It’s native to south Asia, where it’s a weed (of course) of rice fields. That reminds me that the Lantana standard I so admired at Monticello is also a weed in India (and probably not trained to a standard there).

Thomas Jefferson may have acquired his Pentapetes seeds from Bernard McMahon, the Philadelphia nurseryman. There is apparently a range of red-to-pink shades. I only saw the red one, but pink is mentioned on the Monticello website.

Some links:

• Monticello: Scarlet Pentapetes
• Monticello: Pink Pentapetes
• The Flowers of India: Midday Flower

Oenothera glazioviana 'Tina James' and associates

I grew Oenothera glazioviana ‘Tina James’ from seed last year. Despite being chewed to the ground by something earlier in the year (blame the deer) it’s now blooming. A biennial, or maybe perennial if you don’t let the seeds mature, and the flowers pop open in the evening. Or so I’ve heard. One recent evening, I dragged the spouse up to the kitchen garden where they’re planted. “See, there’s this plant with big yellow flowers and they pop open in the evening. A garden writer named Tina James had parties where the opening of these these flowers was the entertainment.” So we waited. And waited. And waited. You could see they were going to open. The cross-shaped stigma emerged first, sort of sticking its tongue out at us. Then the reddish calyx started to split open, revealing the pale yellow petals. Then one petal began to raise an edge from the cigar roll of petals. Then we got tired of waiting and I peeled back the calyx. The petals did unfold and spread and the spouse agreed that they were nice flowers.

Oenothera glazioviana 'Tina James'

I took these photos early in the morning, which is the only time I’m going to see these flowers unless I plant some closer to the house (or go up to the garden in the evening and peel back calyces). Each flower lasts one night and is wilted and closed by mid-morning.

Next up, we have Impatiens balsamina. Sometimes called balsam, but that name is applied to so many plants that I prefer the Latin name. I grew these many years ago and decided to give them a try again. I’m glad I did. I don’t remember them being this floriferous before. Large semi-double flowers in various colors that are familiar from the more-common Impatiens walleriana. My only complaint is that seeds are only available in mixed colors and so you have to be prepared for some clashing shades of pink, red, and orange. Well, maybe I have another complaint, and that’s that the flowers are not at all self-cleaning. It takes a long time for them to drop off after they’re finished, and until they do they’re sort of brown and saggy. But the plants are nice and sturdy and they have quite a few flowers in bloom at once, giving a bright shot of color. Oh, and Thomas Jefferson grew them at Monticello and that’s a very big deal in central Virginia.

Impatiens balsamina

Sweet peas. I didn’t think I could grow them, but look. This is another thing that I grew many years ago. The first time I tried they bloomed nicely and every time I tried after that was a failure. I don’t remember doing anything in particular that first time, but this time I started seeds (Spencer Ripple Mix) during the winter in cell packs in the cold frame and then planted them out very early in the spring. It seems to have worked, but the plants looked as if they were about to dry up and die just before putting out this new growth and flowering. How long will they keep going? I have no idea.

Sweet Peas (Lathyrus odoratus)

Here’s a strange one. I grew these so-called Korean Hybrids Chrysanthemums from seed last year, and they bloomed last fall. I wasn’t too impressed with most of the flowers in the mix, but I didn’t dig them up either. Now some of them are blooming in June. Strange. These hybrids must have some summer-blooming ancestors. I’m still not impressed with the flowers.

Chrysanthemum, Korean Hybrids

Well, I’ve gone on long enough about these new plants and you need time to visit all the other blogs in bloom on this GBBD, so I’ll wrap up with the list of other plants in bloom at Tangled Branches South.

• Red-hot Poker (Kniphofia)
• Pink-flowered Oregano
• Coreopsis verticillata ‘Zagreb’
• Eryngium planun ‘Blue Glitter’
• Lavender ‘Munstead’
• Lavender ‘Grosso’
• Thyme, broad-leaved English
• Germander
• Nepeta transcaucasica ‘Blue Infinity’
• Verbena hastata ‘Pink Spires’
• Verbena bonariensis
• Achillea ‘Summer Berries’
• Monarda menthifolia
• some repeat bloom on various dianthuses
• Coral honeysuckle
• Phlox maculata ‘Miss Lingard’
• Platycodon (Balloon Flower)
• Various violas
• Cuphea llavea (Bat-faced cuphea)
• Nicotiana alata ‘Sensationally Fragrant Mix’
• Asclepias incarnata (Swamp Milkweed)

It’s the 15th of the month again and time for garden bloggers to show off what’s blooming in their gardens via Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, a internet event created and hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

Here at Tangled Branches South, we have dianthuses. Lots of dianthuses.

Dianthus 'Rainbow Loveliness'

I’ve been plugging Dianthus ‘Rainbow Loveliness’ for about as long as I’ve been growing it (since 2007). The fringy feathery flowers are spectacular grouped together, as you can see above, and also rewardingly complex up close.

