Bloom Day & New Additions

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day is technically on the 15th of every month so it is a rare occasion that my blog posts are published on that exact day. Bloom Day highlights what is blooming in the garden each month, and since there are a few choice flowers in bloom this week I decided to share some images with you all, as well as a few recent additions to the garden despite the Bloom Day post being two days late.

This colorful flower is Gaillardia x grandiflora 'Fanfare Blaze'. The nursery I work at carries it, and I was so impressed with how many bees it attracts that I decided this relative of our native blanket flower is a worthy addition.





Pelargonium sidoides or African geranium in full bloom. I have featured this plant before, however it's worthy of another photo this week as it has performed so well in our super-hot summer.


Sedum 'Matrona' in full swing. The bees go crazy for this plant, as the flowers are very easy for them to access. I also really like the color and the contrasting dark flower stalks.


Bletilla striata or hardy ground orchid. We saw this shade plant at the garden of Sheila Ford Richmond in her Hood River garden recently. It had such a presence and since it's hardy I had to add it to my shady border, too.


Salvia Suncrest 'Lemon Light', a sweet new addition to the sunny yellow border.


My first go at planting a begonia tuber. I had doubts but this thing is a cascade of reddish-orange and has been blooming consistently since June. I was quite pleased at how easy it was to grow. I literally stuck it in a hanging basket and kept it damp, that's it. I am officially a fan, thanks to the Outlaw Gardener whose begonias inspired me.


Another salvia, the old staple 'Black and Blue' - half hardy and I discovered this summer that it is a bit of a water hog. 


Abutilon 'Lucky Lantern Red', a nice pop of color against a very green backdrop.


My reasoning for placing it here is to pick up on the bench color.


Dicliptera suberecta or Uruguayan firecracker plant. This was a Xera Plants purchase from last year. Totally deciduous, it did come back larger and stronger than last year. It's in full sun---pretty much what it prefers. I have a second plant in a bit more shade and it's healthy, just not blooming.

As seen against a darker background to show off its form and color.


Nicotiana - not sure of the species as they have all seem to cross-pollinated. Whatever it is, the hummingbirds have been quite attracted to this plant all summer long. It just keeps pushing out the flowers, it's a great background plant.


A sweet little Begonia sutherlandii purchased last year. Totally hardy in my zone, it did come back and has spread a bit, much to my delight. No tuber digging required here, it was left in the ground all year.


Since this is all about blooms, why not add one of the vegetable persuasion. A cucumber blossom, one of many. This plant keeps cranking out the cucumbers.


Asclepias tuberosa or butterfly weed. This too has been a favorite of both butterflies and bees this summer and has bloomed continuously since June.


Sweet little native Aster douglasii. It does seed around, oh my, but I don't mind. I hope the neighbors don't either. This is another great pollinator plant and blooms non-stop from about May to first frost.


The waxy blooms of Echeveria nodulosa.


Zauschneria californica 'Bowman', another hummingbird and pollinator favorite.




Our crape myrtle is still blooming its head off.


Sweet little Coreopsis 'Moonbeam', a great clear, lemon-yellow bloom that keeps on going all summer long.


Erodium chrysanthum, a sweet find from Xera Plants. The gray-green foliage is reason enough to grow this tough sun-loving perennial, but then late in the season these sweet pale yellow (nearly white) blooms show up.


Although I've planted Guara in my garden before, it has since died. This is a volunteer (likely a seedling from a neighbor's plant that drifted my way) and I like it so much I let it be. Anyone who has grown this can attest to its versatility in the garden as it hardly takes up any room with its airy wands of butterfly flowers.


Solidago 'Fireworks' or goldenrod is finally in bloom. This mass of flowing flowers starts blooming about now so makes a very valuable plant for late-season color as well as a wonderful pollinator plant.


Knautia macedonia, a plant I cut back earlier this summer after its first flush of flowers. Now it's putting on a second show against a backdrop of Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition'.


Aster ageratoides 'Ezo Murasaki', purchased from Cistus Nursery a few years ago.


The other Abutilon - I think it's 'Smoked Salmon' from Xera Plants.


Blossoms of a sweet potato vine in the purple garden.


Now for some new additions to Chickadee Gardens:
A recent purchase at Ikea of all places, Cycas revoluta or sago palm. Not a palm at all, it's actually one of the most primitive plants on the planet. I would like to think it's happy as it's putting on new growth.


A new purchase, Geranium renardii 'Whiteknights'. I like it's thick, small leaves with an almost white outline in the light.


Aloe 'Pink Blush', I separated some 8 little aloes from the one plant.


Here's a new addition purchased at the nursery where I work. It's Eupatorium 'Elegant Feather', a kind of Joe pye weed.

It's so interesting and adds a nice vertical element to the garden. I look forward to watching this one grow.


