Not Bad For Early September, The Lagerstroemias Being Late

The garden is in decent shape, considering this is the start of September.  Trees and shrubs look healthy due to the relatively mild summer that followed a wonderful cool and rainy winter.
 Verdant without a lawn:  some of our shrubs and some of the neighbor's trees.

 Quite a few plants continue to bloom. 

 Adding a few more heat-loving plants:  Lantana, Pentas, and the delightful large-flowered Marigolds--has made late summer more ornamental.  There's more to look at than overgrown Geranium 'Rozanne'

The Zephrantes bloom and rebloom several times in late summer here.

 Dahlias were the joy of August, and are still going.  

Even the roses are having a reasonably good summer.  Last year was dreadful.

The recently planted Melaleuca lateritia is producing more flowers.  Nice!

 The Lagerstroemias, being late this year, are coloring up early September instead of being the stars of early August.   

 Several Lagerstroemia beauties nearby in the neighborhood.  This is one of my favorites, growing on a busy traffic-heavy street surrounded by asphalt, block wall, and concrete.  Glorious in spite of said location.

 It is growing around and integrating an old irrigation pipe into itself.  I wonder if it is getting water from that pipe, or if it creates its transient glory on winter rain alone. 

  More lovelies around the corner.

 A multi-trunk version of the busy-street variety.  I prefer multi-trunk Lagerstroemias.  They seem more natural, plus the trunks are eventually ornamental themselves, with their silky smooth, multicolored bark.  

Also around the neighborhood, the Plumeria are having an excellent year.  I don't have any Plumeria.  They are beautiful things, but...

At home, the east side Lagerstroemia 'Dynamite' is ahead of the west side 'Dynamite'.  The past two years, it has been the opposite.
The east side 'Dynamite': 

The black-foliaged 'Ebony' series of Lagerstroemias, of which the garden now has four, have proven to be slow growers, which seems an advantage, not a drawback.  Slow growers need less frequent maintenance.

'Ebony Embers', planted in 2015, is the oldest black-foliage one in the garden.  About 7' tall this year.

The second 'Embers' (2016) is just down the slope from the first one.  It's nearly as tall as the first because there is more moisture at the bottom of the slope. 

 

'Ebony Fire' planted 2017 is the smallest grower of the 'Ebony' series (I think).  It is nestled in among daylilys, Gaillardia, roses, Arctotis, and such, where the Hymenolepis crithmifolia used to be.  Flower buds but no flowers yet.   The truly black foliage makes a strong but not gaudy accent.  A red Pentas plant recently planted at its base;  should have done white.  Next time. 

 I got this one last year and had no appropriate place to plant it.  Black Diamond^® Purely Purple^™.  It is a seedling of one of the 'Ebony' series. No flowers yet, either.  I will need to move it.  I thought it was a petite grower but apparently not.  Ooopsie!  Best to move when dormant, probably this winter. Barely knee high, so it should be relatively easy.

 Here might be a good spot for it, in one of the gully terraces.  Ceanothus 'Valley Violet' died there.  Time for something else.
'Ebony Glow' planted in 2017, is in the veggie garden area.  The blush-pink flowers are dramatic against the black foliage.  This is supposed to be the biggest grower, more a small tree than a shrub, to something like 15'-20 tall.  After 2 years in the ground, it is now about 6'. 

 This year's Lagerstroemia, 'Cherry Mocha', was a gift from a fellow blogger who was given a couple to trial, but only had room for one.  It was a tiny start in a little pot.  Still small, although it has tripled in size this summer.  Potted up into a larger container because the root system was growing out of the tiny pot.  Seems vigorous and healthy.  It's advertised as surviving in colder zones, so it would have to be vigorous.  The tag said a small shrub in colder zones "but larger in warmer areas with no die back due to freezes".  Okay then.

As to actual gardening, not much.  I managed to get over 100 of the 'Stained Glass' bulbils (plantlets) into a flat of cactus mix.  About 50 or 60 left to plant, if I can scrounge another flat.  

 For the next six or seven days, not much gardening besides spot watering the wilting.  Temperatures around 90F (32 C) are predicted for the whole week.  The heat is finally here.