Such a bad blogger I've been for the last several months, but I'm hoping to ramp back up again. I have plenty of photos but since retirement I have taken a deeper dive than ever into the garden and it's hard to pull myself away .
May is one of my favorite months in my garden-no more frost, minimal rain and the horrible late summer decline is still a couple months off. So let's have a look at the blooms that are showing off this month.
I was pretty certain I couldn't grow Leucospermums in my garden. They were not seen for sale in garden centers in my area, though I could drive for an hour and find them. Most of the hardiness ratings were about 25c and we do typically get below that a few times in the dead of winter. On a visit to the Ruth Bancroft garden for a members plant sale weekend I decided to give it a try. I bought a quart size of 'Helena' -pricey- and put it in a container. I was happy it didn't die the first winter and my goal was to get at least one flower someday in the not too distant future. The second year it got blooms that didn't form up all the way , and most of them fell off before opening. This year was leap time.
Since 'Helena' survived in a container with temps in the low 20's I decided to try another. I think I bought this one in Santa Barbara . Leucospermum 'High Gold' . I got by first blooms this year. The plant looks like crap and clearly needs to be in the ground. I selected a spot for it with the hopes that phosphorus is low - It's an area I rarely fertilize .
We had 3 days in a row of high winds and it blew my climbing roses all over the place. Here 'Eden' is seen flopping over the path after blowing down from the fence. One is required to duck to move along.
'Sally Holmes' on the right has flopped onto a group of potted Fuchsias which is out of the frame. 'Eden' is viewed here from across the garden.
'Sombreuil' has behaved though it spans well over 20ft of my North fence line. One of my favorites-but a beast.
This snapdragon is called 'Bridal Pink' and Sweet Williams are backing it up. I got a bit too pink here but the Snaps took so long to do anything (grown from seed started indoors in January) I really didn't think they were going to bloom. I've learned a lot about growing cut flowers in the last year and I will share that saga soon in a future post.
Nasturtiums -a random mix from seed. I'm trying them out as a trap crop.I used to grow these every year, and am enjoying them again after a several year hiatus.
Feverfew 'Tetra' a great filler flower and I have too many-I need to edit !
This Achillea is 'Moon Dust' , a toned down version of the classic 'Moonshine'. I discovered this at the UC Davis Arboretum plant sale last year and have since seen it starting to be available in garden centers . Very fond of this pale yellow color.
Scented Pelargonium 'Attar of Roses' . I've been collecting scented Pels for years, but always in pots. I've started to experiment with planting them in the ground and they are quite vigorous. This plant has spread to about 4x4 .
I did my best to get a photo of the bloom stalk on Mangave 'Purple People Eater'. at least you can get an idea of the height -10ft or so at this point. This is one of my favorite Mangaves so I'm hoping to mine a couple offsets when the bloom is done.
Close up of a flower.
A few more random flowers...
Cenolophium denudatum with it's neighbors Berberis 'Rocket Orange', Cordyline 'Torbay Dazzler' and Santolina 'Lime Fizz' in the foreground.
Euphorbia 'Silver Swan'
Cuphea 'Lost the Tag'
Anigozanthos just starting to open.
Alstromeria 'Indian Summer'
Phlomis with it's friend Verbena bonariensis
Clematis 'Niobe'
Sideritas cypria.
Looks like you’ve had success with all these plants. They all look full and lush. The roses are so beautiful. Happy Bloom Day!
ReplyDeleteI used to have upward of 60 roses in this garden , but when you start collecting other plants something has to go ! I saved my favorites.
DeleteYour roses are a complete delight. I have grown nasturtiums for salads and will plant some more this year too.
ReplyDeleteI like the variegated leaf version-I think it's called 'Alaska' . I couldn't find it when I decided to plant them -it's good to experiment .
DeleteOh, wow your garden is looking absolutely terrific! The 'Sombreuil' is really pretty. I'm ready to take down a climbing rose that is just not doing it's job, too wild & floppy. 'Indian Summer' is gorgeous. I look forward to your cutting flower post.
ReplyDeleteThanks tz.. Sombreuil requires a lot of winter pruning in my small garden-and it has wicked thorns too. It's worth it to me.
DeleteYour garden is clearly thriving with all the attention you've given it, Kathy! I'm glad the Leucospermums came through for you - I've learned that they can take awhile to get established (and I've yet to see any that are "reasonably" priced, although Hoover Boo said she found some bargains at one of the big box chains). Your roses are absolutely fabulous and I'm always impressed by how well your Sideritis does. (I currently have a single puny bloom on mine.)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think both of my Leucos were around 25 bucks in quart pots. Box stores up here don't carry them-too exotic for the north bay I guess !
DeleteCongrats on Leucospermum success!Arn't they cool? Besides those, two others of my favorites, Clematis and roses.
ReplyDeleteI hacked 'Sombreuil' to the ground this winter, planning to remove it. The prickles, the prickles. Ran out of time and it currently sits blooming as a rounded shrub covered with 'Etoile Violette'. Just can't take the overwhelming pricklyness, and 'Iceberg' repeats so much faster. 'Snowbird' and 'Bolero' (2004) have also stolen my heart away from 'Sombreui'.
Oh yes the prickles . But I love it and have survived all Sombreuil wounds thus far. I have Bolero too but I removed all my Icebergs years ago-too much blackspot. My Leucospermum plants look awful so High Gold will go into the ground and I moved Helenas' pot container into one of my succulent gardens on the soil. I expect it will root in through the drainage hole.
DeleteI am having garden envy (but not in a bad way) because we are just starting to bloom here. So many beautiful blooms, especially the roses, but I ♥ the Leucospermum. Wow! Reminds me of fireworks!
ReplyDeleteThanks Angie-I hope the Leucospermun 'Hi Gold' survives it's move to the ground. !
DeleteNice to see a post from you and glad you've had success with the Leucospermums!
ReplyDeleteI never expected much success with them , but I had to try. So glad I did. And if we have a really bad winter I can always replace them since there are so many more nurseries that are starting to carry them.
DeleteWow! just wow! Gorgeous
ReplyDeleteThanks !
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