Bloom Day - April 2022

Last week's heatwave took the blush off some blooms in my garden this month but there are still a large number of plants in full flower.  I've seen signs that some prominent early summer blooms are already gearing up to take off too but I'm ignoring them for the moment in order to give the cool season blooms what may be their last opportunity to shine.

I'll start with the plants making the biggest impact at the moment.

When the last heatwave started during the middle of last week, I'd have sworn there wasn't a single bloom on this Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid'.  Now it's covered in blooms, some already sunbleached.

I took this photo of Echium webbii at the start of the heatwave.  It looks a little less perky now.

Echium candicans 'Star of Madeira' gets woodier and its floral spikes seemingly get shorter with each passing year.  The time will come when I need to replace it with fresh plant.

Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' surprised me with a fresh flush of bloom following our last rainstorm in late March when I'd already given up on it making much of a spring showing

Blooming on a smaller scale, there are also a host of other plants that make strong statement at this time of year.

For all practical purposes, Centranthus ruber is a weed here; however, I've let it spread in the dry garden area on the northeast side of our house and on the back slope below.  I've tried to encourage self-seeding by the white variety while limiting the pink variety but the latter still dominates.

Hymenolepsis crithmifolia (aka Coulter bush) returns reliably after its winter pruning.  I like the color of its flowers best at the early stage of bloom shown here.  They eventually turn a golden mustard color.

The Pacific Coast Irises (Iris douglasiana) are off and running.  While 'Santa Lucia' (left) took a hit from last week's heat, the temperatures jolted 'Wilder than Ever' (right) into bloom at last.

The hybrid Dutch Irises (Iris hollandica) already in full bloom when the heat hit, like 'Eye of the Tiger' and 'Sapphire Beauty' (top row), faded rapidly and are virtually gone.  In contrast, 'Oriental Beauty' and 'Lion King' (bottom row) have only just made an appearance.

I'm perplexed by my sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) this year.  I sowed seeds of a blue mix, a purple mix, a white variety, and a 'Navy' variety but they all look like'Navy' to me.

Unlike some of my Grevilleas, Leucospermums bloom for a shorter period. Top: Leucospermum 'Goldie' Middle: Leucospermum 'Sunrise' Bottom: Leucospermum 'Royal Hawaiian Brandi' and L. 'Spider Hybrid'

Limonium perezii's paper-like flowers look good for months

Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset' is currently trying to swamp every other plant in its path.  Often sold as a hanging vine, I use it as a groundcover.

Pandorea jasminoides blooms much of the year but the flowers are most profuse in spring

Rosa 'Golden Celebration' flowered little, if at all, last year but it responded well to the somewhat higher rainfall this year.  I planted this rose in an odd spot behind my lath house facing the street, where it's very difficult to photograph.

With the exception of Rosa 'Pink Meidiland' (lower right), most of my small collection of roses produce just a few blooms off and on.  The top row features 'Joseph's Coat' and 'Medallion'.  The white rose is unidentified.  All those in this group came with the garden.

I've planted blue-eyed grass in other areas with limited success but Sisyrinchium 'Devon Skies', planted in early December, appears to be relatively happy here

Next up are my old standbys with extended bloom periods.

Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', 'Inca Sundance', and one of the many noID pink varieites that came with the garden

Arctotis 'Large Marge' (top row) and A. 'Pink Sugar' (bottom row) haven't been bothered by the local bunnies but they've eaten so many of the 'Opera Pink' variety I couldn't manage a good photo of it this month

Argyranthemum frutescens is at its best when the temperatures are on the cool side.  Left to right are 'Pink Comet', 'White Butterfly', and 'Yellow Butterfly'.

The floral petals of Cistus x skanbergii and C. 'Sunset' scatter when the wind blows but they keep on coming

Grevillea 'Superb' (top row) is still the queen of year-round blooming shrubs.  Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' (lower left) also blooms year-round but less prolifically.  Grevillea 'Scarlet Sprite' and G. sericea will fade out by mid-summer if not before.

My extensive collection of Osteospermums have taken our repetitive heat spells rather hard and I've cut the bulk of the plants back.  'Violet Ice' (left) and '4D Pink' (right) are still looking passable.

Pelargoniums can take a good deal of heat, at least for a time.  Clockwise from the upper left: Pelargonium cucullatum, P. 'Orange Fizz', P. 'Lady Plymouth', P. peltatum 'Flamingo' (with 'Pink Blizzard'), P. peltatum 'Lavender', and P. tomentosum.

Scabiosa columbaria 'Flutter Deep Blue' and 'Flutter Rose Pink' never seem to completely shut down their floral output either

Some plants I haven't deliberately grown for their blooms are also contributing to this month's floral parade.

I like the flowers of Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi' (left) and the almost identical flowers of 'Kiwi Verde' (right) more than those of most succulents but I'd really prefer that the plants didn't bloom at all, or at least far less often

Didelta 'Silver Stand', purchased for its drought-tolerant succulent silver foliage, produced surprisingly vibrant flowers

I have a lot of colorful weeds I probably couldn't get rid of if I tried (at least not without poisons I won't use) so I tolerate their spread in moderation.  They include Erigeron karvinskianus and Geranium incanum (left) and Oenothera speciosa (aka pink evening primrose, right).

I'll end this very long post with collages showing what else I've got tucked in corners here and there.

Top: Anagallis 'Wildcat Mandarin', Antirrhinum majus 'Chantilly Bronze', and Cuphea 'Vermillionaire' Middle: Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian Peach', Lantana camara 'Irene', and Leonotis leonurus Bottom: Metrosideros collina 'Springfire', Narcissus 'Geranium', and Tropaeolum majus

Clockwise from the upper left: Cotula lineariloba, Echeveria apus, Gazania 'Gold Flame', Lomandra hystrix 'Tropic Belle', and Phlomis fruticosa

Top: Coleonema album, noID Cotoneaster, and Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus) Middle: noID Ixia, Leucojum aestivum, and Mimulus bifidus Bottom: Nandina domestica, Orlaya grandiflora, and Philadelphus mexicanus

Top: Ageratum corymbosum, Babiana rubrocyanea, and noID Brachyscome Middle: Borage officinalis, Delphinium elatum 'Cobalt Dreams', and Lavandula multifida Bottom: Lavandula stoechas, Nierembergia 'Purple Robe', and Viola cornuta 'Penny Peach'

Top: Abelia grandiflora 'Edward Goucher', Boronia crenulata 'Shark Bay', and Callistremon 'Hot Pink' Middle: Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', noID Delosperma, and Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian Pink' Bottom: Lampranthus 'Pink Kaboom', Oxalis triangularis, and Persicaria capitata

Clockwise from the upper left: Euphorbia characias 'Black Pearl', Feijoa sellowiana (aka pineapple guava), Gazania 'White Flame', Hippeastrum 'Moon Scene', Lobelia laxiflora, Melianthus major, and Salvia lanceolata

Despite my complaints about our recent spate of heatwaves, I expect my garden is more floriferous this spring than the gardens of those facing more extreme weather than coastal Southern California has had to deal with, like the gardeners in the Pacific Northwest that were hit by snow this week.  Visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens to find reports by gardeners in other parts of the US and elsewhere in the world.

All material © 2012-2022by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party