This week has seen an explosion of growth and bloom in the garden. The weather has been warm, and it seems that nearly everything is hurrying to catch up. So here is this week’s Six on Saturday, six things that serve as a snapshot of what the garden is doing at the moment.
Rosa “Paradise”
Although the buds are still small, the new growth on rose “Paradise” is a splash of color in itself. The bush responded to its late winter pruning with a lot of strong growth; there is not a green leaf on it, just a mass of new canes and spectacularly red foliage… and now buds.
Salvia greggii
Then there are the salvias. In my last Six on Saturday post (from two weeks ago) Salvia greggii was just beginning to show its bloom power. This week, in addition to the pale yellow of “Lemon Light”, there is also a deep purple—unnamed, but gorgeous. I might add that both these plants were put in just last year and are still fairly small.
Narcissus
The clumps of narcissus “Scarlet Gem” continue to delight both eye and nose.
And just two days ago narcissus “White Lady” opened her first flower.
Iris “Pixie Power”
The second stand of narcissus “Scarlet Gem” is forming a flowering clump with another arrival, the standard dwarf bearded iris “Pixie Power”. Please ignore the weedy grass behind them: it has been judiciously ignored in favor of weeding out the much more aggressive Bermuda grass elsewhere.
“Pixie Power” is the one plant that came along with me through multiple moves all the way from my earlier Phoenix-area garden. It is a tough plant with most magnificent blooms, low-growing and early-flowering.
Calliandra eriophylla
I missed my chance to photograph the largest Calliandra eriophylla bush at its pale pink zenith. It grows all on its own at the back of the garden area, in a patch that hosts wildflowers in a good spring and weeds in others. It deserves—and hopefully will soon have—a better setting than its current fiddlehead companions. But after all, it established itself as a native wilding years before I came here.
As I photographed it, I found it had a visitor—one of the earliest butterflies was enjoying its blooms.
Encelia farinosa
Last is another volunteer—this one is the yellow-flowered Encelia farinosa that sprouted in a very narrow patch between the concrete patio paving and the rocks that make the edge of the little pond. I would never have planted it there for the simple reason that I wouldn’t have known that such a large, woody perennial as Encelia could grow so well in such a cramped space. But it is certainly robust and floriferous and seems quite comfortable.
There are my six for a late March Six on Saturday. Check out the other participants at Garden Ruminations to see what a variety of gardeners are noticing this week.
The weather is heating up here, too much and too quickly this year. This summer may be brutal. But at present the warmth is luscious and the brilliantly clear blue skies are the stuff of dreams. We’re expecting a cool-down over the weekend, with a slight chance of rain.
The garden is beginning to actually feel, and even smell, like a garden, bit by bit. I have some plants to get into the ground as soon as possible… but that is another story!
Happy weekend!
Isn't that yellow perennial pretty! How fortunate it found its own favourite spot to put down roots! Lovely Narcissi and Salvias too. I am rather envious of that yellow Salvia as I have been trying to find a yellow one here for the past couple of years.
There's a LOT to crow about in your spring garden, Amy! I'm not sure I've ever seen a rose with such red foliage. I'm envious of the bearded Iris blooms too. I've much less success with those than with Dutch and Pacific Coast Irises.