To Plan or Not to Plan

One of the things I love about gardening is that it accommodates all manner of temperaments. One can plan out one's garden in great detail or one can just as easily take a more spontaneous approach. Given the right care, the flowers will respond just as enthusiastically and the end result will be pleasing to that gardener's eyes (and to many others I'm sure). And sometimes a garden can have both, as does a friend's garden, where the front has a well orchestrated Mediterranean look and the sloping back yard is filled with plants that have to make their own way, giving it a wild charm.
So I raise a glass to all gardens, both simple and complex, to intricately planned or left to find their own nature.
Here are more photos from the bounty of my early May garden.

Phacelia grandiflora. Not as well known as P. viscida or P. campanularia but oh so pretty.

Laurentia axillaris. Better known as 'Blue Stars,' though of course the flowers are a lovely lavender hue not blue. A tough little deciduous perennial, it produces masses of star-shaped flowers over a long period in spring and summer.

Stachys albotomentosa. A big name for a plant that everyone calls the 7-Up plant because it smells sweetly of that soft drink. That delicious fragrance is reason enough to add it to your garden but it also sports these lovely coral flowers.

Another shot of my Salpiglossis, this time of the clusters they are famous for producing. Though they act mostly as annuals this one stayed evergreen and is back to blooming.

Centaurea 'Black Sprite.' Just the craziest and deepest burgundy flower. I like to call it Black Spider because it sort of looks like a spider to me.

This shot of my Eccremocarpus 'Pink Lemonade' has, thanks to the way the wood frames it, the appearance of looking out a window! Fun.

We don't necessarily think of CA buckwheats as being showy but this Eriogonum 'Shasta Sulphur' is putting on quite the show.

I planted this Echium 'Blue Bedder' with the Agrostemma 'Ocean Pearls' to get the lovely contrast of blue, green and white. Sometimes things work out!

I never realized that the flowers on Clarkia 'Salmon Princess' resembled those of C. concinna (the shade loving Clarkia) but in fact they do (both very different than the usual cup-shaped flowers).

Forever Red daylily. Although I didn't intend it, the way the sun kind of super-saturated this photo created an interesting look.

Dorycnium hirsutum. In full bloom now and looking simply sensational. A bee magnet as well.

Sometimes you have to return to the classics. This Papaver 'Lauren's Grape' was one of the first breadseeds that Annie propagated. Here's why it remains one of the best sellers. Love that rich, well, grape color.

Here's another view of the Lauren's Grape poppy. I love the way the light creates both dark and bright fields on the same flower.

That play of light is even more evident here, on the fabulous Papaver Orange Chiffon. It's almost as if Mother Nature kept pouring orange paint into the flower, past what she did on any other orange flower, to the point of super saturation.

I previously posted a closeup of my Scyphanthus flower. Here's a photo of how it scrambles, showing how much the flowers dominate the plant.

Here's my walkway strip, which is only two feet wide. It goes to show much you can fill in a spot, here emphasizing the plot's length.

Whoa! Somebody gave this Cotinus too much of the good stuff! It's gone crazy with blooms this year.

Though not the best photo, this shot of my unfolding Scabiosa 'Fama White' gives some idea of the wow it packs.

Veronica penduncularis 'Waterperry Blue.' A lovely little ground cover that will establish nearly everywhere. Very sweet.

I held off buying a Rhodochiton vine until I saw one of our nursery specimens in a 4" pot survive the winter. When it did I went ahead and put one in a hanging basket. It's now headed upwards into a Brugmansia tree.

Though not the showiest begonia, this B. sutherlandii has charm in spades. Start with the delicate red veining on the leaves and add one of a kind orange flowers and you've got a keeper.

Though this Eastern honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) isn't fragrant, it more than makes up for that absence by having the most beautiful flowers of just about any honeysuckle.

Asarina erubescens 'Bridal Wreath.' So many asarinas, so little time. This super vigorous vine offers felty-soft leaves and for this genus, surprisingly large pure white flowers. 

No, it's not a red Silene but rather a Ruellia elegans. This part shade loving deciduous perennial is a prolific bloomer and has the reddest of red flowers.

Everyone will recognize this Heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica). Mine has not encountered any of the dreaded winter powdery mildew and is now beginning to bloom. Simple but lovely.

I love photographing my variegated Ampelopsis. Here there's a bit of light and shadow play. I hope to get a better crop of Porcelain berries this year. This vine can be slow to get established but mine seems to have finally taken a liking to its location.

Canary Creeper. I grow this annual nasturtium on this lattice every year. I just like the look.

With this Plectranthus, known as Cuban Oregano, it's not so much the look as it is the smell that is the attraction. And what a fragrance. Unlike anything else.

Hebe speciosa. This is one tough hebe and now that it's gotten a toehold, it's off to the races. I have it planted under our wooden mailboxes, giving this area kind of a 'country' look.

Diascia and Mimulus cardinalis. I like the color scheme. Robin's egg blue pot; orangish diascia; green foliage and soon golden flowers on the mimulus.

Speaking of golden, here's another shot of one of my new faves, Teucrium 'Summer Sunshine.' I still can't get over that this is a teucrium, it being so pretty.

In the Moment

As an avid nature photographer, I like to have my camera with me to capture special moments as they happen, or simply to preserve the beauty of a flower. That desire can sometimes interfere with being in the moment, of enjoying the nature around us, city or country, free from the thought "I must get this on film." So I try to remind myself to, in the words of the 60s spiritual teacher Ram Dass, "be here now." Of course I fail but it is worth keeping in mind, if only for the pleasure such 'moments' bring. This thought was spurred by another batch of photos, shared below. One nice thing about taking photos is that it not only provides a timeless record but it captures every iota of detail. You may already know that the physical apparatus of our eyes only captures 40% of the visual data for whatever we're seeing. Our brains fill in the rest from past experiences. The camera records all 100% and without subjective interpretation.
So here are a few more treasures from my early May garden.

