Roses amid the thorns
On this month’s Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, Austin enjoyed a truly fall-like day. The air had a slight chill early yesterday morning, by noon it was only 79 degrees, and all day the air was fresh and dry, scrubbed of humidity. I saw people walking around with faces tipped up to the cool breezes, smiling. October weather in September—I love it!
The roses love this weather too. Amid the spikes of agaves, the drama queens of my garden, the roses add soft flounce and sweet fragrance. This is ‘Belinda’s Dream.’
Mexican oregano (Poliomintha longiflora ) is still going strong too.
‘Carefree Beauty’ rose
Next to the variegated Agave americana , the purple spires of Mexican bush sage (Salvia leucantha ) have appeared, backed by the inflorescence of ‘Yaku Jima’ miscanthus grass.
From the other side, hymenoxys (Tetraneuris scaposa ) plays off the yellow stripes.
A few purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea ) cluster here and there.
Can you tell the difference between narrowleaf zinnia (Zinnia angustifolia ) and Blackfoot daisy (Melampodium leucanthum )? I have a hard time distinguishing between the two. Usually I plant white narrowleaf zinnia by the ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave, but this year I went with our native Blackfoot daisy. As it happened, last year’s zinnia seeded out, and so this year I have both. The zinnia is in the foreground.
In the back garden, ‘Valentine’ blazes red with roses.
Another image
More red from batface cuphea (Cuphea llavea )
Cooler of color and sweeter of smell, sweet Autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora ) clambers atop a low trellis.
Blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum ), a herald of autumn, begins to open under the yellow bells.
Yellow bells (Tecoma stans ) are gaudy, and their leaves can look coarse and weedy when the plant is not in bloom. Mine is too shaded and doesn’t bloom until September these days. If I were staying here, I’d pull it out this fall. But I shall leave it for the next owner to decide its fate.
Butterfly vine, or gallinita (Mascagnia macroptera ). Its flowers look as if they’d been cut out with scissors.
What’s blooming in your garden?
All material © 2006-2008 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Lovely photos, pam, and the roses are so beautiful – especially amid the agaves. That Mexican oregano just couldn’t be happier … mine’s kind of sad — too much shade grew around it. So, what will GBBD be like in the new house?
That’s a good question, Diana. The landscaping is nice, but it’s mostly evergreens, liriope, and dwarf ruellia. There’s also a good deal of shade. I’ll miss my sun garden! Maybe I can squeeze one in somewhere. —Pam
Your Carefree Beauty is indeed a beauty. I wonder how carefree it would be in Maryland . . . but it’s so pretty I may have to try. I’ve also considered Narrowleaf Zinnia, and yours is so absolutely charming that I think it will be an addition next year. Thank you for the tour!
I hope those perform beautifully for you, Kim. I expect they’d do just fine in Maryland. —Pam
How nice that you’ve got so much color left in your garden – those soft pink roses are simply beautiful.
Thanks, Nancy. We don’t get typical fall color in Austin (leaf color), but we do get a second gardening and bloom season from plants that waited for the heat of summer to pass. —Pam
Hi Pam,
I was thinking about you yesterday when I heard about the storm and hurricane threat in Texas. So, it sounds like you are out of harms way? Your garden looks awesome!
Shirley
Austin was unaffected by the hurricane except for an influx of refugees from southeast Texas. Those folks were hit hard, I’m afraid. Thanks for popping by, Shirley. —Pam
I’m happy to hear that Austin is finally getting some weather that makes both plants and people happy. Your flowers look very happy, nary a hint of what they have been through. And I can’t tell the zinnias apart from the blackfoot daisies. That was very confusing to me last spring when I visited.
Thanks, Carol. Of course, I’m only showing you the plants that look good. But as a fellow blogger, you already know that little secret. —Pam
We are having cooler temperatures too and it is wonderful. I slept so good last night! Your photos are wonderful as always!
The cooler weather feels like heaven after the terribly hot summer we endured this year. I’m glad you’re enjoying it too. —Pam
Those roses and agaves look fresh and lovely as ever. I feel to reach out and touch and smell the screen! I got the tecoma elata, which has orange shot blooms, recently and its been a non stop bloomer for me. I think you can prune the tecoma stans quite heavily,and they then grow into a nice bushy plant. I see that they do this every year at one of the beachside resorts here.
I like that orange esperanza, Nicole. Tecoma stans dies to the ground at the first freeze in Austin, so local gardeners cut them to the ground every year. The heavy pruning does result in nice, bushy plants—when they have enough sun. Mine are so shaded that they’re tall and spindly as they try to reach the light. —Pam
You have such wonderful color for fall! It looks like a summer garden up here. You’re fortunate to have a long growing season. Beautiful roses…oh my! 🙂 Cameron
I do love our long growing season, but I don’t do much gardening in summer. It’s more of a survival mode until the first breath of cooler air arrives, like we’re getting right now. —Pam
I’m glad that you’ve got cooler weather now Pam, and less humidity too. Your garden looks great at the mo with all those roses in flower. Love that cute clematis terniflora. And in answer to your question: why don’t come and have a look? 😉 Happy GBBD!
The cool air is making me so happy, YE. Thanks for visiting. I’ll pop over soon. —Pam
Pam your roses are beautiful! Does Belinda’s Dream have a fragrance? That’s one way to tell Blackfoots from zinnias. The Blackfoots smell sooo good!
Yes, ‘Belinda’s Dream’ has a lovely fragrance, Linda. It’s a good excuse to bury one’s nose in those frilly blossoms. I didn’t know that the Blackfoot daisies smelled good too. (They grow so low!) —Pam
Pam, Talk about beauty and the beasts…although, I think your Agaves are as beautiful as all the other blooms. gail
Thanks, Gail. I often see the agaves, especially the ‘Whale’s Tongue,’ as rose-shaped. To me they are like flowers that bloom nonstop all year long. —Pam
The Valentine rose always stops me in my tracks!
