Fall Blooms & Color, Part 2

Continuation of the thread started by LindaTX8

Part1 is here:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/904955/

Podster, I sure need a virtual hug. :o)

A mountain sage that has been in the ground for about 3 years. It grows very quickly and becomes very large so give it plenty of space. Mine has bloomed on and off since the spring; however, it provides the most blooms in the fall. I have 2. It grows better and gives more blooms with lots of sun. The photo shows the start of the heavy bloom period. The bloom color is more vibrant than shown in the photo.

This message was edited Nov 22, 2008 3:55 AM

Hazel, is that a Salvia regla?

Copper Canyon daisy

Erythrina Crista-galli

forsythia sage

potted plants

variegated pineapple mint

have a great day

Wish I had some lovely blooms photos to post but as I don't, I will enjoy y'alls and send a special hug to you Htop!

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{ Thank you for always being so sweet! }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} I always enjoy your posts and miss you when you aren't able. Did the Malabar spinach do all right for you? Which location was the best for it?

Placenciarita ~ I am soooo glad you have so many lovely blooms to share! Thanks for posting them. I find the shorter days of Fall a bit sad but the plants seem to enjoy it and your photos perk me up! 8 )

frostweed, yes, it is a salvia regla. The stems become hard when the plant is larger and are branches. The bloom color did not upload well. I will take another photo when the sun is out because it is covered in blooms. They appear to be on fire when backlit.

podster, thanks for the hug and nice complements! They really cheered me up. :0) In a couple of months, I should be back on Dave's on a regular basis. I miss everyone. The Malabar spinach did great. I planted all of them in morning sun and afternoon shade on 2 lattices and an old étagère that has no glass shelving. Unfortunately, I did not take photos of them. The plants have turned a lovely maroon color now.

BatFace in Bryan, TX

Plumbago, my favorite plant EVER

That giant in the background is Cassia Alata

Esperanza, I just love my xeriscape garden blooming all the way into NovembeR

Butterfly weed this morning

Lantana this afternoon

Duranta

Granada rosa this morning

Beautiful blooms ~ Loveisagypsy... It appears well suited to attract the butterflies.

Amazing pics, as usual.

Here's Hot Lips Salvia (from Dde, RU before last) and a mum.

Thank you Podster :) We rescue dogs and one in particular dearly loves butterflies. He will lay on his back by the garden and watch them for hours. Salivia is what they see to love the best! My plumeria bloomed this morning :)

Clara Curtis Mums

Cape Honeysuckle

Hi Hazel! Long time no see, for both of us! I'd like to give you a virtual hug too, so ((((hugs to you!!!!))))

Your regla is beautiful! Mine did a little better this year than last, I'm really looking forward to next year. Here is a close-up of some blooms.

The Salvia Involucrata doesn't look like it will bear any blooms at all this year. Not certain, but perhaps it was just too whipped around by Ike.

My copper canyon daisy is just now finally beginning to shows signs of forming some buds!

Some Leucantha did make it through Ike, but it's pretty leggy. It was still nice and soft for Ella to feel.

The Salvia regla is magnificent at a distance and close up! My Salvia leucantha is in its' first year and spikey. Ellas' looks very lush. She looks like she wants to take a taste of it... I am tempted with mine too. Looks like grape koolaid. LOL

The butterflies were busy around the red firespike yesterday but I was too busy covering up for a frost. Never did catch a photo of them. Htop ~ is that a coral vine to the right of your mountain sage? It is pretty... mine is on the ground, compliments of IKE. It will come back though.

Why do all the lovelies wait till right before a frost to explode with blooms?

Pineapple sage...

Mary, Ella is really adorable, such a lucky grandma you are.
Josephine.

Thanks Josephine, I really do thank God for her!

Podster, since before she could understand what I was doing, I have tried to get Ella to appreciate the beauty and fragrance of flowers. She now makes a point of putting her nose up to flowers and then squinches her nose up and makes a sniffing noise (sometimes blowing out her nose though.) I was glad to get to show her the softness of the leucantha, so she can pick up on the different textures.

