May 15, 2011

GBBD ~ Can You Take the Heat?

Hard to believe we're in the middle of the fifth month already and it's time for another Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.  Join Carol over at May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming in gardens around the world.

After record heat during April, my thoughts have turned to plants that can withstand the heat.  I've added several richly hued plants that can take the harsh light of summer and tolerate our wide fluctuations of rainfall.

The Cuphea 'David Verity' loves our hot summers and is covered in small tubular orange flowers.  I've seen a hummingbird or two at this flower recently.  This plant is also called cigar plant and is said to be about 2-3' tall and wide but I've seen them get 4' tall.   This is my second plant.  The first didn't survive last winter's prolonged freezes.  It's a fast grower and has tripled in size in the couple of months since I planted it from a 4" container.


The native Blackfoot Daisy loves hot, dry conditions.  It thrives on neglect and will bloom throughout the growing season.  It makes a nice mounding ground cover when mass planted.



The lush colors of Canna really stand up to the hot summer sun.  Although they are more thirsty than the plants above, they thrive remarkably well in wetter areas of the garden.  



I apologize but I don't know the variety of these Canna.  The first was purchased many years ago at a big box garden center and the second I bought because I saw it in a friend's garden and I loved the color.  If any readers know the names, please leave a note in the comments section.



This is a single Fleabane flower.  Many consider this plant a weed but in my hot, dry, clay soils it thrives and provides cheery little flowers atop a mass of bright green foliage.  It's low growing and spreads among the other perennials providing much needed shade for their roots.



After finding inspiration in many of your blogs last summer, I've added several annuals this year to my own garden.  This softly hued Zinnia will add colorful blooms to my vases all summer.  I also planted orange zinnia, both large and small varieties.  Orange flowers can be somewhat harsh in a garden but they have stolen my heart.  I think because the color really pops even in our harsh summer light.




I'm looking forward to visiting your blogs on this Bloom Day to see what you've got going on in your gardens.     Happy Bloom Day!!

33 comments:

  1. Great photography as always. The strokes of your brush are unreal. I've always like Cuphea, all varieties. I usually have them in containers here, but no one sells them in Kansas. Happy GBBD. Thinking about putting blackfoot in my hell strip, if I can find some.

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  2. Lovely Bloom Day at your place. Thank you for the reminder to plant zinnias. Butterflies love them.

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  3. I love orange flowers, including yours. They look especially gorgeous with deep purple. Happy GBBD.

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  4. How gorgeous your flowers are and they remind me of the heat I wish we had...back to the 50s and rain...a slow go but I have some flowers to flaunt tomorrow for GBBD...as always I live your pictures..

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  5. Beautiful images Cat. I really like the Blackfoot Daisy, I do like all daisies though. But, I think it is the photo itself that really appeals to me. I can not say exactly why, but it is really a nice image.

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  6. I love the vivid colors of your photography.
    I think it is always a good thing to grow Natives. They always seem to to the best in my garden. The bugs and animals actually let me grow them instead of eating everything in sight!

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  7. I love all the photos but especially the native blackfoot daisy. I will no doubt add it to my own garden. eventually.

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  8. Beautiful blooms Cat! I love the color orange but don't have much in my garden. I have been trying to add more of it. The cigar plant is also interesting. I have seen it a few times and really like it.

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  9. Your photography, as usual, is first rate. Those blooms just shine! Everything looks spectacular. Happy GBBD Day!

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  10. Your pictures are getting better by the day. Happy Bloom Day!

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  11. Your close-ups of the flowers are always amazing! And I love the colors on the canna blooms, whatever variety they might be. Plus, you've reminded me how great blackfoot daisy is; I've got to plant some again.

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  12. Love that cuphea and the Blackfoot daisies. They are winners in my garden, too. They laugh at the drought and the heat and that's what we need, isn't it?

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  13. I don't know what I'm more amazed by...the flowers or your photography! They simply take my breath away!

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  14. Beautiful blooms through your lens look spectacular. I especially love your close-up of the zinnia. It looks three dimensional.

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  15. I always find inspiration when viewing your blog! Besides your fantastic photography, there are always new plants for me to discover. I will be looking for the Blackfoot daisy which should thrive in my hot dry climate.

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  16. Beautiful photos..as always! Happy Bloom Day :)

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  17. Spectacular shots, Cat ! What a transformation has taken place in your garden in no time at all. Doesn't seem so long ago that you had some heavy frosts and now you've already had a month and more of hot weather ! Must be tough plants to withstand those extremes.

    If time (and my internet connection) permit I'll have to catch up on your other posts I've missed.

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  18. Hi Cat, Lovely photos as always. They are all amazing in different ways.

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  19. Your photos are really beautiful and colorful, is a good place to eventually coming to this blog, congratulations.

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  20. Cat, I like the cuphea and think I will give it a try this summer. Gorgeous photo of the orangey-red canna. Cannas are favorites of mine and do well even in part-shade. I love their tropical-looking foliage. I appreciate the tips on plants that can take dry, clay soil and heat, as I have those conditions in my garden, too.

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  21. Your Cannas are beautiful and your photographs are, as always, superb!

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  22. You're right - this will probably end up being a very hot summer! So many flowers go dormant in the heat, it's important for us to find something that will keep on blooming! Pretty flowers. Love that purply-rosey canna!

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  23. your canna photos are beautiful. and i love the zinnias. i remember planting those by seed as a kid growing up in illinois, and how amazed i was that they actually grew and bloomed in those fun, zinnia colors!

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  24. Your photos are beautiful.

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  25. Beautiful pics!! I am crossing my fingers for some of that heat up here! Love the zinnias, so pretty!!

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  26. Hi Cat,
    I am glad to read that you finally got some rain. Eight months is a long time to go without! I also enjoyed catching up and seeing the shots from the garden tour. In this post, I loved the photograph of the canna lilies, but the light on the petals of the pink zinnia has to be my personal favourite.

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  27. I love Zinnias! They're fantastic cut flowers! The close-up on the Canna Lily is fascinating -- a different way of viewing it than we're used to. Lovely photography, as usual!

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  28. Aren't we grateful for those tough, hard-as-nails garden performers? I know many native plants grow so much better in harsh conditions. So sorry to hear about your hot dry weather, especially so early in the growing season. We're looking at high temps of 55 degrees for the next 3 days. You're right. What's up with this CRAZY weather?

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  29. Absolutely beautiful pictures and I love orange flowers but here is not much of them. That one what I had in my blog is one of the fews I know and I love it and it spreads quite good.

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  30. Beautiful photos! Especially love the one of Fleabane. Very pretty. Enjoy it now, summer is soon here, right?

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  31. Wow - your photographs are awe-inspiring! It's fun to see all the lovely things growing in your garden! Spring has finally really sprung here, but it still feels like we just had snow on the ground a little over a month ago!

    Love those Canna photos in particular and the pale pink/lavender zinnia - my, oh my. Well done!

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  32. Beautiful blooms and beautiful photography.

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  33. I enjoyed seeing your blooms. I like orange flowers. I am hoping my Mexican sunflowers take off and grow soon. I'm trying to remember if I've grown fleabane before. I don't have any currently. I do have boltonia, which reminds me of the bloom you showed of the fleabane. It doesn't bloom until late summer. I'll have to look into it.

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