28. April 2017
April has been cool, warm, cool. We are probably within a week or so of summer's entrance; yet over the past week the winds have been rushing across the desert, apparently signalling the changing season, only to blow in still cooler temperatures this evening. Although it has been very dry, it has not yet turned really hot. More than ever, the garden is a mix of cool season and warm season bloom at the end of April. And above all, it has been the month of roses.
24. April 2017
It is time for roses here. High time to display a big confection of them in a Monday Vase. There is St. Swithun...
16. February 2017
I am experiencing some difficulty uploading lots of pictures right now - just in time for Bloom Day, unfortunately! So instead of a comprehensive view of what is blooming, here is a look at the most noticeable flowers, plus one or two deserving special mention. First are a couple of more or less everblooming plants - the ones that show up in almost every Bloom Day post. Above is Eremophila hygrophana; below is Russelia equisetiformis "Big Red".
16. January 2017
The weather has been perfect so far this January, and the plants are relishing it. While I feel that I need to improve my selections for wintertime bloom (it is, after all, a prime season in the desert), the showing for this month is quite cheering.
17. December 2016
Well, this post is two days late as the holidays have kept me busy, but it seemed a shame not to go ahead and post for December's Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. Not surprisingly, given the mild weather, there is plenty to choose from! Most of the bloom is from long-flowering plants enjoying the cool temperatures, not to mention a bit of much-appreciated moisture. (A little more would be even more appreciated!) I have put in only a few cool-season bedding annuals so far. The most noticeable are...
29. November 2016
This week's flower selection began with snipping a single trumpet off the newly arrived flowers of Rhodophiala bifida, commonly known as Oxblood Lily. A Hippeastrum relative, it has a reputation for growing well in very rugged conditions of the hot and dry sort. Not surprisingly, it has a tendency to bloom in response to rain, and a couple days worth of showers last week popped the first one out of the ground. This first blooming stem has grown to about a foot tall; like another relative,...
24. October 2016
After last Monday's pink roses, I had plans for an all white arrangement today. But The Alnwick Rose is now in full bloom.
