September 14th, 2007
GBBD 200709: Sep 2007
2007-09-15. Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day in Zanthan Gardens
Carol at May Dreams Gardens invites us to tell her what’s blooming in our gardens on the 15th of each month.
2007
April and September are the two big months for bloom in my Austin garden. In September, hurricane rains alternating with cold fronts blowing down the plains states bring the garden back to life after summer, beginning with the oxblood lilies. If you missed the oxblood lily day here at Zanthan Gardens, look at yesterday’s post.
This year we’ve had so much rain that the garden has been in high gear since March. The vines have been especially happy.
The coral vine has covered the fence and climbed over twenty feet into my neighbor’s cedar elm.
Most of the four o’clocks died back in the heat of summer but the hot pink one is fighting it out with the cypress vine to see which is the most aggressive.
That honor goes to Podranea ricasoliana variously called the pink trumpet vine, Port St Johns Creeper, and desert willow vine, the latter because the flower looks similar to a the desert willow. This south African native is on the banned list in Australia. I think it should be in Texas, too. I see one flower about to open. I might have to wait until late afternoon to see if it will qualify for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day this September.
The rose ‘Prosperity’ looks almost ivory in the early morning autumn sunlight. This flower is barely an inch and a half (4cm) across. In the spring the flowers have more blush pink tones. I find that roses often have more intense colors in the spring when the highs are in the 60s and 70s than in the fall when they are in the 90s. She’s the only rose which got can dieback last year that I managed to save. She used to half a dozen arching canes and now is down to one scraggly one. But she’s been blooming for the last couple of weeks so I hope she’s making a comeback.
I’m disappointed that ‘Heritage’ isn’t blooming today; she looked so lovely at the beginning of the month. Most of the other roses are flowering or trying to.
The garlic chives are still attracting wasps, bees, and moths. The orange cosmos are beckoning to the butterflies. As is the Duranta erecta.
Nerium oleander ‘Shari D.’ in full bloom.
- Abelia grandiflora
- Allium tuberosum
- Antigonon leptopus
- Asclepias curassavica
- asparagus fern
- Canna–unknown red from seed
- chili pequin–very few flowers but covered in fruit
- Cosmos sulphureus
- Dolichos lablab
- Duranta erecta
- Hibiscus syriacus
- Ipomoea quamoclit (cypress vine)
- Lagerstroemia indica–both the watermelon pink and the ‘Catawba’
- Lantana ‘New Gold’
- Lindheimer senna
- Malvaviscus arboreus
- Mirabilis jalapa pink
- Oenothera speciosa (pink evening primrose)
- Oxalis drummondii
- Oxalis triangularis
- Nerium oleander ‘Turner’s Shari D.’ — full, gorgeous bloom
- Plumbago auriculata
- Podranea ricasoliana
- Rhaphiolepis indica–Indian hawthorn
- rose ‘Blush Noisette–smothered by the cypress vine
- rose ‘Ducher’
- rose ‘New Dawn’
- rose ‘Red Cascade’
- Rudbeckia hirta — fading
- Ruellia (Mexican petunia)–dependable this time of year
- Salvia farinacea–most rotted out this summer; one little sprout has a wan flower
- Salvia leucantha (Mexican bush sage)–everyone in Austin has huge gorgeous displays; I have one sickly one trying to escape the clutches of the cypress vine
- Tradescantia pallida/Setcreasia (purple heart)
- Tulbaghia violacea (society garlic) Thanks, Pam!
- widow’s tears
- Zephyranthes grandiflora
Early Morning Updates
One flower on the Podranea ricasoliana DID open!
One rainlily (Zephyranthes grandiflora) opened. Despite all the rain this year, 2007 has not been a good year for rainlilies at Zanthan Gardens. Either they need to dry out between rains or they are still suffering from last year’s drought.
Most surprising of all is that the Indian hawthorn is blooming.
Indian hawthorn is a spring blooming plant. I have never seen it bloom in the fall in my garden or anywhere else. Have you?
by M Sinclair Stevens
September 14th, 2007
I do like those oxblood lilies. Thanks again for sending me some. Looks it shouldn’t be planted near that coral vine. That’s PINK!
And it seems everyone has “shy flowers” that just don’t quite bloom for bloom day. For me, it is the asters, which should be in full bloom in a few weeks and then they’ll be covered with butterflies.
Thanks for posting for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day.
Carol at May Dreams Gardens
Carol, you are so right! Nothing really goes with the screaming pink of the coral vine. Fortunately it’s growing on the side of my driveway and doing a good job of hiding an ugly old privacy fence of my neighbors. The oxblood lilies also have a color that doesn’t mix well. I guess I’m more of a plantswoman than a gardener. I love individual plants but I don’t know much about coordinating them and bringing “my look” together. This should not be too surprising from someone whose purse and shoes never match. — mss
September 14th, 2007
What a lovely long list of blooms you have. I’ve noticed that a little bit of rain makes all the difference in Austin Texas. 😉 Your rose Prosperity looks particularly lovely. Love that coral vine!
