Spring Bulbs

 There is all kinds of color in the gardens these days. Some wonderful and carefully planned. Others random and serendipitous. Like this beautiful red amaryllis bulb that was just kind of stuck in the ground and is now showing off year after year. However this year it is surrounded by a bed of yellow kalanchoe that my garden helper added in to cover the bare ground. Red and Yellow? Not my first choice in garden colors combinations, but it is healthy and happy and a bit out of the way so who am I to critique? 

 And then going from the biggest boldest bulbs to the tiniest, little blue muscari are coming up where I planted them a few months ago, rather naively, because they are lost in the landscape. I forgot just how tiny they are and one dog paw can crush them instantly. They are hard to work into the big garden beds, but the few I put in the raised planter with a rock garden theme seemed better suited.

 I always forget about the beautiful dutch iris that just multiply and bloom every year without much care. They do seem to be aligned with the Easter colors, but I think they will be spent by next weekend. Nevertheless, they are a delightful sight every year!

Although technically they are a tuber and not really a bulb, I must mention the wonderful alstroemeria that are also blooming this time of year. What an easy, forgiving plant that puts out tons of lovely flowers that last forever when cut. I really do need to add more to my gardens!

Crazy-Busy Season

 I met someone who told me they didn't plant spring bulbs because they didn't like the messy foliage they had to put up with after the flowers faded. I must admit, there are a couple weeks when this is what it looks like in a few flower beds that the daffodils live in and I know that there are some fastidious gardeners that are very tidy and braid or bundle the dying foliage up while it is gathering the all important nutrients for next year's blooms, but I never get around to that. Besides, there is so much else going on in the garden to look at this time of year you can hardly notice a little chaos here and there!

 The orange trees that were all but withering away due to a lack of water when a broken sprinkler was not detected for a long time at the back of the property in SJC have once again come back to their previous glory (well almost) and with a heaping help of fertilizer and lots of rain and consistent watering in between the rain are blooming and filling the air with the lovely scent of ummmm... orange blossoms! How wonderful!

 The sweet little 'Anna' apple trees are blooming like crazy as usual.

The camellias and azaleas are winding down their seasons, but still have a few lovely blooms to share the stage with the spring flowers that are just starting to flower. 

The honeysuckle vines are in full bloom, climbing up the giant bird of paradise, so very fragrant and pretty, attracting the hummingbirds like crazy! Now really, who can worry about some fading bulb foliage when there is so much else going on in the garden?

A Few Observations

 Every year my husband and I go away for a couple weeks to a health resort to allow my dear significant other to focus on his well-being. We typically go in the winter and I usually look forward to the warm weather and change of scenery, but this year as we left on the first full day of spring I was kind of disappointed to be leaving behind the gardens when all the excitement was just starting. We returned to spring in full bloom and lots of things going on so I thought I would just share some of the random happenings in SJC, starting with this beautiful amaryllis bulb that was kind of just stuck in the ground a couple years ago. You know that one corner of the garden where you put all kinds of odds and ends and just see if they make it? Well, this one did and is blooming proudly. It is precariously close to where the dogs cut through the path so I am tempted to cut it and bring it in, but I kind of like seeing it in the garden bed.

 The Anna apples are all ready growing like crazy. I should thin them, but my granddaughters love to pick the fruit every time they come over and they will get thinned by them soon. They were very disappointed this winter when there wasn't much on the fruit trees so I am glad there is at least something for them this time!

 I almost missed the first show of roses and I am feeling really guilty because even though I made many trips to the nurseries in the last few months, rose fertilizer never made it home with me so they are not as lush as they could be. I need to make it up to them this week!

 The California natives are all still blooming away and will probably be for another month or so. It has taken a few years for these rock rose (cistus) in the Moonlight Garden to get to a good size and covered with blooms, but they are lovely now and actually showing off during this dry weather, which is how they actually like it! I should probably put in some more out in the front street side garden where keeping plants looking good is a challange.

 I found the first clematis of the season starting to open.

 There were a number of orchids in bloom that had been sunk in the ground in their pots in a planter off to the side yard. Many types grow so easily for us in our mild climate that we take them for granted.

 There was actually a large group of dutch iris that was still blooming much to my surprise and delight. I always forget about them, but they just do their own thing. An impulse buy from Costco I believe.

 The aloe in the urn by the front door is joining in the show and sending out a bloom for the first time.

The snapdragons that were planted last fall are almost waist high and look more like a field of wild flowers than winter annuals. They must have loved the organic fertilizer that was used when they were planted and the bunnies must not be in the mood for snapdragons for dinner!

I think the overlap of the natives blooming, the winter blooming shrubs, vines and annuals, the spring blooms and the start of the summer annuals make this such a wonderful time in the garden for us here in Southern California. It is almost too much to take in all at once!

