Bloom Day - Floral Overload

I really had planned to skinny down my Bloom Day posts but it's May!  Drought-stricken or not, there's a surprising amount in bloom in my Southern California garden this month.  Here are the plants making the biggest impact:

Achillea 'Moonshine' has splashed its sunny blooms all across the back garden (shown on the right with Salvia 'Marine Blue')

Anagallis 'Wildcat Mandarin' is at its peak

Argyranthemum frutescens (shown here with Hebe 'Wiri Blush' on the upper left)

Arthropodium cirratum (aka Renga Lilies) are brightening dry shade areas throughout the garden

Bignonia capreolata is giving a color lift to the back slope

Common borage, sprouted from seed, is filling in the empty spaces I had left after removing the last of my lawn

I'm coming to realize that Cotula lineariloba 'Big Yellow Moon' (left) is something of a thug here.  Although not evident in my photos, Cotula 'Tiffendell Gold' (right) is a daintier specimen that forms a nice evergreen mat but isn't intent on world domination.

Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink' is back in full force after the severe haircut it received in late winter

Euphorbia characias 'Black Pearl' (shown here attempting to swallow up a Phormium), planted in various areas of the front and back gardens, has taken off

Gaura lindheimeri has a big presence in the front garden

The Grevilleas continue to be mainstays of my garden (clockwise from the top: G. 'Peaches & Cream', 'Ned Kelly', 'Superb' and 'Pink Midget')

The silver cones on Leucadendron 'Pisa' continue to get larger

Limonium perezii (aka sea lavender) is as common as dirt in SoCal for a reason: it produces a mass of long-lived paper-like flowers with very little water

Phlomis fruticosa is finishing up its bloom cycle but no one told this particular shrub

A few other plants are just beginning to make their floral presence known:

The first of the Agapanthus have just opened for business

Two of my tall Anigozanthos have made return appearances 

Phylica pubescens, a relatively new addition, is sporting its first flowers

And, because I can't seem to help myself, here are some other lower-profile bloomers, organized by color:

Top row: Brachyscome, Erigeron 'Wayne Roderick' with Geranium 'Tiny Monster', Erysimum linifolium, and Globularia x indubia
Second row: Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy', Lathyrus odoratus, Lobelia valida, and Lupinus propinquus
Third row: Melaleuca thymifolia, Nierembergia linarifolia, Osteospermum 'Serenity Purple', and Pelargonium 'Rembrandt'
Fourth row: 2 Pericallis hybrids, Salvia leucantha 'Santa Barbara', and Violas

Clockwise from upper left: Leucadendron 'Blush', Arbutus 'Marina', Arctotis 'Pink Sugar', Bougainvillea (noID), Dorycnium hirsutum, seedpods of Cercis occidentalis, Feijoa sellowiana, Oenothera speciosa, Rosa 'Pink Meidiland', and Salvia lanceolata

Top row: Aeonium 'Kiwi', Alstroemeria 'Princess Claire', and white and yellow Argyranthemum frutescens
Second row: Euphorbia 'Dean's Hybrid', Hemerocallis 'Barbara Mitchell', Hoya multiflora, and Jacobaea maritima
Third row: Leonotis leonurus, Leucanthemum x superbum, Lonicera (noID), and Magnolia grandiflora
Fourth row: Myoporum parvifolium, Pelargonium 'Georgia Peach', Tanacetum niveum, and Tagetes lemmonii

I also had a visit from a colorful character late yesterday afternoon.  I'd left the side gate open and he strode right in.

The side gate, festooned with Pelargonium peltatum and Trachelospermum jasminoides

I looked up from my computer and found this fellow, a juvenile male peacock, probably recently kicked out of the family nest, staring in at me.  He turned away and ducked under a hedge along the upper ridge of the slope soon after I stood up with my camera.  Peacocks were brought to our peninsula in the early 1900s as exotic pets and are now widespread here, although uncommon in my our neighborhood (probably due to the active presence of coyotes). 

You can find other posts dedicated to May's floral bounty by visiting Carol of May Dreams Gardens, the host of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.


