90-60-90

The above numbers aren't some obscure code but in fact what our Bay Area temperatures have jumped to in the space of two weeks. The weather poses certain challenges for gardens, especially watering. As if we gardeners didn't have enough challenges.
Here are a few more photos from my mid-July garden. Mid-July? Wasn't it just May last week? How time flies by when you're weeding, pruning, re-planting and fertilizing non-stop, n'est-ce pas? Don't forget to stop and smell the ... well, in my case that would be fragrant herbs, which I've been adding to my garden. There's the wonderful citrus aroma of lemon verbena and the sweet smells of the cascading Yerba Buena. I have those in a pot with a non-herb that is curiously referred to as Cuban oregano. Then there's the 7-Up plant, Stachys albotomentosa. And yes, damn if it doesn't smell like 7-Up. I keep these all at the base of my stairs so I can smell them every day if I choose.

Ensete 'Maurelii.' This ornamental red banana is a great way to add foliage to a tropical area (as I've done). I though this backlit shot showed off the beauty of its foliage rather well.

Ladybug on leucospermum. Okay, I love ladybugs but this IS a cute shot. In England they're called Ladybirds.

Lilium citronelle. A yellow tiger lily! Love it!

Abelmoschus. Another shot of this hibiscus relative. Love that butter yellow and the burgundy eye.

The silver and yellow plant is Chrysocephalum (Sweet Everlasting) and the reddish-purple flowering one beside it is my oh-so-happy Cuphea Vienco. Great color combo.

Hydrangea quercifolia. This photo shows the newer white sterile flowers, which age to pink. Everything about this plant is just so fabulous and it's very happy in its new home.

Another shot of my colorful and exuberant Lonicera sempervirens, an East coast honeysuckle. It's being trained over a metal arch, to meet up with my Clematis viorna on the other side.

I can't ever quite get a good shot of this vigorous orchid. It's has four flowering stems  out now and that's the most it's ever done. I'm not a big 'white' fan but love it here.

Here's a bee hard at work harvesting nectar on my Dracocephalum argunense. It's a mystery to me why this plant isn't more readily available in the trade as it's too lovely for words. Plus, hooded flowers are too cool.

"I'm ready for my closeup Mr. Mayer." This Scabiosa ochroleuca looks particularly dramatic against the black background caused by the extreme closeup.

Speaking of bees, they're all over my Eriogonum grande rubescens, a native CA buckwheat. It's nice knowing that this plant is super nutritious for our pollinator friends.

Mandevilla 'Giant Crimson.' These flowers are so intensely red that it actually throws off the camera settings, making it hard to get a good photo. This'll give you an idea.

Again with the bees ... There's no keeping them off my floriferous Helenium Mardi Gras. They are rich in nectar so there's always a small swarm on them on sunny days.

Trachymene caerulea. This blue lace flower has been popular with bees too. Not sure what what this little guy is.

I've had this ceramic fish for some time, tried planting things in it but it simply doesn't hold enough soil. Then I had an 'aha' moment. So now its home to a tillandsia.

Roscoea. This charming shade-loving bulb hailing from the Himalayas is not well known. I got mine at a UCBG sale. It comes up faithfully every summer.

Though the sun sort of washed out this shot, here's my exuberant Dicentra scandens, with a Salvia patens to the left and a red salpiglossis to the right.

Another shot of my Helenium Mardi Gras and behind it a stand of Tiger lilies getting ready to unfurl.

I thought the silvery foliage of Centaurea gymnocarpa looked nice as a foreground to the big flowerheads of Eriogonum giganteum. 

How many golfers have a lily named after them? Well, I guess someone was a big Tiger Woods fan cause s(he) named this fragrant beauty after Tiger.

Crocosmia Emily MacKenzie. One of the showiest of all crocosmias, this burnt orange variety has of course self-seeded in this median strip. It provides a nice splash of color amongst the green foliage.

Although this shot is a bit overexposed, and the red mandevilla isn't in sharp focus, I was focusing on the immature form of the Grevillea Moonlight flower cone. Still, you can almost imagine that the mandevilla is calling to the grevillea flower.

My front walkway strip. It's in full riotous color mode, with a number of fragrant agastache, the eriogonum, lilies and finally the helenium.

Red painted tongue. No words necessary ...

I love Pineapple lilies (Eucomis) and here's one with deep wine-colored flowers. There's something primeval about them. 

Fuchsia Autumnale. A very pretty variety, as shown here. But the fuchsia mite always eventually gets it ...

Felicia amelloides variegata. A very pretty 'Blue daisy,' in this case the variegated form. Despite its delicate appearance it's tough and long blooming.

