Saturday, July 16, 2016

Garden Blogger Bloom Day July 2016


When the spring abundance of blooms passes it is easy to feel that the garden is done blooming. One of the many advantages of taking photos for Bloom Day, which I do every month despite rarely managing to cobble together a post, is that I can then see that there truly are blooms all along.


The wisteria is in its summer rebloom mode. As long as I pick most of the seed pods it will keep blooming through the summer. Not as much as the spring bloom but a nice amount none the less.


All gardeners have a current passion and one of mine right now is rizomatous and cane begonias. This one, begonia 'George Morneau', is blooming for the first time. These begonias have long lived flowers and beautiful foliage. 


Penstemon 'Midnight' is not as dark as I hoped it would be but, then it matches the trellis behind it so that is something good!


A self sown sunflower is always welcome.


Borage somehow died off in my garden and this year I finally did something about it. Hopefully it will stay around this time.


Another passion this year, or maybe more correctly a sporadic passing fancy, is dahlias. If you watch Gardener's World and see Monty Don's beautiful dahlias you will understand why I am trying them...again.  This is Lauren Michelle and I think she is just lovely.


Scented geraniums are so tough and ask for so little that I love them. Once established they are very drought tolerant yet look so much more lush than many of the other common drought tolerant choices.


Tulbaghia violacea is sweet and another drought tolerant plant that asks for little care.


A new favorite! Eriogonum grande 'Red Buckwheat', a California native perennial, is just as Annie's Annuals claims. Goof proof. And a real butterfly magnet.


Many, many years ago I bought some 'pink' canna rhizomes. Which were pretty much red-orange.  I kept saying I was going to yank them out but last year I moved a lot of them to the secret garden. Lo and behold...many are now yellow. Whatever. 


Another first-timer for me...Salvia clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman'. Pretty flowers, low water needs, bee magnet. I love it!


And lastly, Gomphrena decumbens 'Airy Bachelor Buttons'. I picked this up a couple of years ago at Barrels and Branches, a wonderful nursery in Encintas very close to my daughter's house. It is a cool lush plant that doesn't look as drought tolerant as it is. And it is perennial here. That is the theme here...I am going for drought tolerant but not desiccated. I do love my succulents but they have other places in the garden to shine...mostly in containers. Which is a whole other subject for a different day.

For more gardens in bloom head over to May Dreams Gardens where Carol has been graciously hosting Garden Blogger Bloom Day for many years. Enjoy!