In a Vase on Monday: The calla lilies show up

My friend Hoover Boo (the handle she goes by on her blog, Piece of Eden) often says "rain is magic" and that seems to be the case this year.  Our largely unirrigated back slope came with a plethora of calla lily bulbs, something I discovered our first spring living here.  The plants go underground as soon as summer arrives, only to reappear with the rain.  However, I had fewer plants and very few flowers last year.  They seem committed to making a comeback this year.

I pulled 7 of the tall lily stems but cut them down to better fit with the other materials I collected

Back view: the Lotus berthelotii (aka parrot's beak) is attempting to steal the show

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Antirrhinum majus, Freesia, Grevillea 'Poorinda Leane', Lotus berthelotii, and Zantedeschia aethiopica

I changed my mind a few times about a second arrangement, both about having one and what flowers I'd use if I did.  In the end, I leaned into the blues, primarily because they're so readily available at present.  The anemones and sea squill won't last long once the temperatures soar so I decided I'd best use them while I can. 

I added a touch of yellow to break up the blues a bit

Back view: I filled in with stems of Ageratina adenophora (aka Crofton weed), a plant native to Mexico and considered invasive in California, which I believe planted itself here a couple of years ago.  I cut it back hard last year but decided not to pull it out.  It hasn't spread (yet) but it has grown back to its former size.

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Ageratina adenophora, Narcissus papyraceus, Osteospermum '4D Pink', Anemone coronaria 'Azzurro', A. c. 'Lord Lieutenant', Hebe 'Grace Kelly' (which is gradually losing its variegated foliage), and Scilla peruviana

We got over two inches of rain last week, which was great.  Unfortunately, the additional rain originally forecast for later this week has all but completely evaporated.  AccuWeather's longer-term forecasts show the possibility of more rain in mid-to-late March but the chances they've floated are nothing to lay bets on.  Meanwhile, I'm all too aware that our rainy season typically comes to an end in April.

For more IAVOM creations, check in with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2026 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Bloom Day - March 2019

I looked back at last year's March Bloom Day post, finding that I'd highlighted bulb blooms.   While some of the most spectacular bulbs that were in bloom last March, like Scilla peruviana, Ferraria crispa and Dutch Iris, haven't made an appearance yet, other bulbs are carrying the show for now.

Freesias are everywhere.  They're glorious even when they've been matted to the ground by one rainstorm after another.

I planted Ipheion uniflorum years before we tore out our lawn and expanded our borders.  Now they pop up here and there between plants in my backyard borders.

The fancier, named varieties of Narcissi aren't blooming yet but two noID varieties have popped up in various locations

Last March, I had a lot of Ranunculus in bloom but this was the first one to make an appearance this year

The vast majority of my Sparaxis tricolor are shades of orange but I also have a few pink ones

I'd thought that all our rain would deliver armloads of calla lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica) but thus far I've had just a few here and there.  I'm hoping warmer temperatures will bring them out in larger numbers.

When it comes to bulbs, my biggest surprise was getting a few tulips to bloom.  Granted, I purchased the bulbs pre-sprouted but I've done that before only to quickly lose the flowers to our dry Santa Ana winds.  Cooler, moister air in February and March gave them a boost this time.  Amelia of The Shrub Queen identified this variety, sold as "Two-tone Tulip", as 'Cerise Gris de Lin'.

I featured the so-called African daisies last month but the flowers are even more prolific this month so I'm showing them off again.  The Osteospermums in particular are running rampant.

Osteospermum '4D Silver' in the back border

A mass of Osteospermum '4D Violet Ice' backed up by O. 'Summertime Sweet Kardinal' in the north side garden.  The '4D Violet Ice' flowers are similar but not identical to '4D Silver'.

The noID white Osteospermum shown in another section of the same bed self-seeded from a variety with spoon-shaped petals.  The pink variety on the left is 'Serenity Pink'.

