This January 2014 there are blooms here, there and everywhere. While there are no large masses of flowers anywhere as there will be, hopefully, in the April-May timeframe, our unseasonably warm weather has once again produced blooms that won't show up in many other areas until spring. There are no roses but that's in part due to the fact that I cut back all the rose bushes just after Christmas. By comparison with most areas of the US, still contending with the "polar vortex" described by the news media, we nonetheless have an embarrassment of riches. For lack of a better idea as to how to present them, here they are in alphabetical order.
![]() |
| Agapanthus (no ID), blooming significantly ahead of schedule |
![]() |
| Alstroemeria (no ID) just coming into bloom in the backyard border |
![]() |
| Anemone 'Dr. Fokker,' the first to bloom in the backyard border |
![]() |
| Dwarf Anigozanthos hybrid, planted in the side border |
![]() |
| Antirrhinum majus, rocket variety, in a raised planter in the vegetable garden |
![]() |
| Arbutus 'Marina,' almost perpetually in bloom |
![]() |
| Dark pink Argyranthemum frutescens, in a pot at the bottom of the slope |
![]() |
| Light pink Argyranthemum frutescens in the backyard border |
![]() |
| White Argyranthemum frutescens in the side yard |
![]() |
| Yellow Argyranthemum frutescens in the side yard border |
![]() |
| Bauhinia x blakeana (Hong Kong orchid tree) in the front yard |
![]() |
| Camellia japonica 'Taylor's Perfection,' planted alongside the garage in the vegetable garden, doesn't care for our Santa Ana winds |
![]() |
| Ceanothus (no ID), breaking into bloom in the backyard border |
![]() |
| Cerinthe retorta, a new introduction I haven't made a decision on |
![]() |
| Coleonema pullchellum 'Sunset Gold' in the front border, another long-term bloomer |
![]() |
| Coreopsis 'Tahitian Sunset' - I'm not thrilled with it but, as its bloomed almost continuously since June, I'm keeping it for now |
![]() |
| Crassula 'Springtime,' blooming in a neglected area under a Ceanothus hedge |
![]() |
| Echium handiense 'Pride of Fuerteventura,' a dwarf variety, in the dry garden |
![]() |
| Erysimum linifolium 'Variegatum' in the bed surrounding our fountain |
![]() |
| Geranium 'Tiny Monster' in the side yard |
![]() |
| Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy' in the side yard |
![]() |
| Grevillea lavandulacea 'Penola' in the dry garden |
![]() |
| A newly unfurled bloom on Grevillea 'Superb' |
![]() |
| A more mature bloom on Grevillea 'Superb' |
![]() |
| Hebe 'Wiri Blush' in the backyard border |
![]() |
| Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' in the dry garden |
![]() |
| The bracts on Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' in the front border are shifting from yellow to red |
![]() |
| A dwarf Leucanthemum x superbum 'White Lady' in the backyard border |
![]() |
| Unbelievably, one of the Lisianthus 'Echo Pink,' planted in early June in the backyard border, is still blooming |
![]() |
| A somewhat sad, but blooming, Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum in the side yard |
![]() |
| Matthiola incana (Stock), blooming in the backyard border |
![]() |
| Nemophila menziesii (Baby Blue Eyes) in the backyard border |
![]() |
| Narcissus (no ID) in the border outside the living room window |
![]() |
| This Osteospermum ecklonis '3D Silver' is in the side yard but all throughout the garden are in bloom |
![]() |
| Osteospermum ecklonis 'Serenity Purple' in the dry garden |
![]() |
| Osteospermum fruticosum (trailing African daisy), I think, in the side yard |
![]() |
| Yellow Papaver nudicaule (Iceland poppy) in the side yard |
![]() |
| White Papaver nudicaule, also in the side yard |
![]() |
| Pelargonium hybrid 'White Lady,' sited on the slope |
![]() |
| Pelargonium ionidiflorium 'Pink Fairy Cascade,' also planted on the slope |
![]() |
| Pelargonium peltatum 'Pink Blizzard' (ivy geranium) in a pot by the front door, another long-term bloomer |
![]() |
| Phalaenopsis (no ID) brought from my mother-in-law's home last July |
![]() |
| Polygala fruticosa 'Petite Butterfly,' planted near the street |
![]() |
| Ribes viburnifolium 'Catalina Perfume Currant' on the back slope |
![]() |
| Viola (no record of variety) in the backyard border |
If last year's Bloom Day posts are an indication, the
Agapanthus,
Echium and
Ribes are blooming earlier this year than they did last year.
Camellia sasanqua, which was still blooming last January 15th, is finished for the season this year, and Tibouchina urvilleana, also in bloom last January, has yet to recover from the last round of pruning. The timing of more recent introductions is harder to assess.
Please visit Carol, the host of Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, at
May Dreams Garden for a look at what's blooming in other gardens around the US and elsewhere in the world.
