Bloom Day - February 2019

By our standards, we've had a LOT of rain in the past month.  Our current total, calculated from the start of our rain year on October 1, 2018, is over 15 inches!  We've blown past our "old normal" annual rain total with more rain yet in the forecast before our rainy season ends in April.  As I've come to think of rain as having nearly miraculous properties, I'm surprised that the garden hasn't already exploded with blooms.  In actuality, what's blooming now is mostly on par with what I had blooming last year, when we were especially dry.  Flowering bulbs seem to be particularly slow in getting started this year but perhaps that's attributable to the fact that it's been colder here than usual this winter.  No, we can't claim to be suffering under the "polar vortex" that's affected other areas of the country but daytime temperatures consistently in the 50s are cold for us.

Note: It rained steadily for most of the past two days.  Most of these photos were taken before the last round of rain started.

The splashiest plant blooming in my garden at the moment is Echium handiense.

Critically endangered in its native habitat of the Canary Islands, this Echium does surprisingly well here on our peninsula

Much to the delight of the bees, another blue-flowered beauty, Ceanothus arboreus 'Cliff Schmidt', is also blooming in earnest.

Planted in 2015, this Ceanothus is finally taking on the tree-like shape I was seeking in this spot at the bottom of my back slope

The African daisies have also appeared in larger numbers with the cool, wet weather.

Arctotis 'Opera Pink'

Arctotis 'Pink Sugar'

Half of the Gazanias shown here are self-sown

Osteospermums, clockwise from the upper left: '4D Silver', close-up of the same variety, 'Berry White', 'Serenity Pink', 'Spring Day', and 'Sweet Summertime Kardinal'

Camellia hybrid 'Taylor's Perfection' isn't as happy with the cold, wet weather.  Many of its heavy blooms simply drop to the ground each time it rains.

After each rainstorm I've found lots of half-opened blooms dropped on the ground

The ornamental pear, Moroccan daisies, and Breath of Heaven shrubs are blooming right on schedule.

Pyrus calleryana developed fire blight last year.  I had the blight pruned out by professionals in December but there's no guarantee it won't return. 

Pyrethropsis hosmariense (aka Moroccan daisy)

Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold' (aka Breath of Heaven for its scented foliage)

Last month's Bloom Day post highlighted selected Grevilleas and Leucadendrons.  Both genera are continuing to put on a good show this month.

Grevillea lavandulacea 'Penola' is now in full bloom.  The flowers may be small but they're profuse.

The flowers of Grevillea 'Scarlet Sprite' are far more plentiful this month too

I can't seem to allow a month to go by without recognizing my ever-blooming Grevillea 'Superb'

The best of the rest of the Grevilleas in bloom, clockwise from the upper left: G. sericea, G. alpina x rosmarinifolia, 'Ned Kelly', 'Peaches & Cream', and dwarf G. rosmarinifolia

Leucadendron 'Safari Goldstrike' surprised me this month with its luminescent flower-like bracts

I'm showing Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' again partly because I like how the Arctotis 'Pink Sugar' in the distance (right) echoes its colors from this angle

Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy' may be beaten down by rain but it hasn't stopped producing its tiny flowers.

This is another plant that blooms year-round, except when cut down to a foot tall.  Even then, it recovers quickly.

In the succulent category, Aeonium arboreum is blooming in spots throughout the garden and my Agave desmettiana 'Variegata' have also produced their first flowers.

The Aeonium bloom on the left is an aberrant form.  The one on the right shows its usual shape.

When an Agave blooms, the plant dies but it goes out in style.  The bloom stalk is 5 or more feet tall.  You can see a second one in the background on the left in this photo.

As usual, I'll conclude with collages featuring some of the less prominent flowers in my garden.

Top row: Arabis alpina, Dianthus caryophyllus, and Crassula multicava,
Middle row: Freesia and Geranium 'Tiny Monster'
Bottom row: noID lavender and  Zantedeschia aethiopica (calla lily)

Top row: Begonia x hiemalis, Bryophyllum gastonis-bonnerieri, and Calliandra haematocephala
Middle row: Crassula 'Springtime', noID Cyclamen, and Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl'
Bottom row: Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset', Lotus jacobaeus, and Ribes viburnifolium

Clockwise from the upper left: Euphorbia rigida, Achillea 'Moonshine', Euryops chrysanthemoides 'Sonnenschien', Phylica pubescens, noID Narcissus, and Senna artemisioides

Thanks for stopping by to see my floral parade.  For more Bloom Day posts, visit Carol of May Dreams Gardens.


All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party