I added Osteospermum 'Spring Day' to another bed in the north side area last year

More Osteospermums are scattered throughout the garden.  Clockwise from the upper left are: '4D Purple', 'Berry White', noID pink, and 'Serenity Pink'.  The advantage of the '4D' varieties is that they remain open in low light when the single-petaled varieties close up, making them better choices for floral arrangements.

I've fewer varieties of Arctotis, another type of African daisy, but they're also blooming heavily this month.  Other than regular dead-heading to keep the clumps looking neat, they need almost no care.

Arctotis 'Opera Pink'

Arctotis 'Pink Sugar'

The Gazanias aren't putting on the same kind of show but they haven't faded into the background either.

With the exception of Gazania 'White Flame' (lower right), all of these are self-sown plants

Other plants making a strong showing this month include:

Calliandra haematocephala (aka Pink Powder Puff): It gets sheared regularly but still manages to bloom every year at this time

Bay Laurel (Laurus noblis): These shrubs form a hedge next to my neighbor's wire fence.  It usually gets sheared before it blooms but I caught it in flower this year.

Limonium perezii (aka Statice), opening its papery flowers at last

Lotus berthelotti, which I use as a groundcover.  The red variety is 'Amazon Sunset' and the other is 'Gold Flash'.

Several plants that were blooming well last month are continuing to flower well this month.

Camellia hybrid 'Taylor's Perfection' is dropping almost as many buds as it has flowers in bloom but it's still looking good

Ceanothus arboreus 'Cliff Schmidt' is still blooming and now the noID Ceanothus hedge is too

Grevilleas are the backbone of my flower collection but not all of them bloom year-round.  Grevillea 'Scarlet Sprite' is a seasonal bloomer.

Clockwise from the upper left, other Grevilleas in bloom at present include: G. alpina x rosmarinifolia, 'Peaches & Cream', 'Superb', G. lavandulacea 'Penola', G. sericea, a dwarf G. rosmarinifolia, G. lanigera 'Mount Tamboritha', and 'Ned Kelly'.

Are you satiated yet?  I'll close with my usual collages featuring plants contributing floral color on a more restrained scale.

Top row: Ageratum houstonianum, Alyogyne huegelii, and Aristea inaequalis
Middle row: Geranium 'Tiny Monster', Globularia x indubia, and Echium handiense
Bottom row: Lavandula stoechas 'Double Anouk', Pericallis hybrid, and Polygala fruticosa 'Petite Butterfly'

Top row: Arabis alpina 'Variegata', Argyranthemum ''Mega White', Auranticarpa rhombifolium, and Carpenteria californica
Middle row: Crassula multicava, Dianthus caryophyllus, Jasminium polyanthum, and Lobularia maritima
Bottom row: Nemesia 'Snow Angel', Tanacetum parthenium 'Aureum', and Coleonema album

Clockwise from the upper left: Achillea 'Moonshine', Aeonium arboreum, Agave desmettiana, Leucadendron 'Safari Goldstrike', Euryops virgineus 'Tali', Euryops chrysanthemoides 'Sonnenschien', Bulbine frutescens and, in the middle, Euphorbia rigida

Aloe striata, Cuphea 'Vermillionaire', and Leucospermum 'Brandi' (the first bloom of the season, opening VERY slowly)

Clockwise from the upper left: Helleborus 'Anna's Red', Euphorbia 'Black Pearl', Geranium sidoides, another Pericallis hybrid, Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy', and Lotus jacobeaus

Clockwise from the upper left: Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold', Cistus 'Grayswood Pink', Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl', Helleborus 'Phoebe', and Rosa chinensis 'Mutabilis'

I haven't checked but I think this post may represent my most flowerful yet.  Still, I'm hoping that April may top it.  Warmer weather is expected and it may tease out some of the blooms still holding back.  Much of the country is colder than we are but Spring is slowly creeping forward everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere despite Old Man Winter's efforts to hold it back.  Visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens to see what's happening elsewhere.


