Blooms in Suburbia -- Town Mouse

 
I was sorry to miss last month's bloom day, but here I am with blossoms for February. Above some beautiful Hellebores, Mediterranean plants from Greece, with some currents (Ribes sanguinium) in the background. 


I ordered a batch of plants last year, and somehow miscommunicated how many Ribes sanguinium I wanted. I wanted one and ended up with six, but I rose to the challenge. It's been interesting how the different plants grew at a different pace depending on their location. They like shade, but get bigger with a few hours of sunshine. Here's another one.

 

I love the filigree quality of the blossoms, delightful at a time where we have a lot of greening but not quite so much blooming amongst the natives.  But then, I do have a few more exotics. Here's Chondropetalum tectorum (fringe cup), which thrives with little water and blooms abundantly. I question the wildlife value of this shrub, never see insects or hummers, though the birds like the shelter. One day, I might replace it with a nice manzanita, but for now, I enjoy the show. 



I inherited this plant, as well as a number of other pink plants, from the previous owner. Unfortunately, I don't really like pink...But then, I do have to admit this is quite a show, and it goes on for a long time. 


Overhanging from the neighbor are the branches of this ornamental pear, so pretty against the blue sky. And the many petals do look a bit like snow as they slowly tumble down to the ground. A bit. 


First in the sequence of my own fruit trees are the plum blossoms above. I'm very glad we're having a break in the rain for the next week. If it's too wet and cold, no one comes by to pollinate, and that means no plums. But I have seen a few bees during the last two days. A bit disoriented perhaps, but they'll figure it out. 


The photo above actually belongs to a set I made about moss, to show Frances at Fairegarden,  Queen of Moss, that we have moss here. But I saw that the photo showed off the blooming redwood sorrel quite nicely, and yes, that native just started to bloom a few days ago. (I'll try to get that moss post out soon after bloom day). 


Following the unfortunate theme of pink, and also inherited from the previous owners, are the pink double Camelia blossoms. Yes, they're a bit garish. But it really cheers me up to see them open up after weeks of rain, and they've managed to cope with an admirably small amount of water last summer. I do suspect they've spread their roots and are sneaking drinks from the neighbor's lawn irrigation, but no matter. I can't help but be impressed by such a well-behaved plant. 

 

Speaking of pink, the first blossoms of the Eriogonum arborescens (Santa Cruz island buckwheat) in the front garden do look much more pink than a white-blooming plant should look. But my friends are envious that I have such an interesting cultivar, so I guess I enjoy this special treat. 


Possibly the most exciting development in the spring garden is that the hummingbird sage (Salvia spatacea) is finally coming into its own. The plan was to have that Salvia fill up the area where I removed the Euphorbia that had attacked me, but last year, I only have two flower stalks. This year, things look promising, many more flower stalks. The first stalk just started opening up, some red blossoms for Valentine's day. 

 

I'll leave you with this happy red blossom and hope that you'll head over to Carol at May Dreams Gardens, who makes our bloom day gatherings possible.  Amazingly, her Monday post is already up, so you can head over and visit her, and then enjoy some other blooms.

Comments

Teresa said…
It does my heart good to see all those wonderful flowers blooming away at your house. ENjoy them for me.
Very nice flowers...lots of calming pinks... I proclaim to really dislike pink--at least as anything that would hang in my closet--but I've got an awful lot of it in the garden. My E. arborescens is blooming too, but didn't make it to my post. It's not quite as pink as yours, but still it's definitely pink at close range. Reading your ribes observation I'm hoping that the spot I picked for my own pink currant--something that gets a bit of midday sun sun--works out. Enjoy your great flowers!
Caroline said…
Those hellabores are lovely. I've always considered myself rather anti-pink, but I have plenty of pink blooms in my garden too.
Unknown said…
I love all of your flowers no matter the color. You have reminded me - I have no looked at my hellabores the last few days. I may have another flower!
Love all your blooms, though Feb. and March bloom days are the worst ones for Michigan gardeners to read! :(
Jean Campbell said…
Lots of promises of fruit blooming this month. I should plant a currant.

When loropetalum first hit the shrub market, Dirr dissed the white as unremarkable. It might have been a better choice.

Happy Bloom Day.
Gail said…
it really is a lovely sight in your garden~~we have snow and ice...Sighing! As a native plant enthusiast...I, too, have mixed feelings and wonder if Loropetalum has any wildlife value....But it seems to survive our brutal extremes.

Gail
Country Mouse said…
More going on in your garden than mine, bloomwise, Town Mouse. I enjoyed yours. My pink flowering current is passing its bloom prime. James - the ones I have in partial shade are doing better than the ones in full sun, fyi. Could also be soil differences, as the sunny ones are in rather thin soil. They are little sticks still, in their second year. Still, they're not dead.
Opposite of you... I'm a bonafide pink flower fanatic. Oh, what I would give to have a mass of pink blooms such as yours... Happy Bloom Day! :)
Noel Morata said…
aloha,

what a celebration for bloom day, i love your beautiful buddah and the camelia blossum...what a nice collection you have blooming today. I enjoyed reading your beautiful post today:)
ryan said…
Very nice. I like the camellia sitting in the statue's lap. Funny about getting 6 Ribes sanguineum. If there's any plant I think you can't have too many of, it would probably be Ribe sanguineum.
You and Country Mouse both have Hummingbird Sage blooming. I love your Hellebore, I've got one blooming now too. The ribes sanguineum is just barely starting to leaf out. The Hummingbirds fight over the flowers on that one.
Brad said…
Great blooms. Ribes sanguineum is one of my favorite plants so I'm glad you got 6 of them, even if by mistake. i saw one blooming while on a hike today. Beautiful. I'm not a big fan of camelias, but my housemates takes the blossoms and lays them on the lap of a Buddha statue we have. Similar to your pic, very perfect. Happy bloom day.
Christine said…
What a pretty Eriogonum! Do the flowers turn more white as they age?