Pittosporum crassifolium. I love the lime green foliage and the thread-thin silver edging. This is the compact form, which stays at 4-5'. Who says a Pittosporum can't be pretty?

Cotinus 'Royal Purple.' Deeper watering has really helped my specimen, which is planted as a street tree. Not huge but it blooms prolifically every year. Not sure about the variety name; I'd go for Royal Eggplant or maybe Eggplant Ecstasy!

A new addition to my dwarf conifer bed, now re-imagined as a Japanese garden.This is a Cryptomaria 'Knaptonensis.' I love the whitish new growth.

It's a mystery while deciduous Azaleas aren't in everyone's garden. The Exbury hybrids especially showcase the richest reds, oranges, peaches and golds. This is a King Red x Orange. 

Speaking of red, this Salpiglossis sailed through the winter and is now blooming again. They earn their common name 'Painted Tongue,' especially when you see the flower up close.

Bonus points for those who recognize this flower. 5 points if you recognize it as an Ixia (Corn lily) and the other 5 if you get I. viridiflora. This picture doesn't do the flower justice and you don't really see the dark purple centers. Otherworldly.

It may look like the purple Campanula punctata flowers are emerging from the velvety foliage but the latter is Salvia elegans (Pineapple sage). Still, a nice contrast.

People often ask, when seeing Clematis niobe for the first time, "Wow, is that its real color?" Which is funny, given they're looking right at one of its flowers. But yes, that velvety burgundy is this species's true color and the yellow anthers really pop against that backdrop.

Eccremocarpus 'Pink Lemonade.' A new and cool Chilean Glory flower variety. I can't believe that the first time I grew an eccremocarpus I failed. It's extremely vigorous, though being a smaller vine it won't overwhelm. Here's a thought -- google Pink Lemonade plant and see how many plants pop up (besides Pink Lemonade lemon).

Okay, I'll admit it, I have become infatuated with my Calluna 'Firefly.' It was very red in winter but now in spring it's turned a sparkling gold. Everything is fabulous about it and I haven't even seen it bloom yet.

There's pink and then there's pink! This Agastache 'Red Fortune' is making a claim for the pinkest pink. It seems to almost ignite in the sun. Effervescent! 

I've shared closeup photos of my Marmalade bush before but this full bush shot gives you an idea of just how smothered in flowers it can often be. The branches arch down, providing an almost ground to ceiling display. Not for the faint of heart!

Mignonette odorata. Also known as Reseda, this annual comes by its species name honestly. Very sweet smelling, almost heady, and the erect flowering stems are a treat too.

Not sure who this little grasshopper-like bug is but he was very interested in my Luculia flower.

Here's a better shot of my Digiplexis. When I wrote about this, Ace sold so many gallon sizes of the plant that, along with other nurseries, we exhausted Fredricks' supply. And they had hundreds. When I first saw their available quantity I laughed and thought "They'll never sell that many." Au contraire.

For those who know their horticulture, it's the flower that provides the final determination of a plant's true identity. That said, sometimes a plant's seedpod gives away a piece of its history. Looking at this Nicandra seedpod, it's immediately apparent that it's part of the Solanum family. I love the chocolate spotting on its outside.

I almost lost this Aeonium species (some animal completely uprooted it) but I stuck it back in the ground, gave it a little water and six months later it rewarded my attentions by putting on this amazing display. I love the "exploding star" look of the flower head.

Aloe deltoidesdonta 'Sparkler.' A top down view of this cool aloe.

This is a SW facing bed, under the protection of a fir tree. There's enough sun to keep a bunch of things happy, including a bunch of Lilium regales, which are indeed regal, two other red lilies and a spotted yellow variety, not to mention the variegated plectranthus, a Campanula incurva, a bamboo and pallida iris and the lovely annual known as Tidytips.

I've posted photos of my amazing Helenium 'Mardi Gras' before (easy to do as it blooms nearly all year). Today I caught what I think is a Green Sweat bee collecting nectar. There's so much nectar on these flowers that he was there for a full 60 seconds!

Begonia 'Irene Nuss.' I can't believe that I used to think only of bedding types when I heard the word 'begonia.' As the saying goes "My eyes have seen the light." I now have ten different unique, showy ones in my garden and Irene Nuss is right up there among my favorites.

Fuchsia boliviana 'Alba.' This tall fuchsia is a secret no longer. Very fast to get established and one of the most profilic bloomers of all fuchsias, its calling card is the milky tubes, ending in flared cerise sepals.

It's no great secret that you can train nasturtiums to climb -- they are a vine after all -- and here I have one climbing a Porcelain berry vine (Ampelopsis). There's going to be bees aplenty soon.

My so-called "Shady Lane." The variegated plant with the bluish flowers is Plectranthus 'Sapphire Dream.' The little lavender flowers are Campanula muralis, a great little ground cover. In the extreme foreground is a Japanese Painted fern and shooting up the bamboo stakes is a Clematis viorna.

One last shot of my Agapetes serpens. As I've mentioned, I brought it back from the dead -- twice -- and to have it thriving now and blooming is so sweet.

This Impatiens used to go by I. congolense and now is called I. niamniamensis. I still prefer the former name, especially since one of this plant's common names is  Congo Cockatoo. Hard to find but worth the hunt for its waxy red and yellow flowers.

Philadelphus coronarius. Even given its difficulty in flowering, this variegated mock orange is so, so lovely.