April Bloom Day

Truly this must be one of the most beautiful times of year-- so much is changing every day. Here's a smattering of photos taken today, with some of what's blooming now (click here to see more from around the country). The conventional wisdom has it that this is the final frost date for our region-- which has seemed like a stretch in the past, yet there was frost this morning on the rooftops.

1) this shows wallflower (orange, in foreground) backed up by yellow bulbine, california poppies, borage, scabiosa, snow-in-summer (a great un-sung groundcover in my garden); distantly: ceanothus (blue, at right, blooming this year like never before) and chinensis mutabilis rose (with the pink, middle left).

2) Bearded irises. Love 'em.

3) Cerinthe, the 'IT' plant of a couple of years back-- still much beloved here. Backed up by a euphorbia.

4) Lady Banks rose--in her spectacular spring display. I hack this one way back each year; driving around the county you can see these going crazy (scrambling over buildings and up trees) in full glory this week.

5) My one really successful clump of Spanish lavender-- and what do you call those little red flowers, again?

first roses

First of all, I apologize to anyone who had a blizzard this week-- hold on! spring is coming to you too!

But here in California we seem to be having a mini-early-heat wave; mid-eighties, anyway, and yesterday saw the arrival of the first rose to bloom: Golden Celebration, top photo.

Of course, the true first is always chinensis mutablis, a real bee-pleaser, followed by Lady Banks, covered with clusters of tiny yellow flowers-- but they're so far out ahead I don't really count them.

Meanwhile, it seems that mockingbirds must be building nests in the sycamore trees outside this window-- and making a racket as they chase off jays.

the arrival of irises!

These irises go out to my sister Dawn!

Wildflowers at Pinnacles

I've been very lazy about spending time in front of the computer, but oh, the things I've seen... Over my Spring Break, Tony & I took a short jaunt down to Pinnacles (National Monument), a favorite springtime trip for us. It is a gorgeous season there.