Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Tuesday View

small sunny garden, tuesday view, desert garden, amy myers, dry climate
For this week's Tuesday View I opted to photograph the South Border a little later in the day.  I wanted to show the effects as shade begins to fall across the garden.

One thing that I find beautiful about blue and lavender colored flowers is their cool glow in shadow.  Since the garden has an eastern exposure, I have most of the afternoon to enjoy this glow as it moves down the border.  Here is a closer look at the vinca (Catharanthus roseus) from the photo above.
small sunny garden, tuesday view, desert garden, amy myers, dry climate
And here is Eremophila hygrophana just behind.
small sunny garden, tuesday view, desert garden, amy myers, dry climate
This picture shows the strong divide between summer light and shadow.
small sunny garden, tuesday view, desert garden, amy myers, dry climate
It also shows a glimpse of iris foliage near the back of the border.  That was one surprising event in the South Border this last week: the first bloom from Iris "Clarence".  I planted Clarence last spring.  The rhizome came from the most ubiquitous of box stores; it was packed in the usual net packaging, and when I opened it and saw the state of the roots (nearly nonexistent), I wondered whether any iris could recover from such treatment!

But Clarence put roots down and grew in spite of my doubts.  No blooms came all through iris season, and I assumed I would be waiting till next year to see what the flowers look like.  I had forgotten this was a reblooming variety, so I was very surprised to find a bud last week.  It opened into a lovely bloom, a little bleached in July sunlight, but fresh and quite pretty.
small sunny garden, tuesday view, desert garden, amy myers, dry climate
This iris is planted so as to fill in for the cutback foliage of Muhlenbergia capillaris early in the year, and later to allow the grass stems to conceal the iris foliage to a degree.
small sunny garden, tuesday view, desert garden, amy myers, dry climate
Just beside it is a Salvia that came home with no other name than "Salvia".   A bit of online research indicates it is probably Salvia coccinea "Summer Jewels".  I love its dainty flowers but must admit they are a little too fragile for this garden -- so far at least.  They wilt easily in the heat, and the plant must be kept well-watered.  Of course, this is its first summer so it is not well-established yet.  Otherwise, with its cool white and pink, it does seem a perfect plant for this border; and as it is smaller than I expected, I would very much like to move it forward to fill in the gap between the two miniature roses!
small sunny garden, tuesday view, desert garden, amy myers, dry climate
Behind all the other plants, Leucophyllum frutescens (probably "Green Cloud") is also putting on a small burst of bloom.
small sunny garden, tuesday view, desert garden, amy myers, dry climate
So there is this week's look at the South Border for the Tuesday View with Cathy at Words and Herbs.  Who knows what next week will bring?  There is a second bud on the iris...
small sunny garden, tuesday view, desert garden, amy myers, dry climate
Weather Diary: Fair; High: 108 F (42 C)/Low: 77 F (25 C); Humidity: 7%-23%


7 comments:

  1. lovely the way the shade intensifies the colour of the vinca :)

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    1. I do too :) It makes me happy that I planted mostly the lavender ones though the cherry red and white are pretty too...

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  2. That iris really is pretty - what a lovely surprise for you! The blue does show up well in the shade. Different light makes such a difference doesn't it. Thanks for sharing your view Amy!

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    1. Not surprisingly, perhaps, I have some more irises on order for that border ;-) I've been fascinated by the way the different colors respond in the afternoon shade... Thanks so much, Cathy!

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  3. Congratulations on the Iris bloom! What a wonderful summer surprise. I only got a couple of Iris blooms this spring, both on a neglected dwarf Iris at the bottom of the back slope of all places. A couple of mine are supposed to be rebloomers too but they haven't surprised me yet.

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    1. It's been fun and a nice pick-me-up, which I've needed, given the weather! I never gave too much thought to the rebloomers, except as sort of a curiosity; but I did find it intriguing when touring my cousin's garden some years ago, in September or October, I think, and there was a stray iris blooming... I don't think there's any real point in focusing on rebloom here though, as a midsummer bloom can't last more than a day or two! Although some iris flowers in autumn might be nice!

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  4. I love the play of light in this lovely border and how it intensifies the colors. I loved that Iris when you posted it on IG... A really beautiful one and what a great variety to be flowering in all that heat!

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