Nature's Wonders

I hope all of you are having fun in your gardens. Granted there's lots of work to do but it's fun work, right? Much more fun than doing dishes or laundry. 

I love that I've got about 2 and a half hours after work to putter in my little piece of paradise. I'm usually too tired to take on any big tasks. I'm more inclined to wander around with my camera or clippers. 

Here's what's happening this week: 

Lewisia cotyledon is a very happy camper, despite the sad looking lower leaves. 

I can't remember what this flower is called. It's a tender perennial I just purchased.
The flower color is really vibrant.
Update: It's Arctotis 'Pink Sugar Rose'

My Calendrina spectabilis is blooming. Unfortunately the blossoms are closed up
by evening. I took this photo on Saturday. 

I bought Geranium sanguineum 'Elke' at Fry Road Nursery. (See sidebar)
I love that the coloring leans more towards pink tones than purple.
This photo on the White Flower Farms' website depicts the color more accurately than my camera did.

I've got mine in a container for now. 

Last time I mentioned my friend Carol's 'Rhapsody in Blue' rose. It is so fragrant and gorgeous.
And here you can see that I'm not the only one who loves it.
Even this sleepy Bumblebee is enraptured. 

Speaking of bees, I'm not sure what kind of native bee this is
but he found respite on a Cistus blossom. I'm perfectly okay with that. 

This annual is an upgrade from the typical bluish-purple Brachyscomb.
The powers that be are marketing it as 'Radiant Magenta' which is pretty much a spot-on description.
I grew it last year and bought another one this year because it blooms and blooms. 

Check out this tiny hitchhiker with my Ledebouria cooperi. From my research, I'm thinking it's
Viola selkirkii f. variegata.  I hope I can keep it alive.
You can't really tell here but those leaves are tiny--about a 1/4 inch long. 

I don't have any proof of this but I'm wondering if, in some cases,
the colder-than-normal winter was good for my plants.
The foliage on my Tri-Color Beech is fabulous this year.

Fagus sylvatica 'Roseo-Marginata'  

My Phuopsis stylosa is starting to bloom.
This plant really stinks, literally but the flowers are so pretty that all is forgiven. 

Gladiolus communis in bloom. These guys pop up
in the strangest places now that they've made my garden
their home. 

There's a baby artichoke nestled in this gorgeous foliage. 

Another case in point regarding the extra cold winter. Check out the flowers on my
Cotinus. Never has this plant been so happy.

Clematis 'Multi-Blue' on the other hand, took a hit this past winter. It's alive and growing
but has about half as many stems as last year. Ditto for 'C. 'Niobe.' 

Lonicera x heckrottii 'Pink Lemonade' always attracts aphids with its first blooms.
Eventually  the aphids will have their fill. Or the ladybugs will eat them all,
I'm not sure which. But there will be nice flowers by mid-summer.

Sometimes we just have to work with nature.
Besides I've got 5 other varieties of Honeysuckle vines in my garden
that don't attract aphids. 

I am so NOT a bug person, but... 

On Saturday I was eating my morning toast on the patio. I looked down and saw this.
A tiny ant carrying a crumb off to feed his family.
He looks huge in this photo but he was no more than an eighth of an inch long
and that breadcrumb was as big as he is. Yet he was carrying it like a skilled soldier.
Can't you just hear him mumbling through gritted teeth,
"Hey guys, I could use some help here with this thing."  

This, my friends, is Eucalyptus nicholii coming back from the dead.
You can see the stump where I cut it off, having given up all hope of
a resurrection. Isn't nature grand? 

Another interesting feat of nature are these tiny mushrooms growing in one of my pots.
They've got such a magical presence about them that I had to get photos. 

I thought I'd share a few wider shots of the garden.
This is one of the south end island beds. 

This is the new bed that came about after we poured the new patio last August.
All the plants are kind of small but getting a foothold. 

Looking north into my new brick-terrace area that used to be lawn.
Soon I'll have a whole series of before and after photos of this area.
I'm waiting for the plants to fill in a little more. 

This is the second of the two island beds at the south end of the garden. 

This photo was taken at the opposite end of the garden. The pink Silene are really
going to town this year. I'm sure all of the neighboring plants are wishing I'd cut back those stems. 

This is Phlox glaberrima 'Triple Play' just getting ready to bloom.
I bought three 4-inch pots at Fry Road Nursery a few years ago.
Fabulous plant, even when not in bloom.
Directly behind it are several hardy Fuchsias that will eventually get taller and bloom.
And behind them, Phlox paniculata and Galega officinalis 'Lady Wilson.'

Under the Heptacodium miconiodes or "Seven-Son Flower" is a bunch of woodland goodies.
I have to water this area a lot though in the summer to keep it looking nice.
Not a very sustainable micro-culture I'm afraid. 

More chaos. Note the galvanized bucket at the bottom of the photo. 

On the far right, almost out of shot, is that same bucket. This is the far north end of the yard.
You can see just a smidgen of the fence and the neighbor's roof just above the bucket at the south end.
In the foreground is Stipa gigantea sending up its fabulous "flowers."
On the left, in front of the fence you can see the dead leaves of my
Pacific Wax Myrtle. (Myrica californica).
Finally, I'm beginning to see new growth so despite my desire to get rid of the eyesore,
I'm glad I've waited. 

I found this heart-shaped stone the other day while weeding. Cool, huh? 

Finally, yesterday while on my lunch hour, I popped over to Home Depot for some potting soil. 

I looked up in the sky and saw this. 

Yes, nature is grand! 

Have fun in your gardens.