June's Blooms

Welcome to Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, June edition. Please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens to see beautiful gardens from all over the world.

Here in my zone 9b garden in the Central Valley of California, the pretty spring flowers have flowered and now have gone to seed. I collected as many seeds as I could and will plant them at what I hope will be the appropriate time and place, although Mother Nature does a pretty good job of planting on her own. I'm just her assistant.

I have saved seeds of the annuals: 'Lauren's Grape' poppies, 'Love in a Mist', 'Rose Campion,' and 'Woodland Tobacco'. The little violas, allysum, larkspur, and lobelia seeded themselves. Tomorrow I will be sending the last of the spring bloomers to the compost pile. Although it's always sad to say good bye to spring, there will still be spots (although not lots) of summer color.

Here are seed heads of the 'Lauren's Grape' poppy. They remind me of little salt shakers that contain what seems like millions of seeds. I always marvel at their design.

We can always rely on summer color from the Nerium oleanders. I have never once heard them complain about the heat.

Nerium oleander

Everything is rosy as far as the three 'Rozanne' geraniums are concerned. They have taken over a prize section of the flower beds, but in a nice way. They coexist with 'Golden Feverfew,' which adds a nice contrast, and some colorful irises.

geranium 'Rozanne'

'Golden Feverfew'/Aureum (Tanacetum parthenium)

Lacecap Hydrangea

The geraniums are blooming happily, provided they are given ample water. I know they are thirsty plants, and I should be thinking about drought tolerant plants, but I just haven't been able to let them go.

Mophead Hydrangea

Hydrangea "Fuji Waterfall'

Oakleaf Hydrangea

There are always a few sporadic blooms from the roses:

Climbing 'Don Juan' rose

standard tree rose: Weeping China Doll

ground cover rose/"Happy Chappy'

'Knock Out' rose

David Austin© Rose 'Mary Rose'

A few sporadic blooms from the clematis:

clematis "Rooguchi"



unknown clematis

                Clematis 'Madame Correvon' with 'Woodland Tobacco' Nicotiana sylvestris

Clematis 'Polish Spirit'

A few spring and summer perennials and annuals:

Hollyhocks


Lobelia

Lobelia and Begonia

Cleome 'Senorita Rosalita'

Buddleia 'Blue Chip' dwarf Butterfly Bush

Zinnia elegans 'Zowie'

Zowie is the only zinnia yet to flower . I have not had one come up from seeds. 

Magnolia grandiflora 'St Mary's'

Gardenia jasminoides 'Mystery'

Still some blooms on the daylilies:

Daylily 'Fairy Tale Pink' 

unknown Daylily

 Nepeta 'Catmint' and Allysum by front walkway

Myrtus communis 'Compacta'/Dwarf Myrtle

I may have missed a bloom or two, but hopefully they will stay around for next month. 

Happy Bloom Day and Happy Gardening!

Another Broken Record

When I was a child growing up here in the Central Valley of California, June was my favorite month. And I may have wondered, as did Anne in one of the Green Gables books:

"I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June." from Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery

Well, my perspective changed as I grew older. And I think temperatures have changed as well. We seem to have many more days of extreme heat.

After enduring yesterday's record high for June 8th of 108ºF,  I can say that I would not enjoy months of unending Junes. I much prefer the mild days of spring and fall.

morning yard clean up

My gardening is limited to early mornings or evenings on these intense summer days. And we can say goodbye to the profuse blooms of spring. There are not many plants that care to bloom in triple digit heat.

Lilium regale/'Regal Lily'

I'm happy that a few of my newly planted lilies have managed to bloom in spite of the heat. I wrote about them in this post from April. Hopefully next year I will have more blooms.

Lilium tigrirum/'Tiger Lily'

Although they had a long bloom period, I am saying goodbye to the foxglove.

Digitalis/Foxglove

The daylilies have a few more blooms left.

Hemerocallis/Daylily 'Fairy Tale Pink'

The coleus are looking great. All they require is some shade and regular water. I love all of the different varieties.

coleus

The summer weather forecasts in the valley are like a broken record. I don't know how many ways you can say "sunny and hot."

So I really appreciate the plants that have a cooling effect on the garden.

Brunnera 'Jack Frost' has adjusted to its new location in an area with more shade, and amazingly the snails and slugs are ignoring it. I think I will plant more.

Brunnera/'Jack Frost'

The weather forecast is for highs in the 90's for the coming week, but after yesterday's high, that sounds like a cooling trend!

I Luffed My Visit to the Luffa Farm

Luffa Flower

For the past six years, I have had the pleasure of being part of a group of seven women gardeners who met when we were going through the Master Gardener training program. We named our group "The Soil Sisters." I don't know that any of us believes that we have "mastered" gardening. But we continue to learn and enjoy sharing our knowledge with others.

On Memorial Day weekend, I was able to join a few of the Soil Sisters for an enjoyable day of sight seeing in Oceano and other charming towns on California's Central Coast.

Our first stop was for a tour of a luffa farm in the small town of Nipomo to see how luffa sponges are grown. Click here to visit the farm's website.

