Bloom Day - December 2023

I checked last December's Bloom Day post before starting this one.  There were more flowers in December 2022 than there are this December but then we got over four and a half inches of rain between October 1st and December 31st in 2022.  Thus far, we've received less than half an inch in total between October 1st and today so the difference in the volume of flowers isn't all that surprising.  On the good news side, there's currently a significant chance of rain next week.  Maybe the tide is turning at last.

In November, Barleria obtusa (aka bush violet), Camellia sasanqua, and Tagetes lemmonii (aka Mexican marigolds) were the stars of my garden.  The bush violets and marigolds are now all but gone but other plants have stepped up to fill the vacuum.

Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' usually puts on its best display in the spring but it's doing pretty well this December, even if the bright orange leaves of the persimmon tree behind it are competing for attention

At some point during the last year, this Leucadendron 'Summer Red'exploded in size, at least when viewed from the back.  The colorful bracts aren't true flowers but they deserve the same kind of acclaim.

Metrosideros collina 'Springfire' hasn't reached maturity yet but it provides a nice backdrop for the Leucadendron in the prior photo

I took these photos of Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' as night was falling.  Like 'Summer Red' this plant is also looking more dramatic viewed from the back.

The Camellia sasanqua shrubs are even more floriferous than they were last month.  Both varieties came with the garden and I don't have IDs for either.  I've always considered them similar in color but these photos show their differences in color and flower shape.

Many of the usual workhorses of my garden are present as well, even if not putting on a boisterous show.

The Hong Kong orchid tree (Bauhinia x blakeana) sprang back after it was pruned in October; however, all the flowers are so far above my head I had to use a telephoto lens to capture them.  Wind and low humidity has also taken its toll on the flowers.

The Cupheas all need a hard pruning but I've been waiting for the onset of serious rainfall to do that.  From left to right are 'Honeybells', 'Starfire Pink', and 'Vermillionaire'.

Gomphreana decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy' is back with a vengeance now.  What the flowers lack in size, they make up for in volume.

Even Grevillea 'Superb'(left and upper right) is a little light on flowers at this time of year.  A couple of months ago, I'd feared that Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' (lower right) was failing but an irrigation repair and eviction of some gophers has helped the shrub recover.

The Osteospermums are returning slowly - and I've yet to find any of the double-petaled varieties I prefer to fill empty spots where I'd like more.  All shown here except the yellow variety, '4D Sunburst', have been in my garden for one or more years.

This Pelargonium peltatum 'Lavender Blizzard' (aka ivy geranium) is happier than any others in my garden at present

Pentas lanceolata has been doing particularly well in this barrel container, which gets more water than my borders

I didn't expect the blooms of Hibiscus acetosella 'Haight Ashbury' to continue once our nighttime temperature fell but they have.  Although the flowers last only a single day, I also discovered that flower buds on a cut stem do open in a vase.

I showed this Ruscus hypoglossum in a November post on foliage plants.  It's now covered in its peculiar tiny flowers, which remind me of alien insects (see closeup on the upper right).

Salvia discolor is still producing its delicate, almost black, sweetly scented blooms

Several Aloes and a few other succulents are just getting started.

Clockwise from the upper left are: Aeonium arboreum, Aloe lukiana, A. 'Moonglow', A. vanbalenii x ferox', A. 'Safari Rose', and Crassula orbiculata var rosularis

Clockwise from the upper left: Barleria obtusa, Calibrachoa 'Mini Double Blue', Duranta repens 'Sapphire Showers', Lavandula multifida, Nemesia 'Sun Glow Bicolor', Polygala myrtifolia, and Vitex trifolia

Top row: noID Alstroemeria, noID Angelonia, and Argyranthemum 'Grandaisy Dark Pink' Middle: Boronia crenula 'Shark Bay', Correa pulchella 'Pink Eyre', and Pelargonium hortorum 'Dynamo Hot Pink' Bottom: Persicaria capitata, Ptilotus exultatus, and Ruschia lineolata 'Nana'

Clockwise from the upper left: Alstroemeria 'Claire', noID Angelonia, Dipladenia 'Sundenia White', and Fuchsia 'Wind Chimes White'

Top row: Arbutus 'Marina', Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun', and Leonotis leonurus Middle: Calibrachoa 'Supercal Cherry', Gazania 'Gold Flame', and noID Gazania Bottom: Euryops chrysanthemoides, Rudbeckia 'Cherokee Sunset', and Tagetes lemmonii