Bloom Day - April 2015

It's Bloom Day, when Carol of May Dreams Gardens leads gardeners all over the world in sharing what's blooming in their gardens.  Despite the heatwaves that knocked out some flowering plants prematurely in March, there's a lot going on in my Southern California garden this month.  The star of this month's parade of flowers is the climbing rose 'Joseph's Coat.'



But, in terms of the sheer volume of blooms, there are other key players jockeying for attention as well:

Pink Alstroemeria, inherited with the house

Arctotis 'Pink Sugar' continues to play a dominant role in the beds along the front walkway

3 Argyranthemum frutescens 'Butterfly' have merged into a mass of bloom

Centranthus ruber has popped up in all the drier areas of the garden

I've fallen in love with this Gazania hybrid 'Kiss Frosty White Flame' after years of snubbing my nose at the entire genus

Lavendula stoechas occupies prominent positions in both the front and back borders

The humble Limonium perezii is adding color in the drier areas on both ends of the garden

The Phlomis fruticosa shrubs in the backyard have reached their peak of bloom

Some of my favorite combinations of flowering plants right now include the following:

Arctotis 'Pink Sugar,' backed up by Euphorbia characias 'Black Pearl' and Phormium 'Maori Queen' along the front walkway

A mix of white and pink Centranthus is filling in the formerly empty areas along the back slope, mixing with Oenothera speciosa, which is just starting to bloom in the same area

Cynoglossum amabile is shown here mingling with Alstroemeria, Erigeron, and self-seeded Cerinthe major

Felicia aethiopica 'Tight & Tidy' and Gazania 'New Day Yellow'

This bed may have too much going on with Grevillea 'Superb' producing bloom after bloom in the center, accompanied by Convolvulus sabatius 'Moroccan Beauty,' Gallardia grandiflora 'Goblin,' Nandina domestica and Salvia 'Mesa Azure'

Lavandula stoechas again, accompanied by Felicia aethiopica and Gazania 'New Day Yellow'

This may be my favorite combination at the moment: Osteospermum 'Serenity Purple,' Geranium incanum and Leucadendron 'Ebony'

Cistus 'Sunset,' Limonium perezii and trailing Lantana

Hard-to-photograph Wahlenbergia 'Blue Cloud' mingling with Nierembergia  linarifolia

As this post also serves as my record of what's blooming each month, I'm going to try the reader's patience by adding a few collages of flowers organized by color.

Blue blooms include (clockwise from upper left): Lobelia mingling with blueberries, Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip,' Aquilegia 'Spring Magic,' Convolvulus 'Moroccan Beauty,' Felicia 'Tight & Tidy,' and Wahlenbergia 'Blue Cloud'

In the purple category (clockwise from upper left): Acanthus mollis 'Summer Beauty,' Iris germanica (no ID), Senecio stellata, Salvia 'Mesa Azure,' Salvia 'Mystic Spires' and Solanum xantii 'Mountain Pride'

Magenta blooms include (from left): Geranium 'Tiny Monster,' Osteospermum 'Serenity Purple,' and Pelargonium 'Oldbury Duet'

The red category includes (clockwise from upper left): Feijoa sellowiana, Fuchsia 'Windchimes Neon & White,' Hippeastrum (no ID), the last blooms of Grevillea lavandulcea 'Penola' (in flower since December), the first ever blooms of Leucadendron 'Ebony' and the first blooms of Leucadendron 'Jester'

Pink blooms include (clockwise from upper left): Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl,' Helleborus 'Phoebe,' Hoya (no ID), Oenothera speciosa, Pentas 'Kaleidoscope Appleblossom' and Schizanthus  pinnatus

Pink Pelargoniums include, top row: 2 unidentified P. peltatum; bottom row: P. 'Aurelia' and what may be P. 'Katie'

Orange and peach blooms include (clockwise from upper left): Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream,' Anagallis 'Wildcat Mandarin,' Bignonia capreolata, Hemerocallis 'Elizabeth Salter,' Pelargonium x domesticum 'Georgia Peach, and Rosa 'Medallion'

Yellow blooms include (clockwise from upper left): Cotula lineariloba, Euphorbia 'Dean's Hybrid,' Gazania 'New Day Yellow,' Leucadendron 'Pisa,' Osteospermum 'Blue-eyed Beauty' and Narcissus 'White Lion'

White blooms include (clockwise from upper left): Carpenteria californica, Coleonema album, Nandina domestica and Trachelospermum jasminoides

Even my flowering weeds are at their peak:

Although they are virtually weeds here, I give Centranthus ruber, Erigeron karviniskianus and Geranium incanum some freedom to spread about

Okay, this post exhausted even me so, reader, if you got this far, bravo!  For even more blooming plants, please visit Carol, the host of May Dreams Gardens.


All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party