Dude, it's a totally tubular Bloom Day
I’m dating myself here, but does anyone else remember the Valley speak of the 1980s? So many of my flowers this Garden Bloggers Bloom Day are tubular—perfect for hummingbirds and, as it turns out, perfect for surviving a hot, dry Austin summer. Aside from the heat-loving ‘Incense’ passionflower above, you won’t see any big, luscious, floppy blossoms in my garden right now. I use few tropicals, preferring a more Hill Country look provided by natives and adapted plants from northern Mexico, and showy flowers like the Oriental lilies that northern bloggers are celebrating would crisp up like bacon in our sizzling heat.
So here are the summer survivors. I’ll mark the natives with an asterisk for any central Texas readers who are interested in adding a few of these rad plants to their totally awesome gardens.
Rock penstemon (Penstemon baccharifolius )*
Mexican snapdragon vine (Maurandya antirrhiniflora )
Cigar plant (Cuphea ignea )
Mexican oregano (Poliomintha longiflora )
Flame acanthus (Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii )*
Pink skullcap (Scutellaria suffretescens )
Texas betony (Stachys coccinea ). Texans, you can count this one as a native only if you live in West Texas.
Majestic sage (Salvia guaranitica )
Turk’s cap (Malvaviscus arboreus )*
Bat-face cuphea (Cuphea llavea )
Lantana. This one volunteered in my garden, and I’m not sure what kind it is or if it’s native.
I do have a few non-tubular flowers in bloom also. This is Blackfoot daisy (Melampodium leucanthum )* That’s white skullcap to the left.
Pigeonberry (Rivina humilis )*
‘Belinda’s Dream’ rose—this is the only flower on the bush
American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana )*, one of my favorite native shrubs. OK, I know this is Bloom Day and all, but these colorful berries are standing in for flowers this month. I love this plant’s bright green leaves, which are very large for this climate, and its wands of purple berries that herald the end of summer. Ahh, sweet autumn, come on!
Another flower stand-in—the fascinating seedhead of ‘Duchess of Albany’ clematis*
Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea )
‘Valentine’ rose, a little hot and tired looking
Pale pavonia (Pavonia hastata )
You might think, from the images above, that my August garden is bursting with flowers. Well, no. The small, tubular flowers don’t make a large splash, and the garden relies on shades of green at this time of year. Here’s a look at the sunny front garden, in which a green “hedge” of bamboo muhly grass (Muhlenbergia dumosa ) along the fence, a low hedge of Mexican oregano, the spiky shapes of agaves, and the feathery shapes of ornamental grasses provide the interest.
The shadier back garden, with its small patio and the kids’ play area hidden off to the right, is a study in green. And brown—there are bare areas where plants have not survived the drought or are hunkered down and waiting for cooler weather and rain to emerge.
If you don’t have colorful flowers, you can always have a colorful shed!
Happy Bloom Day! To see what’s blooming today in gardens all over the world, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens.
All material © 2006-2008 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
As you know, almost all the sages do very well here, as are yours. If you ever get to Geogretown be sure to go west past Sun City to Forever Gardens. They have the biggest selection of sages around, close to twenty different kinds. They dont sell anything that doesn’t do well here. And their heirloom and found rose inventory is second to none. My own personal favorite nursery.
Thanks for the tip, Bob. I don’t know this nursery, but I will certainly pay a visit this fall to check it out. —Pam
A lantana volunteer–that’s something I’ve never heard of. I think that plant is native to Australia. (There’s an Australian murder-mystery movie named Lantana.) Don’t let the kids eat the berries. They’re supposed to be very poisonous.
Do you know Dicliptera suberecta? That’s another one that’s supposed to do well in Texas heat. The Annie’s Annuals catalog says so anyway: “it seems to really like the heat! In fact, it is reported to thrive in Texas & through much of the south, where the summers are really hot & humid”.
I thought of all y’all Texas gardeners when I read that. (I bought one for a container on my deck and it’s doing well, tho’ I forgot to get a picture of it for Bloom Day.)
There is a native lantana in Texas, but it’s an orange and red one. Yep, we’ve already had a lantana berry scare from when first kiddo was a baby, but it turned out to be a false alarm. I have a lot of poisonous plants in my garden, and I believe in teaching kids rather than banning plants.
I hadn’t heard of the Dicliptera suberecta, but it sure looks perfect for my garden. Thanks for the link. —Pam
I am still facinated with the glass bottles pillar 🙂 I love it. I would like to have similar, but we do not have blue bottles. It looks like a gigantic flower 🙂
Greetings,
Ewa
Hi, Ewa. Bottle trees are pretty common around here, and I’ve seen them with all colors of bottles. Green wine bottles are pretty too. —Pam
Do I remember Valley Girl-speak? Like, oh my god, TOTALLY.
