Early spring bulb blooms

My monthly Bloom Day posts tend to be very long and, as the March 15th early spring bloomfest will probably be especially lengthy, I decided to "split the baby" and present my bulb blooms in a separate post.  While I expect a lot more Iris, Narcissus, and possibly species Tulip blooms to appear within the next month, there are already some flashy bulb blooms to share now.

Overall, I've been disappointed with the Anemone coronaria blooms in my cutting garden this year; however, 'Admiral' has been the exception.  The plants suffered when temperatures soared into the low 80sF but these recovered reasonably well.

The blue Anemone coronaria have been much less vigorous and the white 'Mount Everest' (not shown) have barely made an appearance.  The bicolor bloom on the right appears to have sprung from a corm planted in 2020.

I've planted Freesia bulbs in various colors throughout the garden in prior years.  I'm still trying to sort out colors blooming in spots they weren't intended for due to mislabeled bulb packages.

Hippeastrum 'Ambiance' was slow to sprout but it's putting on a good show now 

In contrast, Hippeastrum 'Luna', potted up at approximately the same time, began flowering in early January.  It's last 2 bloom stalks are just opening now.

I don't have a record as to when I planted Ipheion uniflorum 'Starry Nights' in my back borders but my guess is that it was 8-9 years ago.  There are more flowers every year even though some of the small bulbs were probably displaced as I widened the borders and replanted over the years.

I've added more Dutch Iris every year since 2018.  The oldest clumps of 'Sapphire Beauty' next to the backyard fountain are always the first to bloom.

I have a few masses of this same Narcissus in the the back garden, purchased as bulbs in bags years ago from the local garden center.  If they were identified, I never made note of it.

I planted Ranunculus tubers again this this past October but so far they've been a disappointment with only a handful of the tubers just now developing buds.  However, I bought a couple of plants in bud to fill in the empty spots in the pot on the left several weeks ago.

Scilla peruviana, which despite its peruviana epithet, hails from the Mediterranean region of Spain and Portugal rather than Peru, is a dependable spring bloomer in my garden.  I plan to dig up and divide the bulbs after they finish blooming this year.

Like the Freesias, Sparaxis tricolor bulbs are blooming in spots throughout my garden, all planted as a mix of colors.  The lion's share of these are orange but now and then I find one in another color.  

I'll share my the other blooms next Tuesday.  In the meantime, I hope you find some color to brighten your corner of the world this weekend.

All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Gearing up for spring

Spring starts early in my part of the world, where winter freezes are a purely theoretical concept.  This year, rain has also seemed an abstract notion, although we did get a little bit of it this week.

This was the view from our back garden on Wednesday morning.  We got a total of 0.14/inch of rain from the storm system that passed through, which was less than I'd hoped for but better than nothing.  At present, our total to date for the rain year starting October 1st is 2.95 inches, which is very, very low. 

Despite the low rainfall, parts of my garden are already showing off spring blooms.

Coleonema 'Sunset Gold' (aka breath of heaven), Lavandula multifida, Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy', and Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' provide the biggest splashes of color in the front garden

Freesias have appeared all over the garden. In September, I planted more of these bulbs in the south side garden area behind the Aeonium 'Kiwi' shown on the left.  They were supposed to be a "tropical sunset" mix of red, yellow and pink but instead of the pink I got a lot of blue flowers so it hasn't created the effect I was going for.

Freesia blooms are beautiful and wonderfully scented but they do tend to flop

They come in a range of colors as well

While Freesias are the most prevalent bulb blooms at present there are other bulbs in flower too.

Anemone coronaria 'Lord Lieutenant' has been the most satisfying cultivar in this category this year  

Anemone coronaria 'Mistral Bi-color' isn't as prolific but it is beautiful.  'The Bride', on the other hand,  has been disappointing with few flowers and extremely short stems.

Ipheion uniflorum (aka springstar) returns with more flowers every year

Narcissus 'Katie Heath' and an unknown cultivar are also popping up in spots throughout the garden

This is the first Scilla peruviana to make an appearance but there are others close behind

Despite planting mixed colors of Sparaxis tricolor, so far all of mine are coming up orange

Camellia 'Taylor's Perfection' is looking far better this month than it did last month.

When the temperatures warmed up and the humidity level dropped, 'Taylor's Perfection' produced more flowers but it's been less bountiful than in prior years

I've been surprised by how well the snapdragons I planted as plugs are doing this year.

Snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus) are usually covered in rust within weeks of my planting them but this year, perhaps because it's been so dry, rust hasn't been a problem.  I water them by hand and I've avoided getting any water on the foliage.

In contrast, the Iceland poppy (Papaver nudicuale) plugs I planted have done absolutely nothing thus far.

They've previously bloomed for me as early as January.  I even gave them a bloom booster fertilizer this year without any result thus far.

The biggest impact the rain had this week was to scrub the foliage clean.

All five Drimia maritima (sea squill) bulbs planted on my back slope have produced foliage despite receiving little water.  The foliage will die back when temperatures rise before the plants bloom in summer.

This is a another gratuitous photo of my south side garden.  There aren't many flowers in this area but the succulents and other foliage plants are looking great.

I'm expecting a mail order delivery of plants today on top of two smaller orders delivered earlier this week.  Conditions here are expected to be sunny and warm this weekend so I'll be keeping myself busy in the garden.  I hope conditions in your part of the world allow you an opportunity to putter outside as well.  Enjoy your weekend.

All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Bloom Day!

Another Bloom Day is here already!  In the past month, Southern California has had fluctuating periods of cold and warm weather.  It's expected to get up to 80 degrees this weekend.  As far as many of the plants are concerned, Spring has already arrived.  Much of what was blooming in mid-January is still blooming now in mid-February but a host of additional plants are joining the chorus.

For this Bloom Day, I thought I'd present my flowering plants by color.  As befits the month in which we celebrate Valentine's Day, there are a large number of red and pink-toned flowers on display in the garden.

Cybister Amaryllis 'La Paz' (now in full bloom)

Arbutus 'Marina' (still blooming but past its prime)

Argyranthemum frutescens 'Pink Comet' (in full bloom)

Argyranthemum frutescens "Bright Carmine' (still blooming)

Boronia crenulata 'Shark Bay' (in full bloom)

Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold' (just coming into bloom)

Calliandra haematocephala 'Pink Powder Puff' (1st time in bloom in 2 years)

Camellia japonica 'Taylor's Perfection' (in full bloom)

Grevillea lavandulacea 'Penola' (in full bloom)

Leptospermum scoparium (blooms are waning)

Leucadendron - No ID (bracts, yellow in January, are now red/green & cones have turned from yellow to brown)

Viola - no ID

Ribes viburnifolium 'Catalina Perfume Currant' (nearing full bloom)

Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy' (are these the final blooms of the season?)

Kalanchoe delagoensis x daigremontiana 'Pink Butterflies' (in final bloom stage?)

I love blue in the garden and seek out plants in that color.  My blue bloomers include:

Anemone coronaria 'Dr. Fokker' (still blooming)

Ceanothus, maybe 'Joyce Coulter' (hedges just coming into bloom)

Echium handiense 'Pride of Fuerteventura' (1st flush of bloom is fading)

Lavandula multifida (coming into bloom)

Pericallis x hybrida (2nd flush of bloom)

Ipheon uniflorum (1st of tiny bulbs are blooming)

Viola - no ID

Westringia 'Naringa' (in full bloom)

Some of the blue flowers shown above lean toward lavender but there are also blooms that fall more clearly into the purple/lavender category.

Bauhinia x blakeana (Hong Kong Orchid Tree with fading blooms)

Erysimum linifolium 'Variegatum' (just coming into bloom)

Eupatorium corymbosa (still covered with Eucalyptus dust and not quite in bloom but getting close)

Osteospermum "Serenity Purple' (in full bloom)

Osteospermum ecklonis '3D Silver' (still going strong)

Limonium perezii (coming back into bloom)

Viola - No ID

I'll close with a mash-up of white, yellow and orange blooms.

Anemone coronaria 'Mona Lisa' (early bloom)

Coleonema album (just starting to bloom)

Zantedeschia aethiopica (1st Calla Lilly bud ready to open)

Nemesia 'Sunsatia Lemon' (still blooming)

Primula & Kalanchoe in pot

Chorizema "Bush Flame' (early stages of bloom)

Viola - no ID

Moussonia elegans 'Taylor's Selection' (early blooms)

Rose, probably 'Joseph's Coat' climber (my only rose bloom)

Pyrus calleryana (close-up of flowers on tree in full bloom)

Leucanthemum x superbum, unnamed variety (1st blooms)

Leucanthemum x superbum 'Snow Lady' (early blooms)

Echeveria flower - No ID (still blooming)

You can find links to posts with more plants in bloom at May Dreams Garden.  Thanks, Carol, for hosting this monthly event!