not yet warm

But the tulips are mostly withered anyway, even unto the two remaning T. clusiana chrysantha (beautiful), and there is only one "Ice Follies" representing the daffodils. The ipheion are nearly gone, freesia starting to wither, sparaxis about half gone, and ixia just in bud. The watsonia seem to be suffering from transplant shock. Only the clivia, cyclamen, and anemones are doing well, relatively speaking. The alstroemeria look promising, though. The calochortus frankly do not.

The sweet peas are starting to bloom at the south-east fence, and the snap peas are almost yielding a useful harvest. This autumn I'll plant an entire row in November instead of half a row. The saponaria is starting to bloom and the lithodora is looking very pretty. We also have several eschscholzia. The nameless ceanothus has some bloom, which is rather hard to see. The loropetalum is unmistakably out, the flowers much brighter than the leaves, and the berberis has more leaves, including green ones near the ground. Nothing from the zantedeschia yet. The lavender at least look nice and green; there are more nemophila open, I think three plants.

The solanum is most impressive viewed from the south. The osteospermum are also very showy, to say nothing of the flax. The dietes muster four blooms between them. Oh, and the salvia greggii is sparse but very bright red; the nasturtiums are climbing well and have some good deep orange flowers.

I'm after that gopher again. I've ripped out some more allium neapolitanum and transplanted various gaura and catharanthus, plus a couple of leonotis. All in all a busy weekend.

tulips wilting

... the species tulips, anyway. Next year, I should have some of the T. clusiana in the western strip, which has been pure green these last few weeks. Now the nemophila are starting to decorate it, and I'm very pleased to see them back. All the Darwin hybrids are out, and a plethora of sparaxis and freesia; this may well be the high point of my bulb garden. The daffodils under the front of the house are getting dry and old. Another red anemone is blooming. The cyclamen still have plenty of blooms and the Clivia is starting to open.

The plum tree has exchanged most of its petals for leaves. The solanum has a fair number of purple flowers, and rather fewer leaves. I've hacked off the outer parts of the two plumbago, which I should have done weeks ago. The biggest of the leonotis has more flower heads starting; I should consider what shape I want it to be.

The snap peas are just starting to be big enough to eat. Next year I should sow a full half of them in November. Make that this year. On the Strip, the osteospermum and freesia look gorgeous, except that I wish I had more yellow freesia, and perhaps even a few more purple ones. The California bluebells are being joined by their neighbours the eschscholzia and by their colour allies the lithodora and anagallis. The scarlet flax blazes generously from the northern Zone and the edge of the drive.

better and better

Just after my last, nine days ago to be exact, the "Ice Follies" daffodils in front of the house started blooming. In a few days they were all open, looking crisp and pretty. Now the "Barrett Browning" that I planted in front of them are also open, less spectacular, but a good counterpoint. The others, which I think were salvaged from elsewhere in the garden, are not yet even in bud. I may put some daffodils in the south Zone for next year. The "Falconet" are almost finished; some of them will be trimmed this weekend. The "Tete a Tete" are over, and there is one "Minnow" (I think) open. There is still no news of the N. obvallaris. Puzzling, that.

The species tulips are doing very well, at least the yellow-and-pink ones ... T. sylvestris I think ... and the "Lady Jane" T. clusiana. The Darwin hybrids are opening, starting with the bright red ones. The anemones are much as they were, except that the bright red one now has more blooms. Four. The hyacinth is over.

I've ripped out the zantedeschia that were under the big escallonia by the front gate and put them next to the solanum, where the watsonia used to be. They may not bloom this year. The ones in front of the house, next to the aforementioned daffodils, are growing but not yet in bloom. Where the z. were I might put in some ipheion, crocus, or miniature daffodils.

In the front walkway, the clivia miniata has six -- six! -- flower stems and buds are swelling. The cyclamen are still doing well. The sweet pea is starting to climb (but you should see the ones by the east fence) and some "Grandpa Ott" ipomoea have at least germinated. There are plenty of flax, a few eschscholzia, and a few gilia capitata open; the osteospermum are putting on a good show, and the trailing rosemary, besides blooming, is starting to grow upwards. The calochortus and phacelia campanularia continue. At the south fence a few nasturtiums are open, and the salvia greggii has a few flowers as well. In front, the new grevillea has inarguably got some flowers, which are slowly getting bigger; the same goes for the loropetalum. The berberis has leaves to perhaps six inches above the ground. The teucrium still looks good. The various perovskia are getting their first leaves. And there are plenty of muscari; perhaps too many. The white freesias outside the back door opened last week, and are now being joined by one or two in other places. What look like most of the sparaxis are open, in colours ranging from deep red through orange to pale pink and one or two rather startling white ones.

The first few "Johnny-jump-up" viola are in bloom, and the leonotis in the corner lawn has more flower heads active, so that I become very glad I protected it over the winter. The gophers are back; I've set traps in the corner lawn and my son is trying to drown them in the back lawn. The plum tree still has some blossom and is adding leaves, including some that probably presage the growth of additional twigs from the trunk, and so must be stripped off. The rhaphiolepis are budding strongly. The alstroemeria by the back gate has a few flowers ready to open.