As I walked around the garden to cut flowers for the vase, I had thoughts of cutting some stalks of aloe. They are very, very near to blooming, with large umbels showing plenty of bright coral color. But none of the blooms are actually open yet, so I decided to wait on them.
Instead I collected some wildflowers, lavender, and the last of the Roman hyacinths (Hyacinthus orientalis spp. albulus).
Our early onset of warm weather, though much enjoyed by most of the native plants and the birds and such, has not been kind to the hyacinths. Stems have tumbled over, and florets have wilted. Flowering was a bit sparse this year in any case, and I plan to divide my clumps later this year.
Of the wildflowers in the vase, one is London Rocket (Sisymbrium irio), which may be familiar to many of my readers since it is a species introduced from Europe. It is quite common, and I have a couple of sizable patches along the north side of the house.
The second is the wispiest of them all, with its sprays of minuscule pale blooms. It, too, is rather common, but I haven’t yet identified it. I’m fairly sure it is native, but I can’t even confirm that yet.
Then there is my garden stalwart Lavandula dentata. I wanted to try its effect with the hyacinths. L. dentata is proving to be a core plant in this garden. It is one of my favorite lavenders for both fragrance and foliage, and it grows effortlessly here.
I cut everything and placed the stems in my dark-glazed stoneware vase. I had to photograph in a hurry, so pictures are none of the best, but here we are… a wispy bouquet of wild and tame garden blooms for In a Vase on Monday with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
It does seem as if we’ve seen the end of winter. Last year at this stage we had snowfall. This year we’ve already seen 80 F/ 27 C once. El Niño is having its effect.
The first roses are coming on Safrano. The fairyduster (Calliandra eriophylla), aloes, and the first salvias (mostly Salvia greggii) are budding strongly, so the garden should be a different place by next week. Meantime I’m going around watering my transplanted garden seedlings and seeded patches. My February transplants are settling in well—so far much better than last year’s attempts, which were dug in rather later in the season.
My last post (here) explained the nature of the garden and its new name, so you might want to check that out if you haven’t already seen it.
Have a lovely week!
Very pretty and delicate Amy! I am suprised that Hyacinths would grow in your climate but I am learning daily! Good luck with your seedlings - I know how hard it is to keep young plants watered even here.
I'm impressed that you can grow hyacinths at all, Amy! Your wispy arrangement is very compelling. While I like that London rocket, I understand it can be invasive so I won't be adding it to my garden ;)