April Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day
I'm just slightly late for April Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Considering that April and May are the biggest months for flowers, I'm going to count being just slightly late as doing pretty well. After all, I have a whole lot of photos to write about this month! This is what my front yard looks like right now. The orange flowers are of course California poppies (Eschscholzia californica). The ones that look plain white at this distance are a variety of different things: white meadowfoam (Limnanthes alba), five spot (Nemophila maculata), and bird's eyes (Gilia tricolor). The ones that look plain blue at this distance are baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesii), Chinese pagodas (Collinsia heterophylla), and foothill beardtongue (Penstemon heterophyllus 'Blue Springs'). You can also see a few yellowray goldfields (Lasthenia glabrata), in yellow of course, and if you look hard enough, some mountain garland (Clarkia unguiculata) in pink.
This is a similar view from a few weeks ago. Much less white! The orange is still California poppies, and most of the blue here is foothill beardtongue (Penstemon heterophyllus 'Blue Springs'). You can get a better view here of the mountain garland (Clarkia unguiculata) in pink. The pale peach color back near the front door is sticky monkeyflower (Mimulus 'Pamela'). You can also sort of see here the pale flower spikes rising from the small blue pot at the far left, at the foot of the steps to my front door; that's island coral bells (Heuchera maxima).
The recent influx of white is primarily attributable to white meadowfoam (Limnanthes alba). It seems to bloom slightly later than Douglas' meadowfoam (Limnanthes douglasii), which I'm growing in other spots in my yard. Oh, and the bluish purple at the far right edge here is blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium bellum 'North Coast'). And just below that, if you look closely, you can see a pale pinkish flower, which is a pink California poppy (Eschscholzia californica).
Here's a closer view of that corner. Blue-eyed grass, regular California poppies, and one pink California poppy. The pink one is the same species as the regular ones, but it comes from a 'Ballerina' seed mix in which strains of the species are bred to be unusual colors.
This peach poppy is from the same mix.
Slightly out of focus in the picture above, in the background toward the right, you can see some dotseed plantains (Plantago erecta). You can see them better in the picture below, in focus this time and toward the left now. They look a whole lot like grasses with long, pale, mini-cattail-like flower spikes, but they're not grasses. This is a native plantain that I grew from seed for the first time this year. It isn't showy, but I quite like it.
The white and purplish flowers here are bird's eyes (Gilia tricolor), and the orange is of course California poppies again.
This is an extreme closeup of the flower spike on a dotseed plantain. From a normal distance it looks like nothing, a weedy grass maybe, but from an inch away it looks like some sort of rare orchid in extreme miniature. You won't find many flowers tinier than these!
The out-of-focus flowers around it are five spot (Nemophila maculata) and baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesii).
Here is a closeup of the baby blue eyes with a yellowray goldfield (Lasthenia glabrata).
Here is the foothill beardtongue (Penstemon heterophyllus 'Blue Springs') with California poppies, baby blue eyes, and five spot. There are also some dotseed plantains next to the blue pot and some bird's eyes (Gilia tricolor) a bit to the right of the dotseed plantains.
Here is a closeup of the foothill beardtongue with white meadowfoam (Limnanthes alba) and California poppies.
Below, you can see bird's eyes (Gilia tricolor) in the foreground - the white flowers with pale purple edges and dark, recessed centers. The rest of the white flowers are white meadowfoam. The pale orange flowers are sticky monkeyflower (Mimulus 'Pamela'), the bright orange ones are California poppies, the hot pink ones are mountain garland (Clarkia unguiculata), and the tiny dots of red are the fruits of the woodland strawberries (Fragaria vesca 'Golden Alexandria' and Fragaria vesca 'Improved Rugen'). Oh, and there's a dotseed plantain in the foreground toward the right.
This is a different color of sticky monkeyflower (Mimulus aurantiacus).
Here's a closeup of the white meadowfoam (Limnanthes alba). The buds are very furry, so shortly before the whole patch burst into bloom, when the plants all started forming these fuzzy buds, it looked rather as if a spider had gone through my garden encasing all the plant buds in some strange webbing.
This is the view from my front door, looking toward my driveway. The yellow flowers in the bottom right corner are California buttercups (Ranunculus occidentalis).
Here is a closer view of the California buttercups.
And an even closer view.
But that's enough of this area in front of my front door.
Let's go around the south side of my house now. This is theoretically my food garden. I, uh, may have gotten carried away with planting native wildflowers instead. This is another species of meadowfoam, Douglas' meadowfoam (Limnanthes douglasii).
Back behind the air conditioner, there are also California poppies.
