Early Summer In My Yard
June disappeared before I could finish showing you all of the flowers growing in my front yard. I covered the front flower bed here. I kept taking photos, but June soon became July before I could get the rest of my photos edited to post. Most of those same flowers are still blooming, since Mother Nature uses her own calendar. To introduce this post we will start with the goldenrain tree that blooms in June. It's still in bloom in July. See why I love to hate it here.
A Look at the Side Flower Bed from the Street to the House
It's amazing to me how fast this section filled out once I started planting in 2013. Before that it was almost empty except for a few gazanias and weeds. There was also a holly bush in the middle. Here's a peak at the section closest to the street before we planted it in 2013.
Here's the tip of the triangle as it is in June 2018. The lawn is brown due to water restrictions. The very tip is fruity teucrium. It appears something is keeping the drip irrigation from getting past the front flower bed by the house, and I will need to hand water this before it dies. I will also have to find out what's happened to the system so I can get it fixed.
By now you probably recognize the yellow gazanias, since they seem to be everywhere -- even in the lawn. Behind the fading irises is a miniature rose. The deep purple iris is still in bloom as of June 11, but is starting to fade.
Below is most of the rest of that bed. Use the irises as a point of reference. Crowding the irises from the left is the Spanish (aka French) lavender. I planted it after seeing it in bloom at Trader Joe's. It reached its peak in May, but there are still a few flowers. Although it's drought resistant, I'm sure the drought hasn't helped it, nor the broken irrigation. It's another plant the bees cover when it blooms.
Behind the lavender is the wormwood. It's not in bloom yet. Behind it is a rosemary bush that came from a root cutting from a plant in back. In fact, every rosemary plant you see in front was propagated the same way. It doesn't take long for those root cuttings to become huge shrubs.
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| Yellow Gazanias, Spanish Lavender, Fading Irises, Miniature Roses |
Let's take a closer look at the fruity Teucrium at the tip of the triangle. It's also known as bush germander. At least that's what the label said. I'm beginning to think it is really Teucrium chamaedrys "Prostratum because it certainly never became a four-foot high bush. I'm not disappointed because I really wanted it as a ground cover and this one plant certainly covered a lot of ground. It also seems to have overcome the tansy, which will bloom later, whose bright green fern-like leaves are competing for space. Read more about my experience with these plants I intended to be garden friends that complement instead of compete with each other..
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| Fruity Teucrium in Bloom, © B. Radisavljevic |
Normally this is covered with bees, but I didn't have the patience to catch one in this shot. They move so fast!
Moving Closer to the House along the Side Flower Bed
Most of the other flowers in the side bed are not in bloom or are also in other flower beds. Gazanias are everywhere, as is Lamb's Ears. What's different is the blooming sages. Here's an overview of the part of the bed with the most blooms.
You've already seen close-ups of gazanias, clary sage, and Lamb's Ears in previous posts here and on my Paso Robles in Photos Blog. Let's take a closer look at the black sage.
The black sage has almost finished blooming, but as of the end of June there were still a few small flowers left to attract the bees. Now all that remains are the skeletons of the flowers which held the seeds. This was taken on June 11. You can still see the tip of one small light purple flower near the center of the left edge between two stems.
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| Black Sage Up Close, © B. Radisavljevic |
Here's how that plant looked in April when more flowers were open.
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| Black Sage in Bloom, © B. Radisavljevic |
The dried flower whorls are quite fragrant. They might make a nice centerpiece that smells like sage.
Wild watermelon sage is still in full bloom and brightening the middle of my side flower bed.
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| Wild Watermelon Sage in Bloom, © B. Radisavljevic |
Wild watermelon sage requires little attention or water once it's established. It's happy even after this third day of triple digit temperatures, in spite of the drip irrigation being broken.
Here's another photo showing more of the plant and the way its flowers are arranged. As you can see by its leaves, the sages are related to the mint family.
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| Wild Watermelon Sage in Bloom, © B. Radisavljevic |
The other plant blooming in my side yard and all over my neighborhood is oleander. This attractive but poisonous plant is quite drought-resistant.
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| Oleander in Bloom, © B. Radisavljevic |
I have a long hedge row of red oleander along my side fence. Many of my neighbors also have one or more plants. Some have pink or white oleander shrubs. Click this link to see my photos of more oleander plants and how they change during the year.
The Flower Bed Beside the Garage
This flower bed is shady during the morning hours, but it still has enough sun for flowers to bloom. I have star jasmine all along the garage wall, and it really takes off in June. The bees love it. In the photo below, you can see the butterfly bush in bloom quite close to the garage wall. There is jasmine behind and in front of it, creeping along the ground. I have a much older butterfly bush plant in Templeton that has purple flowers. It got very tall and wide, and one year the wind blew it down. I thought it was a goner. I was surprised at how it adapted and survived.
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| Butterfly Bush Surrounded with Jasmine, © B. Radisavljevic |
Here is a close-up of the jasmine flower.
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| Jasmine Flower, © B. Radisavljevic |
I am also growing some transplants in pots in this flower bed. One of these is lemon balm which blooms in the early summer. The mother plant is in the pot, but more is growing around the pot where it appears the mother plant reseeded.
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| Lemon Balm Blooming in Early Summer, © B. Radisavljevic |
Here's a close-up of the lemon balm flower.
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| Lemon Balm Flower, © B. Radisavljevic |
The pink grapefruit yarrow is also growing in a pot in this flower bed. It was red in May, but is fading in June. The color seems to change with the weather.
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| Pink Grapefruit Yarrow, © B. Radisavljevic |
How many of these plants have you seen blooming in your area? Are you growing any of them?
