Bloomday October 2021
My garden is looking pretty grim this month--it's just so very dry as we enter our 7th month with zero precipitation. I've intentionally cut back on watering and it shows, but as the sun lowers and nights get colder it seems pretty pointless to waste that precious resource on plants that are about to descend into dormancy. This upcoming weekend I'll start cutting a few things back , pull some annuals and plant some spinach seeds. Here are the slim pickins' I have to share this month.
Chasmanthium latifolium, one of my favorite grasses . I'll be moving it to new quarters this winter -some tree branch removal on a neighbors part has left it in too much sun. I was really thrilled with the shade reduction but I need to address the collateral damage .
Mahonia 'Soft Caress'
Cutest groundcover ever, Cotula lineariloba 'Big Yellow Moon'. It's enthusiastic but takes well to chopping.
NOID Aster with Spirea 'Ogon' . The rest of the Asters are done for but this one will have a week or two more-nice long stems for arrangements.
'Bolero', the only decent looking rose left.
Cuphea 'Starfire Pink' . This plant had a slow recovery from winter so I'll pile some mulch on when the first frost hits and maybe it will wake up sooner. It's about half the size it was last year.
Asteriscus maritimus 'Golden Dollar'. This African native has been first rate. It has a pleasing mounded shape , about 3ft wide by 18" or so high. It lives in my Agave meadow and gets very little summer water. Blooms for months, hardy to zone 8.
A particularly crappy photo of a couple late blooms pushed up by Leonotis .
Be sure to drop by May Dreams Gardens where Carol hosts Bloomday each month.
Love the aster and spirea combo. I'm always a sucker for chartreuse. I grew Leonitus this year for the first time. It grew very tall and did send out blooms but boy are they tough to photograph. Yours are stunning compared to what I was able to produce.
ReplyDeleteThe Leonotis is in it's first year so I am hoping for more drama in 2022.
DeleteYou have an Agave meadow? I'd like to see that! I've been cutting plants back right and left, although I approach the Cupheas in stages so as not to upset the hummingbirds too much. I love your asters and the beautiful 'Bolero' rose. Happy GBBD Kathy!
ReplyDeleteThe 'Agave Meadow' is a work in progress--so far there are exactly 5 Agaves and room for one more of the very small cultivars. It's actually a very small space , but I like to name areas to sound more dramatic than they actually are !
DeleteLovely blooms, Leonotis blooms are astonishing.
ReplyDeleteThat Leonotis is barely open-maybe next month it will be full up.
DeleteI really love that "crappy" photo of Leonotis. I've never seen it at that stage, before the blooms elongate. Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThey all look great to me. Your photos are wonderful as always.
ReplyDelete'Bolero' is one of my finest roses.
I've read many good comments on the Asteriscus. My attempt died about 2 weeks after purchase, must have picked a bad one--maybe I'll try again.
'Bolero' is permanent here-I have suckers though. Maybe I should shop around for an own-root plant. Do try Asteriscus again-I had to water it the first few months after I planted it but now it is on the same schedule as the Agaves--not much !
Delete"Agave meadow"... I wondered the same as Kris, so thanks for the explanation there! Fun that your first two entries are also featured in my bloomday post.
ReplyDeleteI noticed we both posted the same as well. I'm doing some renovation on the Agave Meadow this winter-it's a year old so time to correct the missteps.
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