Bloom Day September 2013

After an interminably hot August, I couldn’t wait to start some fall planting as soon as it cooled down a bit, which means there aren’t exactly buckets of blooms to share.

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There was a whisper campaign afoot that a local nursery had Leucadendron ‘Ebony’ relatively cheap, so I grabbed one and redesigned a (relatively) large chunk of the back garden around it.

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Behind the lime-green pelargonium grew a big swath of Persicaria amplexicaulis, now home to the leucadendron. A couple Gomphrena ‘Fireworks’ were included while the shrub makes size.

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Little Pelargonium crispum ‘Variegatum’ has held onto its looks all summer, a nice small-scale shrub.

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The succulent in the foreground is Echeveria ‘Opal Moon,’ which is maturing into a surprisingly effective landscape succulent.

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As far as new flowers, the only other big news comes from Japanese anemones, seen here with macleaya and Xanthosoma ‘Lime Zinger.’ The first time I’ve ever grown the fall-blooming anemones. True story.

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In the border just outside the office, behind the ‘Zwartkop’ aeonium, gomphrenas, gaillardias, and castor bean plants emerged from the heat of August unscathed.

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Gomphrena ‘Strawberry Fields’ and an unidentified furcraea.

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Orange gomphrena and gaillardia

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Ricinus communis ‘New Zealand Purple’

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Pennisetum ‘Sky Rocket,’ russelia, and a young, potted Yucca rostrata. Agave ‘Dragon Toes’ was planted in the ground this year.

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Salvia chiapensis, still one of the all-time champion salvias in my garden, though I’m hearing great things about the newcomer, blue-flowered Salvia ‘Amistad.’

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Agastache ‘Black Adder’ is off to a good start this summer. I think its size should help see it through until spring. Something about my winter clay eats agastaches, even in low rainfall winters.

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This silvery little daisy looks promising, Lessingia filaginifolia, in a pot with Pelargonium ‘Crocodile’

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Solanum pyracanthum

Thanks as always to Carol for hosting the monthly Bloom Day reports.

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5 Responses to Bloom Day September 2013

  1. Peter/Outlaw says:

    Great September blooms. The image of aeonium, gomphrenas, and gaillardias took my breath away. What a wonderful combination!

  2. Sue says:

    Castor Beans are one of my favorite plants. Love the Gomphrena with the Aeonium too. Happy Bloom Day!

  3. Who’s whispering? LOL

  4. Denise says:

    @Peter, that aeonium just keeps building up a great architectural form, so now it gets prime consideration when planting around it.
    @Sue, they are such good plants for the end of summer and keeping that exhausted look from taking over.
    @Dustin, you know who!

  5. Hoov says:

    Beautiful, as ever.

    My Agastaches go kaput-ski every winter, without clay as an excuse.

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