In my coastal Southern California climate, we generally see the early signs of spring by mid-February. This year is no exception, although colder-than-usual temperatures and a late start to our rainy season has the floral stampede lagging behind last year's display. Nonetheless, I expect I'm still giving gardeners in much of the Northern Hemisphere a run for their blooms.
I've assigned starring roles to half a dozen plants. Keep in mind that this award is governed by a jury of one.
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| My blue Anemone coronaria make me happy whenever I pass them in my cutting garden. They've been producing flowers continuously for more than a month now. I've been cutting them for vases every week, even when I don't share them as part of the "In a Vase on Monday" meme. |
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| The 4 Arbutus 'Marina' trees lost all their blooms when they were pruned in late October. The flowers reappeared en masse with the recent rainstorms. |
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| I love the foliage of Aeonium arboreum but I'm not entirely fond of the succulent's dunce-cap shaped, florescent yellow flowers; however, they're prolific and the bees love them |
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| The sulfur yellow flowers of Euphorbia rigida stand out beautifully against the bluish succulents in my garden |
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| Similarly, Euryops chrysanthemoides 'Sonnenschein' adds a sunny element to the shady area outside the lath house |
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| Felicia aethiopica is still going strong. I'd always assumed that these would make poor cut flowers but I learned they do quite well in a vase, which makes me love the small shrubs even more. |
New blooms are showing up almost daily. Here are some of the newest arrivals:
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| The flowers of Ceanothus arboreus 'Cliff Schmidt' are mostly congregated at the top of the tree-sized plant, which made it awkward to photograph. The bees don't care. |
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| I'm amazed every year when Daphne odora blooms as I never thought it'd survive in my garden. My only concern is that something always nibbles at the leaves. |
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| Clockwise from the upper left, other new arrivals include: Arctotis 'Pink Sugar', Calliandra haematocephala (aka red powder puff), the first Freesia, Centranthus ruber, Ipheon uniflorum (aka spring star), Pyrethropsis hosmariense (aka Moroccan daisy), and the second Freesia to bloom |
Even I was surprised by a few particularly early arrivals.
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| The first sweet pea blooms (possibly part of Lathyrus odoratus 'Mermaid's Dream' seed mix), first Leucospermum 'Sunrise' flower, and first Sparaxis tricolor bloom |
As usual, the backbones of my garden have shown up.
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| The flowers of Grevillea sericea are small and pale in color but they're currently abundant |
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| Grevillea 'Scarlet Sprite' produces more flowers every day |
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| Clockwise from the upper left, other Grevilleas currently in bloom include: Grevillea alpina x rosmarinus, G. 'Peaches & Cream', G. 'Superb', G. rosmarinus (dwarf form), and G. lavandulacea 'Penola' |
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| I'm still not quite ready to cut back the massive Leucadendron salignum 'Chief' |
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| Leucadendrons 'Summer' Red' and 'Safari Sunset' also look too good to cut back yet |
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| I've begun to cut back Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' already and will probably finish the job before the month is over |
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| The Osteospermums are still taking their time to flesh out. I expect some of the small shrubs could use replacing but there isn't a good selection of the double-petaled varieties I like best yet. |
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| Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection' dropped a lot of flowers during the earlier rainstorms but it hasn't thrown in the towel yet |
What's missing from this post by comparison to last February's bloom report are the Hippeastrums. I've cut half a dozen stems since January. I've got plenty of buds left but only one plant currently has a bloom. I'll be moving all of those in pots under cover before the next storm arrives on Sunday.
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| Hippeastrum 'Evergreen', a Cybister type originally hybridized in South America |
As always, I've assembled photos of flowers with lower profiles as part of collages organized by color.
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Aloe striata x maculata, Antirrhinum majus, Cuphea 'Honeybells', noID orange Gazania, Lobelia laxiflora, and Metrosideros collina 'Springfire' |
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| Clockwise from upper left: Argyranthemum 'Angelic Maize', noID Narcissus, Gaillardia 'Spintop Copper Sun', Gazania 'Gold Flame', noID yellow Gazania, and Senna artemisioides (aka feathery cassia) |
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| Antirrhinum majus, Fuchsia 'Windchimes White', and Nemesia 'Nessie Plus White' |
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| Top row: Antirrhinum majus, Arctostaphylos bakeri 'Louis Edmunds', and Arctotis 'Opera Pink' Middle: Bauhinia x blackeana (aka Hong Kong orchid tree), Boronia crenulata 'Shark Bay', and Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold' Bottom: Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', Hebe 'Wiri Blush', and noID Kalanchoe (maybe K. fedtschenkoi) |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Argyranthemum 'Grandaisy Red', Helleborus 'Anna's Red', magenta Pericallis hybrid, and Ribes viburnifolium (aka Catalina currant) |
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| Top row: Delphinium grandiflorum, Echium handiense, and Geranium 'Tiny Monster' Middle: Lavandula multifida, Limonium perezii, and Pericallis hybrid Bottom: Polygala myrtifolia, Salvia rosmarinus (aka rosemary), and Viola cornuta 'Penny Peach' |
That's it from me for this month's bloom day coverage. Two more atmospheric rivers are due to arrive back-to-back this weekend. Those may leave me with soggy flowers once again, or spur other plants to burst into bloom. We shall see. Best wishes for a pleasant weekend and, if you haven't already done so, check in with Carol at May Dreams Gardens for more Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts.
All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party