23. April 2017

As temperatures have moved upward during the month of April, flowering has shifted to emphasize the more exotic plants. This is not to say that the standard garden fare is unavailable, but the borders are punctuated just now by some of the more unusual native and subtropical varieties. A month that began with the last few narcissus flowers...

18. April 2017

As this week's Tuesday View comes along, I decided to share views from around the garden. First, the usual view down the South Border. Looking a little lean now as the early and mid-spring flowers are gone, it is transitioning toward summer with miniature roses coming into bloom while Catharanthus roseus, the mainstay of flower color during summer, is growing out but not yet blooming. What I have not shown is the first few flowers from sweet peas, tucked into the back of the border. I'm not...

12. April 2017

Iris "Abbondanza" has arrived: the first bearded iris to bloom this year... a lovely yellow with orange beards and a soft tangerine flush to the standards.

12. April 2017

The South Border is showing the season more clearly now. It is late spring here; the last few bulbs are in bloom. These are African species planted spottily as the border developed, but coming back faithfully, and deserving their place in the limelight, as well as a more organized planting! There is Ornithogalum arabicum, a little scanty on bloom this year but so pretty and generally flowering just around Easter...

10. April 2017

As the roses begin to bloom, the season tips perceptibly in the direction of summer. But the heat has not yet arrived, so I am still picking handfuls of Calendula, trying to make the most of their wonderful bright colors and the abandon with which they are flowering. As well, there is sweet broom (Cytisus x spachianus) to slip into a vase, bringing its lovely scent indoors.

09. April 2017

As I take a look at the young Vauquelinia californica (Arizona rosewood) this month, the most noticeable change is simply the lengthening of the new growth. Branches are reaching upwards as it puts on a little more height. This is all to the good as it has quite a ways to go before giving substantial shade to the border. But for all that, it is already providing a little shelter to nearby plants.

03. April 2017

Of all the flowers in the garden right now, I am particularly thrilled with the Dutch Iris "Blue Magic" (see also my last post, Farewell to March). So I decided it was fair enough to clip one and build today's vase around it.

01. April 2017

March has departed in a highly leonine fashion here, with a roar of winds, fluctuating temperatures, sun and clouds and sun and clouds, and plummeting humidity. Nevertheless, it has been a beautiful month in the garden, as cold gave way to warmth and ample sunlight. Everything is still feasting on the extra rain we received in January and February, no small gift in a desert garden! The month began with Narcissus...

15. March 2017

First a confession. Wandering around the garden today, camera in hand, peering here and there to see what is in bloom, for the first time I was thrilled with the garden. Not with the idea, or with this or that plant or combination of plants, or even with a particular piece of it all, but with the garden itself. For the first time I can feel it as a whole, however tentatively. There is still chaos here and there; the hedging must be completed; big gaps and outright errors need to be remedied;...

14. March 2017

This week there is no doubt about the burst of bloom from Lavender "Madrid". It is in full glory, much to the delight of bees. Its very deep color is an asset in the now-intense sunlight (compare with a cloudy day just two weeks ago). The Lavandula stoechas varieties are distinctly seasonal here, so I relish this mass of bloom while it lasts.