And for you Beahive, a bee collecting for it's hive.
SPRING....so show off your pic's
Hippeastrum (amaryllis)
More hippies
soilsandup...thanks for the bee...I love them . That one sure has been busy. He/She has a lot of pollen on his leg!
Dale..Love the amaryllis. I do not think I have ever seen so many in bloom at one time. Beautiful! Still witing for my one from Christmas
time to bloom. May be the 4th of July before I see a bloom!
Highmtn. The Chionodoxa are beautiful. I must add those to my list for next season!
These tulips opened yesterday and were just glowing in the sunshine!
This message was edited Apr 7, 2009 5:43 AM
My roses are blooming. This one is a mini Flame.
Oh...myyyyyy.......this thread keeps getting better and BETTER!! Too bad we don't have computer monitors that are "scratch and sniff"!...lol I saw a photo of a Meyer Lemon bush.. .ahhhhhhhh what I wouldn't give for a sniff of that!
Dale (Smary Pants!!)
LOL...but you folks in FL are a FULL three months ahead of those on the WA coast...LOL We have had a couple really OFF ODD years...and MORE SNOW this winter then I've seen since I moved here! We are still nudging freezing every night. You're photos makes me feel like somehow I've missed summer! A few years ago someone sent me a few of those Hippeastrum (amaryllis) and they just didn't take off. We did have a pretty bad cold snap that winter and they never came up. I was pretty disappointed...they look SMASHING in mass like that!
CactusPatch
I do love "Malva"..(or French Hollyhocks)...and I believe I see some in your collage photo. I had purchased some BLUE Malva off of eBay once and the seller flaked out and never got it to me. I was really disappointed. I have a SERIOUS ADDICTION for blue flowers.
Jkom51
I really enjoyed your slide show too! I used to work in Oakland many moons ago. Lived in SF, and Danville for quite a few years. Good growing country down there! We used to have to fight the raccoons for the avocados in our trees!
Beahive..
Wow...those Anenomes are GREAT TOO! Close enough to blue for me! The frittalaria michailovsky are MOST intriguing! Are they smaller like Lily of the Valley?
Soilsand up
So many photos! Great ones... ya know.. I love CA poppies! I know they can be pushy, but they really are little pioneers of strength. Occasionally I see CA poppies and/or Johnny Jump-Ups coming up in a crack in the concrete and I let them go. They remind me to BLOOM WHERE YE ARE PLANTED...lol
Sawpalm, Pestee, Artemiss, Gardengus - Anyone I missed......(I never try to exclude anyone..LOL That's why it takes me forever to post...LOL) So many awesome photos, but I'm running out of posting time! Duty calls and I have a crew of "fence guys" showing up shortly. Better at LEAST BE OUT OF MY ROBE...LOL
My home burned up a few years ago and after a VERY LONG BATTLE with my ins company we are finally starting to recover. I completely lost my yards, but there was no loss of life...and for THAT I am eternally grateful! Even the hamster got out alive! HOWEVER...what hurt that most... (and what I cannot afford to replace)..that the SCUM insurance co. got out of paying for was a 10'x60' homemade greenhouse that was attached to the back of my home. It was where I lived and played every day...all four seasons. It was almost 30 years old, but it was set up very well. BUT....because it was attached to the house for stability ONLY it was not considered an out building. It was a legal loophole and they wiggled through it. I not only wintered my own cactus and/or tender plants in there, but half of the neighborhoods too.
It was a huge loss for me (emotionally), but... I've finally decided to just get over it...and do the best with what I have. Back to starting seeds on the windowsills...LOLOL
Off to get busy...
poof*
PS~
Is there a thread in here that yaks about WHAT is your most "Favorite and reliable" plant you grow? I'll come back later and share that. I have a plant that I stumbled into a few years ago that I will say is in the top 5 of my alllllllllll time plants. Amazing plant...
poof*
Yes you did see a Malva or French Hollyhock. I had one seed itself in the crack between some rock edging and my flagstone. I guess that since it was facing south, and the rock kept it warm all winter so it is about 2 feet tall and blooming now. I will try to remember to get a photo of it next time I am out there. I think I gathered some seeds last year, dmail me and if I find them I will gladly send you some!
Highmtn. The frittalaria michailovsky are about 6-8 inches high and the blossoms are much bigger than the lilly of the valley. I would guess the blooms are about 3/4-1 inch up and down. They are nice. It is my first time with them.
I'd love to know what your favorite drought tolerant plants are. I'm doing a demonstration area in my garden for a workshop and would love to know what you think. The pics are wonderful, it's so good to see what's blooming in different parts of the country. I'm going to New Orleans this weekend and will see what I can find. Here in Winston-Salem, we are fearful that the 30 degrees temp predicted for tonight will damage all the flowering trees that are out. Oh, nature.
Cedrus deodar is drought tolerant.
Helichrysum (the grey plant) is drought tolerant - not sure about how cold it can take.
Marguerite is very drought tolerant if the weather stays cool.
