Friday, September 15, 2017

GBBD: End of Summer Garden

While northern climate gardeners are watching their gardens slow down and prepare for winter we are watching our gardens wake up and head into a second season of blooms.  I'm linking up with Garden Blogger's Bloom Day to share photos from walks around the garden the last few weeks.

In the tank garden Henry (blue) and Augusta (white) Deulberg Salvia farinacea work great together.  Both went dormant during summer heat and are now back in full bloom.  Blackfoot Daisy (Melampodium leucanthum) on the right backed by orange Zexmenia (Wedelia texana) along with magenta Gomphrena 'Fireworks'.


It's like an 8' diameter bouquet.




The little pink gomphrena are 'Pinball Snow Tip' and they go perfectly with 'Fireworks' and blue and white salvia.


Evening view of Gomphrena 'Fireworks' from the backside.  The entire circle becomes a 30' walk-through floral arrangement.




Zexmenia and Gomphrena 'Strawberry Fields' line the circle garden,  Zexmenia grows naturally on undeveloped land behind us and has been easy to transplant.  It's a prolific reseeder so one or two plants have turned into many.   I bought one Gomphrena 'Strawberry Fields' plant years ago and it has faithfully reseeded every year.


Brazilian Rock Rose (Pavonia hastata) is a wild spreader filling the late summer/early fall garden with its pale pink flowers.


"Monarchs this way."  Just in case butterflies need a sign to find freshly planted Tropical Milkweed.


Morning blooms on tall purple Ruellia make the fence less boring.


Pink Ruellia on the other side of the garden.  Just a few Ruellia plants are all you need to fill in a garden.


Fluorescent orange aloe adds fall color near the side gate.


Mexican Olive topped with tissue paper blooms.


Moy Grande Hibiscus, looks tropical but is hardy to zone 5!  I planted it in a protected spot just in case.


Red Lantern hibiscus is not so hardy and spends winter in the garage.  Worth it for lacy blooms.



Native Passiflora foetida grows wild along the creek behind our back fence and has naturally found its way into the garden.


As found "in the wild" just steps outside our back fence rambling over Dewberry vines near the arroyo which feeds our creek.



Snapdragon vine grows wild in the same field with the above Passion Vine and now twines the fence.


Texas native Damianita was purchased from a nursery but now looks natural in the gravel garden.


Texas Twist-rib cactus was shared by a friend.


Red Barrel Cactus blooms don't fully open.



Crinum Native Hymenocallis have been nonstop for weeks.


Double yellow Datura from my friend Cliff Bingham.  See my visit to his garden here.



Red Salvia microphylla rarely stops blooming.



Ending our tour with Grandma's Yellow Roses appropriately paired with a Texas flag we painted on metal roofing,


Hosted by Carol Michel on the 15th of each month, GBBD gives bloggers a meme to share what's blooming in their gardens.  For more garden blooms see Carol's Garden Blogger's Bloomday post at May Dreams Gardens.

22 comments:

  1. Wow, Shirley, there's a lot going on in your Texas garden this Bloom Day! I adore that Red Lantern Hibiscus (which I've only seen on Texas blogs) and that wonderful summer-blooming Aloe. Gomphrena also seems to do VERY well for you - I was tempted by Gomphrena 'Pinball Snow Tip' when I swung by my local garden center on the way home but, as it didn't fare well in my garden last year, I shut my eyes and headed for the planting mix. It feels fall-like here this week too but how long the cooler temperatures will last is still a question and real rain is still probably months away.

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    1. The aloe was transplanted in the spring so it might be out of sync though we seem to have aloe blooms all summer. Gomphrena is easy to grow here so I pile them in.

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  2. Simply stunning and what a collection of plants you have, many of them natives. I am beginning to think I like this time of the year better than the spring. I love the blousy fullness of the garden with plants intermingling. It's like a wildflower meadow. Nice to see the damianita blooming again. Have you noticed the lovely smell of the blackfoot daisy. In the warm sun they gove off an enticing fragrance.

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    1. I love my fall garden, sometimes plants don't have time to fill out in spring before the heat sets in. The garden was very new when you were last here so I'm sure it looks more full now. I especially enjoy collected natives from surrounding areas. I'll check the blackfoot daisy since I don't remember noticing before. It grows everywhere and in any weather so I like it a lot for the garden.

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  3. I see what you mean about your salvias. They are tough creatures, as long as they have full sun and aren't soggy over winter. I can provide the latter, not the former. (picture sad emoji here) That Gomphrena is spectacular – especially massed – and really lives up to its cultivar name.

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    1. Full sun we have and soggy winters are rare though I have lost some plants when weather patterns change to wet. Gomphrena works so well in our climate I plan to grow more of it.

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  4. Gorgeous blooms! That orange-flowering aloe is a knockout. It's a beautiful time of year just about everywhere, it seems.

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    1. Fall is nice everywhere. The big difference is the garden is waking up and our winters are mild enough to garden during most of it.

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  5. Outdoor flower arrangements in the ground...I like that!

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  6. Your garden looks great! Fall can be a glorious time of year in the garden.

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    1. It is and now if we could just get some actual fall weather.

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  7. I love seeing your second season of blooms Shirley...we are supposed to slow down here but we are getting summer temps so the garden is now growing again or still.

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    1. Extended summer is nice up where you are to keep that cold at bay for a while longer. Down here we are more than ready for the weather to break to more seasonable temps.

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  8. Your garden came through summer in great health. Wonderful bloom-day post. The Melampodium is new to my garden this year--what a great plant!

    Hymnocallis, rather than Crinum? Or have they been combined?

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    1. Interestingly, I just today saw a Native Plants of Texas post go by on Facebook which confirmed it is a Hymenocallis and not Crinum. The plant was shared by a good gardening friend as Crinum so I went with it. An easy one to mix up. You are correct and since Hymenocallis is native and the similar Crinum is not, it's an important distinction.

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    2. I updated the post.

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  9. Hi Shirley
    Any particolar advisero grow Mexicam Olive? i live in Italy and do not find many source on how to grow it.
    mine grew almost 1.5 meters in one season but I do not know if it needs. Lot of feed or better to leave it on its own.
    many thanks
    Morgan

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    1. Sounds like your Mexican Olive is doing well there. Without knowing much about your garden location I would recommend just letting it grow. I don't feed mine because it's happy in our native soil with good drainage and a little water when it gets dry. There's not a lot on how to grow it because it grows well in South Texas with very little attention from the gardener. If you are in a similar climate in Italy it should grow well for you too.

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  10. I just saw your interview on CTG. Great job! It looks like it will be an interesting tour with a lot of variety.

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    1. Thank you Michael! We're looking forward to showing off these gardens on the tour.

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