South Coast Botanic Garden has been boosting its Bloom! exhibit for some time. It officially opens April 1st but preparations to immerse visitors in spring flowers have been going on for some time. Mother Nature doesn't march to anyone's schedule but her own and relatively good rainfall, combined with warming temperatures, readied the garden for the enjoyment of visitors well in advance of the exhibit's opening. I decided to avoid the crowds and took advantage of a sunny day earlier this week to check it out, even though the garden staff doesn't yet have everything in order. As the Bloom! map wasn't available, I had to search out the bloom displays on my own. As an added complication, filming was underway on the day of my visit, which meant there were restrictions on where I could go.
So, with the proviso that this "sneak peak" isn't intended as a substitute for a visit, here we go!
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| SCBG plans to offer visitors numerous photo opportunities. I expect that the courtyard at the garden's entrance is one of these. The ceiling was decorated with an elaborate display of (artificial) flowers. |
According to SCBG's Bloom! Guide, the main displays are confined to the front forty acres of the garden. As construction of the new children's garden is ongoing and filming restricted certain paths through the garden while I was there, I covered a little less than that.
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| Wisteria covering the arbor adjoining the Japanese Garden is an annual display |
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| The formal beds at the front of the garden are full of annuals and assorted bulb blooms surrounded by boxwood (top row). The wire supports are intended to show off vines, including sweet peas, but those plants haven't taken off yet. Beyond these beds are others that include perennials like the purple-flowered Salvia and the pink-flowered Pelargonium capitatum (bottom row). |
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| The Pollination Garden was replanted in November with California natives and other climate-adapted plants. Most of the natives are still getting established but spots of color have been added here and there, like Brachyscome, Calendula, Cosmos, Dianthus chinensis, and Nemesia. |
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| The Tropical Greenhouse showed off colorful bromeliads and Phalaenopsis |
I knew that the Amphitheater Meadow Garden was designed as a central feature of the springtime exhibit so I made a point of seeking it out.
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| The photo on the left was taken from the edge of a wall in the Rose Garden overlooking the Amphitheater Meadow. The outlook was previously lined with yellow Euryops chrysanthemoides shrubs but they've been removed, presumably to avoid blocking the view. The middle photo is a wide shot of the meadow's primary bed. The photo on the right is a snapshot showing the mix of bulb flowers and seeded annuals. SCBG reported that 21,000 bulbs were planted in connection with the Bloom! exhibit. |
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| Closeups of some of the key elements, top row: Anemone coronaria in various colors Middle: noID varieties of Narcissi Bottom: Scilla peruviana and Layia platyglossa (aka tidy tips) |
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| A second bed planted exclusively with Narcissi |
I never leave SCBG without at least strolling through the Desert Garden. There were still some Aloes in bloom.
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| The top photo is a wide shot of the main section of the Desert Garden. Clockwise from the middle left are Aloe cameronii (I think), a noID Aloe, A. reitzii, and A. striata. |
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| Clockwise from the top: bed planted with Rosa 'Tahitian Sunset', a closeup of that rose, Rosa 'Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Canna, and a noID Aloe. Yes, there are succulents in the Rose Garden. |
A lot of trees are currently blooming. I captured only a few of them.
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| Top row: hybrid Handroanthus (I wasn't able to get any closer to it) and Cercis canadensis (guess) Middle: Erythrina x sykesii (1st 2 photos) and the peach-colored flowers of E. caffra Bottom: noID Prunus with closeups of flowers from 2 different trees |
I've lumped the photos of other flowers I found during my stroll into two collages rather than trying to identify them by their locations.
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| Top: Aeonium arboreum with Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi, closeup of Kalanchoe, and Clivia Middle: noID Callistemon, Echium candicans, and Lavatera (guess) with Osteospermum Bottom: Rhaphiolepis swallowing a pink Cuphea, Strelitzia reginae, and Zantedeschia aethiopica |
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| Top: noID Begonia and Grevillea (maybe 'Misty Pink') Middle: 2 shots of Geranium 'Rozanne' Bottom: Sisyrinchium bellum and Paeonia x 'Little Darlin' (Itoh peony) |
If you have a chance to visit SCBG this spring, I suggest grabbing a map when you check in. To avoid situations such as I discovered during my impromptu visit, I also suggest checking SCBG's list of area closures.
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| Roadblocks due to film equipment and a parking lot full of trucks |
Whatever the weather or your plans for the holiday weekend, best wishes! We're expecting rain all weekend but that's a good thing (unless it floods).
All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party