I don’t remember having miscanthus and kangaroo paws blooming in close proximity before. Wouldn’t mind this becoming a summer fixture.
Lily ‘Lavon,’ a cross with the Easter lily — a couple of the flowers were so heavy they bent where they joined the stems, so I cut them for small vases. Smells nice during the day, but there’s some trigger with night-time temperatures that sends the scent forth in such volume that Marty suggested closing the door on it. Unreal how the scent flooded the house. I checked the flower again the next morning, and it was back to the light, demure daytime scent you had to bury your nose into the flower to detect. Lilies are into some mysterious business with night-time pollinators and apparently throw aside all subtlety to attract them…
Verbascum olympicum, one of two that survived to bloom. My verbascum experiment has produced mixed results so far. I’m back again to wondering if a frostless winter is to blame for the amount of chewing on the leaves. I’m betting that the best plants will be those that self-sow — if I can bear to leave the carcasses in place that long. Even bombyciferum gets chewed, and recent memory can bitterly compare mine to the pristine rosettes in Denver, Colorado. I love the effect of growing verbascum in the foreground, but not these chewed-up, sorry-ass rosettes. It’s strictly back of the garden for them. Again, maybe a harder, insect-killing winter is preferable?
this perennial coreopsis was such a trouper in a container last year that it earned a trial in the garden. (Lil Bang Red Elf’)
Begonia ‘Red Fred’ — okay, Fred!
Blooming edifice of the the giant dandelion Sonchus palmensis just before depotting it and planting it in the garden. Spent blooms were cut off and laid in various spots in the garden — no idea if it will self-sow.
This aloe and agave have taken the sonchus’ place. Photos from its home on La Palma, one of the Canary Islands with the mildest climate, a little more moisture, and more in keeping with my coastal climate, show this sonchus trunking and then leafing out at the ends of the trunks, which I’m hoping it does here. In its place is this aloe pup that was thrown into a cement tube and made a good job of rooting, and a rosette of Agave ‘Ivory Curls’ was looking fine enough to flaunt. A chain bow tie for support was added just in case. It’s all very icy cool here now, with the Lomandra ‘Platinum Beauty’
And it got even icier with Senecio candicans. They’re getting full afternoon sun here — maybe this will make them happy? stay tuned…
My flea market dark-leaved crinum surprised me with a flower spike. Nice light scent. It was a huge plant, but these plants take years to bloom so I wasn’t sure if this clump was mature enough. Yesss!
Hope you find lots of interesting and diverting things to do this week. I’m tending new seedlings and waiting for another seed order to arrive — there’s got to be more empty pots around here somewhere…
The texture between the kangaroo paw and pennistum is gorgeous. Definitely worth replicating. Lots still to do here but the mosquitoes are sucking (literally) the fun of being out in the garden.
I found a lot to love in this post. The combination of Anigozanthos and Miscanthus conjures the 4th of July! I reluctantly passed on Begonia ‘Big Red’ when I saw it a year or more ago at Deep Roots but now I think I really need one. Re ‘Angel Wings’, I’m babying a small specimen in a pot with morning sun, keeping my fingers crossed.
Angel Wings failed it’s first test in my garden. I have two more tries to go–I think one has to be careful about siting , the silver is so intense that it’s neighbors need to be carefully considered. I’m thinking and thinking. I will never have to plant Verbascum ‘Dark Mullein’ again-it reseeds freely. The foliage vandalism here is always a snail thing. I apply Sluggo liberally.
Once again you’ve got me torn between admiration and jealousy, but you’re always an inspiration.
What seeds are you going start this time of year, and how do you start them?
@Elaine, I’m glad you see something there with the paws and grasses too! We’ve got the ankle biter Aegis egyptus as the new summer pest — apparently they only need the barest film of water on a leaf to get on with life and procreation — but not as bad as your bloodsuckers.
@Kris, I’m taking a cavalier approach to Angel Wings. The texture on the leaves is amazing, but some things just weren’t meant to be in my garden, and this might be one. That begonia is a sport of Big Fred called Red Fred — you can’t make this stuff up!
@Hoov, glad you found something to like!
@Kathy, same here with AW. The foliage problems here aren’t slugs but caterpillars that similarly affect the buds of phygelius, penstemon. I need to use that bacillus t. stuff but probably won’t since there’s a lot of butterfly host plants too.
@Ed, I get those twin feelings a lot from gardens too! Seeds are just summer annuals, cosmos, tithonia. We’ve got a long growing season so I’m going to try serial sowings to keep things fresh. Another lockdown experiment!
The texture between the kangaroo paw and pennistum is gorgeous. Definitely worth replicating. Lots still to do here but the mosquitoes are sucking (literally) the fun of being out in the garden.
I found a lot to love in this post. The combination of Anigozanthos and Miscanthus conjures the 4th of July! I reluctantly passed on Begonia ‘Big Red’ when I saw it a year or more ago at Deep Roots but now I think I really need one. Re ‘Angel Wings’, I’m babying a small specimen in a pot with morning sun, keeping my fingers crossed.
A bunch of wonderful photos and comments about wonderful plants. A treat!
Angel Wings failed it’s first test in my garden. I have two more tries to go–I think one has to be careful about siting , the silver is so intense that it’s neighbors need to be carefully considered. I’m thinking and thinking. I will never have to plant Verbascum ‘Dark Mullein’ again-it reseeds freely. The foliage vandalism here is always a snail thing. I apply Sluggo liberally.
Once again you’ve got me torn between admiration and jealousy, but you’re always an inspiration.
What seeds are you going start this time of year, and how do you start them?
@Elaine, I’m glad you see something there with the paws and grasses too! We’ve got the ankle biter Aegis egyptus as the new summer pest — apparently they only need the barest film of water on a leaf to get on with life and procreation — but not as bad as your bloodsuckers.
@Kris, I’m taking a cavalier approach to Angel Wings. The texture on the leaves is amazing, but some things just weren’t meant to be in my garden, and this might be one. That begonia is a sport of Big Fred called Red Fred — you can’t make this stuff up!
@Hoov, glad you found something to like!
@Kathy, same here with AW. The foliage problems here aren’t slugs but caterpillars that similarly affect the buds of phygelius, penstemon. I need to use that bacillus t. stuff but probably won’t since there’s a lot of butterfly host plants too.
@Ed, I get those twin feelings a lot from gardens too! Seeds are just summer annuals, cosmos, tithonia. We’ve got a long growing season so I’m going to try serial sowings to keep things fresh. Another lockdown experiment!