Granted, it was hardly a rain of biblical proportions, but we did get some precipitation over the last few days.  The plants are visibly relieved!  I was really annoyed when I read my last Christopher Lloyd book because every page had some detail about the weather.  I understand it better now.  At some point the weather is ALL that matters.  My whole garden focus has changed because of the hot and dry spell we’ve had the last few months.

Starting plants from seed can be extremely rewarding or sadly disappointing.  The forget-me-nots I started have teeny tiny flowers and aren’t likely going to find their way into the garden.  However, the Geranium bohemicum seedlings, while not what I expected, are charming.

The flowers are not big and showy, but the color is good and the foliage is very attractive.

Speaking of attractive foliage, here are some potted plants whose foliage is super pleasing:

Very impressive giant leaves on this Paulownia tomentosa seedling–just in its second year from seed

Always impressive, this cane begonia from brother Tim will reach 6′ in a good year

This pelargonium is called Petals, which is ironic, given its puny floral display against its amazing variegated leaves.

This is a seedling pelargonium, so the flowers are less showy than the cutting-grown hybrids.  The leaves are gorgeous, though, and a perfect contrast with Petals and Grossersorten.

Not a lot of flowers here, yet the display is lovely.  The heat and dry have not impacted the pelargoniums at all!

My brother calls the clearance area of nurseries the “Dent and Diddle”, and we always head there first when we visit a plant store.  The above begonia is an example of what a discounted plant can turn into!  This is the third year I’ve grown this plant and I enjoy it more every year.

And while we’re on begonias, take a look a this beauty, also a late-season Dent and Diddle find.  This is Begonia boliviana:

Below are the lovely leaves of Dioscorea battatas, a tropical vine that I worry might be not so tropical and invasive in the ground.  I keep it in pots and it is lovely, especially this year in all the warm weather.

Below are a bunch of flower pics that I’ll just post quickly.

Echinops ritro.

Althea syriacus shrub blooming for the first time–love this color.

Weedy as they are, I can’t help but love borage.  The blue is true, and the form is graceful from every angle.

I’m not the only one who thinks so–just ask the bees!

Below are the berries on the Voodoo lily (Dracunculus vulgaris).  All of them set hundreds of seeds this year, no doubt due to the heat.

Below is one glorious flower from a flowering maple (Abutilon megapotamicum) from brother Tim 

 Another of the Eucomis hybrids I grew from seed.  This is my favorite, with the purple centers and graceful spikes.

Streptocarpus still blooming strong in the greenhouse–a riot of color!

Dietes irioides, the Fortnight Lily, is blooming in the greenhouse.  There are ten flowers on this iris relative that are about to bloom.

The flowers on this seedling abutilon are less showy than the Bella series, but it is putting on a good show right now.

Pelargonium Grossersorten blooming in the greenhouse.  I take cutting every year and intend to place them all in patio pots, but inevitably they end up staying inside and blooming happily the whole summer.

The Griffinia continues to bloom–eight flowers on this spike.  I’m hoping for a second spike, as the plant has spread nicely, but no sign of more flowers yet.

 

 

Oxalis triangularis blooming.  The flowers are elegant and the leaves are impressively colored.

 Fuchsia “Cardinal”

 Fuchsia “Janice Ann”

 

 

Another pic of Roguchi–so beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 

95 Degrees today!  Seattle is hot and dry and it is stressing out the plants.  I’ve watered every day that I can and I’m trying to carry the plants through the worst of it, but it is touch and go.  For sure, the shrubs I planted in the Douglas fir bed are looking pretty wilted, but a few minutes of sprinkling brings them back a bit.  Similarly, the pumpkin vines, which I always thought loved heat, have been collapsing in the heat of the day, so I’ve sprinkled them to bring them back.

Amidst all the heat-caused chaos, some treasures are blooming.  My favorite right now is  the clematis Roguchi:

In the greenhouse, the little amaryllis relative, Griffinia liboniana has quickly thrown a flower spike:

And even more quickly, it bloomed!

Lastly, the Eucomis hybrids that I grew from seed about six years ago are blooming.  Here is one impressive spike:

I harvested my fava beans yesterday and cooked them up–will eat them for lunch tomorrow.  I ripped the plants out of the bed and fertilized it with Happy Frog before planting seedlings of the Wonderberry there I had started in the greenhouse.  Apparently, these are Solanum retroflexum (formerly Solanum x burbankii, a hybrid originating from the great Luther Burbank).  See more info here.

It is too hot to do much other garden work, but cooler weather is coming next week.  I’ll look to get some chores done (and document them) next week.

After weeding the Douglas fir bed last week, I realized there was a lot of room for new plants in there.  I impulsively went online and ordered some plants I thought would do well.  They landed yesterday and I planted them tonight–all smallish starter plants, but strong and healthy and I got them all for less than $100.  First I watered and planted, then I watered more after just to make sure the poor starts have a chance!  Our dry Seattle summers are not ideal for starting a planting, but I will watch and water and hope that they all make it.  Here’s what I planted:

Towards the edge of the circle, I planted:

3 Aster oblongifolius “October Skies”–I love asters as much for their color as for the timing of their bloom–and I love the way they spread!  This bed gets enough sun that I think these will do great if they survive the summer.

1 Clethra “Hummingbird”–as soon as this cultivar was released, I wanted it.  The start I received is already blooming and should make a great addition to the bed.

A bit farther back, I added:

1 Azalea “Fragrant Star”–fragrance is always appealing to me, and this looks like a graceful cultivar.  Keeping it moist enough through the summer will be critical, as it was in a very small starter pot, so the rootball is very small and will dry out easily.

1 Azalea “Weston’s Lemon Drop”–I’m not usually a big fan of yellow flowers, but the lighter, less bright yellows appeal to me, especially in spring.

The back row includes:

1 Kerria japonica “Golden Guinea”–I planted this in front of a big Aucuba and I think it will shine there.  These bigger single flowers are much more graceful and more in keeping with the woodland nature of the bed than the more common double form.

1 Hydrangea aspera  “Villosa”–this is a spectacular species hydrangea.  It may outgrow the space I provided, but that will be a few years away.  The start was pretty small, but healthy.

1 Hydrangea macrophylla “Izu No Hana”–graceful flowers and healthy looking foliage, the start of this plant I received was already blooming at one foot tall!

1 Hydrangea “Next Generation Pistachio”–not usually a big fan of the mop head types, I was impressed with the very different coloration of this cultivar.

Around the same depth in the bed, I planted two plants that I had grown from seed:

Daphniphyllum macropodum–actually three seedlings in a gallon pot that I planted out together.  I have seen a big full grown specimen in the arboretum (and that’s where my seeds came from about five years ago), and these are beautify shrubs/small trees.

Sinocalycanthus chinensis–I am not absolutely sure of the species, but I believe this is right.  Impressive leaves and I look forward to some of the lovely flowers in a few years.  This seedling is about two feet tall and five years old, growing strongly in a gallon pot.

And lastly, right next to the giant Douglas fir itself, in a sheltered spot, I pulled away the ivy and planted this beauty to hopefully climb the trunk:

Hydrangea anomala “Petiolaris Firefly”–I know these can be fragile and hard to establish, but I do think the environment I am asking this vine to grow in is close to ideal, assuming I can keep it moist enough to establish itself this summer.