We’re a tad overexposed and on the run…
a day late for Bloom Day, the 15th of every month, hosted by Carol of May Dreams Gardens.
More photos after the jump.
July reminds me of mid-morning on Christmas Day, knee-deep in wrapping paper and ribbons, desperate to unwrap just one more present, the really exciting one that’s somehow been missed and is now buried under all the wreckage of gifts of pajamas and socks. (Yes, it was a practical holiday for me in our house. My brothers got the safari gear and chemistry sets.) I’m afraid this little town garden has no more presents to be unwrapped and is just about at full throttle. (Except for the one dahlia budding up, possibly a dark burgundy since that seems to be the only kind of dahlia I buy, and a Leycesteria formosa starting to flower, some very late-to-rouse Agastache ‘Purple Haze,’ and Darrell Probst’s hybrid Coreopsis ‘Full Moon,’ which was given the “Chelsea chop” for more compact growth.)
Some ‘Moonbeam’ yarrow peeking around the yucca, Persicaria amplexicaule and gaura. Salvia canariensis leaning in from the left.
Closeup of bracts of this salvia.
Behind the gaura I dropped in a Sumatran banana purchased last week, Musa sumatrana ˜Zebrina.’
Flowers of the manihot and castor bean plants.
The leycesteria showing buds. I hate to admit how many photo attempts I’ve made to capture this beautiful shrub. And this feeble one is the best so far!
The violently chartreuse leaves just blur out in photos.
‘Black Knight’ scabiosa
Grevillea ‘Superb’ still lightly blooming
The bracts and flowers of Elegia fistulosa. This restio is incredibly brittle and is just now gaining good form again after bringing it home in winter.
An inadvertent and probably unfortunate pairing of two deep reds, Salvia chiapensis in the foreground, with more pink, and the persicaria in the background, but the two colors together constantly draw me in to study the varying saturation in each. The grass between them is a Pennisetum ‘Bunny Tails.’ If and when it blooms those maroon brushes…ooh la la. Felty white shrub is Buddleia ‘Silver Anniversary.’ Knautia macedonia contributes more magenta here. Nothing succeeds like excess! I do prefer strong colors, but it’s mainly the reliably long blooming period I was after with these plants.
The Salvia ‘Waverly’ a year-round gift to the hummingbirds.
These pale yellow hollyhocks are fortunate to have a partner to lean on.
The mystery verbascum and gaura.
Solanum rantonnetii ‘Variegata’ another nonstop bloomer.
The kangaroo paws/anigozanthos seen in some of the photos, burnt oranges and yellows, have been in bloom lo these many Bloom Days since February. And the white valerian has seeded itself in and spills onto the bricks, an effect I love. Also deserving honorable Bloom Day mention are Lobelia valida, Teucrium ‘Fairy Dust,’ Amicia zygomeris, Echium gentianoides ‘Tajinaste.’ All have been in bloom for many months. Their names can be plugged into this blog’s search engine for photos. Now off to see what everyone else unwrapped in their gardens this July Bloom Day.
Beautiful, every single photo!
I love your combinations! Lovely blooms.
Happy GBBD 🙂
wonderful shots! I’ve been wondering what your garden looks like from a wider angle and I can see some of it now in that first shot.
As always I love your Salvia ‘Waverly’, but I really like the purple of the Salvia canariensis too. The persicaria blooms look really great with that Yucca and that’s not a color combo I would have ever thought of myself. Not planting the manihot seeds a friend gave me was clearly a crime against horticulture, those little flowers are so neat!
Thanks, Loree & Christine!
Ryan, that first photo with Ein is a couple weeks’ old. The golden shrub behind the tetrapanax has been removed. About the colors, I’m a terrible clasher of colors. If it’s a good plant, I find a place for it, colors be damned. In such a long growing season, at some point the colors will eventually work out, or so I tell myself…
If this is like your Christmas, I will take it in July anytime. Happy GBBD!
Hi, Denise, thank you so much for the comment on my blog. I followed you back here – what a fabulous garden! It’s the sort of backyard I love.
What a treat, Christmas for us, I would say.
Les, kinda weird to be thinking of Christmas in July, I know. But it is very similar — bounding out of bed to see what’s under the tree 😉
Victoria, thank you! And, oddly enough, today someone’s lost, very friendly Siamese cat was in my garden this morning.
Hoov, exactly. Hope all is well at your house.
What’s your pup’s name? Love the ‘bunny butt’ Pembrokes!
Jenn, you know your corgis! Ours is named Ein, inspired by the Pembroke corgi of the Japanese anime cartoon “Cowboy Beebop,” a favorite cartoon of my younger son when we got Ein eight years ago.
Really beautiful gardens… an inspiration for sure. What are the interesting leaves in the 13th photo (hollyhocks)?
Love, love, love your garden. I usually check your site for inspiration on a daily basis, but I just returned from a 10 day vacation so I got to read several of your posts tonite! I’ve never commented anywhere online before, but your garden is right up my alley- plus I also live in Long Beach and own a corgi (although mine is a cardigan.)
Hugh, those are the leaves of Canna ‘Bengal Tiger.’ What a nice compliment! Thanks for visiting.
Pamela, I’m so glad you broke your no-comment streak here! Both of us in Long Beach and with corgis, we’re practically related! I think you’re my first local reader. Thank you so much for your kind words.