My Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts tend to be heavy on photos, especially during spring. However, this one exceeds any of my prior posts. In drought-prone California, rain is magic and this year we've had an incredible amount of rain even here in the southern part of the state. In addition, our colder-than-average winter temperatures have continued as cooler-than-average spring temperatures so flowers in my garden are hanging around noticeably longer. On the other hand, some flowering plants are running two to 3 weeks behind, presumably because of those chilly temperatures.
My initial quandary was how to start this post. I decided to begin with the flowers that have only recently made an appearance. Up first are the latest bulb blooms.
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The Dutch Iris took off this month. Top row: Iris hollandica 'Eye of the Tiger' and 'Pink Panther'
Middle row: Iris hollandica 'Mystic Beauty'
Bottom row: Iris hollandica 'Sapphire Beauty' |
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| The Pacific Coast Iris, Iris douglasiana 'Santa Lucia', is blooming in both the front and back garden areas |
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| Tulipa clusiana 'Cynthia' trailed its cousin 'Lady Jane' by almost a month |
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| Last year, the common calla lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica) were mostly no shows but they're much more robust this year |
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| I planted a handful of mixed Babiana bulbs 5 years ago. The one on the left is B. rubrocyanea and the one on the right is B. stricta. |
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| The Anemone coronaria haven't been plentiful this year but I'm hoping they'll be more productive once we get reliably warmer weather. Clockwise from the upper left, a noID blue variety, 'Mistral Bordeaux', 'Mount Everest', and what may or may not be 'Rarity'. |
Other recent arrivals include the following:
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| Cercis occidentalis (aka western redbud) |
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| Echium webbii is in full bloom, while E. handiense (not shown) is still blooming and E. candicans 'Star of Madeira' (also not shown) is on the verge of blooming |
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| Only 2 of my 5 Leucospermum are blooming thus far, L. 'Goldie' (top) and L. 'Spider Hybrid' (bottom) |
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| The flowers of Melianthus major are difficult to photograph as they blend in with the branches of the Arbutus 'Marina' above it |
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| Metrosideros collina 'Spring Fire' is finally branching out |
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| Phlomis fruticosa, aka Jerusalem sage (although it isn't native to Jerusalem or a member of the sage/Salvia genus) |
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| Scabiosa columbaria 'Deep Blue' |
Then there are the reliable backbones of my garden, many of which were already blooming when I published my March bloom report.
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| Not all my Alstroemeria are blooming but those that are include, clockwise from the upper left: 'Inca Lucky', 'Inca Vienna', noID pink, and 'Indian Summer' |
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| Arctotis 'Large Marge' (top) and 'Pink Sugar' (bottom) |
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| Argyranthemum frutescens, clockwise from the upper left: 'Artemis Bi-color', 'Pink Comet', 'White Butterfly', 'Grandaisy Yellow', and 'Grandaisy Red' |
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| Aristea inaequalis |
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| The tree Ceanothus on my back slope is done blooming but this noID sprawling shrub in the back garden is now covered in blooms |
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Top: Cistus 'Grayswood Pink'
Middle: Cistus x skanbergii
Bottom: Cistus 'Little Miss Sunshine'and C. 'Sunset', just getting started |
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| Coleonema album (aka white breath of heaven) on the left and in the middle, and Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold' (with tiny pale pink flowers) on the right |
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| Felicia aethiopica 'Tight & Tidy' blooms nearly year-round if regularly deadheaded |
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| The Freesias are still plentiful if on the declining end of their season |
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Top: Grevillea alpina x rosmarinifolia and G. 'Peaches & Cream'
Middle: Grevillea 'Superb' and G. 'Moonlight'
Bottom: Grevillea 'Scarlet Sprite' and G. sericea, all shown in closeup this month |
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| Lavenders currently in bloom include Lavandula dentata, L. multifida, and L. stoechas |
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| With the exception of Leucadendron 'Pisa' (top row), these shrubs are in transition. Bottom row: L. 'Safari Sunset' in profile and closeup and L. 'Winter Red'. |
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| Limonium perezii (aka sea lavender) is still in the early stages of its long bloom season |
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| Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset', which I use as a groundcover |
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Top: Narcissus 'Beautiful Eyes'
Middle: Narcissus 'Geranium'
Bottom: noID Narcissus and N. 'Sunny Girlfriend' |
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| Nemesia 'Banana Swirl', N. 'Sunglow', and noID self-seeded variety |
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Clockwise from the upper left: Pelargonium crispum 'Lemona', P. hybrid 'Orange Fizz', noID variety, P. peltatum 'Lavender', P. peltatum 'Pink Blizzard', and P. 'White Lady'
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| Polygala myrtifolia |
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| Salvia africana-lutea (left) and S. hybrid 'Pozo Blue' (right) |
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| Viola cornuta 'Penny Peach', used as an accent in multiple containers |
There were a few surprises of course.
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| Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' has continued to produce masses of tiny pale yellow flower puffs all over my garden |
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| After more than 4 years of flowering lightly or not at all, Callistemon viridiflorus is gearing up for its best year ever |
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| These 2 plants were purchased as experiments. Geum coccineum 'Koi' on the left is the first Geum I've gotten to bloom here. Nolana paradoxa 'Blue Bird' on the right is a new-to-me annual succulent. |
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| I've been complaining for months that none of my hellebores had bloomed. This month Helleborus 'Anna's Red' (left) and H. 'Phoebe' (right) finally came through for me. |
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| I grow Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata' (aka mint bush) as a foliage plant. Although I knew it could bloom, this is the first time I've seen it produce a substantial number of flowers. |
The best of the rest have been tucked into collages organized by color.
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Top: Boronia crenulata 'Shark Bay', Camellia 'Taylor's Perfection' (still blooming!), and Centranthus ruber
Middle: Dendrobium kingianum, Hebe 'Wiri Blush', and Hippeastrum 'Neon'
Bottom: Lampranthus 'Pink Kaboom', Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl', and Persicaria capitata |
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Top: Bacopa 'Double Indigo', noID Campanula, and noID Delosperma
Middle: Geranium 'Tiny Monster', Ipheion uniflorum, and Pericallis 'Violet Bi-color'
Bottom: Scilla peruviana (finishing up), Sisyrinchium 'Devon Skies', and Verbena 'De la Mina' |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: noID Ageratum, Centranthus ruber 'Albus', orange blossoms, Heuchera maxima, Mimulus, Primula vulgare, the last of Tulipa clusiana 'Lady Jane', and Vaccinium corymbosum 'Bountiful Blue' (blueberry shrub) |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Aeonium arboreum, noID Calendula, Euryops chrysanthemoides 'Sonnenschein' Gaillardia 'Spintop Copper Sun', 'Gazania 'Gold Flash', and Hippeastrum 'Saffron' |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Anagallis 'Wildcat Mandarin', noID Calendula, Echeveria agavoides, noID Ranunculus, Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian Peach', Rosa 'Joseph's Coat', Tillandsia 'Spirit', and Sparaxis tricolor |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Calliandra haematocephala, noID Cyclamen, Erysimum 'Winter Orchid', Euphorbia 'Black Pearl', Lobelia laxiflora, and Primula vulgare |
For more GBBD posts, visit our host, Carol of May Dreams Gardens.
I'm not going to lay odds on the percentage of readers that make it to the end of this post but consider how long it would've been if I hadn't used so many collages! If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, I hope you're enjoying a pleasant spring. If you're in the Southern Hemisphere, I hope cooler temperatures have delivered welcome respite from the heat of summer.
All
material © 2012-2023
by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
