8/13/08

Bloom Day

Blogging will be impossible tomorrow and/or Friday, so I'm early this month.

I've been really busy, and I do apologize if I haven't been to your blog or left comments lately. Do know that you're always on my mind even if I'm not there...virtually.

We're having a rare sunny day here in San Francisco today.

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For every sunny day we've had this summer, we've had at least 10 cold, foggy days. I'm irritated and annoyed and, to be honest, I have not enjoyed the garden much lately. The summer vegetable garden is a total bust. We're finally harvesting some tomatoes but they're bland and mealy. The cucumber vines are a joke. Even the runner beans have been underwhelming. Sigh.

I know people coping with extreme heat don't want to hear me whine about cool weather. So enough with the self-pity. This is post is about blooms.

It's Bloom Day!

This is the view of the garden that entices me down from the living room.

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Shall we go?

Down the stairs:

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From the stairs:

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In the garden:

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I was surprised to find this morning glory blooming this morning. We had a little of this last year.

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Some people won't grow this weedy annual in their gardens, but it's easy to stay on top of things in the small garden. I would be happy to have it go wild a little bit. Unfortunately, I've consistently, inexplicably, bad luck growing morning glory from seed. And they never sell it in anything but gallon pots at my local nursery. I resist buying anything in gallon pots.

It would be particularly nice to have morning glory vining up the back stairs to my garage. But that seems unlikely to ever happen, so I have this Senecio confusus instead. It's new, and growing vigorously. The orange flowers are said to bloom all year long in mild climates.

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I hope so!

Another weedy plant that tends to perform poorly in my garden for some inexplicable reason...doing well for now.

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This is my favorite abutilon. I've had it for three years and I've moved it all around the garden. I want it to stay here, between the mock orange and apple tree. I've never tried to propagate this plant. I should try.

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I have three other abutilon, and they're all flowering.

This Cuphea llaeva is a hummingbird favorite.

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(I like it too.)

Fragrant things:

'Jude the Obscure'

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Monardella villosa.

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Madia elegans.

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Non-fragrant things:

Dahlia atropurpurea

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Dahlia 'Prince Noir'

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and random red dahlia.

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I'm trying Phygelius again. I've killed these before.

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We have some Francoa sp. under the deck, with inflorescences rising through Acer palmatum.

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Some bulbs. I have one Eucomis in a pot. I'd plant it in the ground, but I have no idea where...

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And, finally, my very first Naked Lady. (heh, heh...) These bulbs can take awhile to settle in and make flowers--three years for this one. You can add her to the list of fragrant things, too.

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Not shown: Salvia clevelandii, Fuchsia boliviana, Verbena lilacina, Oxypetalum caeruleum, runner beans, yarrow, some Agastache, Shasta Daisy.

For more, visit May Dreams Gardens on the 15th of any month.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your flower garden looks like it loves the cool, foggy weather, even if you and the veggies hate it. I'm loving so many things in your garden, from that orange vine on your porch post to Jude the Obscure. But is that really a Cuphea llavea? It looks much pinker in your photo than the red bat-face cuphea I'm accustomed to.

chuck b. said...

The plant label definitely said Cuphea llaeva. I didn't buy it at a nursery tho', so it could have been wrong.

Les said...

I am sorry you are not enjoying the weather. It has been great here with most days in the 80's, low humidity, and enough rain to keep everything alive - very unusual for us in August. I really like the color on the 'Prince Noir'.

Anonymous said...

Hi Chuck, so where did you get that Cuphea llaeva? It's pretty nice. I want some.

By the way, I am in my hammock here in Menlo Park with my laptop and a glass of wine. In shorts and a T-shirt and it's 7 PM. However, it is getting chillier by the minute. I paid my dues living in Oregon and Massachusetts! Come on down to the south Peninsula!

Emma

Christopher C. NC said...

Being busy can be good.

We had a low of 51 just a few days ago. I am hoping this is a passing phase before an extended fall.

I sent Frances home with a bag of your Lemon Cucumbers and a Clematis stans so you have had some success despite the cold and fog.

I bet the Lupines I collected seed from and now have two trays of seedlings would like your cool. Got plenty seeds and they germinate pronto.

Poor Madame Stappers, the Dahlia is looking a bit ragged. Not near the perfect beauty of your Dahlias. She is too well drained and we are having a drought they say. I gave her a drink by bucket today.

We can't grow Nasturtiums either. To cool up here.

Hope to see more of you soon. Virtually.

Frances, said...

Hi Chuck, indeed I received bounty from you via Christopher. Thanks to you both. I am making more pickles tomorrow and the lemon cukes will be sliced somehow and canned. The clematis stans is healthy and planted, I researched it so it went into the yellow/white garden. Neighbors can prop it up, if needed. Your garden is so enticing, I would not be able to stay inside with a world like that waiting just outside your door. The morning glories that we sow ourselves are always terrible, the self sown volunteers are unkillable, so it goes.

Gail said...

Chuck,

I love your garden and especially appreciated your introducing us to it as we came down the stairs, a nice and different garden perspective for a ranch house dweller! You have so many plants whose names I have only read! Nice to see their photos and how much they like your garden. Gail, Clay and Limestone

gintoino said...

You have a lot going on in your garden chuck. I wouldn't mind some of that cool weather around here. Its always great to visit your garden, I always discover some new wonderful plant. Love the color of that Senecio confusus.

lisa said...

As usual your Bloom Day kicks ass! I veered off on a tangent when I saw the senecio vine, and while looking it up online I found this. I have crappy luck with morning glories from seed as well, and they won't act weedy for me. Weird. One tidbit about the naked ladies: mine had refused to flower for the second year (so far) after being divided. They must resent any disturbance. (Heh, guess that would be an angry naked lady...what a thought! :)

Carol Michel said...

I liked the tour, starting with the bird's eye view and then going down into the garden to see the details.

I think every gardener gets a bit worn out by August... too hot in Texas, too cool in San Francisco, ummm... not too bad in Indiana. I won't complain!

Thanks for joining in for bloom day. I think you've posted without fail every time!

Carol, May Dreams Gardens

Unknown said...

I like all of the hot colors in your cool garden, Chuck. Especially the cherry red of that nasturtium.

And if that was my view from the deck and the stairs, I would never make it past the garden to do productive things like... oh, say, go to work! *grin*

JGH said...

Those are some beautiful dahlias and the color of that Morning Glory is to die for!

Annie in Austin said...

The view from the top was great and so is 'Jude the Obscure'. Chuck, you go right ahead and whine about the cold damp weather...then it won't sound so enticing to those of us live in heat and drought. But Carol better stop gloating over her perfect weather!

Sorry about the vegetable garden not producing - it's been a tough year.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose