Slow Forward

It's still fall. No, it's winter. No, spring is just around the corner. That's our Bay Area Decembers folks. The photos in today's entry reflect that confusion. There's still some fall plants in bloom in my garden, notably Salvias, Cupheas, Passifloras and Mimulus. Then again I have winter shrubs like Camellias and Westringia in bloom. And almost spring? That's covered by all the bulbs up - Freesias, Ixias, Sparaxis, Dutch iris and Lachenalias. All of which makes going out in my Oakland garden an adventure each morning. And that's why I love the idea of gardening year round. It may be frosty in my apartment first thing in the morning but when I head outside I'm sure to find something new.
With that said, here are the newest batch of photos.

I chose to photograph this Lachenalia because of its dramatically spotted leaves. The tag is somehow missing but I think it may be a L. rubida. Many species have some sort of spotting on the leaves.

File this Zaluzianskya capensis under the 'White Rabbit' category ("I'm late, I'm late!"). First off, how many plants have two 'Zs' in their name? This Midnight Candy as it's known has plenty of buds, even this late in the year. And true to its name, the buds tend to open late in the day. I have mine right along the walkway so neighbors and friends can enjoy its sweet scent.

Callistemon viminalis. This dwarf, bush form of Bottlebrush tree is finally getting its bloom on in year three. This plant is great if you want to enjoy the soft colorful bottlebrush flowers but don't have room for a 20' tall tree.

Though I've shared several photos of my Rudbeckia Chim Chiminee before, I've included this one to show its peculiar habit. This flower is emerging from the very base of the plant not, as is typical, from the ends of taller branches. Very odd.

Though this Salvia corrugata is not in bloom, its textured leaves have their own appeal. Also, I'm fascinated by the nomenclature of plants. Very often the species name indicates some quality of that particular species. So here, 'corrugata' as in 'corrugated,' indicates the rough texture of the leaves.

This Hamamelis is planted in a west yard bed so would that make it the 'witch of the west?' The pun is of course due to the common name for this genus - witch hazels. It's not cold enough here in Oakland for them to flourish but this year it has at least produced a bevy of much smaller yellow 'fingers.' This H. mollis is supposed to be fragrant but I only get a hint of fragrance from mine.

A pine is a pine is a pine? Not really. The 120 species in the genus Pinus exhibit a great variety in form, needles, cones, endemic environments and more. This is my Japanese Black pine (Pinus thunbergii) and it is to my mind one of the loveliest. And it grows a little faster than many Pinus species so that's a bonus.

Salvia discolor. I love sharing photos of one of my favorite Salvias and the gray stucco wall shows it off to nice effect. Given the sticky stems and calyxes of this plant, we might well hear Stan Laurel say to Oliver Hardy "This is a sticky mess you've got me into Ollie!"

No comment on what this lovely cacti kind of looks like but Mammillaria elongata Golden Stars is one of the easiest cacti to grow. Note the pups circling the mother plant. 

This evergreen shrub should be on the flora version of that Game show 'Name that Tune.' No one seems to be able to get it right and I confess when I first saw it, I didn't either. It's a Duranta erecta 'Gold Mound.' It took awhile but this hardy shrub has finally established itself in year four. Hasn't flowered yet though. Hmmm.

This is my 'tree' bed (under a fir tree) and only the tough survive here. That would be a Caryopteris Hint of Gold; an Iris confusa 'Chengdu'; a patch of Chasmanthe bicolor (upper left) and a Passiflora citrina. Though not really planned, yellow and chartreuse colors dominate.

One of my earliest blooming Camellias, C. Silver Waves, is already producing its huge double form white flowers. Most camellias are easy but this variety is near the top of the 'Indestructible' list. And very pretty.

Passiflora Oaklandii. This unique passion flower vine is all about the color of the petals, as the filaments are all but nonexistent. That coral-red color is more than enough for me and this Passiflora is prolific. 

My favorite Camellia (so far), this C. reticulata 'Frank Hauser' offers the dreamiest orchid-pink color. Plus wavy petals and a semi-double form. I'm obviously not the only person who loves it; we've been selling this variety at our nursery for years.

Ledebouria socialis. Wikipedia says this plant "is a geophytic species of bulbous perennial plant native to the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It was first described by John Gilbert Baker as Scilla socialis in 1870. John Peter Jessop later revised the genus Scilla and split off several species, reclassifying Scilla socialis into the genus Ledebouria in 1970."