Summer’s Edible & Colorful Garden – Part 2 (colorful)

Earlier, we took a virtual image stroll through a southern California summer garden (Summer’s Edible & Colorful Garden – Part 1 (edible)), highlighting some of the edible elements. Another type of food for the soul part of a garden is the lively vibrant colors and often times, sweet fragrances it can add to your surroundings.

Join me in the second part of our stroll through just some of a summer garden’s colors…

Most of these images for both Part 1 and 2 of “Summer’s Edible & Colorful Garden” were taken over a three week period. A garden is constantly changing with plants going in and out of bloom, taking off in a growth flurry and slowing down preparing for the next season.

With some planning, modifications, additions and deletions we’re enjoying the landscape as every season delivers new colors. As some trees and plants are just starting their grand spectacle display, others are winding down until their next curtain call.

Bougainvillea loves warm weather and can be an aggressive grower. In return, the vine (shaped and encouraged in a topiary habit) does not disappoint with its paper-like, bright magenta flowers. The plant, in general, is very easy to care for. However, let the plant go too long without a manicure and you’ll have an unwieldly mess of entanglement with the most wicked of thorns to contend with!

The agapanthus (lily of the Nile). Attractive in group plantings with their very long stemmed summer bloomers. Take a closer look at the flowers next time you’re near one. An inconspicuous beauty of color and a gentle bluish-purple stripe through each petal. The first time I really stopped to admire its beauty was when I was looking at them up close through my camera. Striking!

While we have many colorful jewels in the yard, one of our favorites that continues to delight us both in the summer and fall are our crape myrtles. The tree is an absolute garden’s gem as they are so easy to care for and deliver such beauty! Clusters of either pink, lavender or red blooms take over the tree in the summer. In the fall the blooms are all but spent, but the leaves continue on the color brigade as it transforms from hues of greens to traditional autumn colors in shades of copper, bronze, reds, oranges and yellows.

The deep red Dynamite® Crape Myrtle is starting to flower in one image, with a fuller bloom on the next image.

What would a garden be without its creatures that make it all the more a living wonder? From bees, lizards, birds, and other unmentionable creatures (rabbits, squirrels, gophers, owls, hawks, coyotes, etc.), they are all a native part of the ecosystem.

The crape myrtles are a favorite tree to find the wonders of life in. We are blessed every year with nests from all types of beautiful colorful birds and many from the magical hummingbirds. It’s a lively and happy sound when mother or father birds stop by to feed their nests of hungry chicks. Their chirps and calls are happy reminders of the beauty of life.

In this image, the young hummingbird chick is ready to leave the nest any day now. In fact, the day after this image was made of our young resident – he took that first flight out of the nest to start his new life. We are empty nesters a hundred times over, for sure!

The delicate shapes and textures of leaves from the Ginkgo and Japanese maple add to nature’s stunning color palette with their myriad shades of earthy greens.

The decorative evergreen of the Nandina aka Heavenly Bamboo provides reliable color throughout the year. New growth is bronzy-reds and depending on the variety planted, bright shades of reds, burgundy, oranges and copper in the cooler months. The colder the climate, the redder the leaves are transformed.

Melaleuca’s inconspicuous pink and white flowers look like soft pom-poms.

The Jacaranda is a grand, large tree with woodsy pods and clusters of purple to lavender colored flowers through some of the summer months.

A new personal favorite summer flower are the petunias. Such a hearty flower to survive the summer heat and still provide such an array of either solid, striped or variegated colorful blooms. They’re just lovely.

Although pansies are cooler weather flowers, these winter yellow pansies were lovingly transplanted to a cooler area in the garden by yours truly in hopes of their survival through the warm season weather. So far so good.

Thank you so much for visiting and joining me on this virtual garden image stroll!

I think we’ve worked up a thirst and deserve a seat under some shade. Let’s enjoy a glass or two of Sangria with fresh summer fruits like slices of peaches and bits of cherries and blueberries…