Brought to You in Living Color
August is an iffy month in my garden. There has been no rain for months, summer color is starting to wane and it can be hot. We have had an extra dose of triple digit days this year and I am not a fan. My trip to the coast at the beginning of the month was a most welcome journey into cool weather. At Mendocino Coast Botanical gardens the borders are not in the least weary- the pacific is just down the path , and it never gets hot-not weatherwise. The heat radiating from the exhuberant high summer perennial beds was of the most agreeable sort. Lest you think I went a bit mad with the saturation and vibrance sliders in Lightroom, other than toning down some highlights and a bit of cropping, these images are barely edited.
I always enjoy this bed , where you see the aforementioned Filiendula blooms which have given way to Angelica stricta purpurea and the bronze Anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravenswing' all of them allowed to reseed at will. On the left just leaning in is either Salvia 'Waverly' or 'Phyllis Fancy' most likely the latter .
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens are open with reduced days/hours to advance ticket holders and members, with the usual protocols in effect.
The combination in this bed of Helenium, Teucrium 'Purple Tails', Verbena bonariensis, and Rudbeckia with a backdrop of Cotinus 'Grace' was anything but subtle.
This Persicaria lives in the bed on the backside of the Cotinus in the 2 above photos.
The band of red on the upper left is a clutch of Filipendula spent flower heads that have happily been left standing . Though they are somewhat distant from where I stood to take this shot, they add an important layer to this view.
Dill ? Fennel ? Not sure but it made a dandy background for this Agastache.
The conifers do give the visitor a chance to rest the eyes from the optic stimulation of the perennial borders. A new conifer garden is being developed in a previously fallow area of the garden , most of it blocked off now while irrigation trenches are open and paths yet to be smoothed out.
I always enjoy this bed , where you see the aforementioned Filiendula blooms which have given way to Angelica stricta purpurea and the bronze Anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravenswing' all of them allowed to reseed at will. On the left just leaning in is either Salvia 'Waverly' or 'Phyllis Fancy' most likely the latter .
This yarrow was on the way out, but still looked attractive snaking through it's taller neighbors. It's always encouraging to see a public garden where every stage of plant life is appreciated.
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens are open with reduced days/hours to advance ticket holders and members, with the usual protocols in effect.
Just stunning! We hate the hot too and keep saying we should have moved to the coast. Had we known more about the weather, I think we would have seriously considered it.
ReplyDeleteWe moved to Napa in 1986, purposely to the south end of the valley because there is more influence from SF Bay , and it is much hotter in the north . Between the fires and rising heat I have running joke about moving to Astoria.
DeleteAll beautiful and drool-worthy photos, Kathy! I love the massef color blocks. I was just looking at an online listing for Teucrium 'Purple Tails' - a list with that name at the top is literally sitting at my elbow and your photos are pushing me toward action. I've grown other Teucrium but this one is new to me and the species isn't listed in my Sunset book but it'd be lovely if I could get it established here
ReplyDelete'Purple Tails' is excellent Kris, I have had it for several years. I think I got mine from Digging Dog. Be aware that it does seed around for me, but it very identifiable and easily removed if in a bad spot. I was thinking about Sunset very recently. The last update was in 2012, and with the current ownership being a private equity firm I fear we have seen our last revision. I doubt that the collaboration with UC still continues.
DeleteAnother batch of gorgeous photos. They do leap and glow off the screen. Love what the filipendula seed heads add to the scene. Also love the persicaria. Every year I consider trying it but get scared by reports of how it likes to run. Already have too many of those plants!
ReplyDeleteDon't know what your zone is , but Persicaria is borderline in my garden due to heat and drought. If you live in a summer rain area you are good-my New England friends grow it well in spite of the winters there.
DeleteLovely array of colorful flowers.It would be my pleasure if you join my link up party related to Gardening here at http://jaipurgardening.blogspot.com/2020/09/garden-affair-teaching-from-gardening.html
ReplyDeleteThanks Arun !
DeleteThese photos are such a balm after that heat wave! I'll never make the mistake again of thinking this kind of planting can be lifted and applied to zone 10 -- adapted, sure, but never duplicated. For the real thing you've got to get to this latitude, coastal, etc etc. Every region/zone has its strengths, and the unfolding of a complex perennial border for mid to late summer is not zone 10's. We've always headed north in August too, but not 2020, and it hasn't been just because of the virus. I'd do the trip carefully, but too much family stuff going on 2020. Wonderful photos! And I believe you that they haven't been altered in postproduction because I've seen it too, and it's effing incredible. Oh, and that teucrium blooms for a very brief period here. The Persicaria amplex actually blooms much longer.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time in about 3 years that I haven't ventured up to Oregon. It occurs to me that I have not been on an airplane since August 2019. No business travel. I really don't miss it . I do miss my road trips though. At least I can drive out to Mendo whenever I want.
DeleteI'm late reading this post but... Wow! Beautiful in a way that I couldn't achieve here without a lot of water which just makes me appreciate it all the more. I agree w/Denise above - every zone has it's strengths and our gardens fare better when we understand those unique strength and constraints.
ReplyDeleteI dream of moving to the coast. Only a dream.
DeletePlease tell us how you are when you have a chance.
ReplyDeleteThe fires here are increasing containment an many of the evacuees are able to return. I am in the south end of the valley, the fires are in the north. My home was not threatened , but the business I work for was. All is well there now. Today was the first day in several that the air did not smell of smoke and the AQI was under 100 all day. The active burn is in very remote areas now and Cal Fire has done a great job protecting our small towns in the county. I remember when I was a little girl growing up in LA, the Malibu fire the Baldwin Hills fire the Brentwood fire. We didn't recognize the future, and of course these fires did not happen every year. Now they happen every year. Every year.
DeleteHow did I miss this one?
ReplyDeleteThe large masses of flowers are big enough to really dazzle. Thrilling! Thank you.