Yes! Finally, it's really obvious that the days are getting longer. I'm thrilled to ride my bike home with plenty of light, and I can see the garden for a little time each day. Of course, today was special: I took some time to make pictures for Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, brought to us each month by Carol at May Dreams Garden. So, what's happening?
The Camelias, planted by Mr. Previous Owner, are yet again blooming beautifully and I'm happy to have flower offerings for my Buddha statue.
Hellebores nod from up on top of the retaining walls. These drought tolerant Mediterranean natives stole my heart when I first moved in, and I had to get a few more green-blooming plants. OK, I admit Euphorbia woolfenii was a bit of a mistake -- I'm still pulling seedlings -- but this little 2-foot high dainty little princess from Digging Dog nursery is just delightful with its late winter blossoms.
And also from the Mediterranean we have some yarrow and rosemary.
And from Israel, cyclamen. I have cyclamen in many spots in my garden. They all lived in the house for a winter, and were then stuck in the ground in a convenient dry spot to go summer dormant. With the rains, most of them wake back up and bloom, often bringing along a few kids. I feel so lucky to live in a climate where that is possible.
Many of the natives are still dormant. That makes sense, right now, not many pollinators are out and about. Interestingly, those natives that do bloom have long, long bloom times. Here we have Salvia spatacaea (hummingbird sage) putting out a few shy blossoms for the hummingbirds.
Aristolochia Californica (California dutchman's pipe) is putting out its first blossoms in the back garden. This plant is pollinated by tiny flies and, I'm told, smells a little funny. But it's hard to get close enough for the smell, and there are very few native vines, so I'm just thrilled to have several Aristolochia in my garden.
But I'm saving the best for last: Yes, the first manzanita blossom have appeared in the Town Mouse garden. Here we have Arctostaphylos 'Emerald Carpet', a low-growing manzanita with white blossoms.
Arctostaphylos pajaroensis blooms in February, but the buds look so promising already.
And actually, a new A. pajaroensis plant I just bought this winter is blooming already.
And now I hope you'll all head over to May Dreams Gardens to see what our hostess Carol has to say, and what's blooming in everyone else's garden.
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