Tuesday, July 22, 2014

July 2014 Bloomday, plus 7...


It's true, I did an actual Bloomday post (of sorts) a week ago. But since I've posted for every Bloomday since April of 2009 I was feeling a little odd about essentially skipping one. There are cool things blooming that I want to share! So here's my Bloomday plus 7 post, a week after the fact.

Canna 'Australia' and the foamy blooms of Macleaya cordata...

My only eucomis bloom this year, and oddly this particular plant hasn't ever bloomed before. It's probably Eucomis 'Oakhurst'...

Hibiscus syriacus 'Red Heart' close-up

And the whole 9-yards (I'm thrilled this plant is finally taller than me!)...

Hosta 'Sum and Substance'...usually my hosta blooms are quickly cut off, these were spared only because they're at the back of the shade pavilion and easily missed. They won't last long (snip snip)...

Liatris, which I swear has come back from the dead. This plant came with me from Spokane, oh 10 years ago. I haven't seen it for ages and I was very surprised it showed up this year and is blooming!

A couple of those sneaky Brachyglottis greyi flowers managed to bloom while my head was turned.

Eryngium yuccifolium

Eryngium agavifolium

Alstroemeria isabellana

Kniphofia, one of the "popsicle series" from Terra Nova.

Agapanthus NOID

Persicaria runcinata 'Purple Majesty'

Grevillea 'Neil Bell'

Abutilon 'Red Tiger', not quite open yet...

This Passiflora 'Sunburst' bloom has a lot to do with why I'm doing a second Bloomday post. I had pretty much resigned myself to skipping until I saw this...

How could I not share this crazy bloom? Only hardy to USDA Zone 11 I'm going to have a hard time letting this parish come fall...

Clematis tibetana var. vernayi, it's first lemon peel bloom of the season.

Grevillea 'Peaches and Cream'

An orange crocosmia that I got from Scott at our Garden Bloggers plant swap last fall.

This is now my very favorite crocosmia...

Those colors!

I stupidly pulled my Lobelia laxiflora this spring thinking it was dead. Duh, no it wasn't. So glad it's rebounded with lots of growth and flowers.

Finally we go inside the house for the last two photos for this Bloomday. This beauty is my birthday lily, planted by a previous gardener to whom I am very grateful. Every year it blooms on my birthday (the 20th) and every year I cut it to bring it inside. I know I should leave it in the garden but inside its scent fills the house and takes me back years, to a time when I was roommates with a good friend whose birthday is the day before mine. We always had 'stargazer' lilies in our apartment, Happy Birthday Sonny.

And this charming bouquet was a birthday gift from my husband, Andrew. And with that I wrap up this late edition of Garden Bloggers Bloomday.

All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

35 comments:

  1. I was congratulating myself this morning for pulling out the last passiflora and foregoing any more. I yield and then always regret when they're huge and ratty, and then you post this one! Looks like Kartuz might list it. I noticed some bright orange crocosmias on the tour and loved them over the red. And a bright orange phygelius too that I'd like to find. Funny about eucomis, I get lots of flowers but the leaves look like crap, so I dug up about 3 clumps yesterday. Glad you posted this, Loree, and happy birthday!

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    1. It came from GK Exotics here in the Portland area, she does mail order too! http://gkplants.com/

      I am so over the red crocosmia, they always flop for me but these orange ones are perky (besides having great flower color). I also see a lot of flopped ugly eucomis leaves around town, I've been lucky and mine seem to stay looking good. (thanks for the b-day wishes!)

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  2. Our 'Japanese Lantern' Hibiscus schizopetalus bloomed for the first time this week!!! This is it's third season with us.

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    1. Yay for hibiscus blooms, so fabulously exotic!

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  3. Happy Birthday and this is one gorgeous 2nd Bloomday post, that's for sure!

    I'm not a big fan of Cannas, for whatever reason that I don't even remember anymore, but yours is stunning and might just change my mind.

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  4. That crocosmia is gorgeous! As always, I'm drooling over your grevilleas. Love the flowers and seed pods on Alstroemeria isabellana! I seem to be part of the strange minority that likes hosta flowers,though I don't care for the typical ones with their odd streaky lavender color. I have one, 'The Shining' which looks like 'Sum and Substance' but with slightly smoother leaves and only half the size. I love the pure white, 4" long flowers and their strong, sweet scent.

    That Clematis tibetica is so interesting. I wonder if the thickened sepals are an adaptation to protect the anthers stigma and stamens from frost. After all, no one likes chilly reproductive parts!

