As abundant as spring can be here in coastal Southern California, this year is more exuberant than most. I've an embarrassing volume of plants in bloom. I carved out some of them, the so-called African daisies, in a separate post last Friday but this is still going to be an obnoxiously long post even though I've excluded all succulent flowers as well as ignoring the most recent blooms. I've organized my photos into collages alphabetically by genus and I've limited my usual commentary to the bare minimum necessary to identify the plants for readers who may have an particular interest in one or another of them.
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Left: Iris douglasiana (aka Pacific Coast Iris)'Santa Lucia' (top) and I. d. 'Wilder Than Ever' (bottom)
Right: noID Iris germanica (aka bearded Iris)
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Group shot of Iris hollandica (aka Dutch Iris) in my back border followed by closeups of 'Mystic Beauty', 'Eye of the Tiger', noID selection from 'Tiger Mix', 'Pink Panther', 'Sapphire Beauty', and 'Casa Blanca' |
I've no Js or Ks in bloom at the present!
L is for Lathyrus, Lavandula, Leucadendron, Leuccospermum& more
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| Although I planted seeds of 5 varieties of Lathyrus odoratus (sweet peas), only these 2 have bloomed. They may be from either the 'Mermaid's Dream' or 'Jewels of Albion' mixes. |
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| L-R: Lavandula dentata, L. multifida, and L. stoechas |
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| L-R: Leucadendron 'Cloudbank Ginny', L. 'Summer Red', and L. 'Safari Sunset'(aka conebushes) |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Leucospermum 'Royal Hawaiian Brandi', L. 'High Gold', L. 'Spider Hybrid', and L. 'Sunrise'(aka pincushion plants) |
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| Clockwise from upper left: Lantana montevidensis, Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl', Limonium perezii, and Lobelia laxiflora |
M is for
Melianthus&
Metrosideros![]() |
| L-R: Melianthus major (aka honeybush) and Metrosideros collina 'Springfire'(aka New Zealand Christmas trees) |
N is for
Narcissus&
Nemesia![]() |
| L-R: Narcissus 'Beautiful Eyes', N. 'Geranium', and N. 'Sunny Girlfriend'(aka daffodils) |
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| L-R: Nemesia 'Sunglow Bicolor' and N. 'Nessie Plus Pure White' |
O is for Oncidium (and all those Osteospermums included in my earlier post on African daisies)
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| Left: noID red Oncidium. Right: A mourning dove nesting close by, the reason I didn't get a better shot of the orchid. |
P is for
Pelargonium, Phlomis, Polygala, Pyrethropsis& more
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| These are only a few of the Pelargoniums (aka geraniums) in bloom. Clockwise from the upper left are: Pelargonium peltatum 'Lavender Blizzard', a noID variety, and P. 'White Lady' in a wide shot and closeup. |
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| Phlomis fruticosa (aka Jerusalem sage) |
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| Robust self-seeder Polygala myrtifolia (aka sweet pea bush) |
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| Pyrethropsis hosmariense, which I understand is now officially called Rhodanthemum hosmariense (aka Moroccan daisy) even though both names are included in the WFO Plant List |
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| L-R: Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata' (aka mint bush) and Prunus persica (aka peach tree) |
Q is for Quercus (oaks) but I have none
R is for Ranunculus (and lots of other plants like roses that aren't currently in bloom)
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| This clump of Ranunculus popped up unexpectedly from a tuber planted last spring |
S is for
Salvia& more
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| Left and upper right: Salvia 'Bee's Bliss', a California native. Lower right: Salvia africana-lutea. |
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| L-R: noID Scaevola, Sparaxis tricolor, and Stachys 'Lilac Frost' |
T is for
Teucrium and
Tulipa![]() |
| L-R: Teucrium fruticans 'Azureum' (aka tree germander) and Tulipa clusiana 'Cynthia' |
U is for nothing I have in my garden
V is for Viola
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| Viola cornuta 'Penny Peach' |
W is for Wahlenbergia (which I failed to photograph)
X is for Xylosma, which isn't in bloom yet
Y is for Yucca, also not yet in bloom
And, finally:
Z is for Zantedeschia (and the rain lilies, Zephyranthes, that refuse to bloom despite all our rain)
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| Zantedeschia aethiopica (aka calla lilies) |
Whew, that's a long post even for me! If you need more of a flower fix and you haven't yet visited Carol, the host of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, you can find her more timely Bloom Day post here at May Dreams Gardens.
All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
