Garden Bloom in August

Central Arizona is once again in blow torch mode, with temperatures rising above 110 F (43 C) daily.  It did this regularly in June, but now it seems a little more intolerable.  Perhaps it's the humidity which is still hovering around in the mornings, or perhaps I'm just ready for summer to be over.  But summer is not ready to be done, and the garden goes on!

That's the best thing.  The garden does continue its own life in the face of high temperatures and a long season.  I've switched into emergency mode for watering, but I notice that most plants are not showing stress as quickly now.  They are settling in to their rather hot little home!

In the meantime, it is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day with Carol at May Dreams Gardens so here is a look at what is still blooming.  It may be a lean time in the garden here, but there are still some flowers to enjoy.

One of the happiest surprises has been the Gaura.

 Planted late - June, if I remember rightly - it has spread and burst into beautifully delicate bloom.  Native to Louisiana and Texas, it can take the heat... and go on blooming!  It has required less water than I expected as well.  I need to measure it; I think it must be around 3 ft (.9 m) across by now, with a lovely, vase-shaped growth habit.  Name?  It arrived simply as Gaura lindheimeri, which, alas, is apparently now incorrect, the botanical name having been changed to include it in the genus Oenothera!  So it is Oenothera lindheimeri; and as for the variety, who knows...?  It is not the straight species for that is white-flowered.  I assumed it was "Siskiyou Pink", but I now find that there are any number of pink hybrids out there these days.  At any rate, it is perfectly lovely and just the colour for the Central Bed!

Moving into the middle of the bed, the Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica "Dynamite") has a few blooms although they're a little crispy at present!  I'm very happy with its colour relationship to the nearby Gaura.  It will look even better once the Crape Myrtle is distinctly the taller of the two.

Also nearby, Lavender "Goodwin's Creek Gray" is blooming still.  A highly satisfactory plant, but I need to see about those fire ants!  I hadn't noticed them till I was taking these pictures.

Back at the top of the bed is the redoubtable Russelia equisetiformis.  Need I say more?

Here it is blending with rose "Wollerton Old Hall".

Which brings me to roses.  Several are trying to begin seriously blooming again, and the blooms were just beginning to be properly formed.  (Most - such as the flower above - went more or less single if they appeared at all over the last couple of months.)  Sterling Silver put out a full flush of bloom, but yesterday's is the first halfway presentable one.

Tiny "Daniela" has put out any number of blooms over the past weeks.  (It gets nearly full shade - as full shade goes here.)  Most were single, then there was a beautifully near-perfect blossom, then the blooms burnt again.  I can't resist adding this shot from two days ago.  I love this little rose! 

Other roses in full sun have simply crisped.  Here is a bloom of St. Swithin, but it has a bud ready to try again!

And Crown Princess Margareta keeps opening so many flowers that there are usually some in perfect form even though I think they only last a day each in this heat.  Here is one, rather pink again though the bloom at the top of this post is hers also, and more the right colour.  She is - forgive me - undoubtedly the crowning glory of the Rose Border.

Graham Thomas is testing August with a few more buds.

James Galway gave one nice-ish flower about a week ago, so I think he is just waiting for milder weather now.  That bush and Graham Thomas have taken all summer to get established.  They receive more direct sun than any of the others.

And now for a few miscellaneous plants.

Sedeveria "Sorrento" is looking good, the only classic succulent to come through summer unfazed... so far.  A few creamy blooms still on this very low-growing plant.

Berlandiera lyrata deserves more mention than it has received over the past several months.  To the best of my knowledge, it has actually been in bloom throughout the summer.  The difficulty is that the flowers close in bright sunlight, which means that the most I ever see is a few half-open daisies at night, or this in the early morning.  (Those petals are furled for the day, not spent!)

I need to consider how to deal with this plant as it is in many ways a very desirable one, having no issues with the soil or the heat here and sending up hundreds (I suspect) of yellow daisies.  As my garden slopes eastward, the problem of intense morning light is proving knotty with some plants.  This is a somewhat amusing version of the difficulty!  Since this plant is growing happily underneath Acacia salicina, the problem may resolve itself as the acacia grows and supplies more shade.  I like the pairing so I'm not anxious to move the Berlandiera.

In my last post I showed my welcome interloper, the yellow-flowered Chinchweed (Pectis papposa) which I have let grow on under some plants.  Here are a few pairings to enjoy because the Chinchweed is certainly in bloom at present!  First the plant itself...

...next, growing by the lavender...

...then glimpsed through the now rapidly growing Muhlenbergia capillaris "Regal Mist" (perhaps it will be in bloom by next GBBD?)...

...and finally in the Rose Border, where it ought not to be, but I can't resist showing the combination for once...

Moving back to the regular garden selections, there is another very faithful yellow-flowered plant which also deserves more mention that it usually gets.  This is Eremophila "Outback Sunrise", growing in the South Border.  The blooms are not many at this time of year, but there are nearly always a few peeking out from the dark, glossy foliage.

About the only other plant in bloom in the South Border is my other Crape Myrtle.  Lagerstroemia indica "Rhapsody in Pink" is still blossoming in spurts and always has a light crown of this luscious pale pink.

Lastly, a plant not even in the garden itself, simply stuck in a hot spot against a blank west wall.  Bougainvillea is an incredible plant, doing this on only a few supplemental waterings this season.  It deserves more care than I've been giving it!  It was cut clear back by frost last winter and has grown again to a four foot shrub since. 

A nice splash of colour for a very hot August day!

So the garden is still alive and well in August.  We're just waiting for some cooler weather!  Well, most of us are...  Some seem to like it this way.

Weather Diary: Sunny and hot; High: 114 F (46 C)/Low: 90 F (32 C)