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    1. I agree about the white hosta flowers, I've got one plant that has fragrant white blooms and I adore them.

      Yes, chilly reproductive parts are a downer. (thank you for the laugh)

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  5. Such wonderful and exotic blooms...so glad you didn't let July Bloom Day pass you by.

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    1. I realized today I forgot the water lily, oh well...

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  6. Dear Morticia, It's nice to know that you don't cut the flowers off of all of your plants! That passiflora is gorgeous; could it find a place in the shade pavilion or basement this winter? The Stargazer memory is sweet and I hope your day was even sweeter! Andrew has good taste in flowers! (Natural talent or good training from DG?)

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    1. I will probably try to overwinter it, sadly it will involve cutting it way back (since it's tendrils have woven around the wire) and digging but it's worth a try. Heck maybe I'll get all crazy and try rooting some cuttings too...ya never know, right?

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  7. P.S. Never thought of you as a late bloomer!

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  8. Love the Abutilon blooms! That's one name that I can never pronounce or spell without looking -- I always want to add a few more syllables for some reason.

    Have I got a passiflora for you...

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    1. Glad to hear you add syllables too. I don't on that one but manage to on several others.

      Are you trying to get rid of a passion flower weed?

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  9. I love hot colors, basically anything not ubiquitous magenta, and your Passiflora 'Sunburst' is fantastic, it looks like it was extruded. The leaves are wonderful too. It's great to see your tropicalesque blooms since most aren't hardy for me, or else I kill them easily. I have a Crocosmia that looks a lot like yours, called 'Montbretia'. Now IT is impossible to kill. Happy Birthday!

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    1. Ah, perhaps that is what I've got. I'll have to ask Scott if he remembers. Thank you for the birthday wishes!

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  10. Cool you made it, better late than never! With so many gorgeous blooms in your garden at the moment it would have been a shame not to showcase them. The blooms are impressive but the only other thing that impresses the most is your loyalty to bloom day since 2009, wow!

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    1. I find myself going back to old Bloomday posts fairly regularly. They offer a great benchmark for the season and a chance to say "oh yes, I was growing that!"

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  11. Am just loving that clematis, how unusual (to me anyway). I rather like the abutilon too. You have some wonderful plants!

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    1. That clematis stopped me in my tracks the first time I saw it at Cistus years ago. I still can't resist squeezing the thick puffy petals.

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  12. A very happy belated birthday to you! It looks as though your entire garden, not just 'Stargazer,' celebrated the event. I may have to try that Alstroemeria one day but it looks as though that will require a mail order purchase from the PNW.

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    1. Nothing wrong with mail order, of course it means you should order a few other things too, to help mitigate the shipping costs.

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  13. Oh god Oh god..that Passiflora...and zone 11 ? So unfair..I've never even heard of zone 11.

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  14. I think I'd have a hard time not giving that pretty passionflower its day in the sun -- or camera lens. Fabulous foliage too!

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    1. It wasn't cheap ($15) but I thought it would be worth the price to enjoy that foliage all summer long and hope for a flower or three. Luckily there are several more buds forming.

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  15. Great seeing those the passion flower blooming...woow!! When we were there the Clematis wasn't open yet, also a treat to see. I have a nice photo of your Alstroemeria isabellana, good to have a name for it. Thanks for sharing your garden this month.
    EVery bloom day since 2009! Wonderful.

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    1. The clematis is covered in tiny buds now so there should be quite a show over the next month. Sorry you missed it in person!

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  16. HOw very cool. So glad you didn't skip. Love that C. Australia, such a beauty and reliable plant. Every time I see a Grevillea I get heart palpitations. Just love it. and the Alstroemeria isabellana is just fantastic. Love them all, and a Happy Birthday to you too!

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    1. Thanks Deanne, and yes, C. Australia is a solid performer. Glad to hear it is for you too.

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  17. Beautiful bouquet! ohhh...and that passifloraaaaa! I noticed the leaves in your garden but didn´t remember to ask what it was. Somehow I was so amazed with the whole garden that I noticed very little flowers...too much information for my head ,hehe.

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    1. Things seemed to really burst into flower after everyone left, kind of odd.

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  18. Belated b'day wishes - i am loving the oriental lilies inside the home this time of year...What's the center plant underneath Hibiscus syriacus - i spy begonia on the left and japanese forest grass on the right.

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    1. Uhmmm, well there is more Japanese forest grass - the non variegated variety, just solid green. And then there is a single leaf from a black calla lily...no bloom from that plant though, sadly.

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