08 September - Red Dahlia

Here's another photograph of the red dahlias.

This summer, the plant surpassed all our expectations by growing over seven feet tall and producing dozens of massive flowers.

08 September - White-and-Pink Lupine

Phil and I planted this lupine in early summer and were happy when it bloomed out of season.

It is the only one without purple flowers this year. Our red one promptly died when I relocated it from a shady spot at the top, right of the gardens down to the side garden.

This lupine's flower stalk reached almost two feet before going to seed. I plan on harvesting the seeds and growing more lupines this color next spring.

08 September - Queen Cleome

Here are two photographs of the queen cleome that has gone into bloom.

Almost three feet tall, it is supposed to double in size.

This is the healthiest of the half dozen or so I planted in the gardens. I started them from seed in six packs in the nursery, which was heavily overgrown with dahlias and sweet peas before I knew it. But even after I moved them down to the porch by the chairs, the seedlings floundered throughout the cold, foggy summer. At the end of August, when the sun and heat finally arrived in The City, these flowers took off.

I'll add photographs of the others once they've gone into bloom.

080831 - Passion Vine

The passion vine has recovered nicely from last year, when I think I was under-watering it. Not only does it now cover the fence I initially started it on, but it is also climbing across the fence behind the side garden, up the tree between the two fences, and even through the fences into the neighbor's backyard.

The baby tears volunteered last winter to make a nice backdrop for the passion vine.

080831 - Prairie Mallow

We bought three prairie mallows last year. One died as soon as we planted it. Another is at the top of the hill on the right and is barely surviving under a shade tree. The third is this one, which has taken over the garden bed at the bottom right of the stairs.

I think it's gorgeous, with dozens of flower stocks. Phil thinks it's a little too successful. He wants to pull it out and donate it to the public staircase near our house. I suppose he's right, but I want to wait until late fall, when the rains come and we can rebuild the bed for spring.

080831 - Clarkia

The clarkia has done really nice throughout the gardens this year, though the ones in the backyard near the lemon tree have performed especially well.

This particular plant is almost two feet tall, with its trumpet-shaped flowers about one-third the size of your hand.

As I likely mention in another post, this is the second year I've had great success reseeding this rare native of Mendocino and Humboldt counties.

080831 - Ranunculus

This ranunculus went into bloom the last week of August, when summer finally came to The City.

I planted several dozen late last spring and assumed they would bloom next year, so I was really happy to see half a dozen or so tempted by our cold and foggy summer to put on a show now.

080831 - Dahlias

The dahlias came up when the calendar said it was summer, but they did not really put on a show until the end of August, when The City finally heated up.

The magenta dahlia is resting on a Hawaiian sedum, which will send up in a month or so tiny, pink flowers with a scent very much like that of honeysuckle.

080831 - Sweet Peas

Most of August was exactly like any other August in San Francisco: cold and foggy. Many of the summer plants, like these sweet peas, stopped growing and even started to wither and die.

But the last week of August saw the arrival of summer at last in The City, when the days and nights heated up. Dahlias, hollyhocks and these sweet peas sprang back to life at the same time six or so ranunculus bloomed out of season.