Blooms in September -- Town Mouse


Just look at this!


Before we come to the main event -- the blooms -- do look at the drops blooming on the Chondropetalum tectorum, a South African reed grass, above. Yes, we had a real rainstorm down here, with 0.22 inches recorded close by. I admit I cheated and made all my photos yesterday morning (Sept 14) but it was just too inviting to go out for a stroll.


While out on my stroll, I was delighted to find Galvezia speciosa (Island snapdragon), a beautiful native from the channel islands, is finally putting out some blossoms. The small red blossoms delight the hummingbirds and the garden visitor.


Salvia clevlandii, a native sage, is pretty much done for the year and has donned its grey summer foilage, but I did discover a single blossom. And the fragrance of the leaves after the rain was wonderful. I do wish multimedia was not limited to image and sound and I could share.


As I walked on the path between the plum tree and the salvias, I stopped in my tracks. Three fine lines of spiderweb, at least 8 feet long, led to a web near the salvias. The spider was hoping for insects that might visit the salvia, still blooming quite prettily.


Further on, the native Eriogonum fasciculatum (narrow-leaf buckwheat) was still blooming abundantly behind the wine-barrel water feature. I've been very happy with this plant, which thrives in dry conditions and blooms profusely for months.


Sedum 'Autumn Joy' is also quite happy with the current minimal water regimen. I love how the flowers change color over the course of the fall, from white to pink, red, orange, and finally rust.


Japanese anemone was planted by the previous owner in two areas in the garden. I've worked on eradicating the plant in one area, where it was spreading and becoming a weed. But in the other area the plant is well contains and delights with beautiful blossoms on tall stems in September or October, when most other plants are done for the year.


Finally, the fall-blooming native every California gardener needs: Epilobium canum (California fuchsia). I have several versions of this plant, some 5 feet tall, others mounding, some bright orange, others salmon colored. They will bloom into November, and the hummingbirds come by every day.


And now that I'm done with my stroll through the garden, I'll go over to Carol at May Dreams Gardens, who invites us all to share our blooms on the 15th of every month. I'll have a look at her garden, and then I'll visit a few other gardens before I head off to work.

Thanks for inviting us, Carol! And thanks to all who share their garden.

Comments

ryan said…
The rain was a surprise to me. So glad to receive it. The flowers look nice, especially that nice Japanese Anenome.
Michelle said…
Wasn't that rain wonderfully refreshing! It smelled soo good. You've got such lovely blooms, so difficult at this time of year for me. Those Japanese Anemones are pretty... awful, good luck getting rid of them.
Japanese anemone is just asking for a compliment! It is pretty. Never seen California fuchsia before. As for the spider, I don't remember other year when we had SO many spiders in August-September.
Helen said…
It's nice to see that even on far sides of the continent, gardeners can share things in common: raindrops, orbweaver webs and Sedum 'autumn joy'. Thanks to both City and Country Mouses.
Brad B said…
Great pics. I still can't believe we had rain in September. Though my new front yard was very happy. I didn't take any pics myself. Don't know why. Love the anemone.