Smiling Faces for GBBD (Town Mouse)


Right now, much of the garden is going to sleep. Yes, some bright blue Agapanthus is still beckoning the hummingbird, with Epilobium canum (California fuchsia) available for dessert. But the ferns and the rhododendron don't look happy at all, and the bright green of spring seems a distant memory.

All the more exciting to be welcomed by some big yellow faces in the garden. Above, a California native sunflower (Delta sunflower) has been blooming for six weeks and is still inviting happy bees. Another wonderful surprise is this.


Yes, Rudbeckia Californica lights up the shade. I planted this new arrival in May in a container because I knew that it would need a little more water than most of the garden gets. And a little soak once or twice a week has been richly rewarded with bright yellow flowers.


Finally, a new Grindelia stricta (western gumplant) is not blooming impressively but holding its own in a fairly dry part of the garden, and I'm hopeful that its smiling faces will multiply next year, welcoming me home after a long day at work.


And that's all the blooms I want to share today. Instead, I hope I'll find a little more time this month to visit other gardens. Tomorrow I hope to visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens and see how everyone else is faring with the hot summer we've been having.

Comments

HELENE said…
Your sunflower is lovely, they always make me smile :-) I haven't got any this year, didn't get around to sow any, and that was probably just as well with all the rain and lack of sunshine they probably wouldn't have done wery well here in London but yours look great!
Anonymous said…
Such a sunny post. Love the yellow at this time of year.
That rudbeckia californica is some cool. Resembles cut-leaf-coneflower. So... where do I get seeds, Your plant looks far more suited to my dry sand....
Andrea said…
We seldome get yellows much more so of blues here in the hot tropics, but we frequently get the reds and orange. Of course those colors are warm colors and we are totally that! Sometimes, i am tired of our warm colors, i want to see the subtle ones like yours.
ryan said…
That's great. i've always meant to grow these. I saw huge impressive patches in Yosemite a few weeks ago. Beautiful.
Jason said…
I'm also a big fan of perennial wild sunflowers. Your California species are beautiful.
Anonymous said…
All your yellow flowers look so cheerful. Your new Rudbeckia has the same coloring as my 7' tall 'Herbstsonne;' I love those green centers. -Jean
BernieH said…
Fabulous bright and cheery yellows. They certainly lift the spirit.
scottweberpdx said…
I love that Rudbeckia...so subtle and elegant!