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<\/a><\/p>\nThe highest temps all summer hit last week, an unwelcome intrusion into fall planting season. Limbing up the big smoke tree a few weeks ago allowed a lot more light into the back garden, setting in motion some deadly domino effects when the mercury rose. Such an unlikely candidate to suffer from too much sun as a large, established echium fried in the heat wave. The ‘Tajinaste’ echium’s leaves had become accustomed to a much gentler sunlight all summer. Along with more sunlight flooding in through the smoke tree canopy, the echium’s neighbor, the big Solanum marginatum I removed, also had provided a measure of cover. (I took cuttings of what I could this morning and removed the echium’s carcass.) An Agave attenuata lost a couple leaves from the searing sun, but no other lasting damage. The potted tropicals reveled in the heat.<\/p>\n
Otherwise, the garden is in the same holding pattern bloom-wise as September, with the salvias still in bloom as well as Persicaria amplexicaulis, shown here with a truss of Salvia canariensis.<\/p>\n
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The persicaria again with a Ricinus communis seedling just making size this fall.<\/p>\n
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There’s now three big castor bean plants, which is all this little garden can handle. Salvia madrensis in background.<\/p>\n
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The same ricinus with Rudbeckia triloba, just planted in August, brought home from a visit to Digging Dog Nursery in Mendocino County, California. This Selinum wallichianum also comes from my visit to Digging Dog in August.<\/p>\n The dahlia ‘Chat Noir’ staggered in the high temps but regained composure, showing some new blooms this morning.<\/p>\n Nerines in the front gravel garden are establishing good clumps (all year-old gifts from Matt Mattus\/Growing With Plants<\/a>) This Orange Clock Vine turned up at a local nursery this fall, Thunbergia gregorii, one I’ve long wanted to grow. Many succulents are in bloom. And I don’t think Grevillea ‘Superb’ has been without a bloom all summer.<\/p>\n Check out Bloom Day hostess Carol’s Indiana garden at May Dreams Gardens,<\/a> with links to all the gardens participating this October Bloom Day.<\/p>\n <\/big><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The highest temps all summer hit last week, an unwelcome intrusion into fall planting season. Limbing up the big smoke tree a few weeks ago allowed a lot more light into the back garden, setting in motion some deadly domino … Continue reading
\n(Kathy at Garden Book<\/a> just attended Digging Dog’s fall plant sale and has some stunning photos of her visit.)<\/p>\n![\"Photobucket\"](\"http:\/\/i52.photobucket.com\/albums\/g23\/botanizeme\/oct2011\/1015morn025-1.jpg\")
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\nI believe these are all N. samiensis. A deep orange in bloom this morning.<\/p>\n![\"Photobucket\"](\"http:\/\/i52.photobucket.com\/albums\/g23\/botanizeme\/oct2011\/1015morn007-1.jpg\")
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\nPure orange blooms, no contrasting dark eye. The thunbergias do amazingly well in Southern California year-round.<\/p>\n![\"Photobucket\"](\"http:\/\/i52.photobucket.com\/albums\/g23\/botanizeme\/oct2011\/1015morn029-1.jpg\")
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