Spring arrives early in coastal Southern California. Despite the complete lack of rain in November and again in January, the heavier-than-usual rain in December raised my expectations for a bountiful spring. And, generally speaking, that's what we have this February, despite an utter lack of rain this month too. However, after an extended blast of exceptionally warm, dry weather, some cool-season bloomers have beat a rapid retreat, while others are hustling to take center stage ahead of schedule.
I'll focus on the plants making the biggest splash first. As it's impossible for me to choose favorites this month, I'm going to show them alphabetically by genus.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Arctotis 'Pink Sugar' started blooming in January and should keep on going throughout our cool season (unless winter and spring heatwaves become the norm) |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Arctotis 'Opera Pink' got its start last week |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Bauhinia x blakeana (aka Hong Kong orchid tree) handled last week's gusty winds better than expected |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Ceanothus arboreus 'Cliff Schmidt' went from buds to full bloom seemingly in the blink of an eye when temperatures soared last week. Last year it didn't bloom until mid-March. |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Literally, all my Grevilleas are in bloom this month. Top row: Grevillea alpina x rosmarinifolia, G. 'Poorinda Leane', and G. sericea Second row: Grevillea lavandulacea 'Penola', dwarf G. rosmarinifolia, and G. 'Scarlet Sprite' Third row: Grevillea 'Ned Kelly', G. 'Peaches & Cream', and G. 'Superb' |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' is flowering well despite significant pruning in the fall |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Two of my Leucadendrons, L. 'Safari Goldstrike' (left) and L. 'Wilson's Wonder' (right), are doing their best to emulate flowers |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Like the Grevilleas, the Osteospermums make the best of the cool season. Clockwise from the upper left: Osteospermum 'Berry White', O. 'Double Moonglow', O. 'Summertime Sweet Kardinal', O. 'Purple Spoon', O. 'Violet Ice', and a noID self-seeded trailing variety. |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Pyrethropsis hosmariense (aka Moroccan daisy, syn Rhodanthemum hosmariense) is brightening up my front garden |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Scabiosa columbaria appears to be turning into a nearly year-round bloomer. The one on the left is 'Flutter Deep Blue' and the one on the right is 'Flutter Rose Pink'. |
Although bulb blooms will appear at intervals into April or May, there are enough flowers in that category this month to address them as a separate group.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Unfortunately, the Anemone coronaria didn't respond well to last week's dry winds and 80+F temperatures. 'Admiral' (left) and the noID blue variety (right) went underground after their photos were taken. |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Freesias in a variety of colors are popping up all over the garden |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| I planted 5 Hippeastrum 'Luna' bulbs in pots in mid-November. All have produced at least 3 bloom stalks. This is the most recent pot to produce blooms. |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Ipheion uniflorum (left) and this noID Narcissus come back every year |
At this time of year, new flowers appear almost daily.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Antirrhinum majus 'Chantilly Bronze' (upper left) and 'Chantilly Peach' showed up in my cutting garden nearly in unison and the noID snapdragon varieties planted in a barrel in my front garden (bottom row) trailed them by less than a week. All gave up their first blooms in service to 'In a Vase on Monday' yesterday. |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Aristea inaequalis, a South African native related to Iris, surprised me on Sunday with its first blooms. I hadn't even noticed bloom stalks prior to that. The flowers are bluer than they appear in these photos. |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| The rockroses on the south side of the house all produced their first flowers within days of one another last week. From left to right are: Cistus 'Grayswood Pink', C. x skanbergii, and C. x pulverulentus 'Sunset'. |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| I'm over the moon about the first flowers on this Leucospermum 'Sunset' even though none are yet fully open. I put the shrub in a large pot in March 2019 but moved it in June 2020 to provide better sun exposure in the process of renovating a bed on the south end of my back garden. That was one of my first pandemic projects. This is the first time this particular Leucospermum has flowered. |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| This is a wild cucumber plant that always manages to surprise me when it stealthily starts winding its way through the south end of my garden. Marah macrocarpa is a California native vine. All parts of the plant are poisonous. |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| This climbing 'Joseph's Coat' rose is the first to appear since I pruned all the roses in my meager collection in early January. I didn't even notice it until the heatwave had nearly done it in. |
Accompanied by steady dry winds, last week's version of a winter heatwave triggered an early exit by some flowers that were looking great just ten days ago. The Anemone coronaria flowers offer one example, although I'm still hoping for a recovery in that group as temperatures continue to drop this week. The lack of rain since December has also had a significant impact in that many of my direct-sown seeds simply failed to germinate when I didn't make up the difference using irrigation.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection' has been dropping its flowers at a record rate and even those still on the shrub look like they're struggling to hold on |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Daphne odora 'Leucanthe' hasn't grown much since I planted it over 2 years ago but it's still alive, if not thriving. This variety is supposed to require only "moderate" water. The flowers have dried up since I took this photo a week ago. |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| The ornamental pear tree (Pyrus calleryana) shows how quickly plants can be transformed by a run of unseasonably warm, dry weather. The photo on the bottom left was taken on February 5th and the one on the bottom right was taken yesterday. |
I'll close this Bloom Day survey as I usually do with collages showing the best of the rest that's flowering this month, organized by color.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Top row: Campanula portenschlagiana, Echium handiense, and Felicia aethiopica Second row: Lavandula multifida, Limonium perezii, and Lobelia erinus Third row: Pericallis 'Senetti Blue', Salvia 'Bee's Bliss', and Viola cornuta 'Penny Peach' |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Left to right: trailing Lantana, Pelargonium peltatum, and Polygala fruticosa |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Top row: Arbutus 'Marina', Agryranthemum frutescens 'Comet Pink', and Boronia crenulata 'Shark Bay' Second row: Centranthus ruber, Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold', and Cuphea 'Starfire Pink' Third row: Hebe 'Wiri Blush', Helleborus 'Anna's Red', and Pelargonium peltatum 'Pink Blizzard' |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Left to right: Argyranthemum frutescens 'White Butterfly', Crassula multicava, and Westringia fruticosa 'Morning Light' |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Top row: Agryranthemum 'Yellow Butterfly', Euphorbia rigida, and Euryops chrysanthemoides 'Sonnenschein' Second row: Gaillaridia 'Spintop Copper Sun', noID Gazania, and noID Grindelia Third row: Phlomis fruticosa, Phylica pubescens, and Tagetes lemmonii |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Clockwise from the left: Aloe deltoideodonta, Lobelia laxiflora, Metrosideros collina 'Springfire', Sparaxis tricolor, and Tropaeolum majus |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Clockwise from the upper left: Calliandra haematocephala, Gazania 'White Flame', Pelargonium sidoides, and Ribes viburnifolium |
For bloom surveys from other parts of the country and spots around the world, check in with Carol of May Dreams Garden, the creator and champion of the phenomenon that is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.
All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party