Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - July 2012

How time flies! It’s GBBD time again already – and how can it be July already?

In any case, I have a lot blooming this month. Some of it indoors – the Abutilon had to stay in the kitchen this year, because I had no space for them on the balcony:

And the Ceropegia sandersonii is back, finally, after sulking for quite a while because I tried to take cuttings (which rotted):

In the living room, the Begonia corallina is blooming tirelessly, growing ever larger and constantly making a mess.

On the balcony, I have bean blooms that refuse to let themselves be photographed, eggplants…

… tomatoes…

That white background? That’s the balcony above mine. Yes – the currant tomatoes have hit the ceiling. In July. I’m a little afraid of the rest of the summer.

Thanks to the weird weather we’ve had, I have a few bolted carrots:

I wonder if this was one of the purple ones – I’ve never seen a pink-flowered carrot before!

I have nasturtiums:

A single wax begonia – I still hate them, but supposedly they’re tasty, so I’ll give them a try.

It’s not really visible in the picture, but the plant is growing out the side of a shopping bag hanging on the wall. That way, it’s hidden away in a corner and I don’t have to look at it quite that often. And also, if I’m going to grow such a dead boring flower, which is planted on every other grave in the country, I have to grow it in a quirky way!

The volcanic sorrel is already peeking into the above picture, so let’s look at that one next:

I love that plant as much as I hate wax begonias. And I think my plant (grown from overwintered cuttings) looks so much better than the ones we grew at work (from bought plug plants) – they were growing like crazy, leggy and sprawling, while mine was bushy and compact from the start.

I just wish my customers wouldn’t always mistake it for evil Oxalis corniculata – I’m sick of defending the volcanic sorrel all the time, especially since people just won’t listen – they keep on ranting about how terrible creeping woodsorrel is, and don’t hear a word of what I say about volcanic sorrel not being the same thing, and not hardy or invasive. Gah!

On a happier note – look! It’s a gesneriad, in my care, and it’s still blooming!

The mixed planter isn’t looking quite as cute as when it was when it was freshly planted – I had to cut back the lobelia, because it decided it was done blooming – but it’s still pretty:

Lucky clover/Oxalis tetraphylla is growing wherever there was a tiny bit of free space – I had far too many bulbs!

Germander sage (?) next to the door:

In the background, Convolvulus sabatius:

Lantanas, always making a mess, but I still have a soft spot for them:

And of course, my current passion – passion flowers.

Passiflora trifasciata:

‘Amethyst’, growing along above the door – the passion flowers are much better behaved than last year’s morning glories, they haven’t yet tried to grow into the living room and strangle me!

P. vitifolia, in a tangle of beans and volcanic sorrel – I love my jungle!

Edit: And look who started to bloom this afternoon – I love ‘Sapphire’!

‘Lady Margaret’, however, is annoying me. She seems to be dying, for no reason I can see. Since I was already making a mess today, I chopped off the healthy-looking bits – we’ll see if the cuttings will root.

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