It's Day Five of Cathy's 'A Week of Flowers' at Words and Herbs and I'm joining in again with my second post. Absent a glitch in my schedule, I'm planning to hang on through Day Seven. Cathy's invited bloggers to join in with photos of flowers or other joys of nature to buoy the spirits of gardeners and others in the Northern Hemisphere who may be experiencing gloomy skies and cold temperatures. I can't actually claim either at the moment in sunny Southern California, where we're experiencing warmer-than-usual temperatures at the moment. But my garden is still missing the color (other than green) I'm used to and this is a way for me to dampen my impatience for spring's arrival.
Here are a few of the early spring plants I celebrated last February:
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| I plant Anemone coronaria corms in the raised planters of my cutting garden every year. These were supposed to be 'Lord Lieutenant' but I'm guessing they were 'Mr Fokker'. Regardless of their name, they were appreciated! |
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| This is Anemone 'Rosa Tigrato'. I planted this one and a few new varieties this fall. The corms are already sprouting and I'm hoping they'll bloom on a similar schedule in 2025. |
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| This is my favorite Arctotis, called 'Pink Sugar'. She made a very early appearance last February. However, several of my plants died back over the summer and now we're seriously short on rain. I took some cuttings, though, so my fingers are crossed that I'll manage a replay of my success in 2024 anyway. |
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| Osteospermums prefer cool temperatures. During the summer months, they enter the plant world's version of a witness protection program. I flat out lost many of them this summer. They're short-lived perennials here and I'm hoping to find replacements for those I lost in my local garden center soon. |
For more Day Five posts,
visit Cathy at Words and Herbs or, better yet, join in the fun.
All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Beautiful Anemones. Rosa Tigrato is a sweet soft color.
ReplyDeleteI adore the poppy-flowered anemones, Susie. My Sunset Western Garden Book says they're best grown as annuals in warm-winter climates like mine but the fact that a few have popped up again this year in my cutting garden suggests that maybe I should try them in some of my borders too.
DeleteThe blue anemone is gorgeous. Thank you for the reminder to take cuttings from Arctotis. Osteospermums are such a great pop of color.
ReplyDeleteI favor the multi-petaled Osteospermums (better for flower arrangements!), which sadly seem to be in short supply at the moment. Maybe an online search is required to fill my empty spots...
DeleteWhen I first clicked into your post just now I smiled. The photos are beautiful and the memories are special. I have grown Anemones in the past, and I need to do so again...the blooms are so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThe Anemone coronaria have surprised me by being more reliable than Ranunculus here, although I've planted plenty of the latter here this fall too.
DeleteI love those blue anemones Kris, and have planted some in pots for the first time, so fingers crossed. The other colours are pretty too, but that blue one is simply gorgeous. The Arctotis is nice and colourful - pinky orange is always a winner. Thanks Kris!
ReplyDeleteBlue flowers are always winners it seems. I hope yours do well, Cathy!
DeleteThis fall I've planted Anemone coronaria 'Azzurro', which is purplish, but I'm hoping some of the blue corms I planted last year reappear.
Beautiful flowers Kris 😍 Your blue anemone does look like 'Mr Fokker' who I've grown before but whatever the name of yours it's a beauty. 'Rosa Tigrato' is rather gorgeous too. I'm off to find out more about her.
ReplyDeleteI just discovered that I misspoke when I said I've planted more Anemone 'Rosa Tigrato' this year, Anna. According to my list, I actually planted 'Rosa Chiaro' this year. It's pretty (and pink) too but perhaps not as flashy as 'Rosa Tigrato'. The seller classifies both as "Italian" anemones but I'm not sure what that means other than the bulbs are somewhat more expensive ;)
DeleteLove the daisyish continuum. The Anemones are fantastic. Amelia
ReplyDeleteLove your cool season plants, esp. the anemones with their velvet buttons in the middle. Beautiful! Eliza
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