Re: Late summer flowers
Great question; I didn't think much was blooming until I wrote this (overly)
long list.
Most of my plants were planted when I got into a California native plant
kick three years ago, with the idea of getting rid of all the front yard
lawn and replanting with interesting but semi-low growing plants that need
little to no water. Here in San Jose, we get from 14 to 20 inches
(300-500mm) of rain a year, almost all from November through April, and warm
but not hot summers with daytime highs in the low 80's (or 27 - 30C).
This summer's been real cool, with only a few weeks of temps above 80F, and
much of the months of June, July, and August in the low 70's (low 20's C).
It's almost like a summer along the coast, though without the fog and
humidity. I've been amused that many plants have been tricked by the cool
weather: the Calliandra is blooming two months early, the wooly blue curls
is doing the same, and the navel orange tree most of all, with the orange
blossom fragrance wafting through the yard.
The orange blossoms are a favorite of the hummingbirds, too, which have
returned to feast on the California fuschias and the large Catalina Island
bush mallow as they do every year. This time of year, it seems that the
predominant color is geared towards the hummingbirds, with lots of reds and
pinks and oranges and not much blue or purple or yellow.
So, walking around the yard, this is what I noted:
In the unwatered part of the front yard and a bit of the backyard, which
both hasn't seen rain since the last little rainstorm in mid May:
- Eriogonum giganteum (Catalina buckwheat or St Catherine's Lace) has been
blooming since July 1st and shows no sign of letting up
- California fuschias are going strong; some are spawling like the "Mattole
River", some are upright.
- Rhamnus (Coffeeberry) has lots of interesting fruits, from red into orange
- Trichostema lanatum (Wooly Blue Curls) went through a big flowering season
in May. The flower spikes weren't cut off, and now it's extending the old
spent spikes with new flowers.
- Malocothamnus clemintinus (San Clemente bush mallow) has 4 1/2 ft (oh,
1.5m) hollyhock-like columns of small white-pink flowers rising from a
largish mass of bright green maple-like leaves (this plant reseeds each year
here and there and is turning into a pleasant thug)
- Lavatera assurgentiflora (Island Mallow) is doing well; while it's
dropping a fair number of leaves it also has many large pink flowers that
the hummingbirds love
- Amaryllis belladonna is starting to fade now
- Sphaeralcea ambigua (Apricot mallow) keeps on speading and flowering; it
started in May
- Eriogonum grande var rubescens (Red or Rosy Buckwheat, or my name is
Crunchberry plant) has been flowering since mid-June
- Gaura lindheimeri 'Siskiyou' is happy and has been flowering since
mid-June
In various semi-dry parts of the yard:
- Oenothera stubbei is sending out big yellow flowers a handful at a time
- Mahonia aquifolium has huge clusters of purple fruits, with an occasional
red colored leave to spice things up
- Verbena 'De la Mina' has a moderate covering of purple flowers which died
down during the coolness of July but have now picked up now that it's a bit
warmer.
- Calliandra haematocephala (Pink Powder Puff) has started flowering. Last
year it didn't flower until November.
- Vitis californica grapes are now mature, the size of green peas, and
hanging in small dark purple bunches. Any day now the scrub jays will
discover them and have a noisy feast.
Around the pond:
- Hibiscus lasiocarpus (califonicus), at the pond edge, will begin flowering
in day or two
- Satureja mimuloides has been heavily blooming since May with red-orange
flowers on three foot long wands that flop over. Hummingbirds love it.
- Lobelia dunnii on the mound behind the pond is quite happy with lots of
little tiny blue flowers; it's been blooming for three months. Its
appearance is quite different than the shocking, almost garish, effect you
get when massing your typical garden-center lobelia, the effect is subtle
and pleasant
- Lobelia cardinalis in the boggy part of the pond is blooming strongly too
with deep red flowers
Big stuff:
-Orange Tree (Washington Navel) also has scattered flowers. This is a very
odd time of year for it to flower; due to the cool summer I don't expect the
fruit to be that good come next January.
-Jacaranda trees in the neighborhood still are putting out flowers here and
there; all have grown their foliage back after their usual late June/early
July blooming
Sadly, though, my walk around the yard showed that the monarchs still have
not returned to munch on my milkweed. Only the milkweed aphids seem happy.
Dan McKean
San Jose, CA
Sunset Zone 16/USDA Zone 9