And scattered around, if you look closely, you can find a few bird's eyes among the meadowfoam. The darker purple flowers here are also bird's eyes, the same species as the paler purplish ones, just a rarer, variant form of it.
You can also find some chia (Salvia columbariae) scattered among the Douglas' meadowfoam.
Here's a closer view of the chia.
And an even closer view.
Mostly, though, it's just Douglas' meadowfoam. The solid yellow flowers scattered among the yellow-and-white ones are the same species, just a variant form of Douglas' mewadowfoam.
In the upper left corner here, you can see some baby blue eyes and bird's eyes along with the Douglas' meadowfoam.
Now we're in my back yard. This is sticky cinquefoil (Drymocallis glandulosa). It's closely related to strawberries.
Also in my back yard, here are more California poppies, along with blue flax (Linum lewisii) and sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima). Those are the plants with flowers visible. Also prominent in the picture are deergrass (Muehlenbergia rigens) and, at the lower right, the silvery leaves of California fuchsia (Epilobium canum 'Calistoga Hybrids').
Nearby, here's a Harweg's doll's-lily (Odontostomum hartwegii) in front of alkali sacaton grass (Sporobolus airoides), with California poppies and foothill beardtongue visible off to the left.
This is a closeup of Hartweg's doll's-lily. This is probably my most successful native bulb. I have it all over the place. I only ever bought one, but I've divided it to make many more plants.
Here's another native bulb, blue dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum).
And over here we have some hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea), along with more California poppies.
Still in the back yard, here's a Pacific Coast hybrid iris (Iris 'Pacific Coast Hybrids').
Another view of the same iris.
Out in the front yard I have Dutch irises (Iris × hollandica). This one, shown in front of desert beardtongue (Penstemon pseudospectabilis), is a bit torn by some insect.
Here's a better view of the desert beardtongue, shown with foothill beardtongue and a pink rose.
This yellow iris is also a Dutch iris. It's shown with a California poppy.
Here's a different species of native poppy, the wind poppy (Papaver heteophyllum). These four flowers are all on the same plant.
California goldenrod (Solidago californica) is generally considered a fall bloomer, but it also blooms in spring.
The same goes for this leafy fleabane (Erigeron foliosus).
Here's a native that's new to me: beach evening-primrose (Camissonia cheiranthifolia).
Here's a closer view of it.
Here's a non-native that's new to me: hedgerow cranesbill (Geranium pyreniacum 'Bill Wallis').
And I saved my favorite for last: native yerba mansa (Anemopsis californica), first in bud . . .
And then in flower. The flower just opened today!
That's it for blooms, but I'll leave you with a picture of a red admiral butterfly on an unidentified flowering subshrub.
And this one of the same butterfly from a different angle.
This is a similar view from a few weeks ago. Much less white! The orange is still California poppies, and most of the blue here is foothill beardtongue (Penstemon heterophyllus 'Blue Springs'). You can get a better view here of the mountain garland (Clarkia unguiculata) in pink. The pale peach color back near the front door is sticky monkeyflower (Mimulus 'Pamela'). You can also sort of see here the pale flower spikes rising from the small blue pot at the far left, at the foot of the steps to my front door; that's island coral bells (Heuchera maxima).
The recent influx of white is primarily attributable to white meadowfoam (Limnanthes alba). It seems to bloom slightly later than Douglas' meadowfoam (Limnanthes douglasii), which I'm growing in other spots in my yard. Oh, and the bluish purple at the far right edge here is blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium bellum 'North Coast'). And just below that, if you look closely, you can see a pale pinkish flower, which is a pink California poppy (Eschscholzia californica).
Here's a closer view of that corner. Blue-eyed grass, regular California poppies, and one pink California poppy. The pink one is the same species as the regular ones, but it comes from a 'Ballerina' seed mix in which strains of the species are bred to be unusual colors.
This peach poppy is from the same mix.
Slightly out of focus in the picture above, in the background toward the right, you can see some dotseed plantains (Plantago erecta). You can see them better in the picture below, in focus this time and toward the left now. They look a whole lot like grasses with long, pale, mini-cattail-like flower spikes, but they're not grasses. This is a native plantain that I grew from seed for the first time this year. It isn't showy, but I quite like it.
The white and purplish flowers here are bird's eyes (Gilia tricolor), and the orange is of course California poppies again.
This is an extreme closeup of the flower spike on a dotseed plantain. From a normal distance it looks like nothing, a weedy grass maybe, but from an inch away it looks like some sort of rare orchid in extreme miniature. You won't find many flowers tinier than these!
The out-of-focus flowers around it are five spot (Nemophila maculata) and baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesii).
