The charm of species bulbs

Our recent warm weather has been a boon for gardens that have year round interest. It's winter shrubs and bulbs that are the show right now. I want to put in a plug here for the wonders of species Tulips, species Iris and species Gladiolas. The species of each, as opposed to the usually larger-flowered hybrids, present small flowers but have one great advantage in our mild Oakland and coastal areas - they come back year after year, naturalizing in the garden. Hybrid tulips need more of a hard winter to bloom the following year; bearded iris can be finicky and often revert back to the purple species color and the showy big blooms of hybrid Glads are prone to fungal diseases and may peter out after a year or two.
There are many many choices in searching out the species forms of these favorite 3 spring bulbs. A quick online search will yield many intriguing choices. I'll be sharing photos of my collection in the coming month.
That said, here are this week's photos. Enjoy!

Camellia Lila Naff. Huge, double and fluted, hard to beat this camellia's flowers.

A rare Camellia that really should be more commonly available - C. Anticipation Variegated. Fabulous rosy-pink flowers splashed with white.

Primroses and ferns make a great combo. Here I have them in an elevated wooden planter. 

For some reason, the only primrose I find fragrant is this yellow variety. Plus the yellow color is so cheerful on a mid-winter's day.

Though it's kind of surrounded by Dutch iris shoots, that's an Erysimum Poem Mirabelle beginning to bloom. I like recommending wallflowers as they're tough and they have a long bloom season.

Here's an example of a hybrid bulb - in this case a once colorful Freesia - reverting back to its initial species color. That's a creamy yellow. One good thing in this change is that the species Freesias are even more sweetly fragrant. 

My Trochetiopsis ebenus keeps putting out single, white, hibiscus-like flowers. So no big show at once (so far) but on the other hand every time I go outside there's a new flower!

Erica canaliculata 'Rosea.' This guy keeps blooming its heart out + the flowers last a long time. Supposed to be a favorite of bees, though I haven't seen many around it. Yet.

Here's an early daffodil. By the way, did you know that daffodils are associated with Hades and the underworld? That's why it's traditional to leave daffodils on gravestones.

Here are the two emerging Aloe striata bloom spikes. To the right is my silvery patch of Sideritis cypria.

Though my Viburnum x burkwoodii has yet to leaf out, it's already produced copious umbels of intensely fragrant white flowers. 

Though it's still small, here's my lovely Portulacaria. It will hold onto its green and white variegated foliage and those contrasting red stems.

I know, I know, just an empty walkway but that emptiness is a victory of sorts. On the right you can sort of see a pavers wall that has both made for a deeper bed (more planting options!) but also has stopped soil from constantly spilling onto the walkway.

Lachenalia aloides varieties are some of the most prolific bloomers of all cowslips. This is a L. aloides var. aloides and it's awash in lovely burgundy-tipped golden flowers.

There aren't many plants as fragrant as Clematis armandii 'Snowdrift.' I can smell the flowers 20 feet away! Up close, they're almost overwhelming. Plus, they contrast nicely with the Abelia Kaleidoscope that it's scrambling over.

Iris reticulata is one of the most common of the species dwarf iris. This is a variety called Dwarf Halkis. 

And here's my first species tulip to open - T. Johann Strauss.  This kaufmanniana type has yellow flowers but colors vary. As is the case with most species tulips, foliage is low and the flowers smaller and simpler.

Speaking of smaller, the flowers on Salvia uliginosa (bog sage) may be small but they are a vivid blue! My specimen is just starting to bloom.

More of the early daffodils. 

Here's another Iris reticulata variety - this one Harmony. As is the case with the reticulatas, purple and blue colors predominate.

Dianthus variety. Love the deep red and blue foliage on this carnation.

A close-up view

Went out with my zoom lens yesterday to shoot close-ups of individual flowers that have appeared in the last week or two. Ironically, given that most people use a zoom lens for taking shots of distant images, the auto-focus zoom lens is great for shooting small flowers. That said, here are the photos. As is often the case, some photos are excellent and some are middling. It's the flowers I want to share, though of course it's always great when the photo comes out great.

Iris reticulata Harmony. A very pretty deep purple dwarf iris.

Iris Katherine Hodgkins. Another dwarf iris with pretty pale blue color, prominent veining and a yellow throat.

Mallows are generally a hardy and long blooming group and that's certainly true for this Anisodontea Strybing Beauty. It always seems to be in bloom.

There's nothing quite like the blood red flowers on this flowering quince (Chaenomeles Kurokoji).

It may look puny here, being a single flower, but my Melaleuca incana is filling up with tiny and fuzzy bottlebrush-like flowers.

Sedums are a hardy and adaptive lot. This Jelly Beans sedum rooted down after just being set on the soil.

Chasmanthe bicolor. As I noted in the photo of this plant in last week's post, this guy can be ... umm ... invasive. After 5 years of not going anywhere, this year it has spread to a neighboring bed. What's that expression? 'A weed is only a plant you don't want in your garden.'

The list of fragrant shrubs is a long one but one that is often forgotten about is this Viburnum x burkwoodii. The flowers are intensely fragrant. Sweet but woodsy too.

Though common, Osteospermums are nonetheless beautiful. And they often bloom in late winter when not much else is in bloom. This one is O. Blue-eyed Beauty.

Kangeroo Paw. Not everyone knows that the color you see - a fuzzy yellow, orange, red or pink - is actually the flower's bract. The real flower, which is green and you can see on the uppermost flowering stem, opens from these bracts. That green paw leads to this plant's other common name - Cat's Paw.

You no doubt have seen, in driving around, the first of the magnolia trees in bloom. This one is M. Butterflies, a less common yellow-flowering variety. It has tons of buds, which should make for quite the early spring show. 