Dianthus 'Rainbow Loveliness'

I wrote a longish post about ‘Rainbow Loveliness’ last year, so I won’t repeat myself. But in that post, I mentioned that one of the parents of ‘Rainbow Loveliness’ is a class of dianthus known as Allwood Pinks. When I saw a blend of Allwood Pinks called ‘Fragrant Village Pinks’ in the Chiltern Seeds catalog I had to buy some. I sowed the seed last spring and transplanted several of the plants to the kitchen garden. A few bloomed late last year, and greatly resembled ‘Rainbow Loveliness’. Hmm, didn’t expect that. Now most of the rest of them are in bloom. While I’d agree that they’re fragrant, I’m not so sure about any of them being Allwood Pinks. I have a range of colors, flower forms, and plant habits. Some of them are very nice.

Dianthus x allwoodii 'Fragrant Village Pinks'? These particular flowers have a wonderful spicy vanilla-y scent that reminds me of D. gratianopolitanus 'Bath's Pink'.

Some of the flowers are what I would call “curiosities”.

Dianthus x allwoodii 'Fragrant Village Pinks' ?

And a couple of the flowers even look like the photo on Chiltern’s website.

Dianthus x allwoodii 'Fragrant Village Pinks'

So I don’t know exactly what I’ve grown, but I like them all, even the curiosities.

Cottage-y flowers are a favorite of mine, so I couldn’t resist the catalog description of the single-flowered Sweet Williams:

No old English cottage garden could possibly be complete without its share of Sweet Williams, beautiful in the border and perhaps one of the most attractive cut flowers. Easy to grow; once established and left to themselves, they will take over your garden! We also offer lovely single-flowered Sweet Williams in separate colours.

The original, the quintessential, Sweet William, if you have the others, your garden must still have some of these.

Dianthus barbatus, Single-flowered Mix

I wouldn’t mind if they did take over my garden. They’re beautiful, they’re fragrant and each flower cluster sits atop a marvelously long straight stem, perfect for cutting. If you’ve only seen the hybrid Sweet Williams that garden centers sell in packs, these are a very different thing. They’re about 18 -24 inches tall (those the deer chewed off over the winter are shorter) and have a very full mounded habit.

Dianthus barbatus, Single-flowered Mix

That’s it for the dianthuses. I’m having so much fun with them; you may see more species and varieties here next year.

Another flower I’d like to point out is on a plant not usually grown for flowers. This is a culinary sage, Salvia officinalis ‘Extrakta’.

Sage 'Extrakta'

I’ve grown the plain species before, but I think the flowers on ‘Extrakta’ are nicer – more of them and a brighter blue than the plain species. And a side benefit – the Sweet Williams that were snuggled up next to the sage were not eaten by deer.

So, what else is in bloom? Here’s the list.

• Provencal Thyme
• Lemon Mist Thyme
• Chives
• Rosemary ‘Herb Cottage’
• Violas sown from seed saved from ‘Historic Florist Mix’
• Viola ‘Nature Mulberry Shades’ and ‘Nature Yellow and Red’
• Cuphea llavea (Bat-faced cuphea)
• Lonicera sempervirens (Coral Honeysuckle)
• Salvia x sylvestris ‘May Night’
• Salvia lyrata
• Galium verum
• Vegetables: Peas and Tomatoes!

And really, there’s not all that much in bloom at Tangled Branches South. We continue to focus on the kitchen garden but I’d be unhappy without flowers, so I add them as time and space permit. You’d think mid-April would be mid-Daffodil-Season, but mine are just about finished. Still blooming are ‘Dottie’s Dream’, ‘Salome’, some of the Rinus Rim Mixture.

Narcissus 'Dottie's Dream'

Narcissus 'Salome'

The tulips are just about at peak bloom. I don’t have any of the big ones, they’d be a bit later than these. Currently blooming are T. clusiana ‘Tinka’, T. clusiana ‘Cynthia’, Lily-flowered tulip ‘Mona Lisa’, and Lily-flowered tulip ‘Ballerina’.

Tulipa clusiana 'Tinka'

Tulip 'Ballerina'

Continuing on with some dramatic colors (Ballerina is a very attention-grabbing orange), we have a red pulsatilla. Now I may be a bit delusional about this – maybe it’s really more of a wine-red or reddish-purple – but it was sold to me as red and so that’s what I’m calling it. You can see that the fresher flowers are more red and the older, more purple.

Pulsatilla vulgaris

I was captivated by the colors of these pansies/violas a few weeks at Strange’s Garden Center in Richmond, VA. They’re ‘Nature Mulberry Shades‘, and the flowers range from purple to purple-orange to browninsh-orange. (Note to photographers – check your camera settings before starting to shoot. I left the camera set to ISO1600 and that caused these photos to be grainy. I plan to post more pictures of these violas to better show the range of colors, and I will check the camera settings first.)

