Bloom Day (Part 3, the Final Chapter) - May 2023

The good news is that I probably won't approach Bloom Day like this again anytime soon.  Please consider this extended, three-part photo extravaganza a flight of fancy attributable to the sheer volume of blooms resulting from prolonged exposure to rain and cooler-than-usual temperatures.  If you missed them, you can find part one here and part two here.   

The focus of this final Bloom Day post is my front garden.  I've broken it up into sections and once again have used a variety of wide shots to provide context.

This is the view from the other side of the driveway looking toward the front door.  While the focus of this post isn't foliage, I'd like to point out how good the tree-like Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' shrubs are looking.

I don't have many roses but the 6 'Pink Meidiland' roses inherited with the garden are reliable bloomers.  The noID pink Alstroemeria in front of this rose also came with the garden.

Dorycnium hirsutum (aka Hairy Canary Clover) is blooming especially vigorously this year.  This clump is backed up by Pelargonium cucullatum 'Flore Pleno'.  Both plants grow in various areas of the garden.

Lavendula multifida blooms almost continuously

Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' is another year-round bloomer

This Leucospermum 'Spider Hybrid' sits next to Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' but just outside the frame of the wide shot at the top of the post.  Its flowers take a variety of forms as they mature.

This is the third of my blooming agaves, Agave mitis 'Multicolor'.  Unlike the other 2 agaves, this one has declined dramatically since it produced its bloom stalk late last year.

Like the last 2 photos, this Lomandra hystrix 'Tropic Belle' isn't readily visible in the wide shot.  Its blooms are flashier than those produced by any other of my Lomandras.

 

Next we'll take a look at the garden from the front door looking southwest.

After removing the grass under the Magnolia grandiflora tree many years ago, I discovered that it was hard to get anything else established underneath it.  Instead, we covered the area with wood mulch and introduced a bench/plant stand and several barrels filled with various plants.

This Echium candicans 'Star of Madeira' has become very woody and will be "retired" after it finishes blooming.  I have a replacement on hand but I expect it'll take years before it reaches bloom stage.

These are highlights of the flowers currently in bloom in 4 of the 6 barrels.  Clockwise from the left are: Argyranthemum 'White Chocolate' with Digitalis 'Peach Dalmatian'; Pericallis 'Bi-color Violet' with Viola 'Penny Peach'; Scabiosa columbaria 'Deep Blue' with Nemesia 'Purple Bi-color'; and Pelargonium peltatum 'Burgundy' with Nemesia 'Banana Swirl'.

Outside the frame of my wide shot are 2 Coleonema album shrubs on either side of the front walkway

Also outside the frame of the earlier wide shot are 2 pots containing Alstroemeria 'Inca Sundance' (left) and A. 'Inca Vienna' (right)

 

My favorite view is the one I took from the south end of the front garden looking north toward the driveway.

I've finally begun to cut back the Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' to clear the pathway. One side is done but I still need to tackle the other.

Grevillea 'Superb' is ever-blooming but it looks particularly good this spring

Cutting back the Acacia helped to uncover come of the Cuphea 'Vermillionaire' but I suspect it needs a stretch of warmer temperatures to take off

This area behind the Acacia on the left side of the path wasn't visible in the wide shot.  Pelagonium tomentosum (aka peppermint geranium) isn't known for its flowers but they're plentiful at the moment.

Other plants that fell outside the wide shot of this area include, clockwise from the upper left: Euphorbia characias 'Black Pearl', Helleborus 'Anna's Red' (the only member of this genus that's done well this year), a fetching pinky-purple Gazania, the first flower on my new Leucospermum 'California Sunshine', and noID Mimulus

 

The area next to the garage isn't particularly floriferous but I'm including it anyway.

I expect there are only 2 flowering plants you can see in this photo

A mass of Lavandula stoechas is one of them

The other is Polygala fruticosa (aka sweet pea shrub), which echoes the color of the lavender from a distance

A few other flowering plants fell outside the camera's frame.  Clockwise from the upper left are: Arctotis 'Opera Pink', Iris douglasiana 'Wilder Than Ever', the first bloom of Lupinus propinquus, and the first bloom of Rosa 'Medallion'.

 

The final area I'll share is the lower level of the front garden, where my lath (shade) house sits.

This is the view from the main level of the front garden looking down the slope

Limonium perezii, shown here next to Aloe straita x maculata, is another plant I've spread throughout the garden

I was caught by surprise last week when I noticed this pineapple guava (Feijoa sellowiana) in full bloom.  There's a second tree in the area adjacent to the garage that has yet to produce a single bloom.

