Rose and Salvia Status At The End of March

 The first flower from new Rose-Hulthemia hybrid 'Easy On The Eyes' has opened.  Lots of buds, cute little flower that opens in a range of pinks and then fades to a range of lavenders.  Nice.  It might turn out to be a good one. 

The biggest storm of a sad season was predicted for Wednesday and Thursday, and north of us a good soaking rain did fall, but here we only got about .25" (7 mm), pushing us over 4" (101 mm) for the nearly complete rainy season, about 1/3 of average.

Oh well, better than nothing.  Before the modest rainfall, I took a look at the first roses.  It's been cool so petal count was high, making for beauties.
'Lunar Mist', yellow sport of 'Colette'
 The very charming and fragrant 'The Poets Wife'
 'Tuscan Sun'
 A somewhat misshapen and under-petaled 'Molineux'.  This one likes it a little warmer.
There are lots and lots of rose buds ready to open.  This next week appears to be mild and (surprise!) dry, perfect for them.  
 
Another thing to ponder in the garden were Salvias, which mostly look better than they usually do at this time of year.  Our dry, warm January and February helped Salvias cut back hard in December grow rapidly.

'Love and Wishes', the plum sport of 'Wendys Wish' looks outstanding.  I gave it some fertilizer;  something I usually don't give Salvias.  It responded with gorgeous growth.  
 The orange sport of 'Wendy's Wish' looks good, too. 
 The original 'Amistad'
 I pulled out a 'Waverly' in favor of a new rose.  A piece of 'Waverly' survived and is growing nicely on the other side of the wall from its old place.
 Another 'Amistad' cut almost to the ground back in late December or thereabouts.  A very vigorous plant.  To its left fenced off is the new rose that took 'Waverly's spot.  Not enough space there for both 'Amistad' and 'Waverly'.
 I have three other 'Amistads' in other places.  It seems to be nearly ever blooming.  The Salvias not looking good yet are 'East Friesland' and 'Blue Hill'.  They are lagging because March was cool and rainy-ish. (Not rainy enough to call it rainy).  

This 'East Friesland' is rabbit attacked, despite a protective fence. 
This one is still pretty sleepy:
A few other plants of note:  Craspedia globosa flowers opening:
 This shrubby Lantana is covered with flowers but needs to be cut back hard.  The photo doesn't show the ratty state of the foliage.  Planted there to hide an unattractive electrical outlet, which worked.  Outlet hidden.
 Surprised to see a flower on the Sulfur Buckwheat, which I  expected to fade away without winter chill (It's a Colorado native). 
 It was planted for butterflies. 
 The Sideritis flowers are always fun. 
 And to close, Leucospermum 'Tango' is past peak now, but new flowers are still opening.  Here's a faded flower:
 Here's one a bit fresher:
 And a fresh one in all its glory.  Didn't want to end with a faded flower.  It's Spring, after all.  

Comments

  1. HB, your roses are gorgeous, especially lunar mist. My roses are coming back to life after a horribly hot summer, I lost some and now I have to replace them. Wish you a wonderful spring!

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    1. Thank you...it's wonderful when summer is over, isn't it? I look forward to it being over as soon as it starts. Have a beautiful cool autumn, MDN!

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  2. When I last looked, we had 3 mm today.
    Your roses are very rewarding.

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    1. I so enjoy the roses. 3mm is better than nothing--after a while it adds up. Hopefully you get more and more.

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  3. Yellow roses are my very favorite. I really like the various yellows you have. Yummmy.
    The collection of salvias you have are so bushy. Must be that mine don't get such a long season of growth. They don't seem to be so big, but they do bloom prolifically and the hummingbirds love them. I can't wait to see if mine survived this severe winter. Black and Blue Salvia is the only salvia that has ever survived our winters. Your lantana is one of the prettiest I have seen. It looks so full.
    Seeing all of these blooms makes me anxious for real spring and summer.

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    1. The yellow Austins have proven to be outstanding here--'Molineux', 'Golden Celebration', and 'The Poets Wife' are really really good. 'Julia Child' while not an Austin is one of the best in my garden. While I'm not a fan of yellow paint the yellow roses are great.

      Black and Blue with those spectacular blue flowers is a nasty thug in one part of my garden. I've been trying to get rid of it there for years. It comes back from deep deep roots every year. Contained and isolated it would be my favorite. I'll have to think about where I could do that.

      Happy Spring, Lisa!

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  4. Una preciosidad de ejemplares los que nos muestras, no dejas de sorprendernos y es lo que hace tu blog tan especial. Un saludo y si te animas en Plantukis estamos haciendo un concurso de fotografía de flores y floraciones.

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    1. Hola Raúl! Me alegra que disfrutes las flores en el blog. Echaré un vistazo a tu concurso! Gracias por contarme sobre eso.

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  5. I didn't realize how much our Southern California rainfall varied until I read your posts about it. I'm near the foothills and we've gotten a little over 8 inches this season. That's about half our normal rainfall, but its been so good for the plants in Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden nearby.


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    1. Southern California is a big place! Orographic lifting near the San Gabriels gives you in that area a little bit better rain than here. 8 inches...sigh.

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  6. I wish I had your luck with Salvias, not to speak of roses. I've tried both 'Amistad' and 'Wendy's Wish' in at least 2 different locations but none of the plants survived beyond a few months. 'Mystic Spires' and the Salvias with African origins (S. lanceolata and S. africana-lutea) have performed better for me. Perhaps my sandy soil is an issue. I hope to try 'Amistad' again this year in an area with soil that's been more heavily supplemented with compost.

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    1. 'Amistad' is getting aggressive in some spots here, so I'm not sure it's going to remain. Still trying to get rid of 'Black and Blue' which is still a thug.

      'Wendy' likes water and a cooler spot. 'Amistad' is tougher.

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  7. 'Wendy's Wish' is just amazing, growing in that vase-like shape, uniform growth due to your timely pruning, not crowded on any side. Really the best specimen I've seen -- bravo!

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    1. 'Love and Wishes', you mean. I'm enjoying every minute of it while it lasts--when summer arrives it will deteriorate.

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  8. Wow Hoover Boo, how great it must be, having so much flowers and colors in the garden.
    I've tried the Salvia's so many time's but it does not work.
    Have a wonderful day.
    Rosehugs Marijke

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