Flowers Of Late May

Echeveria purpurosum
 Late May flowers.  I missed a bloom day post, after all.
Echeveria subridgida, just recovered finally from last year's bloom, is starting in on another round. 




It's Echinopsis time.  See it, there by the stuffed monkey?  No?
Echinopsis 'Charlemagne'.  The flower dwarfs the entire plant.

 Sedum clavatum flowers are a little more proportional.
 One of the first plants of the garden 17 years ago;  I bought a package of  assorted "blue" bulbs at a big box store.  This is the sole survivor, one bulb that became a clump, still growing, still blooming every year.  Brodiaea laxa 'Queen Fabiola' is a California nativeI am publicly promising these bulbs I will move them to a sunny spot this fall!

 Epiphyllums have fabulous flowers, but out of bloom the plants are not attractive, to put it kindly.  I threw some out but kept this one.  It deserves better treatment, but at least its not in the landfill. 
 Another Agave 'Blue Glow' going up and out in a blaze of glory. 
 Cistanthe grandiflora formerly Calandrinia grandiflora is putting on a show.

 The big Agave marmorata is preparing to bloom.  The new leaves get short and small, signalling the plant is abandoning leaf production.  Planted this from a 4" (10 cm) pot, the first Agave I ever purchased.  It's 6' (1.8 meters) across.  No, not flowers, but soon. 
 Time for Aloe brevifolia to bloom. 
 Tall flower for a short plant.  That's the smaller of the two black foliaged Lagerstroemias in the background. 

 A red flower on the larger of the two black-foliagedLagerstroemias.  So dramatic!
Crassula pubescens ssp. radicans reds up in warm weather.  May is its bloom time, too. 



 Even Sticks-on-Fire, Euphorbia tirucalli, is blooming this year.  The magic of winter rain. 
 This red and gold beauty was was too late to make it into the annual day lily post. 
 The last of the sweet peas.  This is the fancy-pants one, 'Windsor Marron', that cost $5.  At that price, I'm going to collect some seed pods.  It survived two pretty fierce heat waves by being shaded in the hottest part of the day, which is perhaps why it's survived this long.  It's on this side of that low wall, on the other are Salvias, daylilys, roses, and Geranium 'Rozanne'.
 I was sighing over the black foliaged Sambucus at a tour garden, but it occurred to me the black-foliaged Dahlia I've had for several years is a very satisfactory substitute. 

 Lastly, the Aloe dhufarensis flower continues to emerge.  The tops of the stems look like lizard heads, a little. 


Comments

  1. Zowie, that crape myrtle with the red flowers and black foliage. ¡Que viva el FSLN!

    Is the black-leafed dahlia 'Bishof of Llandaf'? Or another -- there are quite a few now, in a range of bloom colors.

    You need many, many more 'Queen Fabiola's; maybe the move to sun will multiply them. What a fabulous native bulb.

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    1. I've been meaning to get more 'Queen Fabiola's--maybe this fall. Who needs tulips?

      That's one of those black-leafed ones being sold a few years ago. The 'Mystic' series. Have not seen them the past couple of years; a shame, they are great. Would love a red-flowered one to go with my "Sandanista" Crape Myrtle!

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  2. You've had quite a few Agaves bloom of late, haven't you? I wonder if the winter rain is a factor there too. Your Cistanthe flowers are impressive - I've yet to get anything more than a few flowers here even though they did very well in my former garden (planted along the driveway yet). Do you have any problems with squirrels eating the Crassula pubescens? Something regularly chews up mine and the furry-tailed headaches are my chief suspects.

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    1. Could be, the rain--rain is magic after all. All the squirrels here prefer our oranges and avocados to anything else. Grrrrr! I may need to start trapping and drowning--but really don't want to do that. They're not around quite so much since I had the neighbor's palm trees cut down.

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  3. those buds do have a scaly reptilian look.

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  4. Ooh, I like echinopsis time! And does this mean marmorata bulbils?

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    1. A. marmorata is not listed as a bulbil producer in Gentry. That particular plant has two basal offsets (unharvested at this time) so I could replace it, but not in that spot as it is crowding an Aloe ferox. The other smaller marmorata that is more attractive has produced a few offsets, two of which are on the slope. I like that one better. Much more ornamental--silver, with banding, and about 2/3 the size. I'd be happy to save you one of either type. I'm not short of Agaves!

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  5. I can't believe I grow a Californian native. Even less that it positively thrives. Brodiaea laxa 'Queen Fabiola'. I will have to wait another few weeks for the buds to open though..

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    1. Cool! Fun to think 'Queen F.' does well in your area.

      But...no Ceanothus?!?

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  6. Your sweet pea 'Windsor Marron' looks like a good one! I really like the rich color.

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    1. I love that color--but it doesn't have much scent. The wonderful sweet pea fragrance is a big part of the attraction!

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