Late February Blooms

Inevitably, as soon as I publish my monthly Bloom Day post, something else pops up in the garden.  That's especially true in early Spring and, with temperatures close to 80F yesterday, it certainly feels like Spring now.  Some of the flowers making a late February appearance may still be around in mid-March but I'm going to go ahead and celebrate their arrival now, starting with the 2 biggest surprises.

I almost missed the Majorcan peony bloom entirely, catching it out of the corner of my eye mostly hidden by plants I hadn't gotten round to cutting back.  I cut back the Pennisetum and Lobelia laxiflora the very next morning to reveal a single bloom of the Paeonia cambessedesii I planted in March 2014.  As best I can remember, it's never produced more than a single bloom in any given year, perhaps because I allow it to be engulfed by other plants year-after-year.

I planted  2 varieties of species tulips in early December but only half-expected blooms.  Seeing Tulipa clusiana 'Lady Jane'  suddenly appear all at once was a delightful discovery.  I'm still waiting on T. clusiana 'Cynthia'.

Other bulb blooms were more predictable.

This noID bearded Iris on my back slope was in bud for weeks but didn't open until last week

Italian hybrid Anemone 'Mistral Rarity' had a single bloom prior to Bloom Day this month but is now unfurling one bloom after another

Another hybrid, Anemone 'Mistral Azzurro', followed on 'Rarity's' heels.  The stems on this one are longer.

A few blue Freesias have been in bloom for almost a month but this week Freesias in all sorts of colors are making an appearance

I planted Ipheion uniflorum in my garden a year or two after we moved in, along the edge of borders than were subsequently expanded twice as we slowly removed the lawn in the back garden.  They now appear in the middle of beds, steadily multiplying each year.

Some of the larger-cupped daffodils showed up this week, scattered in various corners of the back garden.  I don't have names for most of them. 

Sparaxis tricolor showed up this week too.  The vast majority of mine are orange but there are a few whites and pinks.

Calla lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica) planted by some prior gardener on the back slope reappear every year, aided by rain.  The plants completely disappear during out hot, dry summers.

A couple of other plants caught me by surprise too.

Daphne odora 'Leucanthe', purchased on a whim back in October, bloomed.  I'd given it a 50-50 chance here.

I'd forgotten pretty Osteospermum ' Spring Day', planted 2 years ago, before it was suddenly covered in blooms.  The petals are pale pink on top and a sunny yellow underneath.

That's my late February line-up but, with 3 days left in the month, who's to say there won't be more?  I'll be watching the garden closely!


All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: The new and the old

At this time of year the garden seems to produce something new nearly every day.  Last week, I saw something I'd never seen before and it took me a minute to realize that the first of the species tulips I'd planted as bulbs in early December were blooming.  Conveniently, I also discovered some pink Freesias to complement them.  Those two elements kicked off my first vase this week.

The 'Lady Jane' tulips are new to this garden, although I tried species tulips more than a decade ago in my former garden.  The lower light inside the house keeps them from opening fully but allows the bight pink on the reverse of the petals to shine.  I'm hoping the tulips will return for another show next year but our exceptionally mild winters may not support that aim.

The Freesias provide a light perfume to the air

Rosy-hued Grevillea 'Penola' picked up the pinks in the bulb blooms

Clockwise from the upper left: Tulipa clusiana 'Lady Jane', Grevillea lavandulacea 'Penola', white and pink Freesias, and Pyrethropsis hosmariense

The large-flowered Grevilleas bloom year-round but they're flowering especially heavily at the moment.  The arrival of the first yellow Freesias clinched their selection for another vase this week.

Grevilleas 'Ned Kelly' and 'Superb' were both in need of pruning, as was Leucadendron 'Jester', so this vase was an opportunity to use some of what I planned to cut anyway

The back view looks relatively similar to the front view in this case

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Grevillea 'Superb', G. 'Ned Kelly', Euryops virgineus 'Tali', yellow Freesia, Leucadendron 'Devil's Blush', Leucadendron 'Jester', and Xylosma congestum

I hadn't planned a third vase (really!) but my cutting garden is producing a steady supply of hybrid Anemone blooms and they're only going to last so long.  I couldn't ignore them, could I?

