We have had a cool summer for the most part here at Peacock Horticultural Nursery, with foggy mornings and low to mid-seventies in the afternoon. Not that I am complaining, as lower temperatures mean less watering for me. The following are some of the plants that are blooming or bearing fruit this month:
- Asclepias physocarpa (Milkweed) – Great plant to attract butterflies to your garden. 4-6′ tall with white flowers followed by lime green, balloon-like seed pods.
- Clerodendron bungei ‘Pink Diamond’ (Variegated Glory Bower) – A beautiful 30″ shrub for part shade in USDA zones 8 – 9. Blooms 3 – 4 months with fragrant, pink flowers. Foliage is variegated with white and various shades of green.
- Clerodendron trichotomum (Harlequin Glorybower) – A small suckering tree to about 15′ for sun to part shade in USDA zones 6 – 9. Flowers are very fragrant and white, and in the fall bear bright blue fruits.
- Colletia paradoxa, Colletia spinosa, and Colletia ulicina – Nearly leafless, spiny, South American shrubs with white to pink fragrant flowers in summer.
- Crinodendron hookerianum (Chilean Lantern Tree) – A 15′ evergreen shrub originally from South America with red flowers. Grows best in partial shade in USDA zone 8b – 10. Freezes may damage flowers or young growth.
- Dianella tasmanica (Tasman Flax Lily) – A 2-3′ strap-leafed perennial for the shade garden. Blue flowers are followed by very striking deep blue fruits in summer.
- Eryngium pandanifolium (Giant Sea Holly) – A clump forming perennial for full sun in USDA zone 7 – 9. The thin, spiny, silver-green leaves are 3′- 4′ and the thistle-like, multi-branched flower stalk can be 8′. A very impressive plant in bloom!
- Hibiscus x moscheutos ‘Lord Baltimore’ (Rose Mallow) – A hardy 5′ tall perennial with large, red Hibiscus flowers from Summer until the first frost. Dormant in winter and hardy to USDA Zone 5.
- Musschia wollastonii (Madeira Giant Bellflower) – A rare monocarpic plant from the Island of Madeira. Forms a large rosette of green leaves a top a woody trunk up to 3′ – 5′. Produces a huge, multi-branched, pyramidal display of odd greenish-yellow flowers and then dies.
- Puya mirabilis– A terrestrial Bromeliad that forms many 2′ rosettes of thin, spiny, grass-like leaves. Chartreuse flowers are produced on 2-3′ stalks in summer.
- Roscoea purpurea (Roscoe’s Lily) –A winter dormant perennial for part sun in USDA zones 7b to 9b. Rich purple flower to 2.5″ in summer.