Pink Bleeding hearts.
A few things have come up in my window boxes on the shed.
Whats a garden without a frog or two.
more pansies
sawpalm, my favorite drought tolerate bloomers that can take heat are lantanas. They just don't seem to mind where I plant them. None blooming yet this year for a pic though.
The ONLY PLANT that has managed to stand it's ground against our water monger, nutrient robbing massive cedar trees is the "Becky" daisy. The ground in my front yard is like concrete from my wonderful (but ornery) cedar trees. I so love the shade they give us in the summer, and the nauralized look they provide....but...they are BEASTS. We had someone come out with a backhoe and all but jackhammer out a few new beds and borders into the ground for us. We couldn't even break the soil by hand - even WITH soaking it for a couple days. Anyhow... we put in wonderful top soil, and amended the beds to perfection. Within 2 years the new beds were massive red balls of feeler "water" roots from the cedars (honestly...the masses were woven as tight as loofa sponges!). Eventually everything but the Becky Daisies, and the CA poppies were all that remained (and remains) to this day. I now mostly do container gardening, and just move the color pops (in tubs and pots) where I need it.
So...for plants that have survived low water... and miserable concrete choking ground my local vote goes to the B-daisies and CA poppies. They just keep on growing and thriving!!
I love Lantana, but have not had great luck with it in the past.
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This message was edited Apr 8, 2009 8:32 AM
Ok.. I feel like a DORK but someone ( I thought it was in here) offered to send me some Malva seeds...and now I can't find it...arugh. Please jog my memory... I'm old and feeble...lol. They asked for my address and I figured I'd do that tonight...and ... er.......a........no I wont...LOL Can't find it. DUH!
LOVE the photos...and I really really love frogs! They are such fun little bug getters!
I love seeing everyone's blooms. I'm still waiting on blooms here in Wisconsin.
Dale, those delphs look fabulous; especially that big drift of them. Are they staked in any way? I've always had to stake mine or else they sprawl all over the place. Yours look amazing!
Spring Bouquet
Kayly,
Those delphinium are growing at my greehouse, they are sheltered from the wind. Also, I am growing the shorter types because they need less staking.
Beautiful Dale..
I used to live in California. I thought I would try some of those West Coast Natives, just to see how they would perform. Most west coasties don't like Florida (lupines hate FL), but, these Brodiaea californica did great>
Thanks Bea
Here is one I am going to plant a lot of next year Linaria - very easy from seed!
Alyssum and Dahlberg Daisy does very well during the cool weather of FL in winter>
The garden continues to put on a show. I took these additional photos on April 7th and organized them into a smaller slideshow on Photobucket:
http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c116/jkom51/2009Qtr1B/?albumview=slideshow
Very very nice jkom51!
Thanks...we are still getting hammered and even has SNOW warnings this morning...LOL
Nice slideshow jkom51.
Dale - I found a delphinium on deep discount (marked down from $5.98 to $.50 because the top was lopped off) and planted that. I am hoping that the bottom sprouts will be big enough to bloom.
Geums add a nice touch to a cottage garden. I use them as filler plants in arrangements too.
This message was edited Apr 13, 2009 10:16 AM
Soils,
Wow, 50 cents!?!
Delphinium will resprout and bloom again as long as the soil is cool and air temps moderate. I have had mine rebloom twice after the first flush.
As long as the Delta breezes keep blowing you will be OK.
PS Do you commute to Davis? The only other college I know of in Sac is the American River College and I can't imagine that school needing a soil science teacher.
Public garden>
Dale, I love the bargain table at the Lowes. Good to know that the delphinium will resprout and bloom - will they reseed themselves like the larkspurs?
You must have lived in Sacramento before to know about the delta breezes. I live about two blocks from the Sacramento River, and the Delta breezes are what makes the summers bearable because they cool the evenings down. And yes, I work in UC Davis (got my 30 year pin last year). and have commuted most of that time.
For the life of me, I cannot remember the name of this flower. Anyone?
Soils,
Your flower looks like Sparaxis - if not, it may be one of the other SAfrican winter blubs that are widely grown in CA.
I am not sure if Delphinium will reseed......they are not as easy as larkspur. Larkspur will reseed themselves here and bloom nicely in spring. Delphinium won't.
If your garden is Class 1 soil the delphinium may reseed. You have a enough cool weather to make it possible. Wouldn't hurt to try. I suspect they won't become a pest - I have never heard anyone say there yard was overrun with delphinium in the 50 yrs I have been gardening.
I still have friends that live in Carmichael, Chico area and West Sac.
My old house in SF, left there in 2000>
I love the SAfrican bulbs.
Fisherman's Wharf in early summer, 1990.
Some delphiniums in GG Park, SF, CA.
This is a garden I used to work on in Napa (Silverado Country Club). In even got paid to drive up from SF.
Napa
Pacific Heights neighborhood of SF
Pac Heights again, Cineraria grow wild.
Lavender hedge
