This is April; and while I’m running late on Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, it seems a shame to miss it altogether. The garden is far more full of bloom than it has been yet.
Let’s take a look around!
The salvias are all either blooming or very close to it, with the exception of S. guaranitica “Black and Blue.”
S. microphylla “Hot Lips” in particular is looking robust and is serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner to hummingbirds.
No pictures of the latter yet; I am out of practice!
Salvia farinacea is just coming into bud. It is planted under the mandarin orange tree, which gives it a good deal of protection, but probably also is responsible for it flowering so much later than nearby “Hot Lips”. In Phoenix, S. farinacea would bloom through much of the winter months.
It is still wildflower season in good earnest. In the garden itself are Sphaeralcea laxa (not S. ambigua as I had thought; the maroon stamens are said to be definitive)…
…the endemic Encelia farinosa…
…and Calliandra eriophylla.
I continue to watch the slow development of buds on Fouquieria splendens, the ocotillo.
Both lavender species are still flowering, though Lavandula stoechas is nearing the end of its bloom.
The narcissus are definitely finished for the year. I had high hopes there would be some overlap in bloom between iris “Indian Chief” and its neighbor, rose “Paradise”. Alas, they missed each other by a couple of days.
Here is a bloom on “Paradise”.
Some of the petals have been a bit crisped by the series of very warm, windy days we had last week. Now that the weather has cooled somewhat, the blooms are opening magnificently, but they show the effects on their outer petals.
The colors still blend well with the bedding dianthus below…
…which itself is a mass of bloom.
China Rose “Archduke Charles” has had a wonderful first flush of bloom, but it is just ending. This is the last full flower for now. It, too, shows signs of the dry, hot winds though it had some lovely, delicate blooms earlier.
From winter we are going rapidly to early summer. There is certainly a sense of exuberance in the flowers right now.
Thanks to Carol for hosting Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day!
I do love your photos being close-ups! They make the flowers so dramatic.
You've lots of lovely flowers to enjoy this spring, Amy. Your roses are doing better than mine, which are so disappointing I'm tempted to pull them out.