June Blooms on the Ridge

(If you clicked here from May Dreams Gardens in July - I linked wrongly! Click Here for July!)

Before the blooms - above is another picture of my favorite critter - this time a baby alligator lizard

[note: earlier I thought it was a fence lizard but I've updated this post to make this correction. See next post for more on this.]

that somehow got in the house. I captured him easily in a handy yellow plastic tumbler and we had a good look at each other before I sent him on his way! He was a tiny little whippersnapper, all shiny with youth and good health! - And he even has a feather in his cap as you can just make out!

As usual these days, I'm in a rush. My free time has been spent in weed removal - so that weed flowers don't become part of my July bloom day! As ever thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for putting on the monthly bloom day every 15th of the month. Here's what's blooming around my neck of the woods...

Our indigenous deerweed, Lotus scoparius, is blooming all over the hill - I just love it. It's funny how the other yellow blooms don't thrill, because we know they are invasive French broom or myrtle! And sage is also scenting the air. The one in the photo (barely) is I think Winifred Gilman.

My elderberries are too young to bloom - here's what they will look like, in a neighboring area of wilderness...


Also blooming on the chaparral side are the indigenous gnaphalium californicum.


Indigenous Golden yarrow is making a huge splash too with its chrome yellow blossoms.


This non-native Mexican salvia was here when we arrived and earns a place because it thrives with absolutely no irrigation and feeds the hummingbirds. I just whack it back each year.

Also indigenous, these tiny-flowered madia are popping up everywhere. Not sure the specific species - the huge sticky Madia sative are sprouting too and they get enormous - I let them grow only in the wilder areas.

Indigenous monkey flower are stunning everywhere right now.

And the garden kind! - here with some seaside daisies, native on the coast just south of here.

But oh the indigenous chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum) - for which the chaparral type is named - are just lovely right now. Forget the fire hazard and just enjoy these creamy blossoms that cover the chaparral right now. Here's a close up...

And here's how they look massed on a hill. (I can't see my hill from below, but it looks like my neighbor's, shown here.)

Too bad the picture is a bit washed out - it is more vivid in actuality.

Above is a bit of yarrow, planted monkey flower, and planted hummingbird sage - I'm excited because this - though it doesn't look like much - is the best I've seen on this lower part of my driveway where the ground is very poor and the light not the best.

In the shade of the Ribes indecorum are a few columbine I planted thinking they were native.
They survive unassisted and don't spread. But when I propagate columbine, they may have to go. I collected some good seed this year locally and hope to grow a bunch.

And California aster, planted, starting to bloom. not showy but in masses, a good effect. These are spreaders - plant with care!

Pitcher sage, planted, not thriving so well this year - the plants may just be old, not sure.

Mimulus guttatis is not growing in my garden but I hope it will be next year! I'm keeping an eye on these seep monkey flower plants that grow in a moist shady spot down the road. Town mouse grows these successfully in her garden. Here's a close up.


(Wow a big turkey vulture just flew right by my window!)

In the same vein - I would like to propagate these little violets, blooming near the seep monkey flower - they are so sweet:

They are Viola glabella, stream violet. Again, good for shady moist spots.

The indigenous yerba santa, Eriodictyon californicum, is blooming profusely this year. Mine was all whacked back as it was growing too close to the road, and it is resprouting vigorously. I wonder if it will start to get the sooty mold again that plagued it before?

Almost finished blooming now is our native black sage, Salvia mellifera. I love catching the sage backlit by the morning sun. A trick I learned from Saxon Holt, and try to use every chance I get.

Happy bloom day all - Be sure to check the lovely garden natives posted by my good friend and co-blogger Town Mouse here!

