- Author: Kathy Thomas-Rico
I tend to forget what colors to expect in my backyard when summer blooms come along. By the time summer arrives, I have forgotten what we planted the previous autumn. This year’s blooms have arrived, and they are overwhelmingly … orange.
Orange is one of those colors: either you love it or hate it. I know one Master Gardener who shuns orange-colored blossoms altogether. Some green thumbs may seek out nothing but orange (or rust or peach or tangerine) blooms or even foliage (New Zealand flax, coral bells, for instance) for their yards. I’ve managed to gather a crazy quilt of orange bloomers, and, you know what? I like ‘em!
I put in a lion’s tail mainly because I love the type of flowers it puts on, aptly named (they look like a lion’s tail!) whacky whorls of true orange. Bees and hummingbirds LOVE this plant, and the bright orange blooms light up the area around the tall perennial.
Two daylilies I’ve put in have turned out to be stunningly orange. One is a darker, almost rust colored single bloomer; the other is a ruffled double bloom, in true, bright orange.
Our agastache that draws hordes of hummingbirds is commonly known as sunset hyssop. It is a sherbet-toned bloomer that glows orangish-pink. And the California fuchsia, which will continue to bloom deep into the heat of summer, is a fire-engine reddish-orange, and, boy, do the hummingbirds love it, too.
Perhaps the most orange of all is the Calibrachoa ‘Dreamsicle’. This one I planted just a month ago, solely because of its color. It shares a pot with a stately purple bloomer (Angelonia angustifolia ‘Serena’), and the color combination draws my eye every time I step outside.
Maybe I should map out my plantings by color. But I have to say the surprises summer brings are much more fun.
- Author: Launa Herrmann
When our family moved from the Bay Area to Vacaville five years ago, I looked forward to warm fog-less summers sitting beside the swimming pool in our small backyard. But I found out that sitting is a rare occurrence since seven 20-year old Redwood trees (Sequoia sempervirens) and three Crape myrtles (Lagerstoemia indica) border the pool. When my husband and I aren't scooping out cones and needles, we're glaring at the myrtle trees bursting with aerodynamic blooms fit for the slightest breeze.
We determined that this year would be different. By late-July we hatched a plan to conquer the blossom drop. Before the petals started falling, we started pruning. One by one, flower clusters plopped onto the walkway. By day’s end our green-waste can sat at the curb like a stuffed Thanksgiving turkey. My husband and I sank into our faux wicker chairs with pretzels and cokes in hand. We grinned from ear to ear, thrilled that these skinny-dipping blossoms were history. Finally, time to relax.
“Hey, Honey, we'll have a clean pool for a couple months before the autumn winds shake down the dead redwood needles,” I told my husband.
Wrong. By Labor day, I was staring at Crape myrtle buds—again. In fact, they sprouted from every single cut our pruners had made and by mid-September the trees were thick with flowers. Oops, I had unknowingly coaxed a second bloom out of the trees. Next year we'll return to our usual once-a-year early spring pruning regime of removing the prior year’s seed capsules, enjoying the flower show—and putting up with the maddening scattering mess.
- Author: Sharon L. Rico
It’s such a pleasure spending time in the garden, especially this time of year. Even with our erratic weather, we have color and life everywhere. The garden is abundant with vegetables and flowers. We have been busy the past 2 months harvesting cherries, followed by peaches. A couple of days ago, I pulled the yellow onions, cleaned and trimmed them for storage. The ‘Big Boy’ and ‘Juliet’ tomatoes are providing us with tomato sandwiches and salads. The zucchini is trying it’s best to hide from our searching eyes. The last one was about a foot long (oops). Eating outdoors just about daily is the best summertime treat and a relaxing way to catch up on our daily activities. Listening to the splashing of our water features, watching the bees and hummingbirds-zipping back and forth. What a treat. The dahlias are blooming in several corners of the yard and these blooms have been cut and placed in a vase gracing our kitchen island. The begonias, in pots and hanging baskets are glorious. As busy as we are each day, enjoying the fruits of our labor, is the best feeling. There is no better time than “the good ole summertime” and right now we’re enjoying every minute of it before it’s over.
- Author: Marime Burton
It’s a pleasure to look out my upstairs bedroom window on dark summer nights. I look down on two beautiful white rose bushes growing in my neighbor’s garden across the street. Any time there’s a moon they become luminous. They truly glow in the dark!
Anyone who has access to the UCD Arboretum on a moonlit summer night can share my neighborhood experience on a much larger scale. A walk through the “ Carolee Shields White Garden” near the west end of the arboretum is a magical experience, made more so when there’s a full moon. Designed in the style of a Japanese Moon Garden it’s also the location of a lovely gazebo, popular for weddings.
White flowers of many varieties bloom in all seasons. They’re beautiful in the daylight too, of course, but moonlight sets the White Garden apart from all the other themed Arboretum landscapes. Its ethereal loveliness is worth the trip to the UCD campus.
It’s a bit of a walk out there, depending on where you leave your car, and somewhat remote from main campus areas. A flashlight and a companion are necessities, and selecting a night when the moon is expected to be especially bright is a plus!
- Author: Carolyn Allen
This spring I have been surprised by blooms from plants that I didn’t think bloomed and/or haven’t bloomed since owning them for the last several years. The first delightful bloom came in May. I have owned a night blooming cereus (Epiphyllum oxypetalum) for many years, reveling in its short lived, oh-so-fragrant, night-time blooms in late summer.
At a succulent show, I purchased several different epiphyllum hybrids (often called epis) after being told they have spectacular color and bloom during the day in spring. The flat, leaf-like stems are a medium green growing 18”-30” long with an average width of 2”-4”. While succulent like, epis like regular water and bright light or shade. They also need protection from frost. After 3 years in my greenhouse, one bloomed with flowers of two different colors on the same stem (the flowers bloomed one after the other). Each bloom was 8”-10” wide and lasted for 3 days. While not fragrant, it was still quite a sight!
Next, my Sansevieria trifasciata laurentii (commonly called Mother-in-law’s tongue, Snake plant) put up a 12” flower spike and bloomed! I’ve owned this plant for at least 10 years and really didn’t think it bloomed at all (if I’d done some research I would have learned differently). Since I haven’t repotted this plant in many years, its overcrowded roots certainly got my attention in a most beautiful way! This easy houseplant likes bright, indirect light, completely dry soil between watering (to almost no water in winter), and ¼ strength complete fertilizer application in summer. Watch for spider mites and mealy bugs. Maybe it will flower for you too.
Lastly, just this week I saw that my Cuban Oregano (Plectranthus amboinicus) has put out a bloom. This is the 3rd year this plant has been living with me. It has struggled as I gave it too much shade initially, then I failed to move it into a warmer location when winter came. It has been happily filling out the pot it’s in, so I’m happy to see it bloom. Hopefully I will have more than one spike as I saw a hummingbird circling the plant. This strongly pungent perennial is drought tolerant, but frost tender and reproduces easily by cuttings.
So my patience (or is that benign neglect) has been rewarded this spring.