The footsteps of spring

 Spring may yet to be here but this week it seems as if we can hear its footsteps. New bulb sprouts, early spring blooms, deciduous shrubs beginning to leaf out. All heralds of spring.

Here is a sampling of activity in my late winter garden. Enjoy!

Though hybrid fuchsias are common, they are nonetheless a nice early spring treat.

This sunny bed has stock in bloom but is also filled with clumps of babiana and daffodils not yet in bloom.

Calibrachoas don't always perform well the second year but this brightly colored variety from last year is off to a good start this year.

Phylica plumosa. This South African shrub has THE softest foliage and doesn't deserve the rep of being difficult to grow. Mine just soldiers on, year after year.

This 50 count Crocus Spring Beauty was super successful this year. The individual flowers weren't large but the sheer numbers have made for quite a show!

Magnolia stellata. Though not uncommon, this distinctive magnolia has fingers in place of the wide cup-shaped petals on most magnolias.

Chamaecyparis 'Gold Mops.' This new addition to my garden offers up lovely gold new growth and a domed appearance.

My well-established Chamaecyparis 'Barry's Silver' is still more blue than silver but the new spring growth will have a whiter cast.

Micromyrtis ciliata. I just love the sprays of tiny white flowers on this Australian myrtle family member.

Banksia ericifolia. The first flower on my Banksia continues to increase in girth and has acquired the rusty orange color it is known for.

Nandina 'Firepower.' This member of the heavenly bamboo genus gets a nice fiery red color in spring.

I thought this plant was Salvia africana-lutea, which is noteworthy for its unusual ginger-brown flowers. To my surprise, my specimen has sprouted bluish-purple flowers. And that must mean that it's actually Salvia africana-caerulea. Flowers still are lovely.

This raised bed I built last year now houses 5 dwarf conifers, 3 hellebores and some primroses.

Advertised as Tulip Persian Pearl, the first flower to open in this bag of 10 bulbs looks an awful lot like a Tulip saxatilis. Guess I'll see how the others turn out.

This larger flowering purple crocus is putting on quite a show.

I have previously mentioned my fondness for South African Gladiolus species. This Gladiolus nanus  variety is called Atom.

Freesias. Some of you may have noticed something odd about freesias that you've had in your garden for awhile. Though they started out as red or orange or bright yellow, one year they came up a soft butter yellow (the color you see here). That's because the hybrid crocus has reverted back to its species color. One bit of good news in this change - the species crocus tend to be even more fragrant!

Though the bright sun somewhat washed out some of the blue color in my Ipheions, this freely self naturalizing bulb has spread out to cover this entire bed.

Lotus jacobeus. This so-called Black lotus has made itself at home in its sunny bed and now blooms nearly year round. From a distance the tiny flowers do indeed look almost black.

I have a love-hate relationship with passion flower plants. They either sit there and finally die OR they go crazy and take over whole sides of buildings. It's very much the latter for this Passiflora 'Oaklandii.' It's climbed up my 25' tall apple tree and is smothering it. Since the tree's apples are inedible, I don't mind this development.

Azalea 'Avenir.' A new addition to my garden, I love its coral-red flowers.

Things are indeed bigger in Texas

 Texans are fond of saying 'Go big or go home' but they sure didn't mean the ice age that's descended on them this week. My heart goes out to the people there. To be without power in the middle of such a deep freeze is truly a catastrophe. Our prayers are with the residents there, that power will be back on in short order.

Meanwhile, here in the Bay Area, we're getting our usual 'a little bit of everything' February weather. The rain is certainly welcome, though we're still below our season's average rainfall right now. My garden has loved the rain we're getting. There's no question to me that rainfall is superior than water out of the hose. Full of prana and absent the chlorine that's in our commercial water system. My garden is in transition, with the very beginnings of spring starting to show their head. Today's brief collection of photos reflect that cusp. Enjoy!

Othonna cheirifolia. This curious plant from Tunisia features spoon-shaped silvery leaves and bright yellow daisy-like flowers. Its common name is one of my favorites - Barbary Ragwort. Not fussy about soil and easy to grow.

Gladiolus 'Mirella.' This is one of many lovely so-called species glads. Species glads mostly hail from Africa and are the source for the fancier hybrids so popular everywhere.

Anisodontea Strybing Beauty. Most people are familiar with tree mallows (Lavatera). Anisodontea is like a petite-flowering version of that mallow but one that given favorable conditions, can bloom nearly year round.

Grevillea 'King's Celebration.' This Grevillea makes up in volume what it lacks in larger flowers. It too can bloom nearly year round, as the specimen in Ruth Bancroft Garden has demonstrated.