I kept this arrangement fairly simple

Back view: The Limonium perezii (aka sea lavender) on the right is another plant that has just begun its bloom cycle

Top view

Clockwise from the top: Two hybrid Anemone 'Mistral Azzurro', Limonium perezii, Osteospermum 'Violet Ice', and Salvia 'Mystic Spires'

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

All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

A look at foliage before flowers entirely take over

We're clearly on the cusp of spring here and flowers will be demanding more and more attention as the weeks go by - it's hard to ignore them when something new seems to pop into bloom every time I glance at the garden.  I decided that, if I was going to do a survey of the foliage that contributes so much to my garden but rarely gets the attention it deserves, the time was now.  At the outset, I also set myself a challenge, which was to skip all the usual suspects.  That means: no succulents, no Leucadendrons , no grasses, and no trees or tree-like shrubs.  When the list still got long, I also cut out bromeliads, the begonias and other foliage plants in my shade house, and even that attention-hog, Acacia 'Cousin Itt'.

So here's what I decided to share:

Artichokes are one of the few plants that have held up against the challenges presented by my back slope.  Even when they die back in late summer, they come back with our winter rain.

The small-leafed Coprosmas are often disappointing over the long haul but Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey' has held up well for me.  I have 3 of these plants in different spots of the garden.  All are resilient and hold their color.

I'm not overly fond of the trunk-forming Cordylines but there are some trunk-less varieties I like.  Clockwise from the left are: Cordyline 'Can-Can', C. 'Design-a-Line', and C. 'Renegade'.

Phormiums look similar to Cordylines in many respects, although they're in a different family.  Many, like the 2 shown here, 'Apricot Queen' on the left and 'Maori Queen' on the right, can get big.

Grass-like Lomandra presents a similar silhouette.  It's in the same family as Cordyline.  Clockwise from the upper left are: Lomandra 'Breeze', L. hystrix 'Tropic Belle', and L. 'Platinum Beauty'.

Corokia virgata 'Sunsplash' is best appreciated close-up

Like other Hebes, 'Purple Shamrock' flowers but its foliage is the real draw

I'm featuring Helichrysum 'Icicles' largely because I thought I'd killed 3 of my plants with aggressive pruning but it's proven more resilient than I gave it credit for.  The plants on the left were lightly pruned and the one on the right was pruned down to to sticks.

I've mostly ignored this Ruscus hypoglossum (aka butcher's broom) since I planted it in 2014.  I think of it as a foliage plant but it produces tiny flowers in the middle of its leaves.  I'm not sure I've ever examined the flowers until now.  They look like alien insects, don't they?

Our Xylosma congestum hedges are at their best and brightest when the new foliage comes in following pruning.  The 3 plants we added to extend the hedge on its southwest end (right) are finally looking like they'll catch up with the rest of the hedge one day.

I'll end with the Yuccas scattered through the garden.  From left to right are: Yucca 'Blue Boy', Y. 'Bright Star', and Y. gloriosa 'Variegata'.

What foliage in your garden manages to compete with the flashy flowers of early Spring?


All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

So the back patio shrank...

When we enlarged our kitchen last year, the back patio shrank.  The 70 square feet we added to the kitchen had to come from somewhere.  We moved our patio bench, chairs, coffee and side tables, and outdoor rug back into place soon after we reoccupied the renovated portions of the house in December.  The outdoor dining table remained in my husband's workshop for repairs required after someone dragged it out of the way, damaging the base.  He got around to fixing and refinishing it last week and moved it back onto the patio, along with the not-so-pretty support system we'd previously had in place for the large umbrella we seldom used.  Even though we'd already moved some things elsewhere, I thought the area was much too congested.  I suggested an "adjustment."

