I Should Be Gardening Right Now.

Lilium duchartrei

Blogging in the winter is easy because differing variations of rain, wind, dark and cold make sitting at a computer very appealing.  But it just doesn't feel right in the summer when it's absolutely perfect outside.

Lavatera olbia 'Aurea'

  Suffice it to say there will probably be very few posts between now and the end of August.

Lobelia tupa

Hummingbirds have been visiting this Lobelia tupa every day for the past couple weeks.

Passiflora caerulea

Even though blue passion flowers originate in the South American tropics, they can handle a mild Seattle winter with no problem.  Another plant from South America but not quite hardy enough for us is Brugmansia or Angel's Trumpet. It's still well-worth the effort, rooting very easily from cuttings which can then over-winter indoors.  Below is Brugmansia 'Little Angel' pictured with Lilium 'Stargazer'.  These are the two best smelling flowers in the world.

Brugmansia 'Little Angel' with Lilium 'Stargazer'

The veggie patch

The peas are done for the season but the fava beans are just starting to ripen.  In the above photo, they are on the left towering above the potatoes.  Below, you can see how huge they are compared to a regular-sized fork.  The beans are an inch long.

Big old fava beans

A new flush of growth on the Fatsia polycarpa.  I was a little worried about this plant because I (stupidly) left it in a pot without drainage holes, only to notice it about a week later (a very rainy week) half-filled with water.  Yikes!!  Good to know this little guy is a trooper.  I've since drilled drainage holes in the pot.

Fatsia polycarpa

One of the things on my "Buy this regardless of price" list are plants that have fluorescent-looking flowers and/or foliage.  Kniphofia 'Shining Sceptre' is one of those plants, and there are a few other Kniphofias that have similar super-bright-orange qualities including the ones with 'Mango' in the name.

Kniphofia 'Shining Sceptre' with Butia capitata

Everyone was asking about this plant on Saturday:

Francoa sonchifolia

Francoa sonchifolia

Francoa sonchifolia is a hardy, mounding evergreen perennial (it doesn't look like it's evergreen but it is), and has copious spikes of white & pink flowers.  Also drought-tolerant, as discovered by the fact that when I went to dig some up to give away, the soil happened to be incredibly dry.

Some more great lilies in bloom right now:

Lilium 'Juan de Fuca'

Crinum moorei

 Finally, here are the great new plants I picked up from Far Reaches Farm on Saturday:

Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis, Schefflera fengii, and Berberis malipoense/hypoxantha

Cry Me A Cardiocrinum

I could complain about the fact that we've been 10 degrees below normal in June so far with 2 inches of rainfall, already more than our monthly average, but I'm not going to.  That's not why you're here.  You're here to look at pictures like this:

Cardiocrinum giganteum

This lily is incredible, and thrives in our cool coastal climate.  It is 8 feet tall with a sturdy stalk.  It is fragrant like other Oriental liles, yet is in bloom right now in late spring vs. mid-summer for Oriental lilies.

The picture below shows just how tall it is, with the flowers higher than the top of the arbor.

Aloe 'Johnson's Hybrid'

I was noticing how closely this aloe resembples a kniphofia.  As it turns out, the two genuses are closely related, both being in the Asphodelaceae subfamily.

Kniphofia 'Shining Sceptre'

Speaking of Kniphofias, this is my favorite one called Kniphofia 'Shining Sceptre'.  I'm not sure if there are any truly fluorescent plants, but the two-toned orange and yellow flowers are about as fluorescent-looking as any I've ever seen.

I saw some ornamental millets at Furney's Nursery and bought two, not knowing where I was eventually going to plant them.  I decided to plant them in this island, but needed one more to balance it out, so I went back to Furney's and got one more.

 A couple days later, I found myself going back to Furney's for two more, filling in a couple areas by the pond.

Pennisetum glaucum 'Purple Baron' & Solenostemon 'Trailing Burgundy'

Today marked the LAST time I went back to Furney's to buy an ornamental millet.  This coleus and millet make a nice duo.

Taking shape

A 3,000 gallon Koi pond is the focal point of the tropical area of the garden. From left, going clockwise are: Melissa officinalis (Lemon balm), the fronds of Trachycarpus fortunei, Tetrapanax papyrifer (Rice Paper Plant, mostly behind the waterfall), Cupressus sempervirens ‘Glauca’ (Blue Italian Cypress) with Liriope spicata (Lilyturf), Arundo donax (Giant Reed Grass), Agapanthus 'Orientalis', Aspidistra elatior (Cast Iron Plant), Kniphofia 'Shining Sceptre' (stunning when in flower), Nandina 'Firepower' by the pond & Copperleaf Sedge in the foreground.