Re: Winter Blooms

--- Joe Seals <gardenguru@yahoo.com> wrote:
> With the winter/holiday slowdown in postings to this
> list, I'd thought I'd post what's blooming in my
> small
> garden right now and maybe I'll inspire others to do
> the same.

I have some of the same things coming into bloom as
Joe does, The Veltheimia are specially abundant this
year.  Several of my succulents are also blooming,
Aloe  arborescens aurea, Aloe plicatilis, Sedum
dendroideum, Sedum confusum, Aeonium simsii and
Calandrinia grandiflora.  I also have a blooming
Pavonia multiflora, a beautiful glossy leaved hibiscus
relative from Brazil which has never stopped blooming,
along with various Abutilons in red, maroon, pink and
orange.  Tree Dahlias, a single pink and double white
are still in full bloom where left undamaged by the
winds, along with remnants of Montanoa grandiflora,
and the green seed pods are highly decorative even
after the daisy petals are gone.  Vines like Senecio
tamoides and Dalechampsia dioscoreifolia are still
blooming, and Petrea volubis has started in bloom
again, and the Hardenbergia violacea is heavily in
bloom for about a month now.  An 18" tall Kalanchoe
tubiflora is blooming with soft orange flowers that
nicely blend with  the foliage of an adjacent
Euphorbia tirucallii 'Sticks on Fire', and the orange
flowers of Juanulloa mexicana are also still in bloom.
 

It has been very wet so far this winter, yet fairly
mild, and many odd things are blooming or leafing out,
such as a tulip in the neighbor's garden, and our
Black Oak-Quercus kelloggii which dropped leaves then
quickly set out new ones!  Alot of things seem to be
rather confused.  The Nerine bowdenii are just
finishing up bloom, against the still blooming
Schizostylis coccinea.  Hyposestes aristata is also
still blooming where more sheltered from the rain,
along with Brugmanisa 'Charles Grimaldi' and Hedychium
flavescens.
Plectranthus neochilus is also still giving a good
show of blue flowers.

Many of the Bromeliads are also in full bloom or
starting, among them Aechmea leppardii, A. blumenavii,
Billbergia 'Bill' and B. sanderiana, B. distachia and
B. nutans.

In the Camellia family, the pure white flowers of
Gordonia axillaris is in full bloom, looking much like
a Matijilla Poppy flower, the C. reticulata 'Shot
Silk' is just breaking bud, and the small tree species
C. pitardii var yunnanica has been having waves of
blush pink flowers for a month now.  C. pitardi is one
of my favorite camellias, as it is immune to petal
blight, and is so elegant in form and bloom.  I also
have the first waves of Ageratum corymbosum winter
bloom, along with the cold induced flush of its violet
foliage.  The much larger foliage(12" across) of
Bartlettina sordida is soft and velvety, only 5 feet
tall now, with no sign of bloom until it reaches its
full height of 10 to 15 feet.  The color combination
haromonizes with the very large purple leafed Vreisea
next to it.  The Tibouchina granulosa is also still
blooming.  The first of the South African bulbs such
as Freesias have started, along with the Argentinian
Ipheion uniflora.  

In the neighborhood, the Leptospermum scoparium
cultivars are in full bloom, and many Magnolia
stellata and soulangeanas are also, with a sprinkling
of the rarer M. denudata as well.  As well as the
winter blooms, many deciduous trees still have color,
such as Liquidambar and Ginkgo trees, where sheltered
from the wind.  None of this matches the vivid colors
to be seen the week before Christmas down in Los
Cabos, Mexico, where the Sonoran Desert plants were
particularly verdant after a very wet September
hurricane.  The 80F weather, and sunny days were a
nice break from all the rain we've been getting in
northern California!  

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Send your FREE holiday greetings online!
http://greetings.yahoo.com
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index