This morning, I had a look around at what's blooming. Most amazing the Zauschneria (California Fuchsia), which has been blooming since September and is still going strong. I have three different kinds, with different sun exposure and colors. They're all hummingbird magnets (dessert for hummers, said my friend Carolyn) and other birds eat the seeds. In spring, the California Towees take small branches to use in their nests.Some of the sysirinchium bellum (blue-eyed grass) is also, amazingly, still blooming. The Epipactis giganteum (stream orchid) on the other hand, is now going dormant and doing so very prettily.
Vitis californica is doing the same. A friend picked up this native grape for me (unlabeled) two years ago. At the time, it had plum colored leaves, quite stunning. Last year, it turned yellow instead of plum. This year I had one plum-colored leaf (which has already disappeared) and all the rest are, again, yellow. Mind you, against the redwood fence the yellow actually looks much better.
On the less native side, my rhododendron is blooming, finally, after a spring without blossoms. The timing is not the best, I wanted to cut it down for better visibility of (and from) the bird bath. But I'll take my color where it comes. And a red Albutilon I picked up at the farmer's market a few years ago is blooming like crazy, the hummers second most favorite food.
Finally, here's Eriogonum fasciculatum (California buckwheat), which has been blooming non-stop all summer on very little water.Soon, those plants will start to fade but in January the Arctostaphylos (Manzanita) will start to bloom so the hummers always have a place to go.
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