Viola 'Nature Mulberry Shades'

We have various violas popping up everywhere, including the gravel driveway, but this one happens to be in the pea gravel around the porch. It’s a descendant of ‘Bowles’ Black’.

Viola (offspring of 'Bowle's Black')

I once planned to have a pool of early-flowering blue bulbs around a pair of trees in the crook of our driveway, but one of the trees died in a drought. The bulbs, however, are very happy with the dead tree roots and this Ipheion ‘Rolf Fiedler’ has filled in to an almost solid mat of flowers, now a little past their prime.

Ipheion 'Rolf Fiedler'

And lastly, ending this post the way it began, with subtle color and beautiful form.

Japanese Maple 'Omure Yama'

1. Mystery Insect.
   

   Margined Blister Beetle

   The late season pest devouring the eggplant leaves was a Margined Blister Beetle. Uh oh. These turn into a season-ending horde for many. I sure hope that doesn’t happen here, but that leaves another loose end to tie up later this summer. If you should happen to find one (or more) of these beetles, it’s best not to touch them – they cause blisters on human skin (hence the name), and they are toxic to livestock. But on the bright side, they eat grasshopper eggs – and we did have a large number of grasshoppers last year.

2. Mystery Zinnia.
   

   Angelonia, Lantana, Zinnia

   I found the tag today. It was ‘Crystal White’. A nice annual filler-type plant. Well worth growing.

3. Lemongrass.
   

   Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus)

   It grew and grew into huge attractive plants, and tasted just like store-bought. Just before frost, I cut most of it down, intending to freeze it, but just stayed in the crisper. It keeps a long time in the fridge, but not quite as long as I kept it there (I cut a huge amount). I finally threw it out last weekend after finding mold on it. I will definitely be growing grocery store lemongrass again this year. If you do the same, beware of the sharp leaf-edges. I cut myself more than once on them.

Another loose end which is too big to tie up here  is my evaluation of last year’s tomatoes and peppers and other sundry plants. Coming up soon.

I began sowing seeds yesterday. If you’re interested, I’m keeping track again this year at Folia. I still need to clean up some leftover info from last year, but all the recent plantings are there.

In this hot weather bold colors seem very appropriate, and some of the most-thriving plants are some of the boldest. I knew I wasn’t going to get a photo of everything in bloom today so I picked a few things to decorate the dinner table. In the photo (roughly top-to-bottom) are Pepper ‘Bellingrath Purple’, Celosia’ Sylphid’, Zinnia ‘Carousel Mix’, Coleus ‘Pineapple Wizard’, Cosmos ‘Memories of Mona’, Salpiglossis ‘Kew Blue’ and Coleus ‘Palisandra’.

A selection for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day

Here’s a more-or-less complete list of plants blooming today at Tangled Branches South, in the order in which I happened to think of them:

• Cuphea llavea (Bat-faced cuphea)
• Cuphea ignea
• Cuphea miniata ‘Summer Medley’ (self-sown)
• undetermined Cuphea (self-sown)
• Cosmos ‘Memories of Mona’
• Millet ‘Jester’
• Zinnia ‘Carousel Mix’
• Zinnia ‘Crystal White’?
• Angelonia
• Coleus ‘Pineapple Wizard’
• Coleus ‘Palisandra’ and others (self-sown)
• Salvia ‘Vista Purple’
• Lantana ‘Dallas Red’
• Verbena bonariensis
• Lonicera sempervirens (Coral honeysuckle)
• Celosia ‘Cramer’s Amazon’ (self-sown)
• Celosia ‘Sylphid’ (self-sown)
• Bronze amaranth (self-sown)
• Salpiglossis ‘Kew Blue’
• Petunia ‘Old Fashioned Vining’
• Portulaca, mixed single-flowers
• Dianthus ‘Fragrant Garden Pinks’
• Lavender ‘Munstead’ (rebloom)
• Hosta ‘Royal Standard’?

Zinnia, Coleus, Salpiglossis

I’d like to call special attention to a couple of plants. First, the zinnias. Why it took me so long to learn to love zinnias, I have no idea. They’re absolute butterfly magnets and almost totally drought-proof. Plus they’re cheap and easy from seed and available in many colors and sizes. I seem to remember them from years ago as being mildew-ridden, but these haven’t shown any signs of mildew at all. Second, salpiglossis. I’ve been looking at salpiglossis photos in seed catalogs ever since I started to look at seed catalogs. And I resisted buying the seed because “they don’t like heat and won’t grow in the South”. All the reference books and even the catalogs say so. Eventually desire got the better of all the contrary advice. And now they’re blooming in August in the hottest part of the garden in the hottest summer on record? I’ll admit that I started with three plants and now there’s only one. I did cut it back some after the first flush of bloom, but I did that with the other 2 as well. Still, I wonder how they’d do in a “normal” year and I plan to buy more seed next year.