Comments

Beautiful. I'm a huge fan of native flowers and you've captured some goodies! :)
Anonymous said…
I need to hurry up and get around to planting some deerweed. Yours is gorgeous!
We get the occasional lizard in the house too...I'll never figure out how they get in. It's fun to compare notes as you're not too far from us here. We have a lot of Lotus scoparius blooming right now, and I love it, although half of it seems to be coming up through the Monkeyflowers! I wonder if it would survive if I moved some in the cooler months? Our Madia sativa is everywhere, which makes our whole orchard look a little unkempt...but the bees do seem to love it, so I'm happy to leave it for them. Our Viola glabella have been done blooming for some time, but this reminds me to go and see if I can still find some seed pods. It is such a lovely little violet.
Christine said…
County Mouse, I spoke too soon in Town Mouse's bloom day post- you guys are a power house! I can't believe that lizard shot! And I don't know what you mean about the Pitcher Sage- it looks lovely in the photo.
Unknown said…
Your photos of the indigenous plants are wonderful! I think that some of them just need a good publicist like you--who wouldn't want those monkeyflowers in their garden? Really?
biobabbler said…
Love the pictures, esp. the lizard. Pretty sure it's an alligator lizard vs. fence lizard (check out http://www.californiaherps.com/identification/lizardsid/elgaria.id.html vs. http://www.californiaherps.com/lizards/pages/s.o.occidentalis.html Their head shape and eyes are pretty different, if you look closely (as your shot certainly did!). Thanks for sharing =)
biobabbler said…
and by the way, you can use the same site to look at pictures of juvenile alligator lizards 'cause their coloring is SO different from adults, they look like a different species.
Town Mouse said…
Very cool pics! That rain we had this winter has really made a difference, everything looks so lush.
I recognize many blooms and some that I do not. I love the fragrance of my sage 'Winifred Gilman' Chaparral Sage. You showcase native plants so beautifully :-)
Your Eriodictyon californicum is so sweet. I hope it doesn't get sooty mold again. I love all your native plants! Lovely post. Pam
gotta love salvia luecantha!
lo said…
Rah for the deerweed! A restoration project I look out over at the day job has a mix of it and some Encelia california. When they're blooming at once it's a great contrast of the big yellow daisies against the yellow-orange mist of the deerweed. It's not an irrigated plot, so the effect only lasts a month or so.
[ that last note was from me, pushing wrong buttons... ]
Country Mouse said…
Thank you all for visiting - especially thanks to Biobabbler who opened my eyes to the fact that the lizard is NOT a fence lizard at all but a baby alligator lizard. I'm going to do a brief post with a few pics of each from my albums to show the differences. I was looking with my brain and not with my eyes - we seldom see alligator lizards but fence lizards are all over the place.
biobabbler said…
Oh, you are SO welcome, and thanks to YOU when I went on a hike yesterday we saw an alligator lizard and I stared closely at it's eyes to know for sure that this species is the Southern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria multicarinata) 'cause of the pics I reviewed vs. northern (which have brown eyes). =)
susan morrison said…
Love the blooms - I'm a big monkey flower fan despite it's tendency to be short lived in more traditional gardens, but by far the best shot is the lizard!
Helen said…
The lizard shot as an opener is Wow! And that pitcher sage is stunning. The diversity of flower and form within a single genus always amazes me.
I love your native garden and your dedication to it. Glad I had time to stop by and visit your bloom day.
Sylvana said…
That salvia is gorgeous! And that lizard is adorable. Yeah, he's definitely checking you over.

My WV is "mocha". Mmmmm...MOCHA!!
Les said…
The plants are beautiful, but I really like the photo of the baby lizard. Even though it is young, the look on its face is very mature.
Unknown said…
Nice. Love the nature views. Isn't nature (and Mother Nature) grand?
Noel Morata said…
aloha,

i love your california natives, especially the chamise, it is stunning.

thanks for sharing your blooms today.
Larry said…
It's fun to see what's happening in a a totally different part of the country... we don't have any lizards about, so that was a new experience to see as well! Larry
Country Mouse said…
Thanks those who left comments in July when I wrongly linked the june post instead of the July post, on May Dreams Gardens. We are lucky to have the lizards indeed - they add a lot of character to the garden, scurrying about their business.