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