Gerhard’s extracurricular bloom day

When I posted a bunch of photos of the front yard the other day, several people were surprised that I have so many flowering plants—which is understandable because I rarely write about them. I vowed to be better about it, so here are some more photos of plants in flower right now. Since I seem to always miss Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day, which is on the 15h of every month, consider this an early July Bloom Day post.

I should preface this post by saying that it was 103°F (40°C) here just two days ago. In light of that, these plants are holding up quite well, I’d say!

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What better way than to start out with a mystery plant. In April, I scattered the contents of a “dryland seed mixture” on parts of our new desert bed. This is one of the plants that came up. The flowers remind me of Berlandiera lyrata, but that’s definitely not it. Does anybody know what it might be? UPDATE: Based on reader feedback, I’m fairly certain it’s plains coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria).

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Our compact Texas ranger (Leucophyllum frutescens ‘Compactum’) is in bloom. I find it it difficult to photograph this extremely heat-tolerant shrub in an attractive way, but take my word for it, it’s beautiful!

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Leucophyllum frutescens ‘Compactum’

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In its second flowering cycle since I planted it in April: yellow bird of paradise (Caesalpinia gilliesii)

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Modest but beautiful in its own way: California fuchsia (Epilobium canum ‘Everett’s Choice’)

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Agastache mexicana ‘Acapulco Orange’ (not looking very orange, but hey, that’s what the plant tag says!)

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LEFT: Cosmos bipinnatus    RIGHT: Another mystery flower from my “dryland” mix. Any ideas? I like it so much, I’d actually plant it on purpose! UPDATE: Based on what Sue and Laura suggested in the comments below, I’m fairly certain it’s baby’s breath (Gypsophila elegans).

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I posted a similar picture the other day, but I just love this white-flowering lavender. It gets better by the day!

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Gaura lindheimeri ‘Siskiyou Pink’. The Echium wildpretii on the right is done now; I’ll cut it down on the weekend and collect as much seed as possible.

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This is a new planting so there’s a lot of bare dirt still visible (the yellowish leaves are from the Bambusa chungii ‘Barbellata’ nearby). The purple is Salvia greggii ‘Violin Music’. The yellow is a trailing lantana, Lantana x ‘New Gold’ I literally just planted it three days ago.

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Pig’s ears (Cotyledon orbiculata var. orbiculata) blooming next to Aloe cryptopoda

About that “dryland seed mix:” I made a point of saving the envelope. In fact, I put it in such a safe place that I cannot find it at the moment. I’m sure the info on the envelope listed the species that were part of the mix, but I don’t have access to it at the moment. It’ll probably show up when I clean house in preparation of moving into an old folks’ home!

Comments

  1. Beautiful! The first picture looks like some sort of Coreopsis. Report back when you find the seed packet?

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  2. The second one (white flower, on the right) looks like cerastium tomentosum, or snow in summer. I agree with Katie that the first looks like a coreopsis, maybe plains coreopsis? All your flowers are gorgeous!

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    1. Renee and Katie, I think you're spot on. Plains coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria).

      The white one looks more like Gypsophila elegans. Cerastium tomentosum isn't as tall.

      Thank you your valuable input!

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  3. I got muddled with the dates there for a moment when I read your title say bloom day. The white flowered Lavender looks elegant, added to our watch list. 40C, stay cool!

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    1. LOL, glad I managed to confuse you too :-)

      I've fallen hard for white-flowered lavenders. Will add more to the planting strip along the front of the house.

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  4. The yellow daisy is either Coreopsis tinctoria or basalis, the white is gypsophila elegans. They are both cool season annuals in our climate, and will poop out by the end of July.

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    1. Great guesses. I think they're Coreopsis tinctoria and Gypsophila elegans.

      Both look great after our mini heatwave last week. The Bradford pear behind them gives some protection from the afternoon sun. Keeping my fingers crossed they'll last beyond July...

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  5. Never trust plant tags unless they're attached to the pot! (and even then question...)

    Every year I resolve that I won't plant Gaura lindheimeri again (I've never had one survive a winter) and every year I see your photos of it and buy one soon after. I think I have a good place for it this year that will make it through the winter... :)

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    1. Glad I'm not the only one who's seduced by gauras. There's something about the way they move in the breeze...

      MoBot says they're hardy to zone 5 so you *should* be able to overwinter them in a sheltered spot.

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  6. Love all your mix of flowers Gerhard. Your mystery plant could by Gypdophil ? Baby's Breath.

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  7. Well close to it but maybe not. Same family of Gypsophila . Darn auto correct.

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    1. Auto-correct and I don't get along either :-).

      Yes, I think it's Gypsophila elegans.

      Delete

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