Here’s what’s going on on this Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day for July 15, 2014 in my Pasadena, California Zone 10b container garden:

In my previous post I posted a photo of a chewed up Angel Trumpet (Brugmansia) flower.  I thought it was caterpillars, but maybe not.  Could this grasshopper be the culprit?  He is actually on my Hollyhocks here.  I know they like eating the leaves of Brugmansia, but the flowers???  Hmmmm???

I thought I would repeat a photo of the front of the house to give a better visual.  This was just taken about a week ago.  As you can see, pretty much everything in the front is in a container including all the roses.

Onto some blooms…

The Morning Glory keeps climbing higher and higher.  This one is intertwined with a Passion Flower vine and a climbing rose.  The rose was already here when I moved in, and this is the first year I’ve seen it start to grow up against the house.  The Passion Flower vine is actually on the empty bungalow next to mine.  The vine kept trying to move towards my house, so I twirled it around a wash line pole that’s on the side of the house between the two bungalows.  Its now made its way way over to my bungalow and is beginning to climb up the house and on my window.  I also have Moon Flower vines, but they haven’t had any blooms yet this year.  Last year the first one bloomed on the Fourth of July.

Here is a photo of part of the garden on the left side front of my bungalow.  This is where all the vines are growing along with the 2 potted Angel Trumpet Trees, Oleander and some of the Roses.  

A month or two ago I got some Salvia in this dark purple shade.  The hummingbirds seem to like it, although most of the time I only ever see them go to the flowers when my feeders are running low. I also have Nicotiana growing in a pot there on the left.  These both sit on the top of a plant shelf.

I still have Foxgloves blooming.  Most of them are in pots, but these particular ones are actually in the ground.  These are still producing spikes from the original plant.  After the large middle spike was done blooming and had turned brown, I cut it and it continues to flower.  

On my front porch I have a Sheila’s Perfume rose.  The first bloom she had was a bit stingy.  She only had maybe 2 flowers.  But this time it looks like there will be more.  I remember last year she had her best bloom in October, so maybe she just likes to make me wait.

Also blooming now is Fragrant Plum (potted on the porch).  With Sheila’s Perfume and Fragrant Plum, there is always a nice fragrance drifting in the front door.  

More blooms on the porch include but are not limited to:

Heliotrope

Agastache

Cleome

There’s a lot more on my porch but I decided to just mention a few.

This past weekend I went to the garden center to get a Mandevilla for my hanging pallet.   I needed another climbing or vine plant to put there and all night long I kept dreaming about this crimson Mandevilla that I’d seen at the garden center earlier in the week and didn’t buy.  Well, needless to say whenever I dream about a plant, I know I’m going to wake up the next morning and go get it.  I love the color of this.  The buds remind me of lipstick.

I really didn’t plan on getting anything else while at the garden center, but we all know how that goes.  I found this Balloon flower.  I didn’t know what it was, and it was the only one of its kind.  It was so pretty I couldn’t resist taking it home.  Looking at the buds, I understand how it got its name.  It’s in a pot on the side garden on my potting table.

Another unplanned purchase I made this weekend was Lobelia.  I think Lobelia is becoming another one of my favorite flowers.  I saw this color and thought they would look lovely in a pot.  They sure do.  

Here’s a wider image of what’s on my potting table.  This table was actually supposed to be for my husband and I to use to have dinner on our tiny back patio.  The patio isn’t all that exciting and we did have a few dinners there, but I decided to move this table and chairs outside to enjoy in the side garden.  Originally, there was just one plant on the table and no plants on either of the chairs.  Now it’s basically become a plant stand/aka potting table.  Nothing wrong with that.

Lisianthus, Cosmos, Balloon Flower, Lobelia, Columbine and Evolvulus in the silver watering can.

