Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - August 2008

Last month I posted a list for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day at Annie’s Addendum because my camera broke.

Philo and I ordered a camera. The camera came. It didn’t work out. It went back. We’re still looking.

So it's mainly text in my official entry for Carol at May Dreams August Blooming Day. If you want to leave and visit the blogs with both flowers and cameras don't worry about it! This list is to help me know and remember.

Although I water the borders by hand every few days and the containers every day, some plants that bloomed last month are dead and others have no flowers. That’s not always due to heat and drought – many plants are now in the “off” parts of their bloom cycles, and others were cut back to regrow and perhaps rebloom in fall.

It's August! Even with relatively cool temperatures and early summer rain, last year’s Blooms Day post for August 2007 was still snoozeville for flower-fiends.

Any plant not on the July list but blooming in August has an asterisk.

Abelia chinensis - six shrubs – all with a scattering of flowers.

*Agapanthus sp unknown - Pam/Digging gave me some bulbs of agapanthus about a year and a-half ago. I have them in a very large container with a twisted willow. There are two flower stalks open in a lovely deep blue violet. I tried to capture them in this photo taken by the returned camera but the color and texture is all wrong.

Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii,, a native Flame acanthus, also came from Pam/Digging and now has a flush of bright orange tubular flowers.

Antirrhinum majus, – two plants of yellow snapdragons have survived and been in bloom since Christmas!

Buddleja lindleyana, Weeping butterfly bush, many long, drooping, lavender colored flowers.

Canna ‘Bengal Tiger’ one orange flower head

Capsicum annuum – a dozen pepper plants have buds, flowers and almost-ready peppers. The birds love the wild Chili pequins.

*Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, also called Blue Leadwort, has a couple of dark blue flowers just opened

*Clerodendrum ugandense – Blue butterfly flower. My friend Ellen gave me a start of this plant in spring. It made two large flower heads in late July. The photo was taken with a borrowed camera a few weeks ago - it's almost done now. .

*Clitoria ternatea- the Blue Butterfly Pea climbed the obelisk and is flaunting bright blue flowers. The Ipomoea Moon vine grows next to it but it got a late start and hasn’t bloomed yet.

*Conoclinium greggii Gregg’s Mistflower – just starting to bloom in front wildflower bed

Coreopsis 'Crème Brulee' (5 plants) has flowers but in fewer numbers than in July

Crocosmia, may be ‘Lucifer’ – sprays of orange flowers on 4 plants – but few buds left to open along the stems

Cuphea ignea, Cigar flower, covered in tiny orange flowers

Cuphea llavea – small pink & lavender form (two plants), covered in tiny flowers

Cuphea llavea –red & purple ‘Batfaced’, covered in flowers

Cuphea llavea 'Georgia Scarlet', covered in red-orange & purple flowers

Dianthus – a few pink and red ‘Telstar’ hybrids haven’t given up!

Echinacea purpurea alba? – a white coneflower with a few drying flowers left

Evolvulus glomeratus, the ‘Blue Daze’ are tough as nails and making flowers

Gaura lindheimerii ‘The Bride’ (two plants), still making a few small flowers on long wands

Gaura lindheimerii, unknown tall rose-pink variety (‘Pink Cloud’?), some flowers

Helianthus, might be a native? This 9-foot tall annual sunflower has more seedheads than buds or blooms right now.

*Hemerocallis ‘Pinocchio’ two flowers – can’t believe it

Hibiscus moscheutos ‘Blue River II’, a few buds – no open blooms.

Impatiens walleriana, bedding impatiens. More than a dozen plants, some with many flowers, some barely alive

*Indigofera amblyantha? A couple of flowers on the pink false-indigo – think that’s the right species

Ipomoea quamoclit, Cypress vine. Many red flowers open each morning and are fried by afternoon. The hummingbirds better be morning persons.

Lagerstroemia indica, pink crepe myrtles. Five were in bloom in July – the sixth has joined them.

Lagerstroemia x hybrida ‘Acoma’ white crepemyrtles (2 trees); they keep blooming if I deadhead

Lagerstroemia indica 'Catawba', in container. I cut off the old blooms a few weeks back and it’s made new buds and blooms.

Lantana, only the white trailing kind is blooming – the others are not blooming and the leaves look hideous– maybe the Lantana lacebugs are sucking them dry.

Lavandula intermedia 'Provence', I cut it back a couple of weeks ago and it’s reblooming

Lavandula multifida, non-stop flowers on this fernleaf lavender. The plant is 8 times the size it was when planted in spring. Too bad it doesn’t smell like lavender.

Liriope muscari, in flower around beds both front, back and side.

Lobularia maritime, Sweet alyssum – one plant still blooming from late winter

Lonicera sempervirens, coral honeysuckle (a couple of flowers)

Lycopersicon lycopersicum, even the ‘Juliet’ grape tomato has slowed - just a couple of flowers

Magnolia grandiflora 'Little Gem' (one bud up on the top)

Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii (two plants), It’s doing well in the back border – barely alive in front woodland garden.

Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii, a few white flowers on two plants. It survives, but the plant has terrible form.

Oxalis crassipes 'Alba' (dotted around and in containers), several blooming

Pelargonium – the coral geranium inside and the red ones on the patio are still flowering. I hope the white ones are “resting” and not “dying”.

Pavonia lasiopetala, pink rock rose. This is a native plant. Every morning there are pink flowers. Every afternoon the flowers dry up. Even thought this plant has plenty of sun and some supplemental water, it’s always covered in mildew. If I had to look at it from the breakfast room window it might be compost, but it’s by the mailbox so I don’t care.

Perovskia atriplicifolia, Russian Sage (two beds), stressed but still not giving up.

Petunia multiflora? Two flowers. I can’t believe it’s even alive!

Phlox paniculata, one plant of my Grandma’s white phlox looks in bad shape – the other one has put up one stalk with a flower.

Platycodon 'Fugi White', (one plant); Platycodon grandiflorus (several plants), Platycodon 'Miss Tilly' (3 plants); Platycodon 'Sentimental Blue'- I keep deadheading and watering these Balloon Flowers and they reward me by pumping out blue and white flowers.

Plumeria sp unknown the red and yellow plumeria have one flowering branch each – they live in large containers that stay in the garage for the winter.

Plumbago auriculata (two shrubs) these two shrubs are over 4-feet tall, growing on either side of the back door and covered in sky blue blue flowers

Poliomintha longiflora, Mexican oregano (3 plants), two have flowers, one looks unhappy. I use the leaves to flavor black beans

Portulaca – assorted Moss Roses and Flowering Purslanes – still hanging on and blooming in red, orange, white and coral

Rosa ‘Julia Child’, no open flowers but a handful of buds

Rosa 'Mutabilis' (two good-sized plants) I keep watering these roses and they keep opening new buds every day.

Rosmarinus officinalis 'Prostratus' – a scattering of flowers

Ruellia brittoniana 'Katy'-a few flowers

The ONLY SALVIA that is doing anything is Salvia farinacea…even 'Hot Lips' kissed off Bloom Day

Scabiosa columbaria ‘Butterfly Blue’ - 4 flowers. This plant was blooming in January…blooming in August…and every month in between.

Scutellaria suffrutescens, pink skullcap (2 plants), lots of tiny blooms

Scutellaria wrightii- a few blue flowers on one of 3 plants

Tradescantia geniculata -still making many tiny white flowers on little water

Verbena bonariensis – produces both flowers for butterflies and hummingbirds and seedheads for goldfinches.

A few plants of white Zinnia linnearis and some rose-colored Zinnias have flowers.