Monday, January 6, 2014

The agapanthus are confused

The Agapanthus in my garden generally begin blooming in late May, peaking in June, and continue to bloom here and there into July.  I hack off the flower stalks in August and appreciate the foliage until the cycle repeats itself again late the following spring.  An errant bloom turned up in November and I didn't think too much about it.  Then there was another in December.  Now several are blooming in 2 different sections of the garden.

Agapanthus (no ID)




It's nothing akin to the stampede of blooms that normally arrives in May (as described here); however, it's odd.  The stalks are thinner and shorter than the late spring blooms, barely stretching beyond the top of the foliage.  I can only guess that this is attributable to the warm, dry weather we're experiencing this winter.  It's as if the plants believe that summer is just around the corner and they're poking their heads up to check what's up.

And the Agapanthus aren't the only blue flowers making an unexpectedly early appearance. My Nemophila menziesii (Baby Blue Eyes) are also blooming.  They're not as shy about it as the Agapanthus either - all 5 of my Nemophila clumps are in full bloom.

Nemophila menziesii




Still another blue spring bloomer has also joined the party - Veronica 'Waterperry Georgia Blue.'

Veronica 'Waterperry Georgia Blue'




Half the US is covered in snow and ice but here in my area of southern California we appear to be skipping winter altogether to plunge head-first into spring on our way to summer.  Frankly, it's a little unnerving.

4 comments:

  1. What a delight to have all those beautiful blue blooms! It's always amazing to me what will bloom with just a little bit of encouragement from some spring-like weather. We've had some off and on, and just last week I found asters and chrysanthemum blooming - under their dead stalks! Enjoy them while you can!

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  2. They are welcome oddness, a bonus too as highly likely all of them with flower again as per their usual schedule :)

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  3. You say unnerving, I say dream come true. Potato/potahto. This confusion; maybe it's just a phase...

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  4. Agapanthus is on my list to add to the garden this growing season, I appreciated the nudge from your beautiful photos to get busy on this action item.

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