Okaaaay. Rain, rain, & then some more rain (so much for La Nina), frost, some days of record high temps, and now back to the proverbial norm. These are the meteorological vicissitudes this past winter-now spring season that have given a kick of joie de vivre to our LoCal SoCal weather wizards a la Fritz Coleman and Dallas Raines.
Lots of stuff blooming now, both native and in the garden.
3/12/11 Fuchsia-Flowered Gooseberry (Ribes speciosum).
3/12/11 Antelope Bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata).
3/12/11 Sticky Cinquefoil (Potentilla glandulosa).
3/12/11 Island Tree Poppy (Dendromecon harfordii).
3/12/11 Pink-Flowered Currant (Ribes sanguineum glutinosum).
3/19/11 In the desert garden, Pink Fairyduster (Calliandra eriophylla).
3/19/11 Prickly Phlox (Leptodactylon californicum). This one's still a baby, along the fenceline.
3/19/11 Not sure what kind of lupine this is. There are a few of these growing on the slope off the driveway. Native or not? To be or not to be? Must break out the Jepson on this one.
3/19/11 California Peony (Paeonia californica). Native to the property. We have a dozen+ of these in the chaparral stand at the front entry.
3/19/11 Wild Cucumber (Marah macrocarpus). Another native to the property. Quite prolific, too, I must say...
3/20/11 White Desert Primrose (Oenothera caespitosa ssp. marginata). These beauties are oh so fragrant.
3/20/11 Cow Parsnip (Heracleum lanatum) and Parish's Stream Lupine (Lupinus latifolius parishii) in a planter along the north side of the house.
3/20/11 Pearly Everlasting (Gnaphalium californicum). These are ubiquitous on the property and make for great dried flower arrangements.
3/20/11 Beautiful Rockcress (Arabis pulchra gracilis).
3/20/11 A rainy day, the day before spring.
3/21/11 Weather was still dicey the next day (first day of spring), but that rainbow was a good sign.
3/21/11 And a baby bunny on the patio.
3/24/11 When you have to drag yourself out of bed at crack of dawn to go to work, it's worth it if you get to see this (view from Clinton Keith Rd.)
3/25/11 Rain and more rain.
3/27/11 'San Gabriel' Fremontodrendron.
3/27/11 Silver Dune Lupine (Lupinus chamissonis).
3/27/11 Beautiful new bronzy foliage of Paradise Manzanita (Arctostaphylos pajaroensis).
3/27/11 Western Bluebird (boy to the left, girl hiding behind the trunk of the Mexican Elderberry, on the right).
3/27/11 A drove of wabbits.
More wascally wabbits.
4/1/11 'Margarita BOP' Penstemon.
4/1/11 Sticky Phacelia (Phacelia viscida).
4/1/11 Red-Skinned Onion (Allium haematochiton). These have naturalized under the Konocti Manzanitas.
4/1/11 Woodland Strawberry (Fragaria vesca), in the herb garden.
4/1/11 One of the Ladies (Vanessa species) on Cedros Island Verbena 'De La Mina.'
4/1/11 Five Spot (Nemophila maculata).
4/1/11 Western Vervain (Verbena lasiostachys).
Schizo weather... that's the description I've been searching for... What a great post. Your econsystem is so different from ours that I barely recognize any of the plants native or not. What fun though! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteDon't you live it? I always read the discussion of the forecast, and during the rainy season so much is going on, with troughs and ridges. Then the dry season starts and it gets very boring...
ReplyDeleteGreat photos -- but how do you survive the wabbits?
What confusion out here. I'm blooming, I'm freezing, I'm blooming again...
ReplyDeleteWhen we had the 90 degree weather, I've never smelled all the flowers at once in such a way. Things that shouldn't bloom together, like jasmine, wisteria,osmanthus, and citrus. But only lasted for two days.
Hi,
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Wow--you always have lots going on in your garden! I planted a purshia a while ago but it's like in suspended animation, looking like it did 18 months ago, not at all like yours. Planting it near the coast probably wasn't a good idea on my part... I assume you got rained on recently as well. Your ribes and stream lupine probably are enjoying it.
ReplyDeleteTroutbirder, I also really enjoy seeing the beautiful vistas and landscape in your neck of the woods - mainly because it is so different from what we have here in Southern California. Might, I even call it "exotic" then?
ReplyDeleteTown Mouse, I love unpredictable weather, especially when it involves a lot of rain. Apparently the drought's over, at least according to Gov. Brown's recent proclamation. The dry season is definitely a lot more boring...
altadenahiker, all our citrus trees and avocados started blooming a gazillion blooms a couple weeks back, no doubt spurred on by the short-lived heat wave. And as of this morning, they were dusted with...SNOW!! Whaaa????
James, don't give up on the Purshia. After 2 years, mine is still only about 6-7", but has managed to put forth a few blooms (that close-up camera shot gives the optical illusion that the plant is lusher/bigger than it actually is). And, not only did we get rain over the last two days, but we also got snowed on overnight! How cool is that?
Wow, you have a wonderful view as well as plenty of blooming natives! I like the California Peony, but you have so many others that have beautiful colors. I have a Fremontodendron, but it looks kind of scraggley. Our Spring is a bit later,...maybe that's it. Wonderful photos.
ReplyDelete