The Mild Winter Chores

 Although most of the roses have already been cut way back and stripped of all their leaves for the winter, some that are blooming away in this mild weather have been spared a week or so until the end of the job is at hand.  The blooms are not the big full ones that will come back in a few months, but they are appreciated nevertheless. I must say though, the foliage is flawless this time of year!

There are no daffodils coming up yet, but the narcissus are almost done blooming, much to my dismay. I rarely get out in the gardens during the holidays and I usually miss the few that I have here in SJC and if I don't get over to Laguna soon I'll miss those too. I thought I did plant some more last year but maybe they were late season bloomers. I need to keep better records!

I am off to the nursery this morning to get some organic rose food to make sure the roses are well fed before the mulch goes down. I'm not sure how long this lovely weather will last (the weather forecast does call for rain on Thursday) and if there wasn't football on all weekend this would have been where we would have spent the warm afternoons even though things are pretty bare!

Summer Color in the Fall

 I wish I could show you all the progress I have been making on my fall garden projects, but I'm afraid I haven't made many advances. I've been busy doing other stuff. 

 I did go out to photograph some of the fall colors in the gardens, but once again I got distracted by something else.

 There are lots of blooms that look more like spring, or maybe summer, blooming right now!

 I planted a number of dahlias (that I thought were purple, not pink) later in the season this year and they have just started blooming all over the perennial garden in SJC. I don't know where they were during the less-than-colorful summer season out there, but I hope they get an track next summer! They are beautiful!

 For the past month the front door garden in SJC has been a lovely show of reblooming iris, 'Frequent Violet'. They are long and prolific bloomers!

Not exactly fall-like garden shots, but I'll take what I can get!

Amaryllis Revisited

I think every gardener has a spot in their yards where they just toss in a hodgepodge of this and that (hopefully your whole garden is not a hodgepodge of this and that!) and I am no exception. In a back corner I toss all those indoor-outdoor plants that look too sad for indoors, spent bulbs, and every other thing that just doesn't fit in anywhere else. Much to my delight when I was walking through the garden this week I came across what was once a Christmas amaryllis bulb in full glory, happy as can be - blooming at the end of April! What a nice surprise!

Better Luck Next Time

The hundreds of daffodils that I planted in the Moonlight Garden are finally starting to show some blooms, but it is not the show I was hoping for. Short stems, chewed blooms, nodding heads and sporadic flowers are leaving me a bit disappointed. I'm going to mark it up to the first year of bloom, cut them all for a nice holiday bouquet, and hope for better results next year!

Spring Colors

 Although the weather is lovely this week, I must admit I have been preoccupied with everything else rather than getting out in the gardens. We were in Laguna a couple weeks ago (without my camera) and the garden there is filled with hundreds, if not thousands of naturalized daffodils. I have been a bit worried about the lack of blooms on my spring bulbs that were planted last fall in my SJC garden. I have found that they are pretty hard bulbs to screw up, they will adapt to being planted too deep or shallow, or even upside down. I did not put them in the ground myself, my trusty garden helper, Julian did the planting, but with my specific instructions. As it turns out there are some big, strong, yellow daffodils starting to bloom in the back yard. My guess is they are "King Alfred." They are huge and oddly enough, turned away from the house and paths, toward my neighbors' yards that are newly exposed due to the dying oleanders where the late day sunshine comes in. I hope my neighbors are enjoying them until I get out there with my clippers to make bouquets for the house! There are a number from previous years that are a mixed bag and blooming nicely, although some of them are now in the shade from the growing trees and probably should be moved this year to keep them blooming. We put hundreds of all-white ones in the Moonlight Garden and they are slowly starting to come up and there will be blooms in a few more days, but they are rather short. Maybe they did go in upside down!

Signs

Anna Apples

 We are more than a little spoiled here in Southern California and we readily admit it. While the east coast is blanketed in many feet of snow, we are complaining about our rather cold temperatures this week as if we lived in Hawaii and it was a blizzard! It was 37 degrees this morning when I headed out at 6:45. Very cold for us. The day time temperatures often don't break 60. We're not used to being exposed to the cold, damp weather this long. We complain all day long.

Peach Tree Blossom

 But there are signs that spring is on its way. This weekend the temperatures are supposed to get into the high 70's. But more importantly, the garden is showing signs of new life.

First Daffodils

We planted hundreds of spring bulbs that are barely breaking ground, but some of the old established ones are starting to bloom. Anna apple trees, small but eager are in full bloom. The first blossom on a peach tree broke open today. It won't be long now, thank goodness!

Pretty Little Things

These pretty little narcissus that my friend shared with me a couple years ago are blooming. I almost missed them because for some reason I put them in a terrible, out-of-the-way spot! Sometimes I just don't know what I was thinking! I plan on waiting until they are almost dormant and then transplanting them to a prominent spot by my front door where I will enjoy them next year. I need all the beauty I can get this time of year in the garden!

