Spring has arrived!

I don't care what the calendar says, spring is here!  In coastal Southern California, it isn't unusual to see the signs of the seasonal change well in advance of March 20th but, given the drought we're experiencing, I wasn't sure how the garden was going to respond this year.  However, a few well-timed rainstorms in February followed by significantly warmer temperatures has prompted a jump in flower production.  I notice new blooms virtually every day and I expect that trend to continue over the coming weeks.

The morning marine layer has persisted in the area but it's been clear at my elevation (800+ feet above sea level) most days.  This photo, taken from my back garden last Saturday, shows the dense white blanket covering the Port of Los Angeles while sunshine and blue skies reign at my elevation.

I know that my mid-month Bloom Day post was extensive but I couldn't resist sharing some of the newer blooms.  I've also included some of the plants that were just starting their bloom cycle when I put together that post but are looking more fabulous now.

There are lots of flowers on the twin stalks of the Agave 'Blue Glow' in my south-side garden, which I'm hoping will produce a nice selection of viable bulbils before it comes time to take the agave out

Arctotis 'Large Marge' has joined 'Pink Sugar' in producing its first flowers.  They're almost luminescent.

Aristea inaequalis produces striking blue flowers but I've never been able to capture that color in photos.  The flowers open fully in the early morning hours but oddly close up well before noon each day.

The rainstorms caused large numbers of Camellia 'Taylor's Perfection's' flowers to crash to the ground but the shrub is making up for lost time now

I have no record or recollection of planting this noID dwarf Cistus in this backyard border but I welcome its presence

The Coleonema album shrubs, aka breath of heaven, suddenly burst into bloom this week.  The scent of the foliage is wonderful but that of the flowers is less so.

Crassula multicava's tiny flowers are everywhere

Dietes grandiflora (aka fortnight lily) is another plant I've no record of installing in my garden.  It's also in an inappropriate spot given its projected size but I've left it alone for now.

I was amazed that this hybrid wallflower, Erysimum 'Winter Orchid', survived to bloom a second year.  It's taken off since the rain arrived.

The yellow Freesias are the most common in my garden at the moment but those in other colors are slowly appearing too

More Hippeastrums are blooming and others have buds.  'Elvas' is on the left and 'Marilyn' is on the right.  'Elvas' looks like a less fluffy version the Hippeastrum 'Double Record' that failed to live up to its publicity photos when it opened a few weeks ago.  Maybe the seller did make an error with my bulb order...

I planted dozens of tiny bulbs of Ipheion uniflorum (aka spring starflower) years ago.  They seem to be spreading into new areas now, like this space between flagstones.

Leucospermum 'High Gold' (sold to me as 'Goldie') is geared up for another great display

My favorite Leucospermum, 'Spider Hybrid', snuck up on me.  I saw buds on Bloom Day but I thought it'd be a month or more before its flowers opened up.

I'd included the first flowers of Leucospermum 'Sunrise' in my mid-month post but the blooms are more prolific now

More Narcissi are popping up.  The one on the left is Narcissus 'Katie Heath', which has a pale peach corona.  The one on the right is an unnamed variety I picked up in a bag at my local garden center soon after we moved in. 

At least one of my Osteospermum '4D Pink' plants (left) has returned with some vigor - it's uncommon to find it in my local garden centers.  A mix of white-petaled Osteospermum varieties (right) are blooming in a sunny spot off the backyard patio.

Yes, this is a weed - Oxalis pes-caprae, aka Bermuda buttercup.  It has a relatively short life as an annual and, although I remove it as soon as it it finishes flowering each year, it comes back.  The flowers are so cheerful I haven't had the heart to pull the foliage up immediately when it appears.

Sparaxis tricolor (aka harlequin flower) is up and blooming this week too.  So far, I've only seen the pink and orange-flowered varieties.  I thought the pink one paired itself prettily with the Aloe labworana shown on the left.

I did spot one plant that's had a negative response to the change of weather but I'm hoping its current condition is temporary.

Virtually all the leaves of Bauhinia x blakeana (aka Hong Kong orchid tree) turned a yellowish-brown, seemingly overnight.  Both the flowers and the leaves are dropping.  This routinely happens in summer when our temperatures soar but our recent short-term heat spell hasn't climbed above 78F (26C).

Our temperatures earlier this week have generally stayed in the mid-70sF (24C) but they're expected to drift back down into the mid-60sF (18C) beginning today.  While there's a chance of light rain this weekend, the likelihood of precipitation improves next week.  As I've been making regular use of the rainwater I collected earlier this month, it'd be wonderful if I could refill my storage tanks before our rainy season ends in April but I realize that a "March miracle" is unlikely this year.

Best wishes for a pleasant weekend, wherever you are!

All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party