BTW my blooms are up too.
And looking as lovely as ever! You always have the most beautiful photographs. I have been wanting a chocolate cosmos for some time. I used to have the rose ‘Sombreuil’ and it is one of my favorites. When I start the new garden where two trees were just cut down, I think I’ll plant another one. Have your sweet peas been growing all summer? It is almost time to plant mine so they can bloom early next spring. They last only until March here in Austin. — mss
September 15th, 2007
Oh…you caught a Zebra Longwing on your Duranta!! Nice one, MSS.
It may be hot pink, but I’ve tried to grow coral vine unsuccessfully, cypress vine a little too successfully and now can see just why you wanted that rampant, invasive mess of a Podranea. Happy Blooms Day!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Thanks for identifying the butterfly. With your help I’ll soon learn them. There were two of them flitting around the Duranta all morning as I was mowing the lawn. I’m not sure about the Podranea. Mine hardly ever flowers and you’ve seen what a monster it is. Maybe that will change now that it is in the sun. — mss
September 15th, 2007
Beautiful blooms but that oxblood lily? Wow! Why do we covet those things that we cannot grow! I just saw a coral vine at a local garden center. I think I will have to pick one up for a house plant as they are just so pretty!
Good question. I always long for raspberries and apple trees. But we don’t have enough cold days for them to fruit properly. At least we get to visit each other’s gardens via blogs which enable us to garden vicariously all over the world. The coral vine is massive! With all the rain this year it’s climbed to the top of my neighbor’s cedar elm, about 25 or 30 feet. — mss
September 15th, 2007
Wow… beautiful blooms. I love your plant files, with the stories and pictures behind each one. I’m going to have to try some of that purple hyacinth bean vine myself.
I don’t know much about the Indian hawthorn, but I can chip in to say that quite a few spring bloomers up here were tricked into blooming twice because of the late April snow, followed by drought, followed by enough rain to even us out for the year. I have seen quite a few spring-blooming magnolia in bloom around Cleveland, and when I was at my family’s in the NW corner of Ohio two weeks ago my uncle’s magnolia was reblooming as well.
Thanks, Kim. I started the plant profiles before I got blog software. At the time (2001), I was frustrated because little of the information I was reading in books applied to my climate. Now there’s lots more regional gardening information…and of course blogs where we all can compare notes. I love the internet! –mss
September 15th, 2007
I have that same pink rain lily but can’t recall the name of it. I’m not familiar with the oxblood lilies but they are beautiful. Great blog! I love your design.
The pink rain lily is Zephyranthes grandiflora. Thanks for stopping by. It’s nice to meet new gardeners. Someone just reminded me that September 13th was Zanthan Gardens sixth anniversary. Not coincidentally, my first topic was oxblood lilies. — mss
September 15th, 2007
Those oxblood lilies are just amazing – the image in the previous post is just breathtaking! I saw Annie’s too (a gift from you I believe?). Your coral vine is nice – mine is climbing over anything and everything it can find – that pink rain lily is gorgeous too. I don’t know much about those, or the oxblood lilies, but I need to learn more.
September 15th, 2007
Call me crazy, but I actually like that hot-pink next to the red cypress vine. Maybe because the pink is hot, not cool. The rose is gorgeous—I hope she recovers for you. And the rain lily is beautiful too. My neighbor had a good showing of these in his lawn a few weeks ago, when he’d stopped mowing for a while just after the rains.
Like hyacinth bean vine, coral vine is another of those “tough” vines that I’ve managed to kill. Yours looks pretty though.
I haven’t seen flowers on an Indian hawthorn in the fall before. A neighbor of mine has a few of these shrubs. I’ll have to go take a closer look.
September 16th, 2007
The rainlily is stunning. I was walking in my neighborhood the other evening and was shocked to see a Bradford pear in bloom. I think some of the plants are a bit confused.
It’s been a confusing year for plants and gardeners alike.
September 17th, 2007
Your enmasse planting of the oxblood lilies is truly impressive. Wonderful to see plants not grown where we live.
That’s what I love about garden blogs…getting to share in gardens that are nothing like my own, which grow plants I can only dream of. –mss
September 17th, 2007
I just can’t imagine that little, little Prosperity rose. What a wonder. The rainlily is achingly beautiful. Do the neighbors mind the coral vine?
When all the buds on Prosperity opened up the next day, I thought it quite nice. I don’t think the neighbors mind the coral vine. It dies back to the ground every winter after the first freeze. That house is a rental duplex and the yard maintenance is extremely laid back South Austin. — mss
September 18th, 2007
Your pictures are amazing. what camera do you use? I especially love the Zebra Longwing picture and the picture of prosperity whose actual size I’m glad you mentioned because the picture makes it look lushly huge.
Thanks. My camera is a Nikon Coolpix 4300 which I find woefully inadequate. I can get a decent close up only in bright sunlight and it is slow to snap the shot after I press the button. I probably snapped 20 shots of the Zebra Longwing to get two that were clear. — mss