*snaps gum*
Anyway, like, I was at The Natural Gardener this afternoon, and, like, they had this totally rad beautyberry limbed up into tree form. And I was, “Like, dude, TOTALLY.” Y’know? Having my beautyberry as a bush is, like, SO uncool.
‘Scuse me, I’ve gotta go tease my bangs into topiary-like shapes (and work on my own Bloom Day post). ;P
Ohmigod! A tree-form beautyberry? That’s TOTALLY bitchin. Dude, you have GOT to go back and take a picture of that gnarly plant and show us on your blog. Like, today, right? —Pam
With the heat and drought you’ve been dealing with, it’s amazing that you have *anything* to share, let alone such beauties (even roses!). I love the color of that malvaviscus, in particular, and the passionflower is just amazing, fer sure. Have a totally awesome Bloom Day, Pam!
I’m surprised by the roses too, few as they are. Just goes to show you how tough those old shrub roses can be. Hope you have a rad Bloom Day too, Nan. —Pam
We are thankful that so many of the Texas sages have made their way up north to give our gardens lovely color this time of year! Pam, your photographs are wonderful and the garden looks beautiful! Is the weather showing any improvement? Gail
Thanks, Gail. No, the weather is still in the triple digits, but the forecasters are teasing us again with promises of rain on Sunday and Monday. May it happen! —Pam
As dry as you have been, I am surprised that the Callicarpa looks so good. I have found that they need copious amounts of water. I will no longer garden without Lantana. I have one or two that are perennial, but I also plant the ones I know to be annual. They can’t be beat for summer color. I read that that all parts of the plant are poisonous including the berries – except when they are ripe. That is quite a survival strategy, making sure your seed is only sowed when it is ready.
I’ve found the Callicarpa to actually be pretty tough, but this one is well-established, its feet are deeply shaded, and it doesn’t receive much direct sun. I see them growing wild along the dry creeks in Austin’s greenbelts, so they are able to tolerate periods of drought so long as they receive shade.
As for lantana, like you I admire its late-summer beauty and toughness, but I’ve struggled to integrate it into my small garden. It tends to get big and sprawly, and I end up cutting it back, and then I eventually give up keeping it in bounds and pull it out. But then I miss that beautiful fall color. —Pam
Thank you for marking your native plants, it was fascinating even if I have never heard of most of them! Callicarpa americana I have heard of, there is one in the garden where I work (I work in the office!) I am not sure if it has berries yet – just been to look they are still small and green!
Thanks for sharing your lovely garden, Best wishes Sylvia (England)
Interesting that your office beautyberry hasn’t purpled up yet. Maybe it’s a factor of the heat, not the waning days? Anyway, thanks for stopping by, Sylvia. —Pam
Ohmygod! Way tubular!
I have what you call Mexican Snapdragon in red, but I have to grow it inside the house, by the backdoor which faces south. I adore those flowers, and I quite forgot to get a photo of them, as mine too are blooming now too.
The passion flower is incredible! I’ve got a cutting of one, but it hasn’t bloomed yet, and I think it’s yellow and pink in color. I’m hoping to see its flowers next year.
The beautyberry looks like a fun plant. Never seen one of those before!
A red Mexican snapdragon sounds really pretty, but then I love red in most flowers. I hope your passionflower blooms for you soon. —Pam
Those beautyberries are beauties, for sure! What striking color! Everything in your gardens looks wonderful.
Thanks, Nancy. It’s not my garden’s best season, but I know many gardeners say that. Looking forward to autumn’s “second spring.” —Pam
Even with a drought going on your garden still looks pretty good. We also don’t have showy flowers at this time of year and the garden is a mixture of greens grays and browns. I wish I could find some of your plants around here for sale, they would do great in my garden.
They probably would, Gintoino. Is mail order possible? High Country Gardens probably sells some of these plants. —Pam
Your post name reminded me of Fast Times At Ridge Mont High. (-: Good laugh for the morning.
110 here again today so you can imagine what is blooming here…Not much.
Your flowers are doing great. I do have the penstemon and cone flowers and they seem to bloom in spite of the heat(-: Oh, and of course Crepe Myrtle. That stuff blooms like crazy. I have several Rose of Sharons too. They do good in the heat also. The rest is just surviving but in lock down mode.(-; My succulents are doing great as always. I guess I need more of those.