I’ve never been able to get a really good shot of the full view of the side garden, but I tried.  As you can see, the left side is my side.  On the right only a few feet away is another bungalow.  There isn’t a lot of room.  Fortunately, no one has been living in that bungalow for the past 2 years.  I am able to sit on my back porch in the evenings and enjoy the peacefulness of my side garden and drink a cup of tea undisturbed.  I have been told by my landlord that they are looking to get new tenants, and when they do I may have to remove some of my garden.  I hope whoever comes next will take care of their side.

View of the side garden standing in front of my back porch steps on my left.

On my back porch steps are these potted Coneflowers.  I love this color.  

I also see the Skippers flying about and enjoying them.

This is my Budhelia.  I planted this in the ground.  The butterflies and moths are loving it and it smells delicious.  Last year when I purchased it, it was only about 6 inches tall.  

It has grown quite a bit since then.

I also have several Butterfly Milkweed plants.  I've already seen at least one Monarch visiting the Milkweed this year, hopefully to lay some eggs.  Milkweed spreads so easily because the seeds blow through the air attached to those silky white fuzzies that break out of the seed pods.  They look like fairies blowing through the air.  I have Milkweed plant in a pot, but also several other volunteers in the ground.  I’ve even seen some popping up around the bungalow court.  I hope no one minds!  

The Hollyhocks are still blooming and seeding profusely.  These were actually planted in the ground too and started from seed.  Now that they are making seed pods, I think I have enough seeds to start a small Hollyhock seed shop!  I like they way they “package” their seeds in those neat, perfectly round pods.  They almost remind me of stacked coins.

In the herb bed I took some photos of the Feverfew.  Such charming little flowers.  So dainty.  I absolutely love them.

I also took a photo of the Valerian/Garden Heliotrope.  It bloomed earlier in the Spring and is now blooming again.  I started this in a small pot.  It wasn’t until I moved it to the herb bed that it began to flower.  I guess it likes it there.

Here is how my Green Goddess Calla Lilies grown from tubers are looking.  I am hoping this will flower in the Fall for the first time.  I’m very excited about this!

Next is my Ivy Geranium.  I’ve had this plant for quite a long time.  I just leave it alone and it never fails to bloom each year.  Sometimes I don’t photograph the plants that have been around for a while because I take them for granted.  This one sits in a pot on a plant shelf and seems very happy.

Another one of my favorites is this blue Columbine or Granny's Bonnet.  It is still blooming in its pot.  I’m really surprised it’s still going, because we are already in July.  I have 2 others called Songbird Mix that are also blooming, but not producing as many flowers as the blue.  

Speaking of blue… The potted Larkspur seeded itself in the pot and is flowering.

Same goes for the Delphinium.  So happy to see both of these!

And while we’re still on the topic of blue… this is “Bluebeard” which I’ve never seen before.  This was another impulse buy.  The bees were all over it at the store and I couldn’t resist.  I had more bees in my garden in the Spring, but they seem to have tapered off which is odd.  I’ve been reading the reports everywhere about the decreasing bee population.  It’s very sad.

I didn't realize just how many blue flowers I had until I started to update this post.  Here's one more for good measure, a pot of Chines Forget Me Not grown from seed.

Another potted flower I have in the side garden is this Canna.  I love the color.  

And a pot of colorful Marigold.

In a hanging basket, I decided to plant some Strawberries.  They just started to produce some fruit, so I can’t wait to taste them.

And lastly, these are my new hanging planters.  I thought they would brighten up those ugly security bars we have on our kitchen window.  In them I have Pentas, Alyssum, Vinca and Calibrachoa.

These are just some of the flowers and plants in my garden.  I hope I’ve done a good job working with my tiny space.  Please leave me a comment, or drop me a link to your garden blog.  

I’d love to hear from you!

A big thank you to May Dreams Gardens for hosting another Garden Blogger's Bloom Day!

Danielle

Um.  Okay...  Who did this?  I don't think the grasshoppers would take big chunks like this.  They actually prefer to chew up my roses.  I feel like this could be the work of a caterpillar.  The question is, what kind?  I looked both Angel Trumpet trees over (They're in pots so they're not that big), and I didn't see the culprit.  Apparently Brugmansia tastes as good as it smells if you're an insect!