All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Spring Garden Show

South Coast Plaza, an up-scale mall in Orange County, has hosted a spring garden show for more than 2 decades.  I don't remember exactly when I started attending the event, usually held in late April or early May, but my guess is it was sometime around 2005.  The show offered a variety of display gardens and access to a wide range of plant vendors.  I hauled friends there with me and always brought home plants I couldn't readily find elsewhere.  By 2013, the first year I published a post on the event, it was already losing its sheen.  In 2015, control of the event was switched to mall retailers and it became a shell of its former self.  I was going to pass on it entirely this year but, encouraged by the fact that some of my favorite vendors were scheduled to return this year, I paid an impromptu visit.  None of my friends were interested and I attended alone, getting in and out within a couple of hours.

Like last year, a lot of the displays had very tenuous connections to the garden.

This display, entitled "The Garden as Art," featured furniture and other items that couldn't survive outside in the garden even in our mild climate.  Two raised planters featuring succulents were the only nods to the garden.

I wasn't sure what to make of this display, called "The Illuminated Life of a Secret Liuli Garden."  The sponsoring retailer specializes in crystal art, none of which is actually intended for use in a garden setting if the company's website is to be relied on.

This "Modern Farmhouse" was also represented as an outdoor space but it didn't look to me as though the furniture would hold up to sun and rain.  I liked the rustic wood wall and the hanging lanterns, though.

Some exhibitors made more of an effort to interest gardening aficionados.

This display was entitled "Awaken the Senses" and used herbs to surround a sitting area for morning coffee.  I liked the espaliered trees in pots that made up the walls of the enclosure.

This "Cosmic Garden" offered a limited plant palette of succulents and grasses but the water feature was interesting.  A large round hole in the wood enclosure surrounding the dining table mimicked the fountain's curve at the other end.

This display, called "Healthy & Happy in the Edible Garden," crammed a lot into its footprint, including a lounging space, an eating area, and a child's play space.  There were some interesting elements but, as you couldn't walk into the space, it was difficult to give them the attention they deserved.

My favorite displays were these:

The patio furniture in this "California Urban Eclectic" garden looked as though it might stand up to weather, although I made no effort to verify this.  The densely planted tapestry garden next to it would obviously lose its shape as the plants matured but it was a nice mix of water-wise plant selections.

This display, entitled "Rise & Shine" offered a chicken coop, a raised vegetable planter, a picnic table, and lots of decorative touches.  It was the most amusing display.  The miniature garden in the wheelbarrow echoed many of the elements present in the larger display, including the chicken coop.  I loved the rusty metal flowers, the whimsical birdhouse (attached to the coop) and the ceramic dog.

The display at the mall's center featured hummingbirds.  I didn't take note of the builder but, in past years, these centerpieces have been constructed by some of the same companies that build the annual Pasadena rose parade floats.

Potter Mark Muradian, missing last year when the mall dramatically reduced the number of vendors invited to the show, was back this year with his fabulous creations.

Muradian is a Fresno, California based farmer who creates unique pottery on the side.  He sells his pots only through special event shows.  Of the four he mentioned, the South Coast Plaza show is the only one anywhere close to me. 

The vendors didn't fill the top two levels of the mall as they've done in the past but there were some interesting displays.

Rain Shadow Designs offers pristine succulent specimens but they tend to be pricey, as evidenced by the tag on that beautiful Agave 'Snow Glow' (upper left)

Ricardo's Nursery operates out of Long Beach, not too far from me.  I didn't buy anything from him this year but I have in the past and I'm planning a trip to his nursery one day soon.

Sticky Situations had a nice display of cactus and succulents, which included photos of what the plants look like in bloom

Table 2 Garden had some nice succulent displays but they were also pricey.  I did like the arrangement in the middle featuring a dried artichoke.

Still, I went home with just one item.

My new Muradian pot

I may not be representative of the visitor traffic South Coast Plaza is trying to attract with this show but I remain disappointed with the retail-focused approach they've taken the past two years.  It may be sufficient to attract local residents but there's not enough focus on gardens and gardening to encourage me to drive an hour each way to attend.  In prior years, I've made a day of this trip, friends in tow, visiting the mall's retailers as well as the "botanical pop-up shops," as the mall's publicity referred to the garden displays and vendors.  I'm no longer sure the event is even worth the gasoline to get there and the friends who formerly attended with me (and spent money in the local stores) aren't interested in the trip either.

