I focused on my back garden for this month's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day post, published on Wednesday, but other areas of the garden are showing their colors this month too. Today's post spotlights the smaller north and south side gardens.
The north-side garden is a relatively dry area containing numerous succulents and other drought-tolerant plants but at the moment it sings of spring with frothy pink and white flowers. I've set the stage for the floral closeups with a few wide shots.
![]() |
| The pink evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa) lining both sides of the gravel path is one of the best signs of spring I can think of |
![]() |
| View from the concrete stairway leading down to the back slope, looking west. (My cutting garden sits on the other side of the fence in the background.) |
![]() |
| This is the east side of the garden area, where a massive Leucadendron salignum 'Chief' hides the slope's stairway. The Xylosma congestum hedge that runs the full distance of the back garden ends there. You may notice that I still haven't cut back the mass of ivy that's crept under the hedge from the back slope. |
![]() |
| Clockwise from the upper left are: mix of Centranthus ruber, Centranthus ruber 'Albus', Dorycnium hirsutum (aka hairy Canary clover), Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl', and Oenothera speciosa in closeup |
![]() |
| A variety of Pelargoniums, clockwise from the upper left: Pelargonium crispum 'Lemona', P. 'Lady Plymouth', P. 'Orange Fizz', and P. 'White Lady' |
![]() |
| Closeups of Grevillea sericea (left) and G. 'Scarlet Sprite' (right), both of which produce a large volume of small flowers and bloom for several months each year |
![]() |
| There are a couple of blue notes: Iris douglasiana 'Santa Lucia' (left) and Lavandula dentata (right), the toughest lavender in my garden |
![]() |
| Clockwise from the upper left, a miscellaneous collection: Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi'; a mix of Erigeron karvinskianus and the weed, Geranium incanum, growing up through a mass of rosemary; a half-eaten gauva (Psidium guajava) still on the tree; and trailing Lantana montevidensis peeking out front behind an Agave ovatifolia |
I think of my south-side garden as a succulent bed but, although succulents dominate the space, there are a substantial number of flowering plants surrounding them. Once again, I'll set the context using a handful of wide shots.
![]() |
| View of the area looking west |
![]() |
| View of the same area looking east |
![]() |
| View from a small patio looking south |
![]() |
| View of the border from the dirt path behind it. This is the area I renovated in February after we removed a sprawling Agave 'Blue Flame'. |
![]() |
| Another view from the dirt path, showing the area in which the back garden blends into the south-side garden |
![]() |
| Leucospermum 'High Gold' is the most prominent floral feature in the south-side garden at this time of year |
![]() |
| Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' with what may be the first flowers (right) I've seen since it was planted in November 2016 |
![]() |
| The rockroses bloom in periodic flushes. From left to right are: Cistus 'Grayswood Pink', C. x skanbergii, and C. 'Sunset'. |
![]() |
| Grevillea 'Moonlight' (left) still blooms only sporadically while Grevillea 'Poorinda Leanne' (right) is finally putting on a good show |
![]() |
| Clockwise from the upper left are a variety of flowering plants: Aeonium 'Kiwi Verde' (they're everywhere!), noID Delosperma, self-seeded Gazania 'Gold Flame', Hymenolepsis parviflora, Lagurus ovatus (aka bunny tail grass), and Pelargonium peltatum in lavender and burgundy |
![]() |
| There are a couple touches of blue here too: Limonium perezii (aka sea lavender, left) and Wahlenbergia 'Blue Cloud' (right) , a virtual weed albeit one with pretty flowers |
That's it for me this week. Our cloudy skies are expected to persist for at least the next ten days, if not through the end of the month and well into June. Along the Southern California coast, the morning marine layer generally hangs on well into the afternoon. If we're lucky, we get a few hours of sun in the late afternoon. The good news is that the marine layer keeps our temperatures down.
All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