All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Everything but the kitchen sink

It poured here on Saturday but as I had a busy Sunday planned I plunged into the garden and cut everything within easy reach before dashing back in the house to shake myself off.  I shoved everything into a vase Saturday night and photographed my arrangement early Sunday before I left the house.  This is a long-winded way of explaining why the contents of this week's "In a Vase on Monday" are crammed especially tightly, even by my standards.

Grevillea 'Superb' got me started.  All the Grevillea flowers shown here are part of a single stem.

The Euphorbia rigida shown in the back view is a holdover from the "tulip" vase created 2 weeks ago

Freesias flop under normal circumstances but rain often leaves them plastered to the ground so I cut a few of those stems too

Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Argyranthemum frutescens, Cuphea 'Vermillionaire', Euphorbia rigida, Freesia, Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset', Prunus laurocerasus and, in the middle, Grevillea 'Superb'.  Also included but not photographed (because it's been obscured by other plants) is Grevillea alpina x rosmarinifolia.

On my run through the garden on Saturday, I noticed that the first of the pre-sprouted tulips I planted a few weeks ago was blooming and I briefly considered cramming it into this vase as well but I held off on the assumption that I could use these flowers next week.  However, on a tour of my garden Sunday afternoon a blogger friend pointed out that something had snapped the head off one of the tulips so whether you'll see any of these in a future vase is anybody's guess.

It seems that even when Mother Nature provides favorable weather conditions, the prospects for growing tulips in my garden may be dim

Last week's vases are still in passable shape so I stopped at one vase this week.  It's sitting on the dining room table.  For more Monday vases, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

First Flush of Spring Flowers

According to local news reports, this February was the coldest in Los Angeles since 1962.  Moreover, it was the first February on record in which our temperature never reached the 70F mark.  That might not sound too impressive to you but locals have complained mightily about it.  In my own case, I blamed what I perceived as a delay in the emergence of our early spring flowers on the colder-than-normal temperatures.  But, although temperatures rose only slightly this week, some plants have decided they've waited long enough to strut their stuff.  With new flowers showing up daily, I thought I'd share some of those producing their first flush of flowers with you to kick off the weekend.

Alyogyne huegelii (aka Blue Hibiscus) wasn't in bloom yesterday morning but these flowers were open in mid-afternoon

Auranticarpa rhombifolium isn't my favorite shrub but it's small flowers are rather pretty

The Freesias sprang into action almost all at once, starting with the blue-flowered varieties

As this clump of yellow Freesia shows, the flower stems tend to flop but their scent is delicious

I've got a nice variety of colors this year too

I used the buds of Globularia x indubia (aka Globe Daisy) in a flower arrangement last month but now the buds are mostly open

Helleborus 'Phoebe' just lifted her head this week

The Ipheion uniflorum I planted several years ago are popping up here and there

This Lavandula stoechas is relatively unobtrusive

The first of Leucospermum 'Brandi's' buds is opening and I'm excited to say that I've got the promise of many more Leucospermum flowers this year

Another no-name Narcissus is making an appearance next to the fountain

The first Sparaxis flowers also opened this week

I broke down at last and bought a few 6-packs of Violas.  Warm temperatures usually make quick work of them but, if the rain and cooler conditions continues, maybe I can hang onto them a little longer this year.

In addition, a few plants that were just getting started last month are now roaring ahead.

You may see Arctotis 'Pink Sugar' many more times before its season is over but it's so pretty right now I couldn't resist sharing this photo

Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold' has been blooming for some time already but this one in the front garden is entirely covered in flowers now

The foliage of Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset' has been spreading wildly for months but the flowers are now taking off as well

More rain is falling today.  While it will further flatten the Freesias, I hope it'll continue to boost flower production in the long run.  Stay tuned...I think it's safe to say that Spring has arrived in coastal Southern California.


All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party