On the Eve of Spring...

Lewisia cotyledon 'Sunset' at home in a rock wall

With the official start of Spring around the corner, I thought I'd share some scenes from around the garden. Thanks to the recent rains, foliage is looking lush and flowers are popping up everywhere. 

Heuchera, or Coral Bells, are among my favorite natives because the long-lasting flowers are among the first to appear in late Winter and come in colors ranging from cream to dark pink. They look incredible when planted in mass in a shady spot and are amenable to transplant and dry conditions.

Variety of Coral Bells lining a path

Inspired by walks along the Gray Whale Cove trail in Montara, I planted a collection of yarrow, beach strawberry and checkerbloom underneath our ancient lemon tree. Dale the snail approves.

Dale happy hiding amongst the yarrow, checkerbloom and beach strawberry

One of the most reliable year-round bloomers is the Island Bush Poppy, a crowd favorite that thrills with its large yellow flowers and attractive large grey-green leaves. Rains will knock the flowers down but they always bounce back with a couple days of sunshine.

Island bush poppy, Dendromecon harfordii, center of attention

Another plant that people often ask about is the Cliff-maid or broad-leaf Lewisia. These diminutive guys come in a variety of colors and bloom for a couple months starting in late February. They need good drainage and native plant books recommend using as a container plant. I have a couple planted into the rock wall and they seem happy, except in the summer heat.

Lewisia cotyledon 'Magenta'

Another one of my favorite natives is the California phacelia, a bee magnet that blooms early and often. Looks great in a rock garden with full sun and will appreciate some room to grow. I picked up this plant at Mission Blue nursery in Brisbane a couple months back and it is already filling in nicely.

California phacelia, Phacelia californica, in mid-March

Foothill penstemons make a great addition to a drought tolerant landscape. Their blue-purple flowers are eye catching and look great with other Spring bloomers such as monkeyflowers, poppies, sulfur buckwheat and golden aster. This particular variety, Margarita BOP, is a robust bloomer and probably the easiest to find in nurseries.

Foothill penstemon, Penstemon heteropyllus, doing it's thang

In Bloom: September '14

   It is mid-September and the garden hasn't received rainfall in several months. Luckily, it has been a mild summer, with temperatures hovering in the high 75-85F range. Morning fog here on the peninsula has also helped provide a bit of moisture. In the front yard I have hand-watered the herbaceous perennials (e.g. golden aster and seaside daisy) once every 10-14 days and the evergreen shrubs (e.g.  ceanothus and manzanitas) once every 4-6 weeks. Established plantings such as white sage, Santa Cruz Island buckwheat, and chaparral currant have not received any supplemental water. In the backyard, most of the plants are on drip irrigation, receiving 5 minutes, twice a week. The backyard looks decidedly lusher than the front, though plants like monkeyflowers and coyote mint have still gone dormant in the backyard even with the extra water.
     Here on September 16, there isn't much in bloom, but many of the evergreen shrubs such as manzanitas, ceanothus and coffeeberries are looking healthy and well...green. In particular, I have been pleased with the progress of the manzanitas, and I hope to add a few more plants this Fall to my growing manzanita collection. A few highlights:

-Dendromecon harfordii (Island Bush Poppy): I killed one of these in the front yard a couple years but decided to give it a whirl again last year in the backyard. It was planted last Fall and so far so good. I think it likes a bit more water, shade, and drainage then I was giving it previously. This is one of my favorite natives, providing beautiful yellow flowers nearly year round.

Dendromecon harfordii

-Epilobium: Fuschias are always the late Summer stars as they provide much needed color and they will bring in hummingbirds.  Currently, 'Hurricane Point' looks the best among my fuchsias.  'Everett's Choice' and 'Cloverdale' are past their prime and have already been cut back to their base. I will likely make changes to the placement of my fuchsias this Fall.

Epilobium 'Hurricane Point'

-Eriogonum (Buckwheats): 'Santa Cruz Island' looks amazing as always, and the 'Red-Flowered' variety is past its prime but still putting out pink blooms.

Eriogonum 'Santa Cruz Island'

-Eriophyllum nevinii (Island snowflake):  'Canyon Silver' cultivar is looking quite impressive currently with new blooms coming up and striking foliage. This is quickly becoming a favorite.

Eriophyllum nevinii 'Canyon Silver'

-Eschscholzia (CA poppy): My volunteer poppies are blooming for the third time this year. When flowers wilt, I cut the plant to the ground and it grows backs within a month, all without supplemental water. Gotta love it.

-Arctostaphylos (manzanitas): All the manzanitas are looking healthy and robust right now. 'Louis Edmonds' has displayed tremendous growth here in its second year and is quickly becoming a nice specimen in the front yard.

Arctostaphylos 'Louis Edmonds'