Spring comes fast and heavy in Northern CA, as it pretty much ends by May when the ground starts to dry and warm up, and out come the garden hoses to deal with our bone-dry summers. I went out yesterday and took some more photos (13), which follow. This one is Variegated vinca minor. It's in a tall pot with senecio, which still didn't protect the senecio from losing almost all its leaves in our recent frosts.
My favorite variegated erysimum. I have these scattered all over, but you can see on the right side of the plant how badly it suffered in our recent frosts:
I used to have two tibouchinas, one heteromalla and one urvilleana. But they are tropical and T. heteromalla is easily damaged by frost. I finally gave up on it, and just have the usual rangy T. urvilleana - but it does have the most vivid purple blooms:
Peruvian squill will live through drought years, but doesn't always flower. The good winter rains have prodded it to actually bloom this year:
There are at least five different plants commonly called 'Dusty Miller'. This is a white senecio:
This 'Gingersnap' rose isn't quite sited correctly, but the sun perfectly backlights all the blooms, and they absolutely glow:
This is a rangy, unattractive rhodie - but the flowers live up to its name 'Fragrantissima', smelling just like Easter lilies. I noticed the nurseries are carrying an improved variety 'Dwarf Fragrantissima', with the same scent but a more compact, pleasing shrub shape.
I love ranunculus, especially the Bloomingdale hybrids, but they seldom return for me. I'm having better luck keeping them in pots, but even so, only 50% of them flower the next year:
Can't take credit for this one - it's brand new, and was blooming at the nursery. Unfortunately I should have taken the photo BEFORE I threw all the mulch over it, LOL! So the pretty flowers have a lot of cocoa mulch dust on them, and look brown-speckled when they really aren't. It's a Pacific Coast hybrid native iris, named 'Moonlight & Lavendar':
The first set of photos last week had a mention that my heuchera 'Roseda' was about to flower...and so it did yesterday:
Clivia is also one of those plants that needs a good amount of winter rain before it will bloom. I have a red clivia, but it's only bloomed once in five years:
Brunnera 'Jack Frost' gets hit hard during our frosty spells, but it recovers very quickly. I was surprised to see this was blooming already:
I've taken a zillion photos of these unnamed purple bearded iris, which were given to me for free. I love the foliage, and when conditions are right they'll bloom twice a year. Very little scent, though:
Calla lilies love the Bay Area. I like to combine them in the vase with the bearded iris:
Wonderful! Thank you!!!
Lovely. Do you have to remove the callas or can you leave them inground during the winter? I think I have zone envy.
cathy166 - the soil never freezes in coastal Northern CA (San Francisco Bay Area). It's a true Mediterranean zone climate. We do have 7-10 frost days/yr, meaning things get nipped back and really tender perennials can die.
Wow, what a nice surprise to find all your beautiful pictures! I'm sitting here in dreary Ohio waiting for more snow right now. Thanks so much for sharing- I needed it ^_^
I keep looking at the new sprouts, telling them to grow. They sure don't look like much and then the color comes in with renewed faith.
