Bloom Fest (Bloom Day - April 2018)

I think my garden may have already reached its peak in terms of spring blooms.  At this point, it seems it'd be easier to list what's not blooming than what is.  I gave up trying to take photos of everything and I once again threw a lot of my photos into collages just to keep this post to a manageable size.

Echium webbii began blooming last week.  It's a bee magnet.

Other blue blooms include: Top row - Ajuga 'Mint Chip', Alyogyne huegelii, and 'Pink Icing' blueberries
2nd row - Ceanothus arboreus 'Cliff Schmidt', noID Delphinium, and Felicia aethiopica
3rd row - light blue and mid-blue Freesias, and Iris hollandica
Bottom row - Osteospermum '3D Silver', Scabiosa 'Fama Blue', and Wahlenbergia 'Blue Cloud'

This "ever-purple" Ageratum corymbosum has already begun to fade in response to last week's heat

Clockwise from the upper left, other purple and magenta blooms include: Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy', Geranium 'Tiny Monster', Iris douglasiana 'Santa Lucia', 2 varieties of Lathyrus odoratus, Lavandula stoechas 'Anouk Deep Rose', Limonium perezii, Osteospermum '4D Berry White', Polygala myrtifolia 'Mariposa', Salvia 'Love and Wishes', and, in the middle, Osteopermum 'Violet Ice'

All the Coleonema album are in full bloom.  Together with Erigeron karvinskianus, a weedy groundcover here, they create a sparkle of fluffy white throughout the garden.

Still more splashes of white are provided by Pyrethropsis hosmariense, which has become one of my favorite year-round groundcovers as it's beautiful in and out of bloom

Other white bloomers include: Top row - Argyranthemum 'Mega White', Centranthus ruber 'Albus', and Convolvulus cneorum
Middle row - a few Leucojum aestivum, white Freesia, and Narcissus 'British Gamble'
Bottom row - Narcissus 'White Lion', orange blossoms, and Zantedeschia aethiopica

More Erigeron karvinskianus mixes here with Gazania 'White Flame' surrounding Phormium 'Maori Queen'

Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset' is still going strong on one side of the path through the back garden.  The newer plants on the other side of the path are now caged to protect them from the bunnies that ate several small plants down to nubs.

Other plants sporting red color include: Top row - Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', Cymbidium Sussex Court 'Not Peace', and Euphorbia characias 'Black Pearl'
Middle row - Helleborus 'Anna's Red', Lotus jacobaeus, and Oncidium 'Wildcat'
Bottom row - Pelargonium peltatum, P. 'Oldbury Duet', and Ranunculus asiaticus

Arctotis 'Pink Sugar' is STILL blooming strong with regular dead-heading

Other pink blooms include: Top row -  noID Alstroemeria, Antirrhinum majus, and Arctotis 'Opera Pink'
2nd row - Argyranthemum 'Madeira Pink', Centranthus ruber, and Cistus x skanbergii
3rd row - Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', Helleborus 'Phoebe', and Lampranthus 'Pink Kaboom'
Bottom row - Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl', Pelargonium peltatum 'Pink Blizzard', and picotee Ranunculus

Ever-blooming Grevillea 'Superb' continues to out-perform even the other large-flowered Grevilleas in my garden

Clockwise from the upper left, orange flowers include: Begonia 'Fragrant Falls Peach', Bignonia capreolata, Calendula 'Bronzed Beauty', Digitalis pupurea 'Dalmatian Peach', Narcissus 'Geranium', Metrosideros collina 'Springfire', Grevillea 'Ned Kelly', G. 'Peaches & Cream', Lantana camara 'Irene', 'Joseph's Coat' rose, and, in the middle, Fuchsia 'Gartenmeister Bonstedt'

Hunnemannia fumariifolia (aka Mexican tulip poppy) is new to my garden this year but doing well despite my sandy soil

Clockwise from the upper left, other yellow blooms include: noID Argyranthemum frutescens, Bulbine frutescens, noID Carpobrotos, Gazania 'Gold Flame', Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow', E. 'Deans Hybrid', E. rigida, Euryops chrysanthemoides 'Sonnenschien' Euryops virgineus, Nemesia fruticans 'Sunshine', Osteospermum 'Spring Day', Phlomis fruticosa. and, in the middle, Leucospermum 'Goldie'

When I checked last April's Bloom Day post, I discovered that most everything is blooming on schedule, despite the stretch of higher-than-average temperatures we've had recently.  However, many of the flowers on my April bloomers are less profuse this year than they were last year, which I attribute to the substantially lower rain levels this past winter.  Our "normal" annual rain total is about 14 inches, most if not all of which falls during the winter months.  During the 2016-2017 rain year (calculated from October 1st 2016 through September 30th 2017), our rain totaled just over 24 inches and the garden celebrated the bounty.  This past winter (since October 1st 2017), our roof-top weather station recorded 3.59 inches, just 26% of "normal" and 15% of the prior year's total.  I can only hope that the summer will be punctuated by some tropical rainstorms.

Visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens, our Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day host, to see what's blooming elsewhere this April.


All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Florapalooza

Despite last week's heatwave, there's a lot blooming in my garden at present.  While a few things, like the daffodils, perished in the heat, new blooms are steadily appearing - apparently spring is not going to allow summer to take over the garden quite yet.  I noticed that more Hippeastrum had bloomed in my street-side bed last week and I'd targeted one of those for this week's "In a Vase on Monday," the meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, but it was already past its prime when I went to cut it.  Nonetheless, there were a lot of other flowers to choose from and, because another heatwave is on its way, I cut more than I usually would and ended up with 3 vases.  A florapalooza!