You must love red as much as I do, Bonnie. When ‘Valentine’ is in full bloom, it’s definitely a show-stopper. —Pam
If there’s an up side to all the cleanup I’m having to do since Ike took a hike, it’s the wonderful cooler weather! Your garden obviously is happy about it, too. The former Eupatorium is lovely and I’ll soon be able to enjoy it in my own garden. As I was cleaning out a bed in back today, I discovered one about to bloom! Funny, I don’t remember planting it there …it was a delightful surprise.
The mistflower is a nice surprise for your clean-up efforts, Cindy. And this weather is simply incredible. I’d forgotten it could be so pleasant outdoors (only a slight exaggeration). —Pam
Pam, you have such an interesting garden. I just love seeing flowers I can only grow as annuals flourishing in your garden. Also you make the mundane look marvelous with your photographic skills.
Why, thanks, Lisa. I throw a lot of photos out, but I’m glad you enjoyed the ones that made the cut. —Pam
Your photography skills are a constant inspiration to me! As are your use of agaves. Now I love them too. And see the textures as just as wonderful as any flower.
Brenda
Wow, what a sweet comment, Brenda. Thank you! I’m so glad to know that you see agaves differently now. They are amazing plants with such structure and texture. I couldn’t be without them. —Pam
Hi Pam, there is a hint of happiness in your voice now, it must be the break in the summer’s heat. Your flowers are happier too, and the quality of the light is softer. The beginning of your second spring. I like the butterfly vine flowers with the serrated edges and valentine is one great rose.
A hint, Frances? I think I felt out-and-out glee! Yes, the light is softer, the temps are milder, and the garden and gardener are feeling happy about being outdoors again. ‘Valentine’ is a lovely red rose with a long bloom time. The only thing it lacks is fragrance—and thorns. —Pam
Absolutely divine. The flowers are gorgeous this time of the yr. They are surely putting on a brilliant show for you as if to say “don’t leave me”.
Oh no, now I feel guilty. 😉 I waffle lately between wanting to just move on to the new place, leaving the garden to its fate, and wanting to “rescue” the plants from a likely indifferent fate. I think the cooler air is making me want to rescue. When it was brutally hot, I didn’t care so much. —Pam
We had the same weather day here in Buffalo. Although we don’t say it “only got to 79 degrees.” We say something more like “unseasonably warm!”
Ha! Having briefly visited Buffalo last June—high summer in Austin—I remember how strangely cool it was. Well, I hope you enjoyed your warm day as much as I enjoyed our cool day. —Pam
Those roses are glorious, Pam, and what a beautiful shots those are, with the M. Oregano and fabulous agave. It’s like a sculpture, isn’t it? You have some very pretty blooms in spite of the long, hot stretch. The butterfly vine flowers are such a neat shape.
I’m happy for you to be getting some refreshingly cooler air, and also that Ike missed you. Amazing that Austin didn’t even get a good rain out of it! Very sad for the people who were hit hard though. What a scary thing a hurricane must be! We had 30 mph winds here, which may have been stronger than you experienced in Austin (?). Imagine that! Broke a couple of branches in our big maple and knocked down a windowbox.
We had a few gusts, but they did no damage so far as I’ve seen or heard. It does sound as if your winds were stronger, strange as that seems. —Pam
Now that I’ve killed my Cramoisi rose I think I’ll replace it with Belinda’s Dream. Yours always looks so great! I’m also thinking of planting the sweet autumn clematis. I’ve been reading that it can take a fair amount of shade. How much sun does yours get?
You’ll love ‘Belinda’s Dream,’ Vertie. My sweet Autumn clematis gets mostly sun, but I have seen it growing—and blooming—in partial shade. —Pam
The Tetraneuris scaposa is most intriguing. Does it grow in little clumps, like Armeria?
Yes, I’d say so, Chuck. I’ve never grown sea thrift, but its habit looks similar to that of hymenoxys, also known as four-nerve daisy. Here’s a link to more info from the Wildflower Center’s Native Plants Database. —Pam
The partnership of roses and agaves seems natural in your garden, Pam – and your lovely photos of pink roses make me like pink! My Belinda has buds and is growing, but all the roses have holes in the leaves, looking like a 6-year old with a fancy paper puncher has been set loose…guess it’s leaf cutter bees.
It’s easy for me to tell the difference between Zinnia angustifolia and Melampodium leucanthum in my garden. If the plant is alive it’s a Narrowleaved Zinnia. If it’s dead it was a Blackfoot Daisy.
The windows are open! The A/C isn’t running! Yay!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Ha! You have me laughing over your Blackfoot daisy comment, Annie. Any idea why they croak in your garden? They don’t like being babied, but I’m sure you gave them tough love. Ah well, it could be one of those Mysteries of the Garden, right?
Yea for no A/C! My windows are open too, for one more day before the south wind brings the humidity back. —Pam
Your garden looks so fresh & pretty. It must be the pinks & lilacs in combination with the blue of the Agave. I also like the combination of the Mistflower & the Yellow Bells.
Thanks, MMD. We’re feeling a little refreshed after a week of cool, dry temperatures. —Pam
I am having a difficult time finding the narrow leaf zinnia seeds. I’d like to find the white and yellow/orange. Do you have any ideas? Thank you, Margaret
Sorry, I don’t, Margaret. If you live in Austin you can find 4-in. pots for sale at Barton Springs Nursery. —Pam