Tip-toeing through the Tulips (and other bulbs)

So many photos to share, piled up as I've been busy, that today it'll just be photos. Enjoy.

My best shot yet of my Clivia, finally capturing its saturated orange color.

Sweet pea North Shore.

Fluffy Doubles narcissus. So fragrant!

Scabiosa Harlequin. A ground cover pincushion flower.

Tulip Perestroyka.

Sideritis cypria bract. It's these lime green bracts that are the show.

Echeveria gibbiflora. It's held onto its dazzling red color despite the warmer weather.

Purple Majesty Dutch iris.

Aeonium Sunburst. One of my favorite succulents and easy to grow!

Dicentra scandens. Irrepressible!

More Dutch iris.

Bouvardia ternifolia. There's nothing redder than this flower.

Viola Columbine. Love the 'freckles.'

Scilla Excelsior. These delivered the goods!

Gaillardia Arizona Sunset. Blanket flowers may be simple and common but I love the sunny colors!

Syringa 'Palibin.' My dwarf lilac bush is a reliable bloomer. Love that scent!

Neoregelia 'Lorena.' Probably my favorite of the newly arrived batch.

Clematis Josephine. This fully double clematis hasn't acquired its lovely violet color yet.

Speaking of doubles, here's the last shot of my Camellia Bill Woodruff. Gorgeous.

Here's a shot showing the inner ring on my Tulip Perestroyka. 

Drosanthemum micans. Sometimes called 'dew flower' this South African native offers up vibrant reds and golds.

Heliophila. This pretty annual has the most charming blue flowers.

One last shot of my floriferous Tidy Tips (Layia platyglossa).

Salvia 'Marine Blue.' One of the bluest of all sages and a prolific bloomer to boot.

Here's a closer photo of my Scilla Excelsior. I'll admit to being fond of nodding, bell-shaped flowers.

My Cryptomeria 'Spiraliter' has lovely chartreuse new tips.

My hard-pruned Cotinus is just now leafing out. Right now, in the sun, they look like little dancing flames.

My Fremontodendron has already put out its first cup-shaped golden flowers. This CA native once covered much of our state.

Ornamental onion (Allium). Not sure which one this is.

Star of my spring garden is this newly arrived Calceolaria Balloon Orange. Fabulous spotting and the flowers are a generous size for a 'pocketbook.'

Calibrachoa. One can never have too many 'million bells' in the garden.

Arisaema thunbergii var. Urashima. One of the more reliable Jack-in-the-Pulpits.

Billbergia Hallelujah. I think. Love the flowers on this sturdy bromeliad.

My cat Phoebe has spotted something interesting in my little pond. There's no fish in there so ...

Fallopia japonica variegata. Love the white colors!

Pelargonium Caroline's Citrine. Not your everyday geranium.

Tritonia Charles Puddle. I'm guessing this selection was named after the famed head of Bodnant Garden in England.

Eriogonum Shasta Sulphur.

Ixia Yellow Emperor.

 Calothamnus villosus. They remind me of miniature red fans.

Lonicera x americana. About to open their lovely pale pink blooms.

Physocarpus Amber Jubilee. The new growth especially is a peachy-ginger color. 

Campanula Waterfall Blue. Well named for its spilling habit.

Lily Heaven

Lilies are my favorite bulb for three reasons. The flowers are large and colorful; many are fragrant and perhaps most endearingly, they return faithfully each year, unlike many bulbs.
In a general sense, there are seven kinds of lilies:
ASIATIC have been hybridized to yield a dizzying array of colors, with some exhibiting spots and some not. They tend to be early bloomers.
ORIENTAL have large flowers with pronounced spotting or streaking, are intensely fragrant and get to be a pretty good size.
TRUMPET are the largest of the lily family with, yes, a trumpet shape. Most are fragrant, though not quite as intense as the Orientals. Later blooming, they are prolific, often producing 10-15 flowers per stalk.
ORIENPET are the latest rage, a crossing of Oriental with Trumpet. They combine the best of both worlds - marrying the beauty of the orientals to the hardiness of the trumpets.
TIGER lilies are familiar to most people but did you know they now come in not just orange but also yellow, pink and white? They feature recurved petals, heavy spotting and can be singles or doubles.
LA HYBRID lilies are a cross between Asiatics and Easter lilies and offer bolder colors than the Asiatics. They are larger as well.
TURK'S CAP lilies (Lilium superbum) are native to various regions of the U.S. and resemble smaller-sized Tiger lilies, with their recurved petals and prominent spotting. They too have been hybridized.

Of course this is a simplistic explanation but it will serve its purpose. What follows are photos of various lilies that are either already in my garden (most) or are on their way. Since I have so many (52!) I'm dividing them into two groups. And due to the volume I'm not providing descriptions. Besides, a picture is indeed worth a 1000 words when it comes to lilies.Okay, here they are, in no particular order, though after the first dozen the rest are in roughly alphabetical order by the variety name. Most photos are courtesy of the grower's websites..

Beijing Moon. Trumpet.

Black Eye. Asiatic.

 Flore Pleno. Double Tiger.

Phillippinense.  Not a true Trumpet but related.

 Pink Perfection. Trumpet.

 Martagon Claude Shride. Resemble Turk's Cap but not related.

 Pardilinum. This Leopard lily is native to the west coast.

Dark Secret. Asiatic.

50-50. A double Trumpet type.

Apricot Fudge. A unique double Asiatic type.

 Beverly Dreams. Orienpet.

 Black Beauty.  Oriental hybrid, a cross between L. henryi and L. speciosum.

 Bombastic. Oriental.

Cafe Frappe. Asiatic. 

Captain Tricolore. Oriental.

Conca d'Or. Orienpet.

Double Sensation. Asiatic. 

Elodie. Double Asiatic.

Fata Morgana.  Double Asiatic.

Fujian. Orienpet. 

 Fusion. This highly decorative variety is a cross between the CA native L. pardilinum and L. longiflorum (Easter lily)

Golden Joy. Asiatic.

African Queen. Trumpet. 

Labrador. Oriental. 

 Lodewijk. Double Oriental.

 Claude Shride. A prolific Martagon type.

 Mister Cas. Orienpet.

Montego Bay. Orienpet.