Blooming

If you blink it changes. That is the way of the June garden; it comes at us fast and floriferous. While out frantically taking photos for this week's post, I honestly didn't know what the subject would be. Often times these things sort themselves out, however, and by scanning this week's photographs it was obvious that it's all about flowers right now. I consider myself a foliage lover above all else but who can resist a blooming plant? While Chickadee Gardens is primarily a dry garden that does not mean we're excluded from the flower club. In fact, I think many dry adapted plants have wonderful blooms and color. Here then is a look at a few of my favorites now in late June. 

Leptospermum namadgiensis is on fire right now. While it looked a bit crunchy after our brutal winter it has rebounded with soft green new foliage and a mass of charming white flowers with dark pink centers. While listed as reaching 8' or so my specimen has not topped 5' and this is after eight years in the ground. It is incredibly drought-adapted receiving no supplemental irrigation.

Aruncus dioicus, our native goat's beard, has been in several stages of flower the past several weeks. This particular specimen is just starting while several others in different parts of the shade garden are finishing. I adore this completely herbaceous perennial because it grows so large so quickly in spring and is still somewhat see-through. Its towering blooms show up well in part shade, too. Once these are established they are quite drought adapted.

From a week or so ago, the edge of the labyrinth is a mix of colors. I wish it were more harmonious but this color combination of yellow, red and pinkish is temporary so it's okay, meaning the blooms won't last forever. I'm rather fussy about color, admittedly, but sometimes the puzzle pieces don't fit exactly as one desires. However, it's not all about what I want, a humbling realization after decades of gardening. In my perfect world they would all be hot pink and orange or shades of yellow and blues. Still, this area is vibrant and full of pollinator visitors.

A wonderful little verbena that Maurice, my former boss and current dear friend, gave me cuttings of. I'm amazed frankly it survived in the ground through winter. No i.d. on this one. That color! Wow!

Callistemon 'Woodlander's Hardy Red' took a hit this winter but has rebounded nicely and is in full bloom right now. I have a few of these throughout the garden and I find they are rather shy to flower in my garden.

Ceanothus x pallidus 'Marie Simon' is a semi-deciduous ceanothus, a hybrid ceanothus likely with parentage of native eastern US species and west coast species. It is semi-deciduous, meaning if we have a mild winter it may retain some foliage, but really it's practically deciduous. Not that large and responds well to a hard prune, it reaches a few feet in height. A good candidate for mixed borders and handles summer water better than most ceanothus species - but give it good drainage. Very pretty and fluffy pink flowers with reddish stems.

Veronica longifolia in the meadow garden. It is a large perennial at about 5 - 6' tall, forming a lovely clump in time. I do find it sulks a little in really hot dry weather but otherwise is as easy as can be.

I had a little dianthus seedling show up in a nursery pot, so planted it out and now it's a 3' wide mat of low, evergreen foliage with a blue tint. I love little freebies.

Rosa moyesii is pretty in flower but it's the torpedo shaped orange hips later on in the season that I especially adore. This is a sweet rose that will get quite large. Good foliage, too.

Kniphofia thomsonii is my favorite kniphofia and really the only one I grow. I'm not a fan of most others to be honest.

Glowing blue purple of the old standby, Nepeta 'Walker's Low' in the meadow garden. While, yes, it does flop over after its first flush of flowers if it's cut back hard a second growth spurt gives more flowers later in the summer. Bumble bees frequent this plant throughout its bloom cycles.

Digitalis lutea is a bit of a thug. It is pretty and perennial - it also seeds itself liberally. The seedlings are easy to remove, though so it's not an issue. I like it for the pale yellow small flowers. These summer bloomers reach a few feet or so in height and form large clumps as they age.

Eryngium giganteum 'Miss Wilmott's Ghost' forest is growing and expanding and taking over once more. I swear I have this growing in the cracks of our driveway. I'm not joking. While I love it (so do pollinators), it might be too much of a good thing. I don't think I'll ever not have it, though, as there are millions of seeds in the ground at this point.

Several years ago I purchased seeds of Digitalis 'Camelot Cream' from Floret Flowers. A few grew but fizzled out and never got to size (my fault, not the seeds). A year or two ago I noticed digitalis seedling in roughly the same area where I planted out my miserable little attempt at growing this. I let these new mystery plants grow as I was curious (I tend to let unknown seedlings grow until I can definitively say what it is) and sure enough, in the mix of a huge purple pink D. purpurea are several Digitalis 'Camelot Cream'. I've been wanting white flowered foxgloves for a long time.