This noID Cotoneaster planted itself at the top of the slope several years ago

Euryops chrysanthemoides 'Sonnenschein' was covered in more flowers the week before I took this photo

There's nothing of note blooming inside the lath house but the Dyckia choristaminea 'Frazzle Dazzle' (left in a pot) and Pelargonium peltatum 'Pink Blizzard' (left, at the base of the slope) add other touches of color

 

Okay, that's it!  I'm done with May blooms.  Although the marine layer has kept temperatures down in my area and I've yet to see more than a handful of sweet pea flowers here and there in my cutting garden, buds are developing on my Agapanthus, which is a sure sign that summer is waiting in the wings.

Best wishes for a colorful weekend.

All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Bloom Day (Part 2) - May 2023

I've broken my May 2023 Bloom Day post into segments because even I've found my garden overwhelming this month.  Part one can be found here.

Today's post covers my south-side and north-side gardens.  I'll start with the south-side area, using some wide shots to help with orientation.

This is the south-side garden photographed from our back garden looking west

Leucadendron 'High Gold' is the most prominent flowering shrub to be seen from this end but there are other flowers here and there

Touches of orange-red can be found growing as a groundcover below the Leucospermum.  Metrosideros collina 'Spring Fire' (right) echos the color from the other side of the flagstone path.  Leucospermum 'Sunrise' has chosen not to bloom this year, presumably because I cut it back too hard or too late last year.

This Agave 'Blue Glow' sits just outside the frame of the earlier wide shot.  Its flowers appear to be mostly spent but I'm giving it time to see if the scruffy bloom stalk will develop bulbils.  So far the mother plant shows no sign of decline.

Just behind the Agave in the last photo you can see this Hymenolepsis crithmifolia (aka Coulter bush)

Hidden to the right of Leucospermum 'High Gold' are Grevillea alpina x rosmarinifolia and G. 'Poorinda Leane', both shown here in flower closeups

This wide shot was taken from the small patio on the south side of the house looking further south

Lagurus ovatus (aka bunny tail grass) has self-seeded in among my succulents.  I sowed the original seeds in another bed years ago but they chose to move themselves to spots of their own choosing.

These are plants you might have spotted in the last wide shot if you have an eagle eye.  Clockwise from the upper left they are: self-seeded Eschscholzia californica (California poppies), Grevillea 'Moonlight', and the first flowers of Salvia clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman'.  I sowed more poppy seeds in the bed adjacent to the patio in February and they're only just starting to bloom.

The plants shown here can't be seen in any of my wide shots.  As in other parts of my garden, Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi Verde' (left) is blooming heavier this year.  The groundcover Delosperma (aka lavender ice plant, right) is growing along the dirt path between the south-side bed and the hedge behind it.

This wide shot of the south-side garden was taken from the front garden looking east.  It provides the best view of the area.

I'm happy with this combination, dominated by 3 varieties of Cistus and Callistemon 'Hot Pink', and punctuated by the vivid foliage of Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple'

A closer look at Callistemon 'Hot Pink'

This is Cistus x pulverulentus 'Sunset'

These are closeups of the other 2 other hybrid Cistus, C. 'Grayswood Pink' (left) and C. x scanbergii

Limonium perezii (aka sea lavender) occupies the south end of the bed containing the Cistus

A self-seeded Echium candicans sits at the far end of the same bed, right along the property line

Now, we'll move to the north-side garden.

View of the north-side garden from the walkway adjacent to the house

A deeper view of the same area from a slightly different angle

Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' is the flashiest plant in this area at the moment

Flowers of Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi' are crowding the gravel path that leads to our back slope.  I've promised my husband I'll cut back the Aeonium as soon as the plants are done blooming.

Centranthus ruber is a weed here but a pretty one

The bloom stalk on Agave vilmoriniana is the prettiest of the 3 agaves currently blooming in my garden

The Cistus viridiflorus visible in the photo of the agave above is shown closer up here, along with the Osteospermum 'Double Moonglow' growing in front of it

Other blooming plants in this area include, clockwise from the upper left: Erigeron karvinskianus (another weed here), Grevillea sericea, Lavandula dentata, Oenothera speciosa, and Sideritis cypria

Another wide shot of the north-side garden taken from the other end of the area

Psoralea pennata (aka Kool-aid bush because of its grape soda scent) is putting on its spring show.  It's a bit spindly for my taste but it's flowering heavily.

A variety of Pelargoniums line the bed along the walkway adjacent to the house.  These are Pelargonium 'Lemona' (left) and P. 'Lady Plymouth' (right).

I haven't yet covered the front garden but I may wrap up the week with the blooms there, finally calling Bloom Day a wrap.  As I use some of the same flowers in various areas of the garden, I'm not sure this is the easiest presentation in terms of my time but I'd be interested to know if readers feel it's easier to digest.

For other Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts, check in with our host, Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party