You reminded me of my new crepe myrtle, which does have a few blooms. It’s a standby for summer color here in Austin too. I feel for you at 110 degrees, Cindee. Hang in there—fall’s on the way, well, eventually. —Pam
What a lovely bloom day for this dreadful year, Pam! Your shed and bottle tree and garden art add bright notes against the calm greens and blue-greens.
We seem to have different results from the same plants -my beautyberries have no color yet, the salvias aren’t blooming, a Texas betony croaked but all the cupheas and balloon flowers and ‘Mutabilis’ roses flaunt flowers.
A couple of plants that you gave me bloomed this month…the Anisacanthus seems to have finally ‘taken’ and there are two flower heads on the Agapanthus right now.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Texas betony can be tricky. I’ve lost some that got burned up in sun and others that got too much shade, I think. The surviving clump is in morning sun and afternoon shade. I’m glad those passalongs are finally blooming for you, and at a difficult time of year too. —Pam
What a great post… I wanted to try my hand at valley-girl-speak, but after reading Lori’s comment I’ll just bow to her expertise instead!
It’s funny that you mention that foliage carries your garden through the hot/dry days of August. I just posted something similar about my front yard garden, and mentioned how not much is blooming here. I feel kind of like a whiner now, though–our heat is NOTHING like yours! 🙂
Kim, I do my share of whining about the heat, so I can’t say a word. 🙂 I know that foliage is what really makes your garden shine all year. I look forward to reading your post. —Pam
By the way, any tips on the batface cuphea? I planted ‘Totally Tempted’ in a mixed urn this summer, and that is the ONLY plant in the arrangement that turned brown and crispy on me. Here I figured that they were tough customers since I see them in all of these Austin gardens… did I underestimate the amount of water they need, do they not like competition, or did I just get a dud plant, in your opinion?
When I received my first passalong bat-face cuphea from a neighbor, she told me it preferred afternoon shade in her garden. But I find that it actually seems to prefer more sun in my garden. In fact, the one in the front-yard garden is in full, blistering sun and gets no more water than any other plant, and it’s the fullest, best-looking of the three that I have. So it sounds like you got a dud. But maybe the cultivars aren’t as tough as the original? Annie in Austin is growing a ‘Totally Tempted.’ She might know more. —Pam
I can see what you mean by tubular blooms – you sure have plenty of those! Fascinating shape of the flowers, and in so many shades and colours!
And the Passiflora is gorgeous…and so is the American beautyberry, which I’ve never seen before.
/Katarina
American beautyberry has a huge range across the southern U.S. I wonder if it would work in your climate? —Pam
Fabulous Flower photos – thank you for sharing a piece of your world. Stop by and see my sunflowers I posted this afternoon. Back out to the garden.
Thanks, Bren. Sunflowers are people- and bird-pleasers, aren’t they? —Pam
Very nice tubular blooms Pam! I like the way you indicated the local Texas ones with an asterisk. That’s a great idea for your local Texas readers. I’m partial to the penstemons and salvia!
Me too, Dave. The hairs on those tubular flowers give them a cool, frosty look, even in the heat. —Pam
ohmigawd, I just totally planted a Beautyberry in that spot you told me to put it. It’s like, covered in little berry thingies. And I like totally LOVE that purple flowery passion thingie you snapped. Totally sick.
Awesome, dude. I’m glad you like the beautyberry, Robin. It’s such a beautiful shrub for shade, especially as fall approaches. —Pam
I grow many of the tubular flowers too, and I’m grateful you showed me the passionvine. I might not have planted it otherwise. Mine is really blooming for the first time now. Happy Bloom Day, Pam~~Dee
Which color passionflower did you choose, Dee? Aren’t they incredible, crazy blossoms? I never tire of looking at them. —Pam
Just wow. I have had the bat faced cuphea in my garden many times over the past few years. I didn’t get it this year and after seeing yours wish that I had bought it. It is an annual here of course. Your garden looks so good even after all the horrid heat your area has had.
Sometimes the bat-face is an annual here too, Lisa. Other times it returns. It just depends on how mild a winter we have. But I wouldn’t do without it now that I’ve tried it. —Pam
If I can count grapes as flowers, you can certainly count beautyberries as ‘flowers’ or color in the garden, too. You’ve found quite a few blooms in your garden for such a hot, dry August. I know you say it isn’t lush, but there is certainly beauty to be found there.
Thanks for joining in for bloom day! “Omygawd! It is like totally awesome that you would like join in for this event and way cool!” I couldn’t resist trying…
At this time of year, Carol, I’ll count anything with color, including sheds and bottle trees, as you see here. —Pam
Your title caught my eye, Pam, and I just had to stop by for a visit. All your photos are beautiful, but the passionflower is just stunning. Your garden might not have a lot of showy blooms right now, but it must be a banquet for the hummingbirds!
