Bloom Day - March 2024

Is spring already working up to its peak in coastal Southern California?  It certainly feels like that's the case.  We've had more than a week of sunny skies after regular rounds of rain since January.  The temperatures have been warmer too, although we've only occasionally reached the low 70sF thus far.

I'm going to start this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day post with the bulb flowers as, more than any others, they celebrate the spring season.

Because Scilla peruviana (aka Portuguese squill) is looking its best at the moment, it got top billing.  Every year, I plan to dig up and divide this clump but somehow I never get around to it.

The blue Anemone coronaria are still putting on a good show.  I think I've lost all the white 'Mount Everest' bulbs I planted in the fall to a smothering blanket of marsh parsley weeds but a couple strays came back from those planted in prior years.  I've also had several 'Rosa Tigrato' blooms, one shown here adorned with a ladybug. 

The white and yellow Freesias have peaked but the blue, pink and red varieties have appeared recently in small numbers.  I think gophers may have cost me the majority of the blue ones this year.

Ipheion uniflorum (aka spring star flower and Mexican star) can still be found throughout the back garden

I haven't seen many Narcissus 'Geranium' yet but 'Beautiful Eyes' (top row) came along like parade marchers.  Those in the bottom row are a noID Tazetta type, a noID variety I planted my first year year here, and peach-colored 'Katie Heath'.

I planted 2 pots of orange Ranunculus purchased in bud but I was tickled to see the plant on the left come back in a barrel I planted in spring 2023.  Orange Sparaxis tricolor (right) are everywhere, although rainstorms flattened many of the flowers earlier this month.

Tulipa clusiana 'Lady Jane' showed up early this year.  I'm still waiting on her cousin 'Cynthia'.

Iris hollandica 'Sapphire Beauty' (left and middle) showed up just last week.  The first 'Pink Panther' flower (right) opened this week.  Other Dutch Irises will be arriving in the following weeks.

The potted Hippeastrums are fading fast.  They don't appreciate standing in heavy rain or wind.  Clockwise from the upper left are: Hippeastrums 'Aphrodite', 'Evergreen', 'Exception', 'Lemon Star', and 'Zombie'.

I'm still waiting on most of the seeds I sowed in November.

I sowed seeds of 5 varieties of sweet peas in November, 2 of them mixes.  This one variety has bloomed for over a month without flowers from any of the others.  My best guess is that it's one of the (unnamed) flowers included in the Lathyrus annuus 'Mermaid Dreams' mix.  The larkspur seeds (Consolida ajacis) have produced lots of seedlings, some with buds.  The Nigella papillosa seedlings are up but I've yet to see any buds.

The flowering shrubs and perennials are piling on to the spring express train.

The Alstroemerias are just getting started.  Left to to right are a noID pink Alstroemeria, A. 'Inca Lucky', and A. 'Indian Summer'.

Arctotis 'Pink Sugar' (top row) were the first out the gate but yellow 'Large Marge' and 'Opera Pink' (bottom row) are working hard to catch up

Argyranthemum frutescens, clockwise from the top left: 'Grandaisy Dark Pink', 'Pink Comet', and 'Angelic Maize'

Calliandra haematocephala (aka red powder puff) is as pretty in bud (right) as in bloom

I thought Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection' was heading for the exit in mid-February but it surprised me with another, larger flush of bloom in March; however, the flowers are now dropping more rapidly and there are relatively few buds left to see it through another month

With a thicker blanket of flowers, I got better shots to capture the blue color of Ceanonthus arboreus 'Cliff  Schmidt' this month

The Cistus (aka rockrose) are also just getting started.  Left to right are: Cistus 'Grayswood Pink', C. x scanbergii, and C. 'Sunset'

Coleonema album (left) is trailing pink-flowering Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold' (right)

The chartreuse flowers of Euphorbia rigida look particularly bright when backed up by blue succulents

The downward-facing flowers of hellebores are notoriously difficult to photograph but I'm happy to have far more blooms this year.  Clockwise from the upper left are: hybrids Helleborus 'Anna's Red', H. 'Phoebe', H. orientalis 'True Love', H. orientalis 'Blue Lady', and H. 'Wedding Bells'.

The Leucospermum (pincushion) flowers are generally plentiful but they take their time opening from buds.  Clockwise from the upper left are: 'Royal Hawaiian Brandi', 'Spider Hybrid', and 'High Gold'.  Leucospermum 'Sunrise' (not shown) has only 2 open flowers so far.

The Osteospermums are making the most of spring.  Top: O. '4D Pink', '4D White', and '4D Sunburst'
Middle: O. 'Double Moonglow', an Osteospermum mix, and 'Serenity Bronze'
Bottom: self-seeded Osteospermum (possibly a variant of 'Berry White'), '4D Violet Ice', and 'Serenity Purple'

Pyrethropsis hosmariense (aka Moroccan daisy) is in the process of covering an area of my front garden with white flowers

Of course there are also what I call my "old dependables" that bloom much of the year, if not year-round.

Felicia aethiopica (aka wild aster) blooms most of the year if routinely deadheaded

I don't know how I gardened in my climate without Grevilleas.  The varieties with the largest flowers bloom year-round here.  Those with smaller flowers bloom for several months.  Clockwise from the upper left are: Grevillea 'Poorinda Leane', G. 'Peaches & Cream', G. lavandulacea 'Penola', G. 'Scarlet Sprite', G. 'Superb' (2 photos), and G. sericea.

Leucadendrons 'Safari Sunset' and 'Summer Red' have colorful bracts in lieu of real flowers but most people view them as flowers

Polygala myrtifolia (aka sweet pea bush) flowers most heavily in spring and summer.  It also self-seeds like crazy but that's another story.

And there are the Aeonium arboreum flowers, which bloom for months, usually until I become fed up with their screams for attention and cut them down en masse. 

Aeonium arboreum in bloom in my front and back gardens.  They're actually in every area of my garden.  The bees love them so it's hard to simply toss them out upon arrival.

I'll close this post as I usually do with color-coded collages of flowers that make less of a splash but which I can't bring myself to entirely ignore.

Top: Anchusa capensis, Aristea inaequalis, and Delphinium grandiflora
Middle: Geranium 'Tiny Monster', Lavandula multifida, and Limonium perezii
Bottom: Pericallis 'Magic Salmon', Salvia rosmarinus (aka rosemary), and noID Scaevola

Clockwise from the upper left: Boronia crenulata 'Shark Bay', Centradenia florabunda (aka Spanish shawl, new), mixed Cyclamen, Hebe 'Wiri Blush', Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl', and Pelargonium peltatum (aka ivy geraniun)

Clockwise from upper left: Auranticarpa rhombifolium, Nemesia 'Nessie Plus White', Daphne odora, Euryops chrysanthemoides 'Sonnenschein', and Laurus nobilis (aka bay laurel)

Top: Aloe striata, Arbutus 'Marina', and Cuphea 'Honeybells
Middle: Erysimum 'Wild Orchid', Lobelia laxiflora, and Metrosideros collina 'Springfire'
Bottom: noID Oncidium (my best guess), Primula acaulis, and Salvia africana-lutea

If you made it through the entire photo gallery, congratulations!  For more GBBD posts, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party