My Marmalade bush took its time to recover after a major pruning but it's back to putting out its array of gold, peach and orange flowers.

Though the flowers have yet to open, this newly planted Lachenalia pustulata Turquoise is making good progress. Can't wait.

Aeonium Kiwi. Aeoniums can provide some of the most colorful foliage of any succulent. 

I have yet to figure out when Bidens true blooming season is. They seem to flower whenever the hell they feel like it. This is B. Biddy Bop Blaze.

Lachenalia tricolor. Lachenalias are often one of the first S. African bulbs to bloom and I have multiple varieties in bloom right now.

Lachenalia variety. Not sure which one this is but it's lovely.

Abutilon thompsonii. One of the variegated flowering maples and a personal favorite.

Johnny Jump Ups - this particular viola - may be common but I love their colors.

I've opined often that I'm puzzled why this Dicentra scandens has disappeared from the trade. It's by far the most vigorous species and the only common yellow-flowering bleeding hearts. I cut mine to the ground every early winter and it starts regrowing almost immediately. Here it is, only mid-February, and it's already producing its first flowers!

Pelargonium variety. I love the bi-colored flowers and lime green foliage on this geranium.

Lachenalia aloides var. aloides. This species had multiple colors early on, then matured into a vibrant gold with burgundy tips.

Aechmea 'Pepita'. Just brought home this beautiful bromeliad. The color you see here is its bract. Little flowers will soon pop out from each segment.

Camellia Little Babe Variegated. One of the earlier blooming varieties.

Grevillea Superb. This flower panicle is just starting to open its flowers.

Monardella odoratissima. This long blooming Coyote mint almost blooms year round now.

Camellia variety. This is my neighbor's mature camellia tree. Love those flowers!

Lachenalia namaquensis. This purple-blooming species is just getting going.

A hint of spring

Spring is different things to different people - a certain point on the calendar; spring rains; temps that push 70 degrees - none of which we've arrived at quite yet. Still, on warmish days, with bulbs poking up in the garden, one can almost sense spring around the corner.
Today it's photos of my garden, covering the gamut from winter interest to the first hints of spring. In the very least, we have sunshine and that's always a good thing.

Camellia reticulata Francie L variegated. Such a lovely flower, with wavy petals and each one a slightly different combo of colors.

My Camellia reticulata Frank Hauser has gotten big and seems very happy!

This one-of-a-kind Lachenalia is a cross between L. viridiflora (where it gets its blue) and L. quadricolor (where it gets the rest of its colors).

Primula polyanthus. Primroses are a great source of winter color.

Here's another photo of the unique Melaleuca micromera. Unlike most other Melaleucas, it has fine-textured, almost wispy foliage.

This winter blooming oxalis features large shamrock leaves and soon bright pink flowers.

Here's my collection of Neoregelias (and one Vriesea) that are the smaller (for now) varieties.

Here are the larger bromeliad varieties. As I've mentioned, they're providing lots of winter interest, even though none have bloomed yet.

Abelia Kaleidascope. This variegated Abelia is a real beauty and does fine with benign neglect!

I recently built a low bed with red brick-sized pavers, so I could get more of my dwarf conifers out of pots and into the ground. I added two Hellebores, 2 primrose and some violas to round it out. Viola indeed!

Salvia 'Marine Blue.' A delicate looking but surprisingly hardy sage. And a late season bloomer!

A friend donated this gorgeous Vriesea Red Chestnut to me. Love that banding!

Some people report problems keeping their Coprosmas happy but so far so good with my potted Coprosma Pina Colada. 

This mystery Lachenalia turned out to be L. aloides var. aloides. The flowers matured into a pure gold with rich burgundy tips. Lovely!

Here's another shot of my Lachenalia viridiflora x quadricolor.

My Abutilon thompsonii has decided to remain bushy not form a small tree. It's kind of spread sideways, which is fine by me as it doesn't then compete with the tall Duranta Gold Mound to its left.

Camellias are generally very dependable bloomers but I haven't had much luck with this C. Maroon and Gold. But it's finally putting out flowers this year so fingers crossed.

This lovely wooden planter came from an Etsy seller and I put 3 primrose and two ferns in it. It's in a shady spot so that combo should work out fine.

Camellia Lila Naff. This coral pink double form camellia is a real delight!

My back yard is mostly shade so I'm always on the hunt for interesting additions suitable for those conditions. I recently added this Fatshedera lizei Annemieka. It's a bit overshadowed by the fern to the right but soon it'll get a lot bigger (taller) and look better.

I recently found these lovely fabric flowers online. They're hooked to small solar panels and have lights of varying colors that illuminate the interior of the flowers at night.

Succulent bowls have a way, over time, of falling into disrepair. I just replaced 3 ailing specimens with much nicer ones, including two sempervivums.

Though not yet in bloom, my Leucospermum Veldfire is adding fuzzy flower buds. It should make for a spectacular show in about a month.

Ficinia truncata Ice Crystals is one of my favorite new additions. This low growing ground cover hails from South Africa.

Late winter is the time for flowering quinces. I have 3 in my garden. Here's my Chaenomeles Kurokoji, with its evocative blood red flowers.

"Oh, don't plant THAT" I hear all the time about my Chasmanthe bicolor. A crocosmia relative, it does have a tendency to spread and to self-seed. So far mine has behaved. If you look closely, you'll see it's put out its first flower spikes.

I've recently discovered the joy of pine trees. Here's my Japanese Black Pine (Pinus thunbergii). It won't be long before it generates cones that are a feature of this increasingly easy to find pine.

Here's a new Lachenalia, the hard to find L. namaquensis. You can see a hint of the purple color appearing on its flower stem.

Speaking of hard to find, I'm glad I grabbed my Black lotus (Lotus jacobaeus) when I could. It owes its common name to its nearly black parrot's beak flowers.