So I was thinkin' of a name this morning for the hodge-podge collection of photos I was tryin' to turn into a real, bona fide blogpost. Being truly in love and completely enamored with the month of August, the name "August Rush" popped into my brain. Of course, it did. But then again, I already used that name in a post last year. So I altered that old title a bit today, and I'm just gonna gush and gush about my wonderful August garden.
Anyway, I pulled up that 2010 post, just to see what was goin' on a year ago. What a different post I have created today! Different photos for sure...but even the garden is a bit different. Those Tibouchinas I featured....Well, we pulled up the old princess flowers this past winter (boohoo!). I didn't even realize I missed them until I saw the photos. But, yes, they did have to go. They just took too long to recover from freeze damage. Oh, and the Jatropha in that old post.... Wow, the same creature is a foot or two taller in the garden today. I would tell myself that it is because last winter was not so bad compared to the previous year.... But then I see that 'Cobra' ti plant. Oh my, it looked quite amazing in that old post. Today, in my garden, it is still struggling to regain its beauty, post frost damage. It has leaves at least, but they are dull and boring green still. Hmmm..... Jack Frost certainly has no rhyme or reason in this garden.
One of the greatest things about summer at PITV is the return of the Allamandas. Now, I know these do not burn back in winter everywhere. I know because I see them in local "city" landscapes where they thrive. But here at PITV, they turn completely black in winter and must return from the roots. So, yes, we are thrilled up to our eyeballs with their progress here in August!
Of course, high summer is high crape myrtle season as well! What a different place this garden is when the crapes are in bloom! Pictured is 'Sioux.'
I have two 'Natchez' crapes as well, and they have grown quite enormous, as crapes go. The branches have grown so heavy with those giant bloom balls and are weeping earthward. I really don't have the heart to chop them off, so I just stoop a bit to walk under them.
August is peak powderpuff season as well. I did look back and noticed that I chose the Dwarf Powderpuff as August Plant of the Month last year. Hmmm... I can clearly see why. Powderpuffs love summer!
Oh, and the winged beauties of Florida love Dwarf Powderpuff as well. Can you find the camouflaged critter in this photo?
My, she is really camera-shy!
There, that's a better pose! It's a Cloudless Giant Sulfur Butterfly!
Salvia are also attracting the winged wonders.
Bees hover around the blue beauties all day long. Can you blame them?
Oh, and this Gulf Fritillary also enjoys a taste. Not a great photo, but ya know, I just love the undersides of the Fritillary's wings! Aren't they beautiful?!! Like stained glass.
The Corkystem Passionvines are fruiting in the garden, providing food for the birds. But it is the passionvine's leaves that are adored by the Gulf Fritillary cats. That's the only reason I allow this weedy vine to clamor about in my garden.
Pictured above is a relatively new addition to my garden. I picked up this reed-stem orchid (Epidendrum radicans) at a local Farm & Feed store. It is a passalong sort of plant, which is my favorite type of plant of all, because I know it can't be killed. Of course, as I've watched it spreading itself about in the surrounding soil the past couple of months, it does make me wonder if it will become a problem someday.....
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Wow, your allamanda is real big considering it was burned back in the winter. I think mine is different type from yours since the leaves on mine is narrower. Even in my area, it got frost bite easily. For me, maybe it is a good thing since I don't want it grows too big as long as it blooms in the summer!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love your picture of the back of Gulf Fritillary. I was finally able to get some picture of Gulf Fritillary this past weekend, but only a couple of came out clear :)
I also have that reed-stem orchid. And you are right, it keeps growing more new plants from the stems. I have been giving them away to friends. The flowers are beautiful, only it is a little difficult to keep it in a neat contained form.
I love the photo that has orange canna lily and white crapes flowers together. Beautiful combo!