Summer Garden.

Here are just a few images of the front of our bungalow.  I'll post some images I took of the side garden in a future post.

The lavender Heirloom roses (far left) have put out their best blooms yet.  And Sparkle and Shine (yellow roses) have not stopped blooming although they have slowed down a bit.  On the porch, Sheila's Perfume is finally stepping it up and sending out some new purple foliage.  And Fragrant Plum on the porch (far right) also still has a few blooms and is putting out purple foliage.

Other flowers visible in this photo (there's more you can't really see) are:  Cosmos, Catmint, Rosemary,  Heliotrope, Black Petunia, Vinca, Gerbera Daisies, Zinnia, Miniature Roses, Butterfly Milkweed (which I saw a Monarch on this weekend), Salvia, Bacopa, Phlox, Agastache, Cleome and Rudbekia.

Looking in the other direction at the front porch.  Here you can see the Gallardia and the Marigolds.

On the far side of the porch (left side of the front of the house) you can see wildflowers (these are actually planted in the ground),  Angel Trumpet, Heirloom Roses, Oleander, Lisianthus, Foxglove (both in the ground and in pots), Petunia, Moonflower vine, Morning Glory vine and Geranium.

As mentioned in my previous post, I find it hard to cut the flowers in my own garden.  Because my garden is a small container garden, it's hard for me to take anything away.  I did, however, start using some of my roses and herbs to make small nosegas.  Here are some of the "Tussie Mussies" I've created using mostly my vintage milk pourer as a vace:

Sugar Moon Rose.

Iceberg Rose, Mint, Chocolate Mint, Sage, Pincushion Flower and Lavender.

Sparkle & Shine Rose, White Cosmos, Garden Sage and Mint

Roses, Yarrow and Rosemary.

Heirloom Rose and Dusty Miller.

Heirloom Rose, Rosemary and Laceleaf Lavender.

Freesia, Yarrow, Pincushion Flower and Marguerite Daisy.

Heirloom Rose, Mint and Bachelor's Button in a sake glass.

I was inspired by Kris at Late to the Garden Party to add some photos of my flower arrangements.  Up until now I’ve never included them here, and it’s only recently that I started becoming interested in arranging flowers.  

A few months ago, I read a book called, "The Language of Flowers" by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.  I started to do more research on the Victorian Language of Flowers and bought myself a flower dictionary.  I find the fact that there's a whole meaning behind the giving of flowers and that Floriography has been practiced for thousands of years intriguing.  It sure can change the way one looks at a flower bouquet!

Since I only have a small container garden, I just can’t bring myself to cut my own flowers.  But I did start clipping a few roses and herbs here and there and creating little nosegays or tussie mussies.  I don’t have any fancy vases, so I typically use whatever I can find around the house.  My little vintage milk pourer usually does the trick.  Sometimes even a sake glass.

Moreover, I decided I wanted to try my hand at creating larger arrangements.  Since it’s not practical for me to run off to Downtown LA’s Flower Mart (which would probably make my head explode), I did the most convenient thing I could think of and started buying cut flowers from the grocery store.  While the selection is limited, I found it made for a challenge to see what I could come up with.  I find that Trader Joe’s and Von’s/Pavillions seem to have the best cut flowers.

My first arrangement started with some Calla Lilies, Roses and white/green Hydrangea from Pavillions.  The roses were a peachy tone with some green on the edge of the petals.  I thought the green in the Roses and green in the Hydrangea kind of tied everything together.  I arranged them to look like a hand tied bridal bouquet.  They actually photographed much better from above.  I had no idea how florists got the dome shape in a bouquet, so I didn’t really get the shape I wanted.  Still, I put them in a vase and enjoyed them until they started to fade.    