I was going to try some Valleyspeak–I do remember that–but I can’t compete with Carol and Lisa. Totally awesome post, dude:)
I love how game everyone is at trying to remember their Valley speak! Thanks for playing along, Rose. You are right that the hummingbirds love a lot of these August blooms. They definitely think they’re totally tubular! —Pam
Those plants are like so not grody! That Callicarpa is just so awesome. But that Austin weather? Gag me with a spoon, totally!
I know, right? We’re hoping for some relief by tomorrow or Monday. Just please don’t say, “As if!” —Pam
I just wanted to mention that Lantana camara is definitely not a native Australian plant: it’s one of our Weeds of National Significance, a Noxious Weed on steroids. I have the shudders just looking at your lantana photo. It’s a nasty, ugly thug here and is almost unstoppable. The sinister connotations are, I imagine, behind the naming of the book and film.
Wow, that’s a strong reaction, Chookie. I definitely have that reaction to a few noxious weeds in my own garden, but lantana isn’t one of them. While this one did seed out into my garden, it’s not considered an invasive plant in Austin, thank goodness, because many of us rely on its late summer color. However, I do remember the movie Lantana, and your comment gives new meaning to the title. Thanks for not running away in horror from my Bloom Day post! 🙂 —Pam
I SO want that beautiful passion flower! Your yard is so cozy and “cool” looking. The colors really do the trick. I try and have all sorts of other stuff to look at. Especially when it’s been dry and scorching hot as it was here up until a few days ago. My gardens for the most part looks pretty pitiful.
Brenda
Thanks, Brenda. It’s funny—I’ve tried to plant ‘Incense’ passionflower several times, but always ended up with a mislabeled plant. The other passionflowers were pretty, but this was the one I wanted. Finally, success! I hope you can find one too. —Pam
So the beautyberries aren’t edible? They’re just for beauty??? Gnarly! I especially like the Pavonia and Duchess of Albany. (Hey I’m not that far from Albany! maybe they will grow here!)
The mockingbirds find them very edible, JGH, and they’ll strip the bush bare by mid-October. I’ll enjoy them until then. Afterward I’ll enjoy the fat and happy mockingbirds. —Pam
Really nice tubular shots, Pam. Thank goodness for all the varieties of sage. These hot days are a test for any flowering plant… we are dependent upon colored foliage this time of year. Enjoyed the garden tour this month…
Meems @Hoe&Shovel
I don’t know how I’d do without the salvias. They offer so much color, fragrance, and butterfly/hummingbird attraction, and they require so little. Your colored foliage looks beautiful, Meems. A good substitute for flowers all year round! —Pam
Hi Pam! Dude, I remember waaaay before that! Ha ha 🙂 In spite of the drought, which I know must be very discouraging, your blooms are still looking lovely. Your southern tubular blooms fascinate me, and I want to grow them! That’s the obsessive gardener talking 🙂 I love the beauty berries. What a great color combination the berries and leaves are.
In answer to your question about exchanging some of your endless summer for our early fall…it’s definitely a deal!
I understand that obsessive gardener talk, Kerri. I want to grow those big, floppy flowers that I can’t have too. —Pam
What do I have to do to get my Blackfoot daisy to do THAT? Mine looks so sad and pitiful. I’m thinking about getting a ton of pigeonberry– how do you like yours? Your garden is beautiful, as always!
Thanks, Susannha. My advice on the Blackfoot daisy is to plant it in poor soil and leave it alone. 🙂 The pigeonberry is quiet and unassuming but nice and a good filler (though it does die back in the winter). I’m using it to fill in underneath some Gulf muhly grass. —Pam
Your garden is beautiful but I really love your shed. It is the same color as your passion flowers. I just love those vibrant blues.
Enjoy.
Thanks, Chigiy. That shed is all about fun local memories for me. It plays off the look of an old-timey dance hall in nearby Gruene, Texas (pronounced “green”). —Pam
Like wow, man. Groovy blooms! I thought I was trippin’ when I saw that passionflower. Totally psychedelic, man. Hey man, that hot, dry weather you’re having is such a drag. (oh sorry, wrong decade.) Peace!
You really threw yourself into the spirit of the 80s, Linda, so feel free to mix up those decades! Yes, the hot, dry weather is a drag, but we may be getting some relief soon. —Pam
Like, I’m totally bummed that it’s been so hot and dry for you there in Austin but your garden is so bitchin’ you make heat zone gardening like, no biggie. Awesome to the max, I’m like so sure.
Hee, hee! You guys are great. I suspect a lot of us have pics of ourselves in big hair and shoulder pads too. —Pam