Although some people believe that luffa sponges come from the sea, they are actually a type of gourd. Luffas grow on vines that produce fruit that resembles zucchini or cucumber. The large yellow flowers are very pretty. The Luffa Farm's plants are organically grown from heirloom seeds. They have a much lighter and softer feel than imported luffas, and they are chemical free.

luffa fruit

The luffas are grown in greenhouses that are kept very warm. Although they are native to tropical Asia, they are grown in many parts of the world. However, they are not frost tolerant and are best grown in zones 7 or higher or in warm greenhouses. Although Nipomo has a mild climate, I believe they are grown in greenhouses to ensure that they have a constant crop.

 The growing season is about 150-200 frost free days. Each plant is grown in a five gallon bucket and attaches itself to wire trellises.

When the luffas are ready to harvest, the outer skin slips off, and then the tops are cut off and the seeds shaken out. They are washed and allowed to dry.

The small gift shop offers luffa sponges and other bath products such as soaps and essential oils made from herbs grown on the farm. The products are available on line at this clickable link. (I am in no way associated with the farm or of the selling of their products!)

luffa sponge from the Luffa Farm

Next we stopped off in the village of Arroyo Grande with its unique swinging bridge and visited the farmers' market which featured delicious produce. Especially the strawberries!

Our last stop was at a wonderful nursery/garden shop named simply, Ron's, in nearby Grover Beach. The shop had an amazing display of garden art, home accessories, and I especially enjoyed the nursery area with its many interesting succulent arrangements. I will definitely have to return to this shop!

What an enjoyable outing to a beautiful, but not so well known area of California's Central Coast. And now I am eager to grow some luffa plants of my own. I can imagine creating spa baskets with luffa sponges and other bath products to give as Christmas gifts!

As luck would have it, a few days ago when I was telling another gardening friend about my visit to the Luffa Farm, she informed me that she had been given some luffa seeds which she would be happy to share with me.

So today I will plant a few of the seeds in a large pot that contains some Ruellia plants (Mexican Petunia) that I have been trying to grow, not so successfully, from cuttings.  (I wrote about Ruellia in in this post over a year ago. I have since planted Ruellia's petite little sister, 'Katie,' who is finally beginning to grow.)


There is already a trellis in place where the climbing yellow rose 'Graham Thomas' grows, and hopefully the yellow luffa flowers will be good companions.

I think it will be a fun experiment.

And I hope you are enjoying some "luffly" late spring weather in your garden!

Ruellia 'Katie'/Mexican Petunia

May 2013 Bloom Day

Larkspur

The spring flowers have about completed their bloom cycle in my zone 9b garden in California's Central Valley. The mild days of spring are passing, and we have already experienced a couple of days of triple digit temps. The roses are in decline after their spring show and will bloom only sporadically through out summer.

This year I have been so grateful for the self starters in my garden; those plants that were industrious enough to replant themselves for another season without any help from me.

I had watched the emerging lacy foliage thinking that these plants must be from the native California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) that grew in that bed last year. But they turned out to be Larkspur and Nigella damascena 'Love-In-A-Mist,' returning from last year. The California poppies never popped. For some reason, they do not like my garden.

But the poppies that self seeded from last year's Poppy, 'Lauren's Grape' (Papaver somniferum), are now in full bloom. Although there were many little seedlings, they refused to be transplanted, so I decided to let them stay and bloom where they planted themselves.

Nigella damascena 'Love in a Mist'

poppy pod/Papaver somniferum

poppy/Papaver somniferum 'Lauren's Grape'

Woodland Tobacco/Nicotiana sylvestris

The Woodland Tobacco is another self seeder that grows where it pleases, and since I'm being lenient this year, if it's happy growing in the front of the border, even though it will reach a height of five feet, then that's fine with me.

Lobelia

Lobelia is an annual that has the good taste to plant itself always in just the right spot as a low growing edging plant.

Then there are the reliable perennials that return to bloom year after year.

Digitalis mertonensis/'Strawberry Foxglove'

Alcea/Hollyhock 

There are still a few hollyhocks left in my garden where they grow as perennials.

Columbine Aquilegia

Columbine are good little re seeders, but they are about finished for the season.

I can always count on the clematis for some much needed height and color.

Clematis 'Wisley' growing with Rose 'Lace Cascade'

Clematis "Harlow Carr'

Clematis 'Perle d' Azur'

Lonicera 'Honeysuckle'

Hydrangea 'Fuji Waterfall or 'Shooting Star'

While the beautiful succulent pictured below, a gift from my sweet neighbor, is blooming happily inside as a house plant, I wanted to include it, because I just love the little yellow rose like blooms. And to make it even more special, I learned that it is often given as a symbol of endurance and lasting affection. Thank you, V.A., for your kindness and thoughtfulness!

Kalanchoe/a succulent

Even though there are other May bloomers in my garden, I should bring this post to a close while it's still Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens to see what's in bloom in gardens around the world.

Happy Gardening and Happy Bloom Day!