Late Summer Flowers

Salvia 'Black and Blue'

 

It's hard to believe it's already August! On Monday the current hot and dry spell broke with a storm that brought a decent amount of rain--what a difference it made! With this drought, the deer and rabbits have so little to eat that they've devoured most of my flowers this summer. Repellents and sprays don't seem to be doing much to dissuade them this year, and they've attacked plants that had been overlooked before.

So, I've been doing all I can to keep my plants out of their reach. The most sought out of potted plants have moved up onto the porch or the back deck. But of the other perennials in my yard, impossible to move, very few have escaped. 

Fortunately Salvias are not to the critters' taste and the hummingbirds love them. I saw one hummer early this morning feasting on the 'Black and Blue' and the magenta Salvia along my front walk.

 

Stella d'Oro daylilies.

I hardly saw any daylilies during their first flush of bloom in June--the deer devoured all of the buds--but now, one late bud of the Stella d'Oro lilies seems to have escaped their notice. A few others, like the pink-flowered Queen Anne's Lace (Ammi majus 'Dara') that I'd planted last year, have apparently also escaped their notice. I have plenty of the white-flowered wild variety in this part of the garden, but this is the first pink-flowered one I've seen.

 

Ammi majus in pink.

Queen Anne's Lace and deep pink phlox.

There isn't much in the way of flowers at a time when my garden should have at least a few, but here's a some.

 

Ageratum.

It's been too dry for the Ageratum, but some plants are blooming in the more sheltered beds. The Anise Hyssop I grew from seed has finally grown enough to present some blooms, although this morning I saw that rabbits had eaten some of my recently planted specimens.

 

Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)

The deer or rabbits also nipped most of the buds of my blue Lobelias, which usually bloom profusely at this time of the year. I'm hoping some will regrow enough to make a decent display, particularly if we get some more rain.

 

Blue Lobelias starting to bloom.

The Abelia 'Panoramic Color Radiance' has hung on only because of my watering, and is offering a few blooms now. Some of the leaf stems seem to be reverting to the ordinary leaf color rather than the variegated, but that can happen sometimes with these new hybrids or cultivars.

 

Abelia 'Panoramic Color Radiance'

The mint family does seem to be immune to browsing and the slender-leaved mountain mint is no exception. But the rabbits have been munching on the bee balm next to it, which they haven't done before.

 

Mountain mint (Pycnantheum tenuifolium)

With so little bloom what shall I photograph for the August Bloom Day coming up?

August Monsoon

Back yard during a thunderstorm.

 

After the prolonged drought of the past few months, August seems to be turning the tide with three powerful thunderstorms within one week, each dropping over an inch of rain. It's almost like the summer monsoons in the Southwest at this time of the year. Out there, the heat builds up during the day to give rise to huge thunderheads that drop incredible amounts of rain on the parched land.

The winds were so strong at the height of one of these storms, that our new cast aluminum bench (a corner of which shows on the lower right hand corner) got blown clear across from one side the deck to the other! The bench was originally by the railing all the way over to the left. Many of my houseplants summering on the deck were thrown off my new plant stands, some were even knocked clean out of their pots! Fortunately, the damage isn't permanent, they'll recover in a day or two.

 

Salvia 'Black and Blue'

Everything in my garden was looking pretty sad before the rains, but now everything is starting to revive. The Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue' just started to bloom. My Australian red lime has set some fruit, two nice-sized ones from the past winter and a few more this summer; I presume a change in color will indicate when the limes are ready to be harvested.

Australian red lime.

The deer decimated so many plants that I don't have much in the way of seasonal flowers such as the usual black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia)--this year's display is quite poor compared to last year's. 

 

Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm')

Impatiens in the front bed.

I planted these red and white Impatiens in the front bed after the Narcissus leaves began to dry and wither, but either deer or rabbits ate the Impatiens, so there 's not as much coverage as I'd hoped for. With the recent rains, these may yet grow fuller before the end of the season.

Herb's bed and the Little Indians

 

Every year I strip the early buds from the Chrysanthemums, but they still end up blooming much too early. This year I didn't touch the buds at all, and as you can see, the mums, the yellow ones in particular, are starting to bloom right now. The zinnias are still going strong too--I'll definitely be planting more next year, now that I know deer won't bother them.

 

'Benary's Giant' zinnias.

Great blue Lobelias (Lobelia syphillitica)

 My great blue Lobelias have started to put on their annual show--this location seems to be to their liking and they multiply more each year. The 'Pink Posie' Pentstemons under the 'Amber Ghost' Japanese maple are also blooming well this year. The Caryopteris 'Longwood Blue,' on the other hand, seem to have suffered greatly from the drought, and don't have many flowers, at least thus far.

 

'Pink Posie' Pentstemons.

Caryopteris 'Longwood Blue' in bed behind 'Pink Posie" Pentstemons.

 

I can only hope that the rains will continue and the fall blooming season won't be as disappointing as the summer has been.