8/19/08

The roof

Our bedroom is on the second floor and I have a few pots on the small bit of roof outside the bedroom window. Lying in bed, I look out this window all the time. But I take relatively few pictures.

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Except for this one, which I take all the time.

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It's hard to grow plants in this kind of exposed space, but we've got some nice things going on right now.

Phacelia campanularia

I sprinkled some Phacelia campanularia seed in a potted cork oak (Quercus suber) and got flowers on little two-inch plants.

Phacelia campanularia

I had a lot of this wildflower on the blog this last spring.

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Herbaceous perennials struggle up here in the wind and occasionally (very occasionally) high temperatures, but Annie's Annuals' description of Dicliptera suberecta made me want to give it a shot.

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The website says:
A deservedly popular & reliable perennial! By late summer hummingbirds & butterflies are buzzing all around the clusters of orangey-red flowers of this plant. The blue grey leaves & stems are splendidly covered in fuzz, & very touchable. Dies back to the ground in winter (sometimes) & returns a little late in the Spring – it seems to really like the heat! In fact, it is reported to thrive in Texas & through much of the south, where the summers are really hot & humid. Does great here in the Bay area, too! Spreads over time, but is easily controlled, & grows about 2’ high. Drought tolerant too! Such a catch.

Thrives in Texas! Well, if that doesn't convince me to try it on my roof, nothing will.

Dicliptera suberecta

It's been blooming non-stop for several weeks.

I'm also impressed with Gladiolus callianthus. It's done very well, even with haphazard watering.

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I don't step out to inhale the fragrance much, tho' it's nice.

Acidanthera

Sunlight bleaches the dahlia petals as they age.

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This one has very dark foliage. I'm going to move it down to the garden next year. In general I don't "do" dark foliage. But I will make an exception.

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Also blooming up here: cuphea and agastache.

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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! I like the hillside view of the houses very much. But you've added so much with those interesting--and Texas tough--flowers.

Ewa said...

Your view is simply beautiful! And the plants even if conditions are tough, are doing very well.
Such view from bedroom is very inspiring.
/Ewa

CiNdEe's GaRdEn said...

Wow something I need to try here. Its hot here but dry so not sure it would do as well as there but I might have to give it a go.(-:
You have some cool things growing up there. What kind of succulents do you have growing in the two pots? They are very pretty.

gintoino said...

Great view. I love the fact that tere aren't any tall apartment buidings on sight.
I also Have Gladiolus callianthus (though I call them Acidanthera) but they just don't do very well for me, I only had 2 blooms from a total of 40 bulbs. Agastache does very well in my garden too and sure would like to find one of those Cupheas.

Anonymous said...

Lovely flowers & the view is great. Must be nice to wake up to that view every morning.

The Hunky Gardener said...

I seeded Phacelia this year as well. It's one of the best blues for the garden and native to California I understand? It's nice to have a little bit of Cali in my Northern garden!

Annie in Austin said...

They were Acidanthera when I grew them, too...but they look much cooler on the rooftop, Chuck.

The Dicliptera suberecta looks a lot like a plant that I've known as Mexican Honeysuckle/Justicia spicigera. Some sites say that Dicliptera, Jacobina and Justicia are used as synonyms so your plant is probably closely related to the one I grow (which is NOT blooming, darn it).

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Anonymous said...

Your view photos make me miss SF - we used to live on Duboce, no space to garden. Seattle lets us stretch out a bit more, although I'm always craving more space. Gardening in the parking strip (on the street) is kind of an adventure. Thanks for the LED/mason jar tip, I may try that! Cheers, Karen
http://greenwalks.wordpress.com

lisa said...

Dig that view, and I just love how you can find a spot to grow flowers ANYwhere...awesome! I definately want to try some of the dicliptera next year as an annual.