The 3 finished vases

Most of my Alstroemeria are blooming.  They provided the focus of my first vase.

This vase contains:

• Alstroemeria in varying pink shades (no ID)
• Argyrantemum frutescens 'Butterfly'
• Coleonema album 
• Leucanthemum x superbum, ruffled variety

While some of the pink Alstroemeria, like this one, have blue undertones, others are closer to coral pink, but as all had touches of white and yellow, I used those colors in an effort to harmonize the collection 

This is the first of my Leucanthemum to bloom

My Eustoma grandiflorum 'Blue Borealis' is blooming for its second season and, since I'd already lost a few to the last heatwave, I decided to cut this one as the centerpiece of a purple-hued bouquet.  It turned out a bit too heavy on the purple and I think the Eustoma got lost in the mix.  

I should have substituted more white Coleonema for some of the purple Limonium

In addition to the Eustoma, I used:

• Anemone coronaria (it didn't respond well to the heat either and the bloom included here is a pale imitation of the earlier flowers
• Argyranthemum frutescens, pale yellow variety (no ID)
• Cerinthe major
• Coleonema album
• Ixia (aka African corn lilies), yellow and magenta varieties
• Lavandula multifida (aka fernleaf lavender)
• Limonium perezii (aka Statice)

The blue Eustoma isn't as large as the blooms the plants produced last year but it still provides a good facsimile of a blue rose

Coleonema album, shown here with fernleaf lavender, is available in profusion this time of year 

I always forget about the Ixia in my garden until they bloom - I pulled them out of the first vase because they got lost but they don't really work in this one either

The paper-like flowers of Limonium perezii are often used in dried flower arrangements

The last vase, just 3 inches tall, contains leftover tidbits of Coleonema, Pelargonium peltatum 'Pink Blizzard' and dwarf Fuchsia 'Windchimes Neon & White.'

The last vase ended up in the guest bathroom.  The first one landed on the dining room table and the purple vase is sitting in the front entryway.

Unfortunately, the fragrance of the Coleonema (aka Breath of Heaven) doesn't quite mask the musty scent of the Leucanthemum but perhaps that will fade 

The Eustoma shows up a bit better here

I thought the purple arrangement looked better in the photo taken in the bright light of the entryway than it did in the photo taken in the kitchen.  Pipig, however, wasn't impressed.

Or perhaps she was just affronted by the attention the flowers were getting when she knows the focus should be on her

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she's found for her vase this week.  Link up if you have a vase to share!

All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Callas in Charge!

Rain was forecast for the entire weekend but, for the most part, it missed us until last night.  It was dry again for awhile this morning but, it's raining now and we're even getting thunder and lightening.  It's an exciting way to start the week in an area that sees relatively little in the way of weather fluctuations.  Today's bouquet for "In a Vase on Monday," the meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, was put together in something of a hurry.

Front view

Back view

I spent time weeding and cleaning things up at the bottom of the slope over the weekend, where I noticed several Calla lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica) in bloom so they were the natural choice as the focal point for this week's vase.  In addition to the Callas, I included:

• Coleonema album
• Freesia
• Narcissus, dwarf (noID)

Common Calla lilies

Coleonema album, which is currently in full bloom

These yellow Freesias differ slightly in color, with the one on the left reading as a clear yellow and the one on the right as gold, although the photos above don't show the difference well

My noID dwarf daffodils began blooming just days ago

The new bouquet took the place of last week's vase at the front entryway.  That vase, featuring Grevillea 'Superb,' lasted nearly a week.  The vase containing Cymbidium stems, created for my post on February 16th, is still on the dining room table, still looking almost as it did then.

New vase in position near the front door

The photo on the left was taken for the February 16th post; the one in the middle was taken for last week's post; and the one on the right was taken for today's post.  I changed the vase water once but haven't replaced any of the flowers.  The Leptospermum and Coleonema appear to be drying in situ and the orchids show little sign of decay.

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to find her newest creation and links to the contributions of other gardeners.  If you have a vase created from materials in your own garden, link up!


All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Supportive Players

In preparing my Bloom Day post, I discovered that the Cymbidium I'd been watching had finally bloomed, producing 4 flower spikes.  In the past, I've moved pots of blooming orchids from the veritable wasteland near the street where they're kept up near the house but this time I decided to cut some of the spikes for the vase prepared in connection with the weekly exercise hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  I clipped 3 spikes before I could think better of this plan, which I may have done as the question that almost immediately presented itself was: what can hold its own with orchids?  Most of the flowers I considered, including yellow Freesias, succulent Bulbine, and fragrant Jasminum polyanthum, were immediately dismissed on the argument that they'd compete with, rather than support, the orchid flowers.  I ended up with a very simple arrangement using just 3 elements.

In addition to the Cymbidium spikes (no ID), I used  Coleonema album and Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl.'

Close-up of Cymbidium flowers - there are a total of 12 flowers on the 3 spikes

Unlike the pink-flowered Coleonema pulchellum I frequently use, which blooms most of the year, C. album blooms only in spring

The pink petals and burgundy centers of the Leptospermum flowers echo the colors of the orchid

The orchid had belonged to my mother-in-law, although her plant was originally a division of one of mine, now long gone.  The vase I used was a gift from my own mother, purchased on her one and only trip to Finland, her parents' homeland.  The arrangement sits on our dining room table, where I can appreciate the contributions of both women, both now also gone.

For more vases assembled from materials collected close to home, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.


All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party