Re: Late summer flowers
Here is what I note in my own (very small) garden and in those in which I
currently deal:
Amaryllis belladonna - just coming to an end in many but some still at
their peak. The fragrant, candy pink 'easter lily' trumpets borne on bare
stems (no leaves on the plant) are a common sight here in Calif's Bay Area.
Origanum sp. - various hybrids and species still blooming away. I have
some of the common flowering oregano (lavender-pink), the golden leaved O.
vulgare creeper (white flowers in mine, though some of golden leaf types
flower lavender), what I think is a golden form of O. laevigatum -
'Newton's Gold' (more upright than O. vulgare, 'trying' to flower by never
does a good job), and an unknown species/hyrbid with arching stems and
long, chain-like, pendant flower spikes with pale green bracts and tiny
lavender pink flowers peeking out.
Salvia chiapensis is STILL blooming! Its glossy, rich green leaves would
almost be enough in themselves. Salvia mexicana 'Limelight' is going again
(after being cut back hard in mid-summer) with its chartreuse bracts and
deep blue flowers. Salvia greggii and other small-leaved bush sages are
still going strong.
Penstemons are still in flower, especially those that were dead-headed
earlier.
Tecomaria capensis is in full flower with now - I have the 'melon' orange
and dwarf yellow forms. In our area, there are also the deep red-orange
form and a new cultivar called 'Buff Gold', which is a paler yellow with
orangey-coppery overtones. I understand that there are hundreds of color
forms in its native South Africa - why don't we see them here in Calif.?
Helichrysum 'Dargan Hill Monarch' is blooming, with its large, egg-yolk
yellow 'strawflowers' lasting quite a long time above its handsome
grey-hairy foliage.
Gaura lindheimeri, both the white (tinted rose pink) and the rich pink
'Siskiyou', are still going strong in many gardens. This one also benefits
from a form of dead-heading - actually cutting out flowering stems which
are far too long and floppy, and which spoil the overall look of the plant.
Use these for arrangements.
Anthemis nobilis, Chamomile, is adorned with lots of yellow. button-like
flowers right now.
Buddleias are also in full flower again, if they were cut back well after
their first spring, early summer flush. The unusual, pendant spikes B.
lindleyana is elongating it's delicate purple spikes.
The silky-wooly, grey leaves of Plectranthus argentus are currently topped
with the deep plum-purple spikes, opening icy white flowers with delicate
blue markings. This plant never fails to get attention.
Verbena bonariensis Still going and going and going . . . !
Reblooming bearded Iris are starting to make a show. These are few and far
between, so if you'd like them, check carefully in those huge Iris catalogs
that make your head spin (listing hundreds and hundreds of cultivars!).
Bulbine fruticans spikes still evident, in yellow or the orange 'Hallmark'.
I also have a yellow which has more glacous foliage.
I feel like I could continue, but I'm running out of time! ;-)
A good thing to do when your garden is in the doldrums, look at other
gardens in similar exposures and see what might be 'going on' there. Also,
if you include a generous amount of interesting foliage and texture in your
plantings, you may not even notice when there are no flowers!
Sean O.