That’s it for another Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. If you haven’t been there already, head over to Carol’s place and see what else is blooming on the internet today.

Cuphea llavea 'Tiny Mice'

It must be time for my annual post extolling the virtues of Cupheas. But  you could just go back and read one of the previous ones. So instead, how about  the virtues of red?

I planted all the hummingbird favorites next to the front porch again this year and hummingbirds are almost constantly sipping from these flowers. I’m not sure that red flowers are necessary to attract hummingbirds – I’ve seen them visiting plenty of flowers of other colors – but I happen to like red flowers myself and if they make the hummingbirds take notice, so much the better. Bat-faced Cuphea (Cuphea llavea) seems to get most of their attention.

Cuphea, Coleus, Salvia

This is very nearly the same plant combination I had in 2008. Cuphea llavea ‘Tiny Mice’, Coleus ‘Pineapple Wizard’, and Coleus ‘Palisandra’ are old favorites, but Salvia ‘Vista Purple’ is new to me. The hummingbirds like every flower in this grouping so I ignore conventional wisdom and let the coleus bloom . And sometimes you get free self-sown plants that way. I didn’t plant ‘Palisandra’ this year; it just came up on its own.

Cuphea, Angelonia, Zinnia

Blue/purple Angelonia and white small-flowered Zinnia are also attractive companions for Bat-faced Cuphea. Angelonia is absolutely unshaken by any type of summer weather in my experience. It’s almost boring. You plant it in the spring and it blooms non-stop without deadheading or any attention whatsoever until frost. But it apparently has no nectar because I’ve never seen a bee, butterfly or hummingbird near the flowers. (I’ll update this as soon as I remember the variety name of the little Zinnia, but it’s also been a good performer in this hot dry summer.)

Cuphea ignea

I didn’t plant Cuphea ignea this year, but I have it anyway. Another volunteer. I’ve had several cultivars of this in other years, and also the plain species, so I’ll just call this one C. ignea and leave it at that. It’s a very orange-y red, but I think it qualifies as red.

Lantana 'Dallas Red'

‘Dallas Red’ lantana is always eye-catching, although it’s generally more orange than red. The butterflies and hummingbirds love it, the deer and other herbivores hate it, and I think it’s pretty.

But look at this red. This took me by surprise last week. I know the heat and drought has been very hard on plants this summer, but it seems way too soon for this.

Japanese Maple 'Seiryu'

Most of the summer I don’t notice this ‘Seiryu’ Japanese maple much. It’s still a small plant which stands at the edge of the woods and blends in with the rest of the greens. When I walked by and saw red, I had to grab the camera.

Downy Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera pubescens) is blooming. (This deserves its own post and a better photo.)

Downy Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera pubescens)

Stink Bugs are ruining my tomatoes.

On the other hand, I picked 6 or 7 ‘Matt’s Wild Cherry’ tomatoes this morning and they were fine (and delicious as always).

Salpiglossis will grow in Virginia.

Salpiglossis 'Kew Blue'

Squash Vine Borers are ruining my zucchini.

We will have more okra this year than last.

‘Aji Crystal’ peppers have great flavor, but not much heat (so far).

I think I picked the first Hungarian Almapaprika peppers too soon because they didn’t have much flavor and the seeds look very immature. Maybe they’re only used ripe and dried?

Wish I knew the identity of these huge trumpet-shaped mushrooms in the woods.

Huge mushroom; at least 6 inches in diameter.

Hummingbirds adore Bat-faced Cuphea flowers.

Zinnia ‘Carousel Mix’ gives you some flowers that look like ‘Zowie Yellow Flame’ at a fraction of the cost.

Zinnia 'Carousel Mix' (this is just one of several colors)

Dianthus ‘Rainbow Loveliness’ is blooming for the second time this year.

It might be true that petunias repel bean beetles.

‘Fin de Bagnol’ beans have very tough strings.

I moved the RRP birdbath to Tangled Branches South and the bluebirds were very appreciative during the recent heat wave. (Robinson Ransbottom Pottery went out of business in 2005.)

Bluebird on Robinson Ransbottom Pottery Birdbath

I saw a Great Crested Flycatcher this afternoon.

The garlic is ready to dig, the Yellow Moon Dutch shallots are ready to dig, and the red onions from sets are almost ready to dig.

The first bin of German Butterball potatoes didn’t amount to much because the soil was too dry. Still tasty.

I ♥ dragonflies and I photographed a new one this afternoon.

Bar-winged Skimmer (Libellula axilena)

The spouse wasn’t home for dinner tonight, so the first pepper and egg sandwich of the year was all mine.