Something a bit unique to lead off. I found these colorful ceramic ladybugs online and now have them out along the walkway.
Still my favorite daffodil - Tahiti. Maybe it's the name. Wouldn't mind a couple of weeks there some winter.
Helenium Mardi Gras. A blooming machine and a top 5 'must-stop' for honeybees and bumblebees.
Mimulus Pamela. I've become a collector of Mimulus, especially the M. aurantiacus varieties, the ones commonly referred to as 'sticky monkey flower.' Beautiful and long-blooming, they are one of the easiest ways to add color to a sunny location, be it in the ground or in a pot.
This relatively unknown Phacelia (P. ciliata) is a real charmer. Downy dense foliage is topped by simple but lovely lavender-colored flowers. It is found in many of the coastal mountain ranges in California.
Centaurea 'Amethyst-in-Snow, so called for the burgundy centers (amethyst) set among white petals. It's a perennial Centaurea, unlike some of the popular annual types like C. Blue Diadem.
Ixia collection. This purple-striped variety of the common corn lily is simple but lovely.
Known as deciduous Azaleas, the Exbury hybrids offer a colorful range of reds, oranges and golds.
This winter blooming Oxalis often forms big globes of delicate clover-like leaves, then come December brightly colored half inch flowers.
Azalea Exbury hybrid. Here's a salmon-orange variety. Love this color!
It's Clematis time in many gardens and here is one of my favorites - C. Belle of Woking. As you can see, it's a fully double variety.
Clematis Niobe. Love the rich burgundy colors on this single type clematis.
Pelargonium Caroline's Citrine. A very different looking Pel.
Speaking of different, you couldn't get two more different types of Mimulus than the M. aurantiacus types and this annual hybridus mix. This guy loves water and can't take much heat, the opposite of the Sticky Monkey flower types.
This accidental Azalea sport is called Court Jester.
This ornamental onion, Allium Red Mohican, has done a 180 loop-de-loop. Curious.
Dutch Iris Bronze Blend. Love the mix of colors in this blend.
Cotinus 'Royal Purple.' Very late in leafing out after a hard prune last fall, my smoke bush is just now putting out tiny new leaves.
Leucospermum 'Veldfire.' One of my favorite 'sugarbushes', this variety first produces fuzzy buds that open to this lovely form. A favorite with bees.
Drosanthemum micans. My African Dew flower is one of my favorites, for its boldly-colored flowers.
Eriogonum Shasta Sulphur. The variety name is quite easy to decipher. This variety hails from the Shasta area of California and the sulphur refers of course to its yellow color.
Mimulus aurantiacus 'Orange.'
Lonicera x americana. Despite its name, this honeysuckle is from Europe, not the Americas.
Grevillea King's Celebration. What this variety's flowers lack in size and showy petals, it makes up for in the sheer volume of its flowering panicles.
There is much to be said for the simple elegance of many daffodils. Here's one called Pink Charm.
Silene Clifford Moor. Love the variegation on this shade-tolerant Silene.
Found these copper-ribbed pots online and had to have the set. Here's the largest size with a yellow Kangaroo Paw and purple petunia.
This mixed succulent bowl has stayed nice and neat and compact.
Arthyrium niponicum. Better known as Japanese Painted fern. My favorite fern and one that dutifully returns each year.
Here's a skyward angle on my Viburnum plicatum. Nice back-lighting!
Rhododendron 'Sappho.' A selection from Sonoma Horticulture Nursery.
My newest fern, this rock garden species is Asplenium trichomanes.Good things DO come in small packages!
This wooden planter has made itself at home on our fence, kept aloft by wrought iron rods underneath.
Back to the Clematis. Here's my C. Josephine, not quite fully open but still lovely.
Aquilegia 'Clementine.' A gift from a friend, this is a distinctive columbine. Lovely!
Clematis Niobe. A closer view showing off that rich color.
A shot looking down on an unused driveway. I grow a lot of bulbs, especially lilies, in pots and in the meantime before they appear I plant flowering annuals on top.
Baby Blue Eyes. Everybody's favorite California native!
Petunia variety. So many different colors and appearances for petunias, it's hard to resist.
Though it hasn't shed all of last year's leaves, my Golden Chain tree (Laburnum anagyroides) is already sprouting its first flowers of the year.
Cistus McGuire's Gold. This golden-leaved rockrose is making do with part sun.
My peanut cactus has put out its first brilliant orange flowers. Vivid!
My Cestrum oreophila now blooms almost year round. Though as you can see, it has tubular flowers, they are much larger than the cigar type cupheas.
Choisya ternata. One of the most fragrant bushes you'll ever grow, this evergreen mock orange is both fragrant and a destination hotspot for bees.
Fallopia japonica variegata. It's almost shocking how white the leaves are on this deciduous Fallopia.
Lastly a front yard wooden planter containing two Calibrachoas and a new Petunia. Color!
