Rose Fragrant Cloud

Summer’s Finale: Rose, Lily, Dahlia

Fall (autumn) is almost here. We have had actual rain in the past week, and more is predicted. I am no longer a slave to the hose and watering can.

Here are some photos from August, which is usually a dismal month in the garden–tired, seedy, and dry. This year, despite the heat dome of June and hardly any rain, the scene was blessed by three plants: the rose “Fragrant Cloud,” happy in its new big pot, two plants of the dahlia “Bishop of Llandaff” (also in pots), and a couple of late-blooming white lilies (grown in half-barrels). That’s the secret: pots (and the gardener with the watering can).

White lily and pink African violet indoors August 2021

Dahlia "Bishop of Llandaff" closeup August 2021

Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium niponicum) and yellow leaf August 2021 — Fall begins. Autumn arrives.

Strange and Wonderful

We’re roasting through another heat wave on the west coast. Here are sights from the garden in July and so far in August. First the strange…

Rose "Fragrant Cloud" bloom bleached by sun during June 2021 heat wave — Flower of rose “Fragrant Cloud” bleached by the late June heat wave.

This is “Fragrant Cloud’s” normal colour

Battarrea phalloides mushroom with trowel for size comparison July 2021 — The weird dryland mushroom *Battarrea phalloides* is back again this summer. (The trowel is there as a size comparison. It’s about 8 in. or 20 cm.)

Borage flowers from above July 2021 — Borage flowers viewed from above. Sort of an *art nouveau* effect, I think.

Windblown cloud or maybe contrail July 2021 — A wind-sculpted cirrus cloud (or maybe a contrail.)

And now the wonderful…

Borage flowers July 2021 — Borage flowers

White Lychnis coronaria and Beach Pea (Lathyrus japonicus) June 2021 — White *Lychnis coronaria* and beach pea (*Lathyrus japonicus*). Two quasi-weeds having a moment.

Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum) and orange daylily — This Japanese painted fern (*Athyrium niponicum*) has outdone itself again this summer.

Heuchera "Timeless Orange" with leaves coloured cream, yellow, orange, and red — Heuchera “Timeless Orange” showing leaf colours other than orange.

Pink oriental lily from mixed batch August 2021 — Another lily from the impulse buy mixed bag of bulbs.

Pink dahlia flowers August 2021 — The Nameless Dahlia in fine form.

That’s it for now. Tomatoes are ripening; with luck they won’t roast on the vine.

Late Summer in the Garden

August is not this garden’s best month. Since I no longer have a vegetable patch, I don’t experience that plentiful harvest thing. Except for tomatoes. I grow them in pots, and this has been quite a productive year.

Otherwise, things have that dry and rattly look.

There are a few exceptions.

Dahlia “Bishop of Llandaff” and Delphinium in new flush of growth

Today I saw developing buds on my Chinese witch hazel. One branch has managed to grow into a spot that gets a bit more sun than the rest of the plant, and so will bloom next winter. The Convolvulus sabatius I thought was killed last winter is alive and well (although small), and yesterday I potted up seedlings of Gaura lindheimeri. Now the trick is to get them through the winter. For some reason I have had trouble with this plant in recent years. I don’t know if it’s because of late cold snaps (such as last February’s -9 C) or excessive wetness in the dormant season. I do have more seeds if this batch fails.

I see I have mentioned winter several times in this post about late summer. Yes, I am actually looking forward to winter, which here is green and wet, a refreshing change from endless sunshine and drought. Before that, I hope, we will have the delightful season I think of as spring-in-fall, with shorter, cooler days and rain. Many spring-blooming shrubs put out a few blooms then and the garden seems to sigh with relief. Certainly the gardener does.

My “Fragrant Cloud” rose (a rather feeble specimen growing in a pot on its own roots, not grafted) escaped being eaten by deer this summer, so is blooming again.

Rose “Fragrant Cloud”

These dark red sedums have likewise been spared by deer, even though they are in the unfenced front garden. It seems to me that deer have distinct preferences; a couple of years ago sedums had no chance, but these have been blooming for weeks.