Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, May 2013

It's Bloom Day! In addition to the flowers I showed earlier this week, I have a full basket of blooms to share with you on this cool, showery day in Portland, Oregon:

Dianthus NOID has the tiniest fringed flowers. (Update: this may be D. arenarius - thank you Heather!)
I have tiny Geranium cinereum 'Subcaulescens' in a trough so I don't miss its fleeting blooms.

Lewisia rediviva closes in shade and at night - just like this!

A succulent flower, up close.

The annual Ceanothus 'Victoria' bee-feed is in full swing here at Longview Ranch.

The bees concur on one of my all-time favorite plants in the garden when it's in bloom.

Kniphofia northiea.

Its commanding flower head is a gorgeous color.

Acanthus spinosa, (thank you, Ricki!)

This is the third consecutive Bloom Day that Camellia 'April Kiss' has been flowering this year. There are just a few flowers left now, but I wanted to document and credit her blooming longevity this year.

Rhododendron 'Chionoides' has a soft green speckle that you only notice up close.

Penstemon subserratus.

I know one doesn't grow Luzula nivea for its blooms, but I'm enjoying its delicate flowers (seedheads?) this month.

Sisyrinchium bellum 'Rocky Point'.

Pyracantha 'Mojave' is having its best bloom ever. It suffers every spring from fire blight and that affects the flowers. This year, after some pruning, and our dry spring, there's much less fire blight damage and the flowers are abundant.

Kniphofia NOID with its lime green spikes.

And last, Trachycarpus fortunei, slightly past its best flower stage but still blooming up a storm.

Bloom Day is graciously hosted each month by Carol at May Dreams Gardens. May is her month, so click over to see what's blooming there, and in gardens all over the world.

Happy Bloom Day!

Meanwhile, back at the (Longview) ranch...

Since we returned, I've posted a few entries on our California travels. But this being May, things in the garden have not stopped changing daily. Let's have a quick look at what's developed over the past several weeks.

Halmiocistus wintonensis 'Merrist Wood Cream' is delighting with its rich, buttery-yellow flowers.

After a bit of pruning earlier in spring, it's looking good in a bed with a cistus and Helianthemum 'Cheviot'.

I seem drawn to any plant beginning with an "H".  After two years in my hell strip (good place for an "H" plant, right?), Halimium ocymoides is finally settling in with lots of foliage and the hint that blossoms may happen this summer.

Young Verbascum epixanthinum, from Ryan, looking velvety.

Sisyrinchium striatum is blooming.

I fell for this simple beauty last year at McMenamin's Edgefield and had to have it in the garden.

In other upward developments, a yellow Eremuris, one of three I planted last spring, is showing sure signs it will bloom. The other two, while clearly still alive, are holding their cards closer to the vest.

Last year about this time, I showed Ceanothus 'Joan Mirov' still in her nursery pot. She's enjoying life on the street now, while being protected from parking cars by stakes as she gains some stature.

Finally, in a bit of impeccable timing rain-wise (not!) we had three yards of mulch delivered this weekend.  After remarking to the Mulch Man how light it was to move, I realized it was probably just because it had been so dry for the preceding month.

Yes, I know it's a bit late to be mulching the garden, especially in view of our surprise hot spell in April, but I was too busy enjoying the sun in California. I'll get back to sharing that fun later this week.

Meanwhile, I have some heavy mulching to do.

California Dreaming, Part 2: El Alisal

Along the edge of Pasadena's Arroyo Seco lies the Lummis Home, also known as El Alisal.

It's a wonderful Rustic American Craftsman vernacular home built by Charles Fletcher Lummis in the late 19th century.

Lummis was an intrepid journalist who traveled west in California's early days and wrote about his adventures as he traveled. By all accounts he was a colorful character, and his life story is an essential bit of California history.

This was my second visit, and I highly recommend a tour of this fascinating home led by the knowledgeable docents. Both entry and tour are free.

But my focus here is gardens, so I want to show you a little of the grounds of this modest and unique state historical monument.

Much of the property is covered in a canopy of trees - live oaks, California sycamores, olives and other drought-tolerant species.

Of course, xeric plants do well here, and the plantings are designed to showcase those choices.

One of my favorite features is the yarrow meadow located in an open patch of sunshine. What a great alternative to a grass lawn in this hot, dry climate. And it looks much more compatible with the other plants and trees, too.

I was thrilled to discover this huge planting of Echium (candicans?) in bloom!

The bees were pretty happy about it, too.

Behind the big house, a courtyard held a simple pool and some small outbuildings.

The water lilies were in bloom.

A kumquat tree in the courtyard was full of fruit.

The dry, scrubby ground and minimal grooming added to the feeling of authenticity and helped me imagine what it might have been like there in California at the turn of the 19th century.

Plants here definitely had to fend for themselves.

Architectural elements added later were simple and thoughtfully done.

My guess is this property receives minimal official garden maintenance, although there was evidence that a committed volunteer group helped a lot. There was a plant sale happening that day, in fact.

As much as I love visiting it, some might not put the Lummis Home and grounds on a list of must-see gardens.

However, if you have an interest in history and a unique roadside attraction, if you want to look at drought-tolerant plant choices in a realistic setting, or, if (like me) you love to imagine what it must have been like to live in Southern California's early days, you won't go wrong with an hour or two spent at El Alisal.