You can tell it is summer in Southern California because the days are overcast and gloomy until the afternoon and the beautiful blue agapanthus are blooming. Few plants grow more abundantly around here than these South African natives commonly called 'Lilies of the Nile'. When helping friends with their gardens I always recommend them although they are considered rather pedestrian around here. They come in the most beautiful shades of blue and purple available in any plant, have no disease or pest problems, require little water, make great cut flowers, bloom over a couple months in the summer (I have one that I swear for some odd reason blooms year round). They have lovely strapping foliage and are one of the largest and most dramatic flowers around. What's not to love? Too big for a small garden? No problem, the 'Peter Pan' cultivator is half the size of the common ones. I have dozens of them all around and stick them in problem areas where few other plants would survive. The only problem I have had with them is the voles in my Laguna garden absolutely love their thick, fleshy roots and have taken down more of these lovely plants than I care to think about. Summer is here - so are agapanthus!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Signs of Summer
You can tell it is summer in Southern California because the days are overcast and gloomy until the afternoon and the beautiful blue agapanthus are blooming. Few plants grow more abundantly around here than these South African natives commonly called 'Lilies of the Nile'. When helping friends with their gardens I always recommend them although they are considered rather pedestrian around here. They come in the most beautiful shades of blue and purple available in any plant, have no disease or pest problems, require little water, make great cut flowers, bloom over a couple months in the summer (I have one that I swear for some odd reason blooms year round). They have lovely strapping foliage and are one of the largest and most dramatic flowers around. What's not to love? Too big for a small garden? No problem, the 'Peter Pan' cultivator is half the size of the common ones. I have dozens of them all around and stick them in problem areas where few other plants would survive. The only problem I have had with them is the voles in my Laguna garden absolutely love their thick, fleshy roots and have taken down more of these lovely plants than I care to think about. Summer is here - so are agapanthus!
I always think of California as being sunny. :)I visited my niece once in Montery in May and it was jacket weather and windy to my surprise. She did warn us, however. I love the blue.
ReplyDeleteI do love these flowers. My sister used to live in Huntington Beach and I still remember seeing these planted all around. They are so pretty.
ReplyDeleteLilies of the Nile are also common in my neck of the woods. I still think they're wonderful. What is common here seems pretty exotic to other climes, so we should appreciate it. The great thing about these plants is their toughness.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, we love overcast days in the summer here in Florida! What a relief from the sun! June is great for clouds and storms, which is a relief after a very brutal April and May.
June gloom but that's CA! I have to admit, we do have great weather and flowers are blooming. Beautiful photo!
ReplyDeleteI try to overwinter these in my basement every winter and it usually doesn't work. This year, I did not buy any and now I miss them. I see a lot of 'Peter Pan' around here and it's the one I've bought several times. You're so lucky to have so many. They're gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteps Your granddaughter is just precious too.