what's blooming now

I was recently bemoaning the lack of flowers in my garden. During summer's heat, the plants go into a semi-dormancy, and flowering tapers off. Sometimes the flowering stops altogether as that plant's season is over, but even longer flowing plants have less/no flowers or smaller or shorter-lived flowers. I went out today, figuring I'd catch a few things in bloom to photograph, and I was surprised at how many things were blooming.

Salvia pitcheri is blooming, and better than I expected.


It has cooled down enough for Salvia 'Indigo Spires' to stop wilting and start blooming.

Salvia chamaedryoides is blooming again. It has bloomed all summer, but during July and August, the flowers were smaller and fewer.

Rose 'Winchester Cathedral' has put out a flush of flowers. It's supposed to be white, but given that it is a sport of pink 'Mary Rose', it has a tinge of pink.

Mariola looks boring in the picture. Who would have guessed what a delight it is? I've never watered this plant. It stays compact, doesn't require pruning, and the best part is that it positively glows in the evening and on moonlight nights, even compared to other gray-leafed plants. I've just put in two more.

Although Penstemon heterophyllus 'Margarita BOP' is a big mess, it has had a few flowers on it all summer from the remaining flower stems. The plants that were neatened up have no flowers. The problem is that it reblooms on the ends of old flower stems, so that the seed heads can't be trimmed off for neatness if you want rebloom.

Oregano 'Kent Beauty' has some colorful bracts hanging on.

Dittany of Crete has some nice bracts showing, and the bees love it.

I trimmed back Salvia coahuilensis when the stems got scraggly in July, but now it is blooming again. For such a vigorous plant, I was surprised it took so long.

Ceanothus 'Gloire de Versailles' is blooming again, with a few bunches of blooms the color of faded blue jeans. Really faded.

Chocolate flower has been blooming all summer, but now it is getting cool enough for me to go out and sniff it in the morning.

This seedling Agastache echoes the colors of the Sandia mountains.

The stalwart Agastache 'Firebird' in front of the trunk of my desert willow.

Agastache 'Ava' backlit by morning light. I hope it doesn't die like the other one. It's funny how this plant has a scraggly appearance for a while, but then when it starts blooming in earnest, it looks much fuller.