I couldn't find many "before" photos as of course I didn't take any prior to our renovations.

This photo was taken near year-end in 2017.  I wasn't able to precisely replicate the angle for  an "after" shot as that Echium in the foreground on the left side of this photo is much larger than it was 2+ years ago.

The chiminea on the right was moved to the bromeliad/succulent area near the garage at the front of the house in December.  The shelf and pots below the old kitchen window (not readily visible here) were moved prior to renovation with no intent to bring them back.  The huge umbrella stand on the left was the major bone of contention between me and my husband.

When I noticed that the new roofline shades a bigger section of the patio than the old one did, I suggested swapping out the dining table and bench arrangements.  In its new spot, the dining table is in full shade before 2pm so it looks as though we may be fine without the cumbersome umbrella or its stand.

This is the revised layout, photographed in early morning

View of the same area from the back.  A side benefit of the new arrangement is that the 3 pots of blueberry shrubs behind the bench get more sun.

Most visitors automatically seat themselves on the bench or the cushioned chairs.  Now there's no furniture between them and the ocean view beyond the garden.

They can also see Buddha and his cat

Mr. Frog approves

Here's a wide shot of the area.

When I viewed this photo, I realized the cushions that belong to the table chairs were missing

I dug them out of the linen closet

The circle pot was hunted down and replanted last week

The interior dining room and kitchen spaces now mesh well with the colors used on the back patio.  I'd like to say that was the result of careful consideration on my part but it was actually pure serendipity.  The throw pillows on the outdoor bench are temporary stand-ins for pillows now on order to replace those I tossed out last year.  Now, if I could only find plants to fill in the empty spaces left when that huge trench was dug to replace the corroded gas line last November...


All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase On Monday: Prelude to Spring

With plenty of sunny days and warmer temperatures, my garden is waking up.  Gardens in coastal Southern California never entirely shut down but they take the equivalent of a cat nap.

They appear to be asleep but they're ready to jump into action in response to any change in the environment

Yesterday morning we awoke to a blanket of fog but it quickly cleared out and, walking through the garden, it felt as though we were on the cusp of Spring.  The birds were singing and, if I could carry a tune, I'd have joined them.  Bulbs I planted  in early November and others planted years ago are gradually revealing their blooms.  Those blooms kicked off my search for plant material to fill this week's vases.

I headed down the slope to check the bearded Iris I've been eyeing for the last 2 weeks, intending to make it the centerpiece  of an arrangement of blue and purple flowers; however, it wasn't quite ready to be cut.  I cut 2 stems of Ceanothus while I was down there anyway and substituted the first of the blue Anemones as my focal point.

For a change, I managed to keep this arrangement relatively simple

Top view: Could that Anemone be more perfect?  It's the product of a group of Italian hybrid tubers I planted in early November.

Clockwise from the top: Anemone 'Mistral Azzurro', Ceanothus arboreous 'Clif Schmidt', noID Freesia, and Osteospermum 'Violet Ice'

Another Anemone provided the starting point for my second vase.

I started with very few ideas as to what I could pair with the subtle white, mauve and blue shades in the Anemone's petals.  As usual, I got carried away in adding new elements.

The foxglove stems were recycled from one of last week's vases

Top view: The Anemone in this arrangement was more mature than the one in the prior arrangement.  Interestingly, it turned out to have a 2-headed bloom (shown more clearly in the photo below).

Top row: Anemone 'Mistral Rarity', Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold', and Digitalis purpurea
Second row: Grevillea sericea and Hebe 'Purple Shamrock'
Third row: Osteospermum 'Berry White', Pyrethropsis hosmariense, and Helleborus 'Blue Lady'
Bottom row: Nemesia 'Snow Angel', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Helleborus 'Phoebe'

I'm willing to bet that, if I hike down to the bottom of the slope this afternoon, that Iris I'd originally targeted as the centerpiece of my first vase will be in full bloom.  Usually the first Iris to bloom, it always seems to elude inclusion in a vase.

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

All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party