Here she is checking out the fragrance of lemon balm.

My Copper Canyon Daisy still is just sitting there. Wonder if the cold weather is stalling the buds?

What a delightful education you are both getting. She is learning to appreciate sight, smell and touch and you... you can see beauty thru the eyes of a child. What a delight. I love the lemon herbs and am sure she was delighted to smell it. A real sweetie!

maggiemoo, Ella sure has grown and is so precious.

I know that these are not native plants ;however, they are so pretty. I'll add some native plants when I have time to take photos. My Queen's Tears (Bilbergia nutans) are all blooming again. They bloom in January and February too. Here's the Queen's Tears 'Mini' (Bilbergia nutans). I really likeit because it does not grow so huge and is not as thorny as the larger size ones.

This message was edited Oct 29, 2008 5:24 AM

The bougainvillea blooms are so intense this time of year when the temperatures begin to cool some. These are in hanging baskets in front of my garage along with other plants in containers. I'll add other photos later.

Good Morning... don't you get me in trouble. 8 ) I saw some Queens Tears posted in the DG Marketplace and resisted temptation. Yours are beautiful! So is your "riot of color". The Bougainvillea is not one I've had any success with. What are the blooms to the right? I must admit that I like the natives but love a wide variety of plants and always enjoy seeing different ones. Hope you don't get frosty anytime soon.

podster, the one on the right is 'California Gold' (aka: California Sunset"). It is much prettier than the photo shows. It has just had just started a new flush of bracts. It has true yellowish gold, bronzey gold and pinkish gold. Below is a better photo of it.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/30548/

I have had all of them for years in containers. I really love the 'Coconut Ice' (2nd from right). It does not grow as fast as the others so far. However, it is in the original container that I purchased in. It needs to be repotted.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/86737/

Why oh why oh why can't I grow bougainvillea? I love it, must be really doing something wrong. :-(

How lovely! I've never seen them in those colors, only the fuschia tones. It is so unusual. I agree Maggiemoo, I have tried enough times to know I won't try again.

maggiemoo and podster, what problems do you have with them? I have my directions for growing them somewhere. If so, I'll try to find them if you would like to have them. The one with fucshia blooms is the most prolific grower and bloomer. Mine right now has very dark blooms and is the 2nd hanging basket from the left.

Here is 'After Glow' blooming last November (looks about the same now)...

I think mine was overwatering... If I decide to have another go at them, I will beg the directions from you. For now, I have drawn a line in the Bougainvillea sand! LOL

Hazel, I just can't seem to keep them happy. It always seems like they either get too much sun or not enough, too much water or not enough. I can't ever seem to strike that happy medium. I kept one alive - but never ever really "growing", and certainly never showing color - for about three years. It finally just gave up the ghost. I'm a pretty cheap gardener, and these are not plants I can get for less than $10 to $15, so I'm not real motivated to just keep picking up another one and trying again. :-(

What say you, O Wise One? :-)

podster, just let me know if you decide to try them again.

maggiemoo, every year I almost decide to give them away. Before the 1st freeze, I cut them way back so that they will be able to fit in the greenhouse and end up with lots of cuts from their thorns. Then, they keep growing and blooming in the greenhouse and take up a lot of room.
Because they do very well for me and they are so expensive, I just end up keeping them. I have had one die due to my not being able to move the huge container I had potted it in and I had forgotten to cover it during one hard freeze. They do not freeze if they are in the ground here. They do need full sunshine to bloom well. I will Dmail you the directions.

Growing up in San Antonio, my mom grew these. Her secret was to keep them somewhat root bound and give them Miracle Grow. Then we'd have to drag them into the garage when the temps dropped to near freezing or below. They overwintered in the garage with the door open on nice days. Then we'd drag them back out in the spring.

Oh, the memories! LOL

Stephanie