Daphne 'Eternal Fragrance' is a perfect little evergreen shrub. Except it's getting rather large for this spot.

It is difficult to get a suitable photograph of little Salvia arizonica but trust me when I say this is one of the best. It is totally deciduous, but grows quickly in spring. It also likes a bit of shade and can handle dry shade at that. Its pretty blue flowers stand out with the naked eye, not so much in photos. I am so impressed with this salvia and highly recommend it if you struggle with salvias fizzling out.

Spiraea betulifolia var. lucida, our native white spiraea. It's concerning to me that I see Spiraea lucida 'Tor' or just Spiraea lucida being sold as native plants. I've made the mistake of buying what I thought were the native versions at native plant sales only to discover they are either S. 'Tor' or just S. lucida which are native to Japan and Asia. I love the Asian versions, too, and they have their place in the landscape, but I think there is confusion about which is native. In any event both have fantastic autumn foliage color and white umbels of flowers. It's difficult to tell but I have both side by side and you can definitely see the difference. This, I assure you, is the native version.

Callistemon viridiflorus with Dorycnium hirsutum climbing through. I adore both, the callistemon is a great foliage plant especially. It was totally unaffected by our super low temperatures in January. The flowers are fantastic but unfortunately they only last for a few days then the show is over.

Single red groundcover rose that I took cuttings of from my mother's plant. I don't know its name but we bought it together at Heirloom Roses in the early 2000's. It's so clean and disease free, a real winner.

No i.d. lavender with very rich colors. Most lavenders are blooming right now and are very popular with pollinators.

Marrubium incanum, commonly known as horehound, is a small velvety perennial for really dry sites and full sun. 

Diplacus aurantiacus 'Jeff's Tangerine' is currently in full-bloom mode. Many of these fabulous southern Oregon and California native plants grace my garden. I lost only one this winter. They are usually evergreen subshrubs but in a bad winter can die to the ground and will more often than not resprout from the roots.

Wide shot of fading Phlomis russelliana flowers surrounded by a sea of white, apparently. Clematis recta 'Purpurea' on the far right, center right is Hebe 'Western Hills' and the pipe cleaner white flowers are Itea 'Henry's Garnet'.

Philadelphus lewisii, our native mock orange. This multi-stemmed shrub can reach 8' or so and has amazing fragrance. It does look a little scrappy as the summer progresses with disfigured, sometimes spotty leaves. I think good air circulation helps improve its health. I also give these a prune about every other year cutting the largest branches clear to the ground to keep it fresh and not too tall though it blooms on old wood so keep that in mind when pruning.

The last of the Penstemon pinofolius flowers at the edge of the labyrinth garden.

Sidalcea hirtipes is just getting going while its cousin, Sidalcea campestris is pretty much finished flowering. I note that the latter was in bloom starting in mid-April so has been continuously in flower for two and a half months.

Santolina 'Lemon Queen' with a Tetrapanax papyrifer leaf.

Penstemon subserratus is fairly new to the garden having been in only a year. It has had an evergreen presence although a little tatty at the base but its flowers are sweet and the pollinators seem to be attracted to them.

Achillea millefolium pops up here and there, especially in the meadow garden. 

Asclepias speciosa, milkweed, is just starting to bloom. While I have room for this beast I can see how it would overwhelm a small garden, though it is very pretty and supports a wide range of pollinators. No, I haven't seen any monarchs but I keep looking.

Tiny sweet flowers of Hebe 'Wingletye' mixed among Ceanothus gloriosus.

Cistus x platysepalus has been a champion against the hot reflected heat on the south side of our metal house.

Hebe 'Western Hills' is being a show off this year just covered in flowers. While I grow hebes for foliage as most gardeners do, this would convince me to grow it just for its flowers.

What do you think? Can drought-adapted plants have good flowers, too? Of course they can. There are many more that what is pictured here, I don't want to bore you with 75 photographs but trust me, drought adapted can be pretty. While this garden was designed from its inception as drought adapted (meaning lean soil, dry hot summers, full sun, sloped property and no irrigation system other than myself and FM), I think what lessons I have learned can help others who maybe have a drought adapted garden simply because the climate patterns are shifting. I'm here as your biggest cheerleader to say yes, there is hope and there are choices out there. 

That's a wrap this week at Chickadee Gardens. As always thank you so much for reading and commenting, we do love hearing from you and what you are up to in your gardens!