All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Wednesday Vignette: Coming Attractions

Although we've been enjoying some comfortably cool weather (low 70sF), the signs of the approaching summer are evident in the garden.  Almost overnight, the Agapanthus produced a legion of bloom stalks.  I've yet to find one full-blown bloom but we're getting close.

Almost there!

I have several dozen clumps of Agapanthus like this one so you know I'm not kidding about the imminent arrival of a legion of blooms

I thought the Agapanthus were a bit early this year but, looking back at prior posts (like the one here), I found that, at best, we're about a week ahead of schedule.

Other summer bloomers are on their way as well.

Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun' (and a snail that I didn't see until I took a close look at this photo - the raccoons are falling down on their one and only non-destructive job!)

The Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum x superbum) also are full of buds - here's one of the first to bloom

And the Magnolia grandiflora is already producing blooms, to the delight of the bees

The pink evening primroses (Oenothera speciosa) have already arrived.  I'm not sure how long the flowers will last but they deserve a moment in the spotlight this week as well.

Pink evening primrose has a reputation for being invasive in some areas but in my garden it mingles companionably with other plants, which here includes weedy Centranthus ruber and succulent Oscularia deltoides 

I'm offering these coming attractions as my Wednesday Vignette.  Visit Anna at Flutter & Hum to find the images that grabbed her attention and that of other gardeners this week.


All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: A Mixed Bag

We had a nice cool weekend.  Although we didn't get much in the way of the rain (less than a tenth of an inch in total), gray clouds hovered over the horizon full of unrealized potential all weekend.  We don't usually get rain in spring but I've held onto the vague hope that El Niño might still deliver rain to Southern California when it weakened, as some pundits had predicted.  We're on the cusp of summer and, in the face of that reality, I spent a good portion of the weekend laying 3 cubic yards of mulch, hoping this will help the soil retain the little moisture it gets from our irrigation system.

Saturday evening's view of the clouds over Los Angeles Harbor - areas to the east received some downpours amid flash flood warnings but we remained dry

I've got 3 vases again this week but they're a mixed bag, all very different from one another.  The first utilizes succulent flowers, which are suddenly appearing in abundance.

I can't remember a time when Aeonium 'Kiwi' has produced so many flowers throughout the garden at the same time

The vase contains just 3 elements (from left to right): flowers of the succulent, Aeonium 'Kiwi', and foliage of glossy-leafed Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey' and Leucadendron salignum 'Chief'

The second vase represents another attempt to do something with the Renga Lilies (Arthropodium cirratum) I featured in one of last week's vases.

I limited my selections to just 3 plants this week, all delicate floral elements

Top view

I used a shorter, asymmetrical vase (top, left) with a heart-shaped opening.  The vase contains, clockwise from the upper right: Abelia x grandiflora, Arthropodium cirratum, and Coriandrum sativum (aka cilantro/coriander), now gone to seed.

The second vase was overcrowded with Renga Lilies but that's because I cut some stems with the idea of including them in the third vase, which needed a touch of white.  However, the flowers were eclipsed by the more vibrant blooms of Limonium perezii (aka sea lavender) so I removed them, tucking them into the second vase.

When fresh, the wide purple flower clusters of Limonium perezii have a white corolla but this drops as the flowers age and dry.  The papery calyxes can retain their color for months in a vase without any water at all.

Back view showing off the flowers of Coriandrum savitum

Top view, emphasizing how the Limonium dominates the vase - there are just 2 stems of the sea lavender here

Clockwise from the left, the vase contains: Limonium perezii, common borage grown from seed, more Coriandrum sativum, noID Lathyrus, and Tanacetum niveum

The first vase sits on my office desk.

The second is in the front entry.

And the third is on the dining room table.

For more vases, visit Cathy, the host of "In a Vase on Monday," at Rambling in the Garden.


All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party