Perspective

It isn't exactly earth shattering news to say that one's garden is a teacher but in between two hours of weeding and pruning this morning, I found time to listen to what my own corner of paradise was whispering to me. The first, and possibly the most valuable, is simply to live in the moment while out in the garden. Even if that moment is yanking out a tone of spent love-in-a-mist plants. As a photographer, I'm used to considering perspective. There is basic perspective in gardening too, as even the onerous weeding changes the visual experience of a particular bed. Weeding allows certain plants to get a toehold, or to flourish, which also changes the overall visual appearance of a bed. That in turn may attract certain pollinators to that plant. Gardening is, in a way, a constant event of little dominoes, one event changing or affecting others. I find this process delightful, in part because I have an active curiosity. Mind you, most of my beds are densely planted, so they are in constant flux.
Those observations aside, here are a few photos taken today. It may just be my garden but, compared to previous years, there seem to be many more plants that have flowered later than usual, even while many others bloomed early.

Clematis viorna. When we think of clematis, we tend to picture the single, large-flowered types. The lovely C. viorna, a tubular type, reminds us of the many forms clematis takes. In fact, there are nine altogether. I've become a fan, with seven varieties and counting.  

Another shot of my variegated Porcelain berry vine. It's just so pretty I can't help capturing on film its many moods.

Salpiglossis 'Royal Red.' Easy to see why these dramatic flowers are called Painted Tongue. For a bright splash of color nothing beats salpiglossis.

Lupinus pilosus seedpod. Sometimes beauty can be found in unusual places. Here the unusually large seedpods of this blue flowering lupine are coated with lovely white hairs.

Agastache Red Fortune. The fab colors and heavenly scent of this hyssop bring good fortune indeed to the lucky gardener.

Echinacea 'Hot Papaya.' I swear, these flowers just keep changing color. This flower started off orangey-red, with pink lower petals but now it's a blazing deep red. For those of us used to pink or white single-form coneflowers, this showoff takes some getting used to!

Trachymene coerulea. This blue lace flower has attracted the attention of the nefarious cucumber beetle. But his green body and black spots just jumped off the flower's subtle lavender colors.

Pilosella aurantiacum. Formerly known as Hieracium, this hawkweed gets its common name from the Greek word 'hierax' meaning hawk. If it looks like an orange dandelion you're not far off. Both belong to the Asteraceae family. You can also see its resemblance to the blue chicory flower. Hawkweed is a tough ground cover with bright green leaves, spreading by underground stolons.

Dahlia 'Seattle.' Though not perfectly in focus, this shot gives a different perspective, showing the still tightly held flower bud, with just a few outer petals having opened.

Neomarica caerulea. Quite possibly the loveliest of all Iris family members, this Central & South American genus has a sly trick up its sleeve. Long, weighted flowering stems tend to fall over, laying on the ground. If so, they often root on the spot, leading to one of this plant's common names -- Walking Iris. The flowers often only last a day but maybe that's Mother Nature's way of having us appreciate the ephemeral nature of beauty.

Here's a different vantage point of the neomarica, bringing to the fore the curving, upper petals.

Mimulus 'Jelly Bean Orange.' If that sounds like a funny name (okay, it is), there's more varieties in the Jelly Bean series. Hard to beat this sunny, exuberant color. So many mimulus, so little time ...

Crocosmia 'Emily McKenzie.' One of the most popular crocosmias, my patch has just now burst into bloom. When the earth ends, there will be cockroaches, ravens and ... crocosmias. 

Alpinia 'Zerumbet.' This Southeast member of the ginger family is grown mostly for its lovely variegated foliage, each leaf a little different than the others. It does flower of course, with sweet, shell-shaped fragrant flowers, leading to one of its common names (Shell ginger).

Chamaecyparis 'Nana Lutea.' Part of my dwarf conifer bed, this lovely dwarf false cypress has a fascinating way of displaying twisted panels of foliage. 

Sedum Jelly Beans. Well, I guess it's a jelly bean kind of day. I love this sedum for its ultra-shiny beaded foliage. I freed it from a too shady spot (and pot) and it's rewarded me with its most vibrant color to date.

Aloe striata. Better known as Coral aloe (for its coral flowers), the species name owes to the subtle striations on each leaf. My favorite aloe (for now), I can't wait to put it in the ground and let it get full sized.

Origanum 'Pilgrim.' Not sure where this variety got its name, but I encourage everyone to investigate the wonderful world of ornamental oreganos. Some are familiar with O. 'Kent Beauty,' but there are many others to seek out.