My second arrangement was done with Peonies, purple Iris and Stock from Trader Joe’s.  I absolutely LOVE Peonies.  I mean really… how can you make Peonies look bad?  They could have easily stood on their own with no other flowers.  I selected the bright purple Iris for some color pop and added the Stock for a fuller arrangement.

After the second arrangement started to look tired, I went back to Trader Joe's again and picked up some Lavender Roses, small red spray Roses, and Lisianthus in light pink, white and purple.  I think I would have liked this one better without so many different colors.  I was trying to get fancy by adding the contrasting red spray Roses, but looking back, I think my arrangement would have been better with less going on.

After the Roses in this arrangement faded, I pulled them out and kept the Lisianthus (which lasted for at least 2 weeks) and enjoyed them on their own.  I should have done that in the first place… kept it simple.

Then, on June 21, I took a class at the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens that was put on by the two lovely ladies from Flower Duet, Kit and Casey.  This was my first official introduction to flower arranging, and I got to learn some tricks of the trade.  If you have the chance and are in the area, I would highly recommend a class by Flower Duet.  I thought I would be intimidated, but Kit and Casey made if fun.  They were very encouraging and their instructions were clear and easy to follow.  They even walked around the room to help everyone.  We made a Summer Rose bouquet using Old Garden Roses, Spray Roses and Standard Roses.  Here is what my arrangement looked like:

During this class I was introduced to David Austin Roses and now find myself on the web site searching for the next perfect Rose that I hope to squeeze into my little garden.

During this same weekend, I found myself again at Trader Joe's.  This time I kept it simple; blue Hydrangea and some Stock arranged in a Vera Wang vase that I’d received as a wedding gift.

So that is my experience with flower arranging thus far.  I will post more arrangements as I create them.  My only wish is to one day have a garden large enough to be able to have enough of my own cut flowers to create a substantially sized bouquet.  As for now, I will have to stick to cut flowers from the grocery store and the little nosegays I do sacrifice cutting from my own garden.  In my next post I will add some pictures of the nosegays I've created.

Took some photos yesterday around the house.  

A white Hollyhock has bloomed 

along with the pink ones.

I love this Feverfew!  It's so pretty and in the Victorian Language of Flowers, 

it stands for fire, warmth and protection. 

The blue Columbine is still producing flowers.  Not like it did earlier in the year, 

but it still keeps going.

This pretty little Spear Fern was given to me by a very nice neighbor who sadly moved away last weekend.  It was a volunteer in her yard and I've now adopted it.  It will live next to my Autumn Fern.

Earlier in the year I planted some Forget Me Not and Chinese Forget Me Not seeds in a pot.  They put up foliage but now the flowers are starting to bloom.  This is the Chinese Forget Me Not.

Green Goddess Calla Lily progress.  It's growing pretty quickly now.

I just got this cute little moon stake for the garden.  The globe glows in the dark. 

Pretty Yarrow.  This color is Apricot Delight.

These Pansies have been blooming since I can't even remember when.  I guess they are happy here in their pot on the shelf in the side garden.

The blue Larkspur reseeded itself in its pot and is putting up spikes to bloom.  

My Delphinium is doing the same, although I didn't take a picture of that yet.

I love these hanging planters!  

I've put Alyssum and Lavender in them so that the scent will come in 

through the window when I'm working at my desk.

These are my Heirloom roses.  They were Hybridized in 1972 by William Warriner, a top rose breeder.  The fragrance is so strong!  Even when I'm in the side garden, the aroma drifts over the gate and it is heavenly.  I love how many clusters of flowers this rose has been putting out.

Recently, I have been looking online at David Austin Roses.  I had taken a flower arranging class put on by Flower Duet (http://www.flowerduet.com) at the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens, and some of the roses they used in the bouquet we made were David Austin roses.  I think the Old English Garden Roses are my favorite, although I don't actually have any.... yet.  That can definitely change, although I am starting to run out of room in my garden.  Somehow a gardener always manages to find or make room for yet another plant.