Bloom Day (Part 3, the Final Chapter) - May 2023

The good news is that I probably won't approach Bloom Day like this again anytime soon.  Please consider this extended, three-part photo extravaganza a flight of fancy attributable to the sheer volume of blooms resulting from prolonged exposure to rain and cooler-than-usual temperatures.  If you missed them, you can find part one here and part two here.   

The focus of this final Bloom Day post is my front garden.  I've broken it up into sections and once again have used a variety of wide shots to provide context.

This is the view from the other side of the driveway looking toward the front door.  While the focus of this post isn't foliage, I'd like to point out how good the tree-like Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' shrubs are looking.

I don't have many roses but the 6 'Pink Meidiland' roses inherited with the garden are reliable bloomers.  The noID pink Alstroemeria in front of this rose also came with the garden.

Dorycnium hirsutum (aka Hairy Canary Clover) is blooming especially vigorously this year.  This clump is backed up by Pelargonium cucullatum 'Flore Pleno'.  Both plants grow in various areas of the garden.

Lavendula multifida blooms almost continuously

Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' is another year-round bloomer

This Leucospermum 'Spider Hybrid' sits next to Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' but just outside the frame of the wide shot at the top of the post.  Its flowers take a variety of forms as they mature.

This is the third of my blooming agaves, Agave mitis 'Multicolor'.  Unlike the other 2 agaves, this one has declined dramatically since it produced its bloom stalk late last year.

Like the last 2 photos, this Lomandra hystrix 'Tropic Belle' isn't readily visible in the wide shot.  Its blooms are flashier than those produced by any other of my Lomandras.

 

Next we'll take a look at the garden from the front door looking southwest.

After removing the grass under the Magnolia grandiflora tree many years ago, I discovered that it was hard to get anything else established underneath it.  Instead, we covered the area with wood mulch and introduced a bench/plant stand and several barrels filled with various plants.

This Echium candicans 'Star of Madeira' has become very woody and will be "retired" after it finishes blooming.  I have a replacement on hand but I expect it'll take years before it reaches bloom stage.

These are highlights of the flowers currently in bloom in 4 of the 6 barrels.  Clockwise from the left are: Argyranthemum 'White Chocolate' with Digitalis 'Peach Dalmatian'; Pericallis 'Bi-color Violet' with Viola 'Penny Peach'; Scabiosa columbaria 'Deep Blue' with Nemesia 'Purple Bi-color'; and Pelargonium peltatum 'Burgundy' with Nemesia 'Banana Swirl'.

Outside the frame of my wide shot are 2 Coleonema album shrubs on either side of the front walkway

Also outside the frame of the earlier wide shot are 2 pots containing Alstroemeria 'Inca Sundance' (left) and A. 'Inca Vienna' (right)

 

My favorite view is the one I took from the south end of the front garden looking north toward the driveway.

I've finally begun to cut back the Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' to clear the pathway. One side is done but I still need to tackle the other.

Grevillea 'Superb' is ever-blooming but it looks particularly good this spring

Cutting back the Acacia helped to uncover come of the Cuphea 'Vermillionaire' but I suspect it needs a stretch of warmer temperatures to take off

This area behind the Acacia on the left side of the path wasn't visible in the wide shot.  Pelagonium tomentosum (aka peppermint geranium) isn't known for its flowers but they're plentiful at the moment.

Other plants that fell outside the wide shot of this area include, clockwise from the upper left: Euphorbia characias 'Black Pearl', Helleborus 'Anna's Red' (the only member of this genus that's done well this year), a fetching pinky-purple Gazania, the first flower on my new Leucospermum 'California Sunshine', and noID Mimulus

 

The area next to the garage isn't particularly floriferous but I'm including it anyway.

I expect there are only 2 flowering plants you can see in this photo

A mass of Lavandula stoechas is one of them

The other is Polygala fruticosa (aka sweet pea shrub), which echoes the color of the lavender from a distance

A few other flowering plants fell outside the camera's frame.  Clockwise from the upper left are: Arctotis 'Opera Pink', Iris douglasiana 'Wilder Than Ever', the first bloom of Lupinus propinquus, and the first bloom of Rosa 'Medallion'.

 

The final area I'll share is the lower level of the front garden, where my lath (shade) house sits.

This is the view from the main level of the front garden looking down the slope

Limonium perezii, shown here next to Aloe straita x maculata, is another plant I've spread throughout the garden

I was caught by surprise last week when I noticed this pineapple guava (Feijoa sellowiana) in full bloom.  There's a second tree in the area adjacent to the garage that has yet to produce a single bloom.

This noID Cotoneaster planted itself at the top of the slope several years ago

Euryops chrysanthemoides 'Sonnenschein' was covered in more flowers the week before I took this photo

There's nothing of note blooming inside the lath house but the Dyckia choristaminea 'Frazzle Dazzle' (left in a pot) and Pelargonium peltatum 'Pink Blizzard' (left, at the base of the slope) add other touches of color

 

Okay, that's it!  I'm done with May blooms.  Although the marine layer has kept temperatures down in my area and I've yet to see more than a handful of sweet pea flowers here and there in my cutting garden, buds are developing on my Agapanthus, which is a sure sign that summer is waiting in the wings.

Best wishes for a colorful weekend.

All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party