More often than not, our short rainy season comes to an abrupt end in March. While the 2017-2018 winter season doesn't appear to have set a new low as the driest on record in Los Angeles, it's right up there near the top (bottom?) of the list. Our roof-top weather station shows that our seasonal total (October 1st to the present) is a paltry 3.59 inches, more than 11 inches short of "normal." Still, we got a good soaking here last week and the garden is showing its gratitude.
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| This area of the back garden on the south side of the house has exploded in color, thanks mainly to Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset' and Leucospermum 'Goldie'. It's my Wednesday Vignette. (For more, visit Anna at Flutter & Hum.) |
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| Close-ups of each. The Lotus were planted from plugs in May 2016, while the Leucospermum was added in early December last year. |
I'm very happy that I've finally had
Leucospermum bloom in my garden. In addition to
'Goldie', two other plants have buds (not counting the
'Spider Hybrid' I recently bought already in bloom).
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| Leucospermum 'Brandi', planted in March 2016, has its very first flower buds! |
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| Although this small plant looks like it's taken a beating, L. 'Spider', planted late last year, also has some tiny buds |
But the
Leucospermums aren't the only plants showing promise after the March rainstorms.
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| The snapdragons I grew from seed are finally starting to bloom |
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| This artichoke is returning for its 4th year on the back slope. It looks as though all the new artichoke plugs I planted in the fall are also coming along. |
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| After complaining for weeks about the failure of my hellebores to blooms, H. 'Anna's Red' suddenly appears poised to do just that |
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| Lavandula stoechas 'Anouk Deep Rose' is blooming in the front garden for the first time since it was planted in September 2016 |
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| Romneya coulteri (Matilija poppy) on the back slope has buds |
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| And the 'Joseph's Coat' climber, usually the first rose to bloom in my garden, is getting close to doing so |
However, a few new blooms, while pretty, have fallen short of expectations.
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| This appears to be yet another mislabeled bulb. Sold as Iris germanica 'Autumn Circus', it looks nothing like it was supposed to (as shown here) |
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| Narcissus 'British Gamble' also falls short of the mark (as shown here) |
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| and this picotee Ranunculus is more reddish pink than pink and white |
The calla lilies (
Zantedeschia aethiopica), while very late, are finally beginning to bloom here and there but the California poppies are complete no-shows thus far. So early spring is a mixed bag this year. I enjoy the season regardless, although I admit I wouldn't mind a bit more rain...
All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
