Although the calendar says otherwise, it's the height of spring here in my part of coastal Southern California. A few early spring plants are already showing signs of decline and, as daytime temperatures are expected to soar (again) this week, I expect to see some heading for the exits soon but, at this time of year, more blooms arrive each day than disappear. That's one way of saying that this will be another long post, even though I split off the bulb flowers in a separate post, published
last Friday.
I'll begin with the plants I consider the stars of my March garden, starting with the
Leucospermums (aka pincushion shrubs), which are having a very good year despite the woefully low rainfall we've had. January and February are traditionally our rainiest months but what we got was well short of what the State of California has called "measurable rainfall" for a single storm. According to
one source, those were California's driest months in 127 years.
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| Leucospermum 'Goldie' was my first experiment with this genus and it's currently the most floriferous |
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| Leucospermum 'Royal Hawaiian Brandi' has the largest flowers |
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| Leucospermum 'Hybrid Spider' is perhaps my favorite. Its flowers look very different at each each stage but I like the halfway-opened stage the best. |
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| Acquired about 3 years ago, this is the first year Leucospermum 'Sunrise' has bloomed |
Plants in the Osteospermum genus, one of several genera commonly referred to as African daisies, are also having a banner spring season. As temperatures get higher they'll stop blooming but the flowers will return in the fall.
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| Most of the Osteospermum shown here are self-seeded. The single-petaled varieties have always self-seeded freely but I recently noted that some of the so-called "double-petaled" varieties have also done so. |
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| This is 'Double Moonglow'. The nice thing about the double-petaled varieties is that they don't close in low light, making them useful subjects for floral arrangements. |
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Top: Recent acquisitions 'DarkViolet & White' and '4D Pink'
Middle: '4D Silver', 'Violet Ice', and 'Purple Spoon'
Bottom: self-seeded single-petaled plants in purple, pink, and lavender |
Here are some of the other plants putting on a particularly good show:
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| Arctotis is another genus of African daisies. From top to bottom are 'Large Marge', Pink Sugar', and 'Opera Pink'. |
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| Argyranthemum (aka Marguerite daisies): 'Pink Comet', 'White Butterfly' and 'Yellow Butterfly' |
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| The flowers on my tree Ceanothus on the back slope, featured last month, faded quickly in response to warm temperatures but those on this noID Ceanothus hedge, inherited with the garden, have been blooming non-stop since January |
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| Cercis occidentalis (aka western redbud) is doing well despite the heavy pruning I did in late fall |
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| Cistus x skanbergii scatters its delicate pink blooms every time the wind blows but the flowers keep coming |
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| This month, Coleonema album (aka white breath of heaven, left) joined its pink-flowered cousin, Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold', in bloom. While, like the pink version, the foliage of the white-flowered variety has a pleasant scent, I find the smell of its flowers slightly unpleasant. |
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| Accurately capturing the periwinkle color of Felicia aethiopica 'Tight & Tidy' in photos is always a challenge |
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| Lavandula stoechas in the front and back garden. The plant on the right was self-seeded. |
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| Sometimes disparaged as a common plant, I find Limonium perezii (aka sea lavender) is an attractive addition to the landscape (although the old foliage should be cut back at least annually) |
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| Maybe I should have called March "daisy season." This is Pyrethropsis hosmariense (syn Rhodanthemum hosmariense, aka Moroccan daisy). |
Of course, my ever-dependable large-flowered Grevilleas are still doing their part.
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| Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' (left) and 'Superb' (right) |
As always, there are a few surprises worthy of note.
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| I acquired this plant by mail order in January 2012, labeled simply "Abelia species." The grower no longer shows it even among its discontinued offerings and I've yet to find a more precise ID for it. The leaves aren't glossy like the Abelias commonly sold here and its flower color distinguishes it from others I've seen, like 'Edward Goucher'. My most recent search turned up Linnaea uniflora 'Bumblebee' but the leaf size doesn't look right. It flowers routinely this time of year on my difficult back slope. |
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| My best guess is that this is the white form of Ageratum houstonianum, which to my recollection I've never planted. It popped up for the first time this year in a backyard border. |
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| This Dombeya burgessiae is a passalong plant I received from Denise of A Growing Obsession last fall. I didn't expect to see it bloom this soon after getting its roots in the ground. |
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| I hadn't planned to include any bulb blooms in this post but this species tulip, Tulipa clusiana 'Lady Jane', produced its first 3 blooms the day I published my Friday post. The following day, there were 11 blooms. They'll be gone long before the the next Bloom Day post in April so here you are. |
A few prominent plants are poised to conclude their annual bloom cycles within the next couple of weeks.
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| Those preparing for near-term departures include: Aeonium arboreum, Aristea inaequalis, and Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection'. The Camellia in particular was hit hard by our yo-yo weather conditions. In January the shrub had more buds than I'd ever seen but, in response to constant bouts with wind and warmer temperatures, it dropped dozens and dozens of buds, as well as perhaps a quarter of its leaves. The bloom shown on the right is one of the few that haven't fallen while still in bud. |
I'll close as usual with the best of the rest, organized by color into collages.
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Top: noID pink Alstroemeria, Centranthus ruber, and Hebe 'Wiri Blush'
Middle: Cuphea 'Honeybells' and C. 'Starfire Pink'
Bottom: Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' and noID orchid |
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Top: Pelargonium cucculatum, dark pink P. peltatum, and P. 'Pink Blizzard'
Bottom: noID peach tree blooms, noID rose, and Scabiosa columbaria 'Flutter Rose Pink' |
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Top: Geranium incanum (a weed), G. 'Tiny Monster', and Lavandula multifida
Middle: lavender Pelargonium peltatum, Polygala fruticosa, and Salvia 'Bee's Bliss'
Bottom: Scabiosa columbaria 'Flutter Deep Blue', Trichostema 'Midnight Magic', and Viola 'Penny Peach' |
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Top: Auranticarpa rhombifolium, Centranthus ruber 'Albus', and Leucanthemum paludosum
Middle: Crassula multicava 'Red' and C. orbiculata var rosularis
Bottom: white Pelargonium peltatum, P. 'White Lady', and Philotheca myoporoides 'Profusion' |
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Top: Euphorbia rigida, Gazania 'Gold Flame', and Grevillea 'Moonlight'
Middle: Lantana 'Lucky Yellow', noID Nemesia, and self-seeded Nigella orientalis
Bottom: Oncostele 'Wildcat', Phlomis fruticosa, and Phylica pubescens |
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Top: Aloe striata, Alstromeria 'Indian Summer', and Antirrhinum majus 'Chantilly Bronze'
Middle: Cuphea 'Vermillionaire' Gasteria 'Kyaka', and Lantana 'Irene'
Bottom: Lobelia laxiflora, Pelargonium 'Tweedle Dee', and Salvia africana-lutea |
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Top: Calliandra haematocephala, Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset', and Pelargonium sidiodes
Middle: Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' and noID dwarf Cymbidium
Bottom: Grevillea 'Ned Kelly', G. lavandulacea 'Penola', and G. 'Scarlet Sprite' |
All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