Grevillea lanigera 'Coastal Gem', an evergreen prostrate form of grevillea with small pinkish flowers. Another find at the nursery.


Here's a treat - an evergreen succulent vine. Do those three words ever go together? Here is the only circumstance I have known this to be true. A very special vine from Cistus Nursery, Cissus incisa 'Guadalupe'. Not planted yet, but once it finds its home I'll keep you posted with its growth.



Canna 'Intrigue', another purchase from the nursery. I love the dark leaves and really don't mind if it never blooms. It adds some much-needed vertical spikiness to this area.


See what I mean? Good contrasting dark color to the orange border.


Last but not least, Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' - with such subtle color.

As summer fades away into autumn, I am grateful to have these last few bits of color to admire. I do look forward to a change of seasons. That said, I welcome the (hopefully) abundant rains of fall and winter to replenish the garden for another year. I waited until the end of summer to really add anything new as it was such a hot period. Adding or moving anything seemed a nearly impossible task, so it was with great pleasure that I planted these few little additions.

That's it for this week at Chickadee Gardens. As always, thank you for reading and until next time, happy gardening!

Comments

  1. So many great plants, I'll limit my "wow" comment to only two: Pelargonium sidoides and Erodium chrysanthum. Wow! I'll have to look for the Erodium as it's hardy here too. :)

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    1. :) Those are good "wows", Alan. Thank you! The Erodium is very very cool, I hope you find it. Maybe I can send you one if you don't :)

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  2. I bought a Cycad a couple of years ago, that was also pushing out a new flush of leaves. It lived all last summer, but didn't produce any new leaves, only now it's starting to produce new growth again. It seems to be on an unexpected growth cycle. I love Pelagonium sidoides. I started a bunch from cuttings, but they're not far enough along to bring to the fall exchange. I'm going to overwinter them in the greenhouse and then bring them to the exchange next spring.

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    1. Yes, I've heard they go in growth waves, I seem to have hit one just right. Pelargonium - I LOVE it, this is my second go at growing it, the first got too wet in the winter, I think. Yes, bring cuttings, everyone will grab those this spring.

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  3. You've made great additions to your garden. Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' is one of my all-time favorite succulents - in bloom and out of bloom. I wish I could find the 'Fanfare' Gaillardias locally - I've only seen them in catalogs.

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    1. I'm glad to hear you say that about Graptovera 'Fred Ives' - I fell in love with the color and it's quickly becoming one of my favorites. I don't know how but if I can send you a 'Fanfare' I will....they are so very very cool.

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  4. Great selection! I love the whole vignette of that red abutilon, the red bench, and the green wall. I just added Erodium chrysanthum to my garden last week. Thank you for reminding me to try hardy begonias again, now that the deer are banished from the garden. Ah! You got one of those Cissus! That's so exciting! This is the first time I've actually seen one of the plants I propagated purchased by someone. Thank you! I'm pretty sure that orchid is actually a Spathoglottis, which also goes by the name of ground orchid, like Bletilla, but it's not frost hardy. Where did you get it?

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    1. Yay for Erodium! It's a winner. So...you propagated the Cissus? Am I missing some fact like you work at Cistus? :) I LOVE it, in fact Loree, Patricia and I all grabbed the three that were there leaving none for the other shoppers...sorry everyone! I'll check out the orchid again, I do hope it's hardy. It was listed as Bletilla from the grower...hmm....I got it at Drake's where I work.

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  5. Such fun to see what you are bringing home from the nursery (talk about temptation). I'm over the moon for that G. renardii.

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    1. Oh, I know, Rickii - it's terrible. I have a weekly budget to keep me in check. Ask Anna and Gina about their plant addiction.... :)

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  6. So many beautiful and some unusual plants you show here. The Aster ageratoides 'Ezo Murasaki' is a beauty, the Zauschneria californica is exotic to me and how about that Uruguayan firecracker plant also new to me. Sigh......a lovely post with lost of exciting plants.

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    1. Thank you Janneke! Lots of crazy things here that we can grow, we are very lucky! Thanks for reading and commenting...how's it going in The Netherlands?

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  7. I've always loved that yellow erodium. And, ooh, that cissus...

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    1. Oh, the erodium is gorgeous, such a sweet plant with little to no maintenance. I'll keep you posted on the cissus!

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  8. My mom has had that yellow salvia for several years and it's a workhorse. I've yet to find one for myself.

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  9. Aster ageratoides 'Ezo Murasaki' Has anyone tried to contain it to a curtain area? how is it Pruned????

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    1. Hmmm....good question as far as containing it. I had it an area surrounded by pavement, so it was behaved there. I just cut back all the dead growth in late winter or early spring. It IS vigorous, however, so if you don't want it to spread, I would put it in a large container or with some kind of barrier around it in the ground.

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