Tuesday, December 6, 2022

A Week in Flowers: The finish line

Cathy of Words and Herbs launched her annual 'Week of Flowers' last Wednesday to brighten the outlook of gardeners in the Northern Hemisphere facing all too many gloomy days during the colder winter months.   Coastal Southern California isn't nearly as cold or as gloomy as many areas but, after a long hot, dry summer and a steady decline in flowers, I find myself looking forward to spring, when every day reveals something new.  However, reflecting the name of my blog, I'm once again "late to the garden party" in pulling together photos to celebrate a Week in Flowers, delivering these on its very last day.

Spring arrives very early in my frost-free part of the world.  We don't have a winter in the sense that most people envision that season.  In fact, we often say we have just two seasons: a cool season and a warm-hot season.  Our cool season coincides with our rainy season, although we've been seriously short on rain for the last two years and we seem to be stuck in the same pattern this year.  But the combination of whatever rain we get and the lengthening days that follow the winter solstice begin the charge that leads to the flourish of flowers that arrive with spring.

I reviewed my floral photos from January through March 2022 to remind me of what I have to (hopefully) look forward to in 2023.


JANUARY

Last year, Arctotis 'Pink Sugar' started blooming in my back garden in January and continued for months.  The plants take a beating every summer but revive in response to rain.  Although the plants in my front garden look like they've thrown in the towel, I think those in the back are in better shape.

Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection' normally trails Camellia sasanqua in my garden by a couple of months.  An untimely heatwave has at times cost me the majority of the flowers.  I saw the first touch of pink in one bud yesterday so maybe the shrub is plotting an earlier appearance this year.

Last year Hippeastrum 'Luna' put on a magnificent performance in January.  I subsequently planted the bulbs in the ground in the hope that they'll naturalize.  If they do, they'll probably bloom several months later but that's okay - I planted other Hippeastrums bulbs in several pots this year for an earlier display.

These noID paperwhite Narcissi, inherited with the garden, bloom early every year.  I've already noticed the stems poking up through the soil in this area.

FEBRUARY

Ceanothus arboreus 'Cliff Schmidt' was planted on my neglected and very dry back slope from a 1-gallon container in January 2018.  It's 7-8 feet tall now  and could eventually grow to 15-20 feet tall and wide.

Together with the paperwhite Narcissi, the first bulbs to bloom in my garden are usually the Freesias.  They began developing foliage a couple of months ago, although the voracious rabbits may be setting them back this year.

The colorful bracts of Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' mimic flowers early each year; however, the gardeners mistook them for a hedge last month and I can't say what that's going to do to their normal "bloom" schedule.

The ornamental pear tree (Pyrus calleryana) is currently in the process of shedding all its leaves (and its annoying fruit).  It's also scheduled for its annual pruning in 2 weeks but I expect it'll still be blooming like this in late February.  It's very pretty even if its flowers do have a mildly unpleasant scent.

MARCH

The Anemone coronaria may start blooming as early as February in my cutting garden but these bulbs and others really take off in March

The foliage of the spring starflowers (Ipheion uniflorum) is already developing in some areas.  The tiny bulbs will probably begin flowering in February but should peak in March.

The tips of the Dutch Iris are already pushing up in some areas as well.  The majority of mine are 'Sapphire Beauty' (left) and 'Mystic Beauty' (right) but I plant more bulbs every fall.  This fall's addition was 'Pink Panther'.

The foliage of Scilla peruviana began to develop in September this year so maybe those flowers will appear earlier this coming spring as well

The pincushion shrubs, members of the Protea family, generally begin flowering in February with a peak performance as a group in March.  Clockwise from the upper left are Leucospermum 'Brandi', L. 'Goldie', L. 'Hybrid Spider', and L. 'Sunrise'.

This is Osteospermum '4DPink'.  It was a new introduction to the genus last year.  Some didn't survive the summer and others appeared to develop a muddier color over time.  I'll be interested to see if any display colors this vivid next year.  

 

Thanks to Cathy for launching this campaign to lift everyone's spirits!  For other posts in this series, visit Cathy at Words and Herbs.