Your August garden is something to gush about FG. I meant to say nice things about your LP rose in your last post but I got all convicted about not enjoying my garden just for enjoyment's sake. I can't wait until my own LP gets huge like yours. And, I find it good news about the reed stem orchid. I added one to my garden this spring and if it spreads like you say, wonderful for me! Love all the butterfly shots. When my lens unfogs I'll have to try for some. (After just walking through and appreciating of course.)
ReplyDeleteFG: If you would like to try desert rose one more time, please let me know via "contact me" page on my blog. I can send you some desert rose seeds from mine once they are ready to harvest. I found they are not difficult to sprout, although you might have to be patiently waiting for a couple of years before they bloom.
ReplyDeleteIf you put them in the container, it will be easy to bring them inside when it gets cold :)
I do love allamanda's, too, and remember them well from my childhood. Their waxy flowers are so simple but beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYou can't beat crapes for their summer blooms. Natchez is my favorite. Love the photo of the sulphur butterfly. I'm going to have to breakdown and get me a dwarf powderpuff. My sister used to have one of the large ones and it was a real chore to trim back each year. Do you see hummers on it?
Your August garden certainly looks great in the heat!
Yeah, there are three different types off allamanda I see in the garden centers here. I have the larger bush allamanda in my garden (A. nerifolia). It grows to six or seven feet tall and wide. My sister has a more compact plant with narrower leaves, but I'm not sure of its name.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy to have found that reed-stem orchid. Passalong plants are so hard to find. I'm learning, though, that farm & feed stores are a great place to find them.
@NanaK: I've found it takes about three years for a rooted Cracker Rose cutting to get to a decent size. But it will most certainly happen. There are a couple of hedges of LP roses in commercial landscapes in a nearby town, where somebody keeps them trimmed nicely. I love the effect...they still bloom prolifically, if you trim them at the right time (at the end of a bloom flush). I just really lack the time and discipline at this point in my life, though, to be out there sculpting hedges. Things are pretty wild here.
ReplyDeleteThis epidendrum actually makes little plantlets with roots on the old bloom scapes. They fall to the ground and become a new plant...or you can snap off the baby plant and put it elsewhere. Does yours do that?
@Ami: Thanks for the offer. I am actually a very bad container gardener. I honestly don't know how people keep plants in containers. In my garden, they need far more water than plants in the ground. They all inevitably die. I do have a few container plants, but not many.
ReplyDelete@Susan: Personally, I love the Dwarf Powderpuff. Perhaps I haven't placed mine in the best spot, but I still love them, and yes, the hummingbirds and butterflies do as well. My mom and sister both have the ginormous powderpuff. It is a very different beast, and they do indeed create a massive dead hole in winter. I actually wanted the big one, but when I was looking for it, the dwarf was all I found. Now I'm thinking it was good fortune. The only problem I have with them is that they do spread a bit, but not so bad that I can't control them (yet).
ReplyDeleteI have the same orange/yellow canna as you do. A neighbor gave it to me last year and it really spread this year.
ReplyDeleteGreat shot of the Gulf Fritillary. I agree the underside is so much more interesting.
I've been out pulling weeds in the front lawn flower beds...not really weeds. We partially have that grass(besides the St. Augustine) that spreads like crazy...don't know what it's called...not thick blades like "good" grass. I am constantly pulling it out of the flower beds..not the fun part of gardening. Looks like no rain today. Maybe I'll get some work done.
I've been weeding all morning myself...just came in about 12:45 p.m. The sun is SO BRUTAL. I became overwhelmed by it a couple of times and had to take breaks in the A/C, just at the very moment before death found me. I was sick for several weeks this summer, and this old body has not recovered as well as I had thought. Ugh. I feel beat up right now. Anyway, if I hadn't been laid up for so long, I don't think the weeds would have been in such a jungle state today. I am proud, though, that I can see my plants again over on that south side. : ) Now I need to set aside a day to lay mulch.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest weed problems are grasses as well...purple nutsedge, Alexander grass, and weedy bermuda grass are the worst here in my garden. Where in the world does it come from?????!!!!!!