Remaining and arriving

Still blooming are bachelor buttons, firewheels, black-eyed Susans, sweet peas, lettuce flowers (bolted black-seeded Simpson), cypress vine, scarlet runner beans, purple morning glories, delphiniums, California poppies, red poppies, and lantanas. Fresh on the scene are cucumber blossoms and fennel flowers. The cooler weather has brought new flowers to nasturtiums, chiles, and tomatoes. Thyme tries to bloom but gets pinched back; the same's true for basil. The cardinals are enjoying the berries from the prior flush of lantana flowers. We were surprised to learn from an acquaintance that she had paid ten dollars apiece for passion vines, when it's perfectly possible to grow them from seed. She was distressed about caterpillars but cheered up when she learned that they're future gulf fritillaries and that the vines will recover.