June's End...

My neighborhood gets very quiet during the summer. The road past my house is a main thoroughfare for a high school AND a middle school, so a steady stream of cars each morning and afternoon is the norm. I like it, especially hearing footsteps in fallen leaves and catching snippets of conversation.

But by mid-June it's mighty quiet out there, and that's an interesting combination with the energy of the longer days. Things are more concentrated now, the gardens are settled for the season and I'm staying out of the mid-day sun. Shades are half drawn and the ceiling fan is on during the hottest days. The garden is more concentrated now too. The rains appear to have stopped, and we will have little if any more until October. I irrigate regularly, but at rather long intervals. Wimpy plants won't make it. Lush spring foliage is fading.

There will be more surprises in store later on, but for now these are the little gems catching my eye, starting with my wonderful Moroccan Poppy (Papaver atlanticum 'Flore Pleno') catching a Solstice sunrise...

The Meyer Lemon is enormously happy this year. It is going into a second round of blooms. This awesome little tree now has lots of ripe fruit, loads of green fruit, and bunches of fragrant flowers. If you can grow lemons this is a lovely one to have in a front yard.

Priscilla, Queen of the Redbuds (Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy') has outdone herself this year; now we're starting to see hints of her more modest summer coloration. She has easily doubled in size, must be getting what she needs.

OK, so I'm a little jealous of my friends who have chickens; one day I will have them too, but for now I will make due with succulents. Hens & Chicks have the most wonderful symmetry in their rosettes and their blooms; they remind me of fractals (and are so well behaved!)

First light is lovely on the New Zealand Wind Grass (Stipa Arundinacea) and Green Senecio (S. vitalis).

Almost done, the artichokes give me one last harvest of purple-thistleness. Then the once mighty beasts will be down to a few sprouts that will lay low until the fall rains come (cue the backup dancers!)

This combination is killing me right now; Bronze Fennel flanked by two Slender Veldt Grass (Pennisetum spatheolatum) with a chubby Blue Fescue (Festuca Glauca 'Elijah Blue') at its feet. All three difficult to photograph, but really happy together.

The first blooms of California Fuschia (Zauschneria californica) a snazzy little native that naturalizes well in dry areas like unirrigated park strips. The gray-green leaves are the perfect combination with that deep orange, nice!

On the other side of the tracks (in the shady courtyard) we have a first bloom on my Ghost Fuchsia (F. magellanica 'Sharpitor'). So delicate and lovely!

Mantis mania continues in the front yard; it seems like very plant has one or two! They're almost 2 inches long now, still no wings, and appear to be mostly females (so watch out, fellas!)

 Here's an interesting camouflage posture, "Can't see me, I'm a STICK!"

Uh-oh, this looks like the one that attacked the camera last time, better move along while I'm ahead! Thanks for visiting, see you in July... Happy Canada Day and Independence Day!

Bloom Day - June 2010

Whew, I'm late with my post this month, I usually do them the day before. But this is a true Garden Bloggers Bloom day: pictures taken this morning in this order! New this month is Nigella hispanica 'Curiosity' from Annie's Annuals which just started blooming last week. What a charming plant! I love how the flower color deepens over time, and the growing seed capsule spreads out and turns all twisty and black...charming and kind of creepy too!

The dwarf pomegranates have become sturdy little bushes; hopefully I'll get some fruits this year; they aren't good eating but they look cool!

I can never resist taking a peek at the collection of roses my neighbor has growing next to our driveway fence; they are a consolidation of the best from the previous owner's gardens, front and back, all in one place. This tiny single yellow is a particular favorite.

The volunteer Spanish Lavender is soldiering on; it's interesting to see the color variation among seedlings; some quite purple and some this pretty pinkish lavender. I'll be welcoming this anywhere it cares to appear!

Salvia gregii 'Caviar' is settling in out front, singing its siren song to hummingbirds everywhere.

From small round shoots a year ago, even the smallest Echeverias are flowering now.

Oh, this Moroccan Poppy was made to be photographed in early morning light. (Literally, on warm days the blooms sometimes last only a few hours!) I'd like to introduce this lovely to the lavender boys in the park strip, she has the same low-water needs, and would complement them nicely (that is, if you like orange and purple, which I do!)

Fragrant Frosty Pelargonium; what a winner. The flowers are small, but those crazy pink calyces are SO cute, and the fresh lemon-rose fragrance that exudes from every part of this plant is absolutely delightful.

Plus, Frosty even has a resident Mantis! Which is appropriate, since Miss Mantis 2009 laid her eggs here last fall. MantisOne is about an inch long now, and will probably live her entire life on this bush. I like this about Mantids; if they find a good spot they stay, rather than flitting around from here to there. They become part of the family over a long season. And we have a bigger family this year!

MantisTwo hangs out in the Pittosporum near the fountain; I need to clue her in that flowers are probably where it's at for the really tasty dining.

MantisThree lives in the Carex testacea near the front porch. Nice color matching, eh? These are actually mantis nymphs, as they don't have wings yet. Those are a few molts away.

Back to the flowers, in the back! Fuchsias are still doing their spinning ballerina thing.

Nicotiana sylvestris is already taller than I am and churning out the flora. The lovely lily-like fragrance of this species is very different from N. alata, but like its cousin, Syl is only fragrant at night or early in the morning (like when I was taking this picture!)

And speak of the devil, there's cousin Alata now! Playing very nicely with the 'Moonlight' Nasturtiums.

And then there's Nicotiana 'Lime Green' who looks like that cousin who's always getting into trouble! (Also from Annie's Annuals.)

The 'Pure Perfume' roses are looking exceptionally bridal just now, don't you think?

And yes, I'm still letting the pink Carpet Rose climb the Lilac. They're OK, no one is crying yet.

Here's what MY dreams smell like these days...

The purple Echeveria in the courtyard is putting out these almost kinetic flowers, you can almost hear them peeping...

Whoa, here's that Moroccan Poppy again, this time from the back. What a dazzler!

And speaking of dazzlers, it happened again! I was shooting these new Arbutus 'Marina' blooms when I had a little visitor! (Click on the picture to see closer).

Thanks for visiting my flowery garden today. And thanks, as always, to Carol from May Dreams Gardens for being the heart of Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. Visit her site for links to Bloom Day posts from all over the world.

"We can have flowers nearly every month of the year."
Elizabeth Lawrence