Bloom Day & IaVoM Mash-up - January 2018

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day and In a Vase on Monday are once again falling on the same date so I'm mashing the 2 posts together.

Last week, our long dry spell came to an end.  We registered just over an inch of rain here over the course of 2 days.  Unfortunately, some of the areas burned by Southern California's recent wildfires received much more, leading to horrific mudslides in Montecito in Santa Barbara County, resulting in at least 20 deaths, massive property losses, and the complete closure of a major highway connecting the northern and southern parts of the state.  This past weekend witnessed the return of the nasty Santa Ana winds, once again dropping humidity levels and raising temperatures to summer-like highs.  Yet, despite Mother Nature's turmoil and a general shortage of rainfall, the plants in my garden are blooming right on schedule.

This month's stars are the Leucadendrons.

This is Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' at its very best.  Unfortunately, a gardener mistook my larger specimen as a hedge and hacked away all its lower blooms.

Leucadendron salignum 'Chief' is also at peak winter bloom

Leucadendron 'Blush' (top) looks great when back-lit.  The same is true of L. 'Summer Red' (bottom, left).  While a little scruffy right now, the blooms of L. 'Safari Sunset' (bottom, right) are still attractive.

The Camellia sasanquas featured last month are bloomed out but Camellia 'Taylor's Perfection' has taken up the slack.

This hybrid Camillia benefits from a shady spot protected from the wind next to the garage

Two more Grevilleas are blooming, joining those that bloom most of the year.

The rosy red and white blooms of Grevillea lavandulacea 'Penola' are small but plentiful

I picked up this dwarf Grevillea rosmarinifolia at The Huntington Gardens last fall plant sale.  While still small, it doesn't seem shy about getting its bloom on.

Meanwhile, my other Grevilleas keep right on flowering.  Clockwise from the upper left are G. 'Superb', G. alpina x rosmarinifolia, G. 'Scarlet Sprite', G. 'Peaches & Cream', and G. 'Ned Kelly'.

Other prolific bloomers include the following:

Erigeron glaucus 'Wayne Roderick'

Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy'

Ocimum hybrid known as African Blue Basil

Others plants are just getting started on their annual bloom-fests:

Flower spikes are appearing on Aeonium arboreum throughout the garden

Calliandra haematocephala is producing its first blooms but it doesn't like those drying Santa Ana winds

I've had a few surprises too:

The Billbergia nutans (Queen's Tears) I divided last year has finally graced me with a new bloom

I'm utterly captivated by the first bloom on Calendula officinalis 'Bronzed Beauty'

The Crassula multicava 'Red' I planted last year for their foliage are now producing delicate sprays of pink and white blooms

This Hong Kong orchid tree (Bauhinia x blakeana) lost all its blooms after last week's rain but, as soon as the rain stopped and the temperature shot up, the show went on

Plants acquired for my new lath (shade) house are also adding color to the garden.

Top row: Anemone coronaria and 2 noID Cyclamen Middle row: noID blue Hydrangea, Hydrangea macrophylla 'Shooting Star', and Plumbago auriculata 'Imperial Blue' Bottom row: Argyranthemum 'Go Daisy Mega White', Nemesia 'Sunshine', and noID Viola

I'll close the Bloom Day segment with a few collages of the blooms making an appearance on a smaller scale.

Clockwise from the upper left: Ceanothus arboreus 'Cliff Schmidt', Lantana 'Lucky White', Lavandula multifida, Leucanthemum x superbum' , Lobularia maritima, Lotus jacobaeus, Osteospermum '4D Silver', Rosmarinus 'Gold Dust' and, in in the center, Osteospermum 'Violet Frost' with noID Viola

Top row: Gaillardias 'Arizona Sun' and 'Sunset Flash' and a self-seeded Gazania Middle row: Hunnemannia fumariifolia and 2 forms of Lotus berthelotii Bottom row: Metrosideros collina 'Springfire, noID Narcissus, and Russelia equisetiformis 'Flamingo Park'

Clockwise from the upper left: Pelargonium peltatum 'Pink Blizzard', Arbutus 'Marina', Arctotis 'Pink Sugar', Pentas 'Kaleidoscope Appleblossom,  and Osteospermums 'Berry White' and 'Summertime Sweet Kardinal'

For more Bloom Day posts, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens.


So what did I assemble for In a Vase on Monday?

I cut Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder', L. 'Chief', Grevillea 'Ned Kelly' and the gold and red forms of Lotus berthelotii for this vase on the dining room table

I picked up this vase featuring manicured hands at a thrift shop on an outing to Ventura with a friend on Saturday.  I filled the vase with stems of Camellia 'Taylor's Perfection', Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' and Pyrethropsis hosmariense.

To find more IaVoM arrangements, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.


All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party