years to rev up, but now it blooms reliably every summer for months.
Before we go east again, take a look at Rosa 'Sally Holmes'. She has recovered from her unfortunate accident earlier this year and rebounded with lots of bloom trusses.
Heading back inside the gate, we have Trachelospermum jasminoides, still fragrant with a number of flowers.

It's time for the late-season Kniphofia. This beauty is Kniphofia 'Percy's Pride', from Ricki.

And this is a trial Kniphofia from Ann, whose tag I have managed to mislay. I can see it would like more sun than it gets in this increasingly shady bed.

Eryngium 'Neptune's Gold' has the best bright yellow-gold foliage early in the season. Its flowers are not spectacular and have dried out in the center, but I like its strong veining.

This late-season Crocosmia goes by several cultivar names, including 'Citron', 'Citronella' and 'Golden Fleece'.

NOID Caryopteris is another beautiful color for late summer.

In the Northwest Territory things are pretty quiet, except for Erigeron glaucus.

This isn't a flower, but I'm loving the bud-like white shoots just beginning to show on Pinus thunbergiana 'Thunderhead'. They look floral to me.

Last on the scene is a sweet jar of Dahlias with one gorgeous russet Sunflower brought by our son from his garden this past weekend. It's delightful to to be gifted with flowers I love but don't grow for myself!
Bloom Day is sponsored each month by Carol at May Dreams Gardens. Check out other blooms from all over creation there.

Happy (belated) Bloom Day!

10 comments:

  1. My eucomis are all finished, but my crapemyrtles are still going strong too. Fun to see yours. Everything looks so good. Happy Bloom Day!~~Dee

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  2. Nice that despite our recent extreme heat and summer drought we all have a few flowers to share on Bloom Day. Good to see all the Pelargonium sidoides that I gave away at the swap coming into bloom this month too. Be careful with that campion, it self sows quite a bit, deadhead it religiously.

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    1. Good to know about the campion, Alison. Thanks!

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  3. I moved my Eucomis from pots to the ground last fall, and was pretty happy with the result-though some flopping is going on at this point ironically caused by the ever-expanding canopy of your pal L. 'Natchez' !

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  4. Beautiful blooms and many seem quite exotic to my zone 4/5 eyes! That Eucomis is a stunner!

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  5. I'm encouraged by your Hesperaloe story: mine seems to survive, but barely...never to bloom. Not a rose person, but Sally Holmes continues to amaze at Joy Creek. The "candles" of the Thunderhead pine give me such joy each year...I can barely bear to snap them off on the one that I am encouraging to spill, cloud-like, over a border.

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  6. You have plenty of blooms too! I love that white Lagerstroemia, we only have the lavender variety here. So it flowers in a wide range of climates.

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  7. Wow, your 'Sally Holmes' looks fantastic. And I love your Eucomis and Lagerstroemia.

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  8. I have planted two crape myrtles. They grew everywhere in Alabama and it was our city tree. Your 'Sally Holmes' rose is stunning. I have thought about adding that one.

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  9. Lagerstroemia 'Natchez' actually does better than most crepe myrtles in our dry heat...it sounds adapted to all kinds of conditions.

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