Here is a closeup of the baby blue eyes with a yellowray goldfield (Lasthenia glabrata).
Here is the foothill beardtongue (Penstemon heterophyllus 'Blue Springs') with California poppies, baby blue eyes, and five spot. There are also some dotseed plantains next to the blue pot and some bird's eyes (Gilia tricolor) a bit to the right of the dotseed plantains.
Here is a closeup of the foothill beardtongue with white meadowfoam (Limnanthes alba) and California poppies.
Below, you can see bird's eyes (Gilia tricolor) in the foreground - the white flowers with pale purple edges and dark, recessed centers. The rest of the white flowers are white meadowfoam. The pale orange flowers are sticky monkeyflower (Mimulus 'Pamela'), the bright orange ones are California poppies, the hot pink ones are mountain garland (Clarkia unguiculata), and the tiny dots of red are the fruits of the woodland strawberries (Fragaria vesca 'Golden Alexandria' and Fragaria vesca 'Improved Rugen'). Oh, and there's a dotseed plantain in the foreground toward the right.
This is a different color of sticky monkeyflower (Mimulus aurantiacus).
Here's a closeup of the white meadowfoam (Limnanthes alba). The buds are very furry, so shortly before the whole patch burst into bloom, when the plants all started forming these fuzzy buds, it looked rather as if a spider had gone through my garden encasing all the plant buds in some strange webbing.
This is the view from my front door, looking toward my driveway. The yellow flowers in the bottom right corner are California buttercups (Ranunculus occidentalis).
Here is a closer view of the California buttercups.
And an even closer view.
But that's enough of this area in front of my front door.
Let's go around the south side of my house now. This is theoretically my food garden. I, uh, may have gotten carried away with planting native wildflowers instead. This is another species of meadowfoam, Douglas' meadowfoam (Limnanthes douglasii).
Back behind the air conditioner, there are also California poppies.
And scattered around, if you look closely, you can find a few bird's eyes among the meadowfoam. The darker purple flowers here are also bird's eyes, the same species as the paler purplish ones, just a rarer, variant form of it.
You can also find some chia (Salvia columbariae) scattered among the Douglas' meadowfoam.
Here's a closer view of the chia.
And an even closer view.
Mostly, though, it's just Douglas' meadowfoam. The solid yellow flowers scattered among the yellow-and-white ones are the same species, just a variant form of Douglas' mewadowfoam.
In the upper left corner here, you can see some baby blue eyes and bird's eyes along with the Douglas' meadowfoam.
Now we're in my back yard. This is sticky cinquefoil (Drymocallis glandulosa). It's closely related to strawberries.
Also in my back yard, here are more California poppies, along with blue flax (Linum lewisii) and sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima). Those are the plants with flowers visible. Also prominent in the picture are deergrass (Muehlenbergia rigens) and, at the lower right, the silvery leaves of California fuchsia (Epilobium canum 'Calistoga Hybrids').
Nearby, here's a Harweg's doll's-lily (Odontostomum hartwegii) in front of alkali sacaton grass (Sporobolus airoides), with California poppies and foothill beardtongue visible off to the left.
This is a closeup of Hartweg's doll's-lily. This is probably my most successful native bulb. I have it all over the place. I only ever bought one, but I've divided it to make many more plants.
Here's another native bulb, blue dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum).
And over here we have some hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea), along with more California poppies.
Still in the back yard, here's a Pacific Coast hybrid iris (Iris 'Pacific Coast Hybrids').
Another view of the same iris.
Out in the front yard I have Dutch irises (Iris × hollandica). This one, shown in front of desert beardtongue (Penstemon pseudospectabilis), is a bit torn by some insect.
Here's a better view of the desert beardtongue, shown with foothill beardtongue and a pink rose.
This yellow iris is also a Dutch iris. It's shown with a California poppy.
Here's a different species of native poppy, the wind poppy (Papaver heteophyllum). These four flowers are all on the same plant.
California goldenrod (Solidago californica) is generally considered a fall bloomer, but it also blooms in spring.
The same goes for this leafy fleabane (Erigeron foliosus).
Here's a native that's new to me: beach evening-primrose (Camissonia cheiranthifolia).
Here's a closer view of it.
Here's a non-native that's new to me: hedgerow cranesbill (Geranium pyreniacum 'Bill Wallis').
And I saved my favorite for last: native yerba mansa (Anemopsis californica), first in bud . . .
And then in flower. The flower just opened today!
That's it for blooms, but I'll leave you with a picture of a red admiral butterfly on an unidentified flowering subshrub.
And this one of the same butterfly from a different angle.