The Winter Bulbs

Although I planted tons of bulbs this fall, they are all late spring bloomers. I wish I had planted more winter bulbs like these narcissus that are blooming now and snowdrops that are blooming in the Laguna garden. I really could use the cheer in the garden at this time of year! I think I will order them early in the year so I don't forget and then they will just show up in the fall, like my bulbs did this year.

600 Daffodils

It is time to plant spring bulbs and I am finally getting around to it! I had ordered 600 daffodil bulbs from Van Engelen Inc. last spring, when I was thinking about it, and they arrived a couple weeks ago, just in time for planting. I got 400 all white ones for the Moonlight Garden and 200 pink ones to compliment the classic yellow ones in the perennial garden. I went to the nursery yesterday and bought large bags of cotton seed meal, bonemeal and blood meal to mix together to add to the holes when planting the bulbs. I have bought a variety of bulb planting tools over the years, but I find that the easiest way is to use a D handle spade and dig a hole about eight inches deep (the rule of thumb is to plant bulbs three times their height, deep), and six inches wide, sprinkle in a generous amount of fertilizer and then place three bulbs in the hole and cover. I typically plant winter annuals over the top to cover the dirt while waiting for the bulbs to emerge. Daffodils do not need chilling and naturalize easily, multiplying each year in our climate. I have hundreds, maybe thousands in the Laguna garden that were planted many years ago and they never disappoint each spring. This gives me lots to look forward to next year!

Almost Missed These Firsts!

I've been quite busy lately. We're getting ready to attend our son's wedding in New York as well as coordinating a number of to-do projects around the houses. There have also been a few community projects demanding attention. Couple a busy schedule with a rainy month and I must admit I haven't spent much time in the garden. I finally had to add "take garden photos" to my list of things to do just so I would have some inspiration for my blog entries. It rained heavy in the early morning hours this morning, but the sun finally came out and the dogs and I headed out for some pictures. There were lots of things going on in the garden that I knew would be happening, but I was surprised to spot my first narcissus of the season! Can it be that time already? I guess so!

Then as I wondered on I spotted my first camellia of the season. I really do need to get 'out' more!

Do Plant Lilies

Asiatic lilies are one of the easiest bulbs to grow with such stunning results in the summer garden. I can't even remember planting these but they seem to survive on neglect and offer up their blooms when the exuberant spring blooms have died down.
My guess is that these were bought in a mixed package of bulbs from Costco a few years ago when this area was all lawn. They were at the front of the flower bed at one time, but as the bed expanded, are now at the back.
The only thing lilies do not like is shade and poorly drained soil, as most bulbs don't. Damp soil may cause the bulbs to rot. After the blooms are spent, remove the flowers so all of their energy doesn't go into producing seeds and into feeding the bulb for next year's blooms. Leave the foliage until it starts to die in a few weeks. If you are so inclined you can always give them a handful of organic fertilizer, but they will do fine without. They are not bothered by disease or insects in my garden, and the bees love them. If their beauty and their ease of growing doesn't win you over, remember too, they make wonderful cut flowers!

A Happy Mistake

Remember last year when I bought all those Asiatic lilies that were supposed to be white and turned out to be pink? I moved them from the Moonlight Garden to the Perennial Garden where they blended in nicely. I am thrilled with them this year. They have beautiful blooms and nice structure. However I am missing quite a few due the the fact they are located right on the inside bend of Flying Rabbit Island and when the puppy races around the island they were just too convenient for her to grab the small stems in her mouth as she raced by and run with them in her mouth. Nevertheless, those that remain are lovely and turned out to be a good mistake!

Haven't a Clue

I have been watching this plant grow for the last few months in the garden with curiosity. I have no idea where it came from, coming up in the middle of a cotton lavender plant. It looks like an amaryllis, but not like one I have ever bought or grown. There is a chance it it a 'gift bulb' that a vendor through into my order sometime. They do that. But I certainly don't remember planting it in this new bed! I'm not complaining, because it is a striking bloom and I am very happy to see it, as mysterious as it is! In fact once I figure out what it is I may buy some more!

Sweet Surprises

Tucked in a corner under an avocado tree in Laguna I stumbled across an old plastic pot that was filled with the loveliest lilies in perfect bloom. It was probably a gift or something I picked up to brighten the house at a holiday many years ago that never made it to be planted in the garden proper, so it just lives on with little care or notice year after year. It is sweet surprises like this that I cherish from my garden.

Tuber Time

The dahlia tubers I ordered from Swan Island Dahlias have arrived and I have already got them in the ground! I jumped right on this task this year because I ordered some last year that sat out in the rain and rotted before they ever were planted. You have to love dahlias for their unbridled enthusiasm in the summer when other flowers are showing signs of stress. Some of them have flowers the size of dinner plates and they all make wonderful cut flowers. They are planted about 4 inches deep with a shot of bone meal (I didn't have any on hand so mine went naked), on their sides, in a sunny location with regular water, then just wait. They put on quite a show and in our area will return every year for a long time without having to be dug up and stored over the winter. The only problem is remembering where I planted them!