Sunday Best
Six on Saturday: Best for Last
Again, these six lack a common theme. Fortunately, no theme is necessary.
1. Crinum bulbispermum, Orange River lily was so rootbound when it was installed into a new landscape that its potting medium was obscured, and its can needed to be cut off.
2. Rhododendron spp. is blooming very much out of season. It was too far away to get a good picture. I do not know what cultivar it is. I believe that it is typically deeper purple.
3. Hosta spp., like rhododendron, is known only by its genus name, and is blooming out of season. At least it is trying to bloom. The weather may become too cool for it to finish.
4. Phoenix roebelenii, pigmy date palm should supposedly bloom for spring, but actually seems to bloom whenever it wants to. Such bloom is not showy, so is generally ignored.
5. Heather is not as angry as she looks in this picture. She seems to purr constantly. It is gratifying that she is so happy at the shops at work. It is surely not a luxurious situation.
6. Rhody is more difficult to get a good picture of, particularly if he sees that I am aiming the camera at him. Yet, he and Heather are always the favorites of my Six on Saturdays.
Anyone who would like to participate in this meme should peruse this participant guide for Six on Saturday.
Sunday Best – Late or Early Azalea
Six on Saturday: Slim Pickings
There are not as many flowers to take pictures of now as there were earlier in the year. I suppose that there will be fewer later into winter.
1. Prunus persicaria, nectarine proves that we do experience autumn here by its orange foliar color. It will defoliate soon. Several other species are likewise showing foliar color.
2. Bergenia crassifolia, pigsqueak prematurely proves that we also do experience winter here by its pink winter bloom. Actually, this proves nothing, but almost sounds credible.
3. Canna X generalis ‘Stuttgart’ canna is growing when it should not be growing, as the weather cools. It made this almost completely white leaf, which looks like a papal mitre.
4. Campanula americana, American bellflower is finishing its bloom and drying out for autumn. It disperses its seed so profusely that it seems to naturalize where it is irrigated.
5. Punica granatum, pomegranate reddens as it ripens through autumn. This fruit is the largest of only three small fruits, but it is more than I expected from a small potted tree.
6. Hibiscus X rosa–sinensis, tropical hibiscus is brighter yellow than it looks here in this picture, which was taken a bit too early on Thursday morning. It was still dark out there.
Anyone who would like to participate in this meme should peruse this participant guide for Six on Saturday.
Sunday Best – Late White Lily of the Nile
Six on Saturday: First Rain! Etcetera
It feels like autumn now. The first rain of the rainy season has come and gone, and more is predicted for Thursday and Friday.
1. Rain fell from the sky last Wednesday. It was not much, but it was enough to fill a few puddles and delay irrigation. The first rain of the rainy season is major news for us here.
2. Pittosporum tobira ‘Variegata’ mock orange and Acer circinatum, vine maple needed to be removed from their two other landscapes, so live here in their new landscape now.
3. Salvia elegans, pineapple sage is from the same landscape that the mock orange came from. It is scrawny now because it had been crowded. It should be fluffier next summer.
4. Clivia miniata ‘Variegata’ Natal lily with broad creamy white variegation has the same name ‘Variegata’ as a cultivar with thin yellow variegation. One was likely misidentified.
5. Hedychium gardnerianum, kahili ginger is still blooming. It would likely be blooming more impressively if I had taken better care of it. Pradhan’s ginger is also still blooming.
6. Chrysanthemum X morifolium, chrysanthemum is a bit too refined for my taste. They obviously did not grow here but were added from four inch pots. They sure are colorful.
Anyone who would like to participate in this meme should peruse this participant guide for Six on Saturday.
Sunday Best – Festuca
Six on Saturday: Six Mix
My Six again lack a common theme. These are just random pictures.
1. Coleonema pulchellum, breath of Heaven is supposed to bloom for spring but actually blooms whenever it wants to. This was supposed to be a low grower but is a large shrub.
2. Salvia greggii ‘Hot Lips’ autumn sage might actually be Salvia microphylla. I learned it as Salvia greggii. It is blooming right on time but it also blooms whenever it wants to.
3. Salvia greggii, autumn sage also might actually be Salvia microphylla. It blooms for autumn only but is more colorful than ‘Hot Lips’. Its bloom is the color of perennial pea.
4. Lathyrus latifolia, perennial pea grows and blooms through spring and early summer to then die back through late summer. A few that get water may bloom until about now.
5. Trifolium pratense, red clover happens to be a weed, but blooms with these delightful pale pink flowers. Bees are fond of them. It would be nice if more weeds were this pretty.
6. Echinops ritro, globe thistle is beginning to bloom again. It is relatively new to me, so I am unfamiliar with its bloom season or life cycle. I am pleased that it is so happy here.
Anyone who would like to participate in this meme should peruse this participant guide for Six on Saturday.
Sunday Best – Celosia
Six on Saturday: October 10, 2026
After a week of summerish temperatures in the nineties, autumn is beginning to express itself, although some plants still believe that it is summer.
1. Weeds are going to seed now more than the rest of the year. While most disperse seed almost continually through their growing season, some disperse more prior to autumn.
2. Cotinus coggygria, smoke tree retains is purplish foliar color rather well until the end of summer. Pollarding enhances such foliar color, although it also compromises bloom.
3. Cornus X ‘Eddies White Wonder’ dogwood is already beginning to show a slight bit of autumn foliar color. Only a few leaves are like this while all the rest remain bright green.
4. The same dogwood is also blooming with a few flowers. I do not know if these are late from last spring or early for next spring. It does this annually and still blooms for spring.
5. Feijoa sellowiana, pineapple guava supposedly ripens about now, but actually ripens for late autumn or even early winter. These fruit are abundant but still need to plumpen.
6. Leycesteria formosa, Himalayan honeysuckle is producing its first two berries here! I realize that each of several trusses should produce several berries, but these are the first!
Anyone who would like to participate in this meme should peruse this participant guide for Six on Saturday.