Rabbit's Foot fern. It's not often that one is photographing ferns in summer, with so much color to choose from, but consider this a bit of soothing green amongst all the vibrant flowers. Plus, this unique fern has the most interesting creeping surface rhizomes. Coated with white hairs, they look for all the world like tarantula legs!

Finally, a new Asclepius I got from Barb Siegel, called A. 'Apollo Orange.' Very exciting, especially since I like orange. Now I just need to find a place for it ...

A Gardener's July 4th fireworks

As cities and the nation celebrate the Fourth with fireworks displays, I'd like to suggest that our gardens offer their own 'fireworks' on this day of independence. With colors galore and certain flowers doing their best to shine, even dazzle, we have our own floral shows. The show isn't lost on several of my garden denizens -- the collection of local bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
Here are a few photos from my July garden, which shows no sign of slowing down.

Echinacea 'Hot Papaya.' Speaking of fireworks, this double coneflower has them in spades. In fact, you're forgiven for thinking "That's a coneflower?!"

Stokesia laevis. This Stokes' aster might be the prettiest flower no one's ever heard of. And that's a shame because it is durable and incredibly floriferous. 

Masdevallia. Love these guys and they're about the easiest orchid to grow. I love the two tone colors on this one.

Ampelopsis. Anyone who's ever seen the "ripe" berries on a porcelain berry vine never forgets the experience! If ever a common name nailed it, it's for this plant. The speckled turquoise berries really do look like they have been glazed and fired in a kiln. My specimen is finally settling in and this year has loads of tiny white flowers. Can't wait!

Filipendula ulmaria. Known as Meadowsweet, owing to its habitat (moist meadows, stream sides) and its delicate, sweet fragrance, this is a plant that is also not commonly grown. Once classified as a spirea, it shares that genus's delicate foliage and wispy flowers.

Eriogonum grande rubescens. Everyone's favorite CA buckwheat. They have a well deserved rep for being great habitat plants, attracting a variety of pollinators and birds. I also have an E. giganteum (St. Catherine's Lace) in bloom,a very popular destination for bees.

Michauxia campanuloides. Speaking of plants that many have yet to discover, here's a photo of my industrious Michauxia. A Mediterranean member of the Campanulaceae family, it features peculiar nodding white flowers that look like dive bombing birds to me!

Echinacea 'Summer Sky. I could say I waited for hours to get a shot of this coneflower with a bee harvesting nectar but nah, they're on it all the time. Beautiful, prolific and nectar-rich, what's not to like about echinaceas?

Sauromatum venosum. Extra points for those of you who know what the heck this plant is. Yep, it's a Voodoo lily (got to be one of the all time great common names). This vigorous Arum is on round two and even though the spathe only opens for a day or two, it's weird, wonderful and yes a bit stinky.

Campanula punctata. I just discovered a list of species definitions and that was for this plant geek very exciting. Qualities I'd always associated with a commonly used species name turned out to largely be true. Here 'punctata' is a variation of 'punctatus,' which means 'dotted.' That's true of this bellflower; it has speckles on the insides of its flowers.

Tillandsia sp. A gift from a friend, this glowing silver air plant is my favorite new plant. There's "silver-ish" and then there's this pure whitish silver.

Fuchsia denticulata. The subject of a recent column, this parent of F. 'Fanfare' is a dazzling and hardy species. You want fireworks? When this species is in full bloom, it sports massive cascading clusters of these colorful blooms. So many fuchsias, so little time ...

Abelmoschus manihot. I'm not intentionally focusing on hard to find plants but here's another one. If your first thought is "That looks like a hibiscus flower" you'd be right. This 'Musk mallow' produces large cream-colored flowers with a small dark burgundy center. I cut mine back nearly to the ground after its first flowering and it's bounced back.

Hibiscus stamen. I think the stamens on hibiscus can be almost as pretty as the petals. Vibrant!

Lilium citronelle. Although this isn't the best shot, I'm posting it anyway. I'm a lily junkie -- they're my favorite common bulb -- and this yellow tiger lily is particularly lovely.

Magnolia grandiflora 'Little Gem.' I went for a different shot here. I noticed a local bee harvesting nectar off of fallen stamen in the "bowl" of a flower petal and it looked kind of neat. I couldn't get the damn shot in perfect focus but this comes close.

Bromeliad sp. This unidentified bromeliad has the loveliest orange flowers with dark brownish-purple tips. The shot is a bit dark but here it is anyway.

And saving the best fireworks shot for last, here's my Begonia 'Dazzler.' It's a B. boliviensis hybrid and it's a riot of color. One can almost imagine the flowers 'exploding' out of the hanging pot.