In the garden blogging community, the 15th of every month is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, a meme created by
May Dreams Gardens. I read many Bloom Day posts each month, and I vow to be better about contributing, but my resolve usually goes nowhere. But this month it's different. Maybe because our garden is so vibrant right now, fueled by months of extraordinarily plentiful rain. Even waterwise plants love the extra H
2O!
Here's a selection of what's (almost) blooming at Succulents and More in mid April 2017:
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| Calliandra × ‘Sierra Starr’, a hybrid between Calliandra eriophylla (pink fairy duster) and Calliandra californica (Baja fairy duster) |
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| Delosperma 'Fire Wonder' |
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| Delosperma 'Fire Wonder' |
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| Delosperma 'Fire Wonder' |
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| Gazania ‘Sunbathers Totonaca’ |
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| Gazania ‘Sunbathers Tikal’ |
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| Gazania ‘Sunbathers Tikal’ |
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| In the "will it ever bloom?" category: Protea cynaroides 'Mini King' |
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| The airy purple flowers are from Verbena lilacina 'De La Mina' |
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| California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) hiding the disfigured agave leaves causes by excess rainfall |
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| My favorite spot along the sidewalk |
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| Grevillea 'Peaches and Cream', blooming 9+ months out of the year |
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| Arctotis 'Pumpkin Pie' |
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| Arctotis 'Pink Sugar' |
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| Agave weberi 'Arizona Star' and friends |
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| Just around the corner from the vignette above |
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| Firecracker plant (Russelia equisetiformis) and Persian carpet (Drosanthemum floribundum) |
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| Firecracker plant (Russelia equisetiformis) and Persian carpet (Drosanthemum floribundum) |
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| Salvia greggii 'Blue Note' intertwined with Epilobium canum (not in bloom) |
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| Ceanothus 'Julia Phelps', just planted from a #1 can |
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Purple = Mexican bush sage (Salvia leucantha)
Yellow = ‘Southern Belle’ sundrops (Calylophus drummondii 'Southern Belle')
Red = Baja fairy dusty (Calliandra californica)
Hulking presence in the foreground = Aloe ferox |
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| ‘Southern Belle’ sundrops (Calylophus drummondii 'Southern Belle') |
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| What an exotic flower! Except it isn't a flower, it's the seed pods of the South African sand lily (Veltheimia capensis) |
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| A sea of California poppies |
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| Agave ovatifolia nestled between California poppies and Mexican bush marigold (Tagetes lemmonii 'Martin's Mutant'). It cut the bush marigold way back after flowering to keep it to a manageable size. |
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| Silver-leaf cassia (Cassia phyllodinea) |
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| Flower cone of Banksia blechnifolia |
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| Beavertail cactus (Opuntia basilaris) getting ready to put on a show |
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| Leucadendron ‘Safari Sunset’ |
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| NOID columbine (Aquilegia sp.) in the backyard that is bigger and better than ever, no doubt because of the massive amounts of rain we've had |
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| Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) getting close to calling it a day |
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| Several people have asked me what's this "white flower" is. What you see are not flowers... |
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| ....they're the leaves of Tradescantia × andersoniana 'Blushing Bride' |
Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day is a meme of May Dreams Garden.
Click here to see more related posts from other garden bloggers.
It IS remarkable what a boost the drought tolerant plants get from real rain! Your garden is looking splendid, Gerhard. The photo of the 'Sunbathers' Gazania made me miss mine, which I pulled out when they got ratty. Your Protea 'Mini-King' is further along than mine - at least you have buds. Your post also gives me a different name for what I thought must be Delosperma but, as my lavender ice plants look the same as yours, I expect mine, inherited with the garden, must also be Drosanthemum.
ReplyDeleteHappy GBBD!
Another 1/4 inch of rain expected today. Will it ever stop?
DeleteI find that gazanias handle radical trimming quite well. Cut them back almost to the ground and you'll have lush new growth.
Ice plants are a difficult group for me. I know a handful of genera, but wouldn't be able to tell the species apart. However, I'm positive about the ID of that Drosanthemum floribundum because I bought a 1/2 flat years ago from the Lowe's clearance rack for $3, I believe. Gosh, that must have been 7 or 8 years ago.
Beautiful! I love the sea of poppies. How do you get yours to grow in the planting beds? Mine prefer anywhere but the flower beds! Happy GBBD!
ReplyDeleteI think the key to starting poppies from seed is to make sure the seed lands on bare soil. I tried once in an area that had bark mulch on it, and not a single one spread. Do it in the fall, just before the rains start. Other than that, I didn't really do anything special.
DeleteVery nice ! Not a single flower on any of my Calylophus yet.
ReplyDeleteMine are in the hottest spot in the garden. That might be why.
DeleteVery nice garden! Very inspiratonal. I live in Argentina in a subtropical area where succulents and cacti grow lusciously, they have never been my favorite plants but they are plants that give no problem in this climate with its long hot summers and short mild winters, I've always wanted an english cottage style garden but that is simply impossible here.
ReplyDeleteI think gardens always crave something they can't have :-). I'm no different. I'd love to grow hostas and the large-leaved perennials that thrive in Pacific Northwest gardens.
DeleteI can definitely understand why you would want an English cottage-style garden, but if you went to England, you'd meet quite a few people who'd want nothing more than a cactus garden like you can have in Argentina.
Always love seeing your sidewalk garden in bloom (and not in bloom). There's a lot more going on here in 2017 -- I guess I should have paid better attention to all of the replacement plant posts. :)
ReplyDeleteI did replace a lot of plants in the sidewalk beds in recent years. Many of them are now large enough to make an impact. And the plentiful rain this winter has REALLY helped.
DeleteI'm glad you contributed this month. I enjoyed the tour of all your blooms, especially the Calliandra and Russelia, both plants I would grow if I lived in a warmer climate. Those protea buds are beautiful, but I'm sure you're eager for them to open.
ReplyDeleteI'm very fond of both Calliandra and Russelia.
DeleteNext on my list to try: Apache plume (Fallugia paradoxa).
Glad to see a contribution from you! I have some of the same plants -- California poppies, Columbine and Nasturtiums -- but it will be a month or two before mine start flowering.
ReplyDeleteAnd here they'll be gone in two months :-(.
DeleteWonderful, wonderful. Rain is magic.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's raining AGAIN! It rained all afternoon yesterday (Sunday) and it's sprinkling now. WHAT A WINTER/SPRING!
DeleteWhat fun to read a Bloomday post from your beautiful garden.
ReplyDeleteIt was fun taking all these pictures!
DeleteSo many bright and beautiful flowers! Happy Spring!
ReplyDeleteTo you, too! It's almost summer in Houston, isn't it?
DeleteYour garden is an explosion of color! Calliandra always makes me smile & wish I could grow it here and oh the banksia and protea, not to mention all of the succulents and cacti you can grow in the ground. You live in an amazing climate!
ReplyDeleteThere's more color this year than ever before. It's funny, when I visited your garden, I would gladly have given up some of my favorite plants to be able to grow what you can grow.
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