Things are blooming, oh my are they blooming! It has been so exciting to see the tiny plants that were put in the ground in March take off and literally take over. I find it difficult to imagine that a tiny plant in a 4 inch pot will, within a few months, turn into a sprawling 2 foot wide plant.
Baby Blue Eyes and California Poppies
You can see why they call this native wildflower baby blue eyes. They will reseed themselves for next year.
Baby Blue Eyes
The California poppies (or state flower) were grown from seed and obviously like it here.
California Poppies
In fact they have almost taken over one of the island beds.
Island Bed with California Poppies
Remember the stock I transplanted from our open house? It not only has repeat bloomed, but has a third bloom.
Deep Purple Stock
And there are lots of other poppies, some planted from seed. With a mixed packet of poppy seeds it is a surprise what comes up. In addition to the California poppies, there are larger ones in shades of red, orange and pink. The bees are loving them; we found a native bumblebee either asleep or completely blissed out in the middle of an orange poppy. You can see how much pollen there is in a single flower.
I plan to collect seed for next year as most of them are annuals and will die back once they finish blooming. The California poppies are considered a short lived perennial. Once they set seed I can cut them back almost to the ground. They will return with a second bloom in the summer but not so vigorously.
The irises that I brought from the Oakland house are blooming although they look a little shell shocked. It might take a year or so for them to adapt. It seems I could have brought a little fungus with them as well so they are not looking as happy as I would like. When I cut them back this fall I will treat with horticultural oil and hope to get it in control for next year. Please comment and let me know if you have successfully countered this problem.
The native Douglas Irises are blooming in the woods as well. We removed three old and overgrown and diseased pine trees. With the new sunlight I notice more of them coming into flower.
And the rhododendrons are finally in bloom.
These very large shrubs were probably planted in the 70’s when the house was originally built. It takes many years for them to reach their current size. I’ve planted 4 new ones since we purchased the house, they are only about 3 feet high and didn’t bloom this year at all. I see new growth though and have high hopes for 2019.
Spring is the most beautiful season in California. Come summer most things go dormant. My garden plan is taking this into account with summer and fall blooming perennials. Most of them are lagging behind and waiting till the weather warms, then it will be their turn to shine.
Remember the Lily of the Valley shrub? It has now put out wonderfully scented flowers. The bees love them, I can see them flying around outside my window as I type this post.
Lily of the Valley Bush
So the garden is buzzing with bees and hummingbirds as well as other pollinators.
I heard the first chirps of baby birds somewhere in the woods this afternoon. Spring is definitely here although our weather has been cool so far.
Thought it would be fun to close with a before and after picture. I’ll try and do this as the year proceeds so you can see the changes with the seasons. Same island bed. You can tell I like a bit of a messy cottage look with a mix of annuals and perennials.
How is your garden doing this spring?
How lovely. I really appreciate the before and after. A lily of the valley bush? I need to find one!
Hi Mimi, it really is lovely with the new growth coming out in shades of crimson or orange followed by the lovely bell shaped flowers. There are several varieties out there, the ones that were planted as foundation plants are quite large now (previous owner) but there are two smaller varieties in the back yard. Here is a link to more information:
https://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/plants/2533/mountain-fire-lily-of-the-valley/
Thank you!