All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

20 comments:

  1. What a nice retrospective of what blooms during our cold months. I do envy you your year round blooms (but not your heat and drought, sorry). Always strikes me as odd to see Hippeastrum blooming outdoors. Here they are always in pots and forced to bloom for Christmas. Colour here is mostly monocromatic in browns, greys, white and of course lots of conifer green.

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    1. Even in our climate, the Hippeastrums planted in pots flower sooner if they're kept in the house, where it's warmer, Elaine. I've some intended as gifts that I've been thinking I should move inside ;) They naturalized when planted in the garden at my former home but they haven't done as well in my current garden, at least not yet.

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  2. A wonderful array of blooms, and a beautiful osteospermum. I have never seen that variety.

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    1. I hope I'll find more of those Osteospermums in local garden centers in the coming year, Cathy. They are unusual.

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  3. What a wonderful little calendar of your flowers. Thank you for including them.

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    1. Thanks Rosie. The review was a nice way to reflect on coming attractions in my garden.

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  4. Hi Kris. You have bowled me over with all your beautiful spring flowers! I don't know where to start, as they are all wonderful. Your Osteospermum especially caught my eye. And I like the sound of the Iris Pink Panther, although the blue ones are lovely. The pink Anemone is gorgeous! Also love the Freesias and the very first flower, Arctotis. It is so nice to think forward while looking back! Thanks for joining in on the last day Kris. Your flowers are always a delight and an inspiration!

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    1. Thanks for hosting this lovely event, Cathy. I'm sorry it took me so long to get my act together and join in. I'm looking forward to seeing the 'Pink Panther' Iris myself. The name suggests that the blooms will be pink but the photo on the bulb package indicated they may be more lavender than pink. We shall see...

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  5. I looked for Hippeastrum 'Luna' locally this autumn but never was able to locate it. Did you mail order? Those Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' bracts are so sweet. I would be heartbroken to know I might miss out on them because of careless pruning.

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    1. Yes, I ordered Hippeastrum 'Luna' by mail in 2021. I'm not sure what vendor I used but I generally get "Amaryllis" from Van Engelen or John Scheepers as their selection and prices are much better than local outlets. The Dutch Grown site is now offering a sale on that bulb ;)

      'Wilson's Wonder' will probably "bloom" in the new year but its timing may be delayed. After the gardener squared off my 2 plants as if they were hedge material, I had to cut them back further still to given them a more appropriate shape.

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  6. All so lovely. The color combo of that '4DPink' is absolutely delicious. And what a fabulous Ceanothus.

    Excellent meme, sorry to have missed it.

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    1. I took a closer look at one of the Osteospermums that's starting to bloom now. The pink outer petals are muddier but I see their blue centers developing so maybe it's coming back. That Ceanothus had a very slow start but it bloomed well in 2021 and 2022. I'm hoping it's getting enough water to do that again in 2023. It's surviving largely on gray water.

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  7. Kris, what a glorious collage of your spring flowers - your spring arrives so much earlier than ours. Hard to believe such a beautiful ornamental pear emits an unpleasant scent 😂

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    1. I was actually startled to see how pretty the ornamental pear looked in that photo without the distraction of the flowers' scent, Anna ;)

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  8. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! I'm going to go back through your post and spend some more time just soaking up the color and the beauty. We have very little snow, which is OK, but the garden is sleeping...

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    1. Well, there are times I'd really welcome some downtime in the garden, Beth, although perhaps not quite as much as your climate dictates ;)

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  9. Oh, I would be so mad at those clipper-happy pruners!! Grrr... Cliff Schmidt is quite the stunner. Never met him before, but he is quite swoon worthy, methinks! And of course the rest of your colorful menagerie is gorgeous too. I bet the garden smells amazing with all those paperwhites in bloom!

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    1. I don't know why I'm surprised when the gardeners go out of bounds with their electric pruners but I generally am, Anna. I've talked to them before but the team turns over and the message gets lost. I've considered terminating the service many times but we have a lot of hedges that do need regular trimming :(

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  10. Hippeastrum ‘Luna’ - wow! Three bloom spikes each on two of those bulbs! Gorgeous 🙂

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    1. 'Luna' may be the most vigorous Hippeastrum I've ever grown. Every bulb I planted (and there were a few pots of them) produced at least 2 stems - and when I transplanted several of them in the ground later, one even produced another bloom in late spring!

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