May flowers from A (agave) to V (vitex)

May 27, 2016


As the days fly toward summer, the daylilies are showing off their lovely throats…


…and blushing, ruffled petals. Here’s ‘Best of Friends’.


The first ‘Apple Tart’ smolders among the white-striped flax lilies.


Stretching on long stems like giraffe necks, ‘Wilson’s Yellow’ daylily stands tall amid grasses and aster foliage.


Chaste lilac (Vitex agnus-castus) blooms extravagantly in clusters of rich purple.


Firecracker fern (Russelia rotundifolia) revs up as the days grow hotter, dazzling the copper snake.


And what’s Moby, my whale’s tongue agave (A. ovatifolia), up to? The lowest two tiers of flowers are now open.


The banana-like buds have opened into a densely packed fringe of golden stamens.


They’re quite lovely.


It’s like a flowering tree has erupted from the center of the agave!


Two annual ‘Black Pearl’ peppers (Capsicum annuum) overwintered (the garden didn’t get a hard freeze this year), and they’ve already bloomed and produced their distinctive black, glossy, berry-like peppers. The nearly black leaves are just as striking.


Heartleaf skullcap (Scutellaria ovata), a lovely, summer-dormant native groundcover, is at peak bloom, its lavender spires standing tall over pewter leaves.


And my sweet boy Cosmo surveys his domain from his favorite perch, one of the stucco seat walls, at day’s end.

I welcome your comments; please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading this in a subscription email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post.
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Digging Deeper: News and Upcoming Events

Tomorrow: Come see me at Festival of Flowers in San Antonio, May 28, 10:45-11:45 am (new time!). Get inspired to save water in your garden during my presentation at San Antonio’s 19th annual Festival of Flowers. I’ll be at the book-signing table after the talk, with copies of both The Water-Saving Garden and Lawn Gone! available for purchase. Tickets to the all-day festival, which includes a plant sale and exchange, speakers, and a flower show, are available at the door: $6 adults; children under 10 free. Free parking.

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15 responses to “May flowers from A (agave) to V (vitex)”

  1. MaryL says:

    So much variety and so beautifully photographed. I admit to plant envy! Those Black Pearl peppers, oh my! They did bring up a question: bird poo gifted me with a little pepper(?) I’d like to get identified, I have no idea where to go or who to ask.
    It looks like a native, it’s so scraggly, thorny, totally “uncivilized”, lol. BUT I love it because it is a mockingbird magnet. Even in winter with no leaves they are all over it. Kind of like catnip for mockers! No other birds go near it. Any advice on who to ask?
    I am determined to compete with the mockers this year to get a few seeds so I can sow some more, despite negative family comments about nutjobs that sow weeds!

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Mary, try Mr. Smarty Plants first. If it’s a native, they should be able to identify it for you. Otherwise, maybe take a sample of it, or a really good picture, to the Natural Gardener’s help desk to see if they can ID it. Good luck figuring out what it is! —Pam

  2. So much pretty, going on there….including Cosmo. Well, he might prefer handsome.

    Have a good…and, safe…Memorial Day weekend.

  3. Renee says:

    That picture with the skullcap is gorgeous! Such a great color combo with the shed behind it. Happy memorial day weekend!

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Thanks, Renee. I like the way that area turned out — finally. It took me a few years of plant combos that didn’t work to get this dry-shade area to this point. —Pam

  4. Cosmo looks like a statue I used to have. He is quite handsome. Looks like he might have had bloodwork done?? or surgery?? I hope he is ok.

    Love that black pepper and Moby is quite striking. Do you know how long it will take him to finish his life cycle? Will you keep the big stalk after it dries? I think it would be a striking object someplace.

    • Pam/Digging says:

      You have sharp eyes, Lisa. Cosmo had a recent dental cleaning, with an IV, which is why his leg is partially shaved.

      I don’t know what Moby is up to or how long it will take, but I’m guessing it will be another month or two of flower drama before the plant fades. The stalk would be quite a souvenir, if I find a reason to hold onto it. —Pam

  5. Kris P says:

    I’m thinking I’d like to leave this world like an agave when the time comes – in a blaze of beauty and glory.

  6. Caroline says:

    I really like that ‘Best of Friends’ daylily – she’s a beaut. Austin’s Vitex look particularly grand this year… I’ve never understood how it can be deemed both invasive and a Texas Superstar!

    • Pam/Digging says:

      That’s a good point, Caroline. It does perform beautifully in our climate, but I worry about it escaping into our wild spaces. I cut the flower clusters off before they go to seed in order to alleviate that concern. —Pam

  7. Alison says:

    I saw my first daylily and my first true lily open in my garden yesterday here, which seems really early to me. Our crazy weather. When we first moved here 8 years ago I tried growing that Black Pearl pepper, and it didn’t like the cool summer. I need to try again, I bet it will like the hot, early, dry summer we’re getting now.

  8. You have a wide variety of lovely blooms in your garden. I love seeing Moby’s blooms up close and personal – the whole process really is amazing.