The photos above and below are of my Viburnum x burkwoodii. If your view of Viburnums is that they have pretty white flowers and not much else for appeal, this species will change your mind. It has some of the most intensely fragrant flowers of any garden plant. One sniff and you'll be rushing to your local nursery to buy one.

What's that expression? "A weed is only a plant you don't want in your garden." That would certainly not be the case for Chasmanthe bicolor. At least for some. In late winter it produces attractive mint-green leaves and sprays of very pretty orange and yellow flowers. Yes, it does spread but it's easy enough to contain.

I know that many people's association with Oxalis is that bothersome winter and spring weed but in fact there are scads of lovely species. One of them is this unique O. teneriensis, that forms rounds balls of leaves and eventually petite yellow flowers.

Daffodils and Echeverias make a good combo, don't you think? Especially when both are in bloom, as is the case here.

This mixed conifer bowl just keeps getting better and this winter, the golden specimen in front (a Chamaecyparis variety) has turned an especially vivid mustard yellow.

That large guy on the left is Aloe striata (Coral aloe) and to its right, Sideritis cypria. Together they're kind of taking over the front of this driveways bed. If you look closely, you can see a fat flower spike emerging from the center of the aloe.

Lachenalia tricolor. The most dependable, and perhaps colorful, of all my Lachenalias!

4 new Neoregelias. Neos, as they're called, are the most colorful of all the bromeliads.

My Dianthus Rosy Cheeks is a blooming machine!

For some reason my Erysimum (wallflower) went completely dormant last year but it has bounced back and is happily blooming away.

There's something about yellow trumpet daffodils that is just so cheerful!

Iris reticulata 'Alida.' Reticulatas are dwarf, species iris and this is an exceptionally pretty one!

Here's another 'retic' - Iris Dwarf Clairette. Lovely blue and purple colors.

My Erica canaliculata Rosea is back in bloom - in a big way!

Here's my front yard bed, so named Sun King as a Beatles reference. There are a ton of bulbs in there, everything from Ferraria and Daffodils to Iris and Tritonia.

It took awhile but my Loropetalum is going great guns now.

Fuchsias may be common but they are a sight for sore eyes in late fall and early winter.

Lighter days

 Though winter still reigns, one nice thing about each new day now is that the days get a bit longer, the sunsets a bit later and the chance to be out in the garden a bit longer. My garden is still an embarrassment of riches and today's post shows evidence of that. Enjoy!

Camellia  Francie L. I love the unique variegation on each flower.

Camellia Black Magic. One of the more unique camellia flowers out there, with waxy red flowers.

Lepechinia bella. This lesser known 'Pitcher sage' sure does have eye-catching blue flowers.

Strobilanthes anisophylla. If anything, the deep color of these leaves has only gotten blacker this winter.

Coprosma 'Pina Colada.' My mirror plant has managed to stay healthy and look good while being kept in a pot.

This new Banksia Schnapper Point is a ruggedly handsome guy. It almost resembles a pine as much as a banksia.

My first crocus of the year! What's not to love about crocus?

This Helleborus 'Tutu' is considered a semi-double lenten rose, although that distinction is quite subtle here.

 Senecio crassissimus. A simple upright succulent but one with a certain charm.

Canarina canariensis. I love these simple but colorful bell-shaped flowers and the fact that it blooms during the winter.

Dodonaea sinuolata. This unusual hopseed bush has this curious little waxy red flowers, that appear about this time of year.

Agapanthus 'Maverick.' Here's a new variegated Agapanthus and one that will develop striking purple flowers.

Camellia Frank Hauser. This reticulata type camellia is just extravagant beyond belief. From its intense hue, to the pronounced wavy petals, it's a eye-catcher.

Camellia Lila Naff. This salmon-pink double camellia is ever so lovely.

Primroses may be common but their bright colors add some cheer to winter days.

Lachenalia tricolor. Perhaps the favorite of my many Lachenalias, this reliable and colorful cowslip blooms right on schedule every year.

Rhipsalis variety. This guy has turned into a kind of frozen waterfall. Nice!

Erica canaliculata Rosea. This small heather blooms nearly year round, attracting bees and hummers alike.

Aloe striata. You can see the beginning of a new flower spike in the right side of deep center. My favorite aloe.

Many people are familiar with Melianthus major (African honeybush). Here's M. pectinatus, with smaller red flowers but with the same peanut butter smell.

What look to be little bumpy brown seedpods are actually the home for flowers that will eventually sprout on this Melaleuca incana.

Berzelia lanuginosa. I keep waiting for the little round balls to open into pale yellow flowers but they are holding tight for now.

Echeveria Emerald Ice. A lovely new Echeveria that's appearing in garden centers now.

Aechmea nudicaulis flavomarginata. This colorful bromeliad is thriving and holding onto its colors.