Little Things

I won a little Tillandsia yesterday when attending a talk on Bromeliads.  Tillandsia aeranthos.  Interesting talk, too.  What all Bromeliads have in common is a three petaled flower.   There are tropical Bromeliads, needing constant warmth and humidity, examples of which are the ones you see for sale at big box and grocery stores, but there are also sub-tropicals and desert Bromeliads, both of which can do well outdoors year round in Southern California. 
Possessing flowers not much bigger than Tillansia aeranthos,  Lotus jacobaeus is having a good spring.  It took time to figure out what it would like:  pot life in morning sun, afternoon shade, and a damp spot among foliage plants on somewhat moist ground.  

Dainty in leaf, flower, root, and stem.
 Another different little thing:  working on adding another birdbath situation for the gully area near the Pergola.  We can sit and watch the birds feed in the nectar-rich flowers (Salvia, Grevillea, Callistemon) and visit the bird bath.  A simple ceramic plate on an upturned pot, regularly refilled by a tube run from the drip system, might suffice.  A solar powered air bubbler would be good.
Another little thing down in the gully.  I moved most all of the Hippeastrum bulbs to the edge of this terrace bed.  Twenty three bulbs are growing and there are eleven flower stalks emerged or emerging.  Performance will probably be better next year after the bulbs have had a year to establish, but it is nice to see flowers this year, even if they are not the highest quality.

Mostly all 'Apple Blossom' and 'Rilona'.  A couple are seedlings-of-Rilona, which have a greenish cast.
Update:  Three hours later, flowers are open:



Another 'Bartzella' Peony flower, broadcasting its unusual scent, which is not at all herbaceous-peony-like.  It's a strange musky scent, like dirty gym socks, only good.  Well, I said it was strange!
Ragged plummy-leafed Alternathera grown from cuttings finally got a spot in the ground.  Go ahead, grow if you can.
Ragged Cymbidium flowers
Little things on a rather blustery spring morning.

Comments

  1. Perfect timing. Warblers and vireos are migrating through right now. Also the colorful orioles, tanagers (the tax bird, always comes around April 15) and grosbeaks. The warblers especially are attracted to a slow drip, put a branch in the ground and run the tube up along it naturally so it hangs/drips over the saucer. Monarchs visited my garden today and yesterday.

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    1. There used to be Orioles in the garden here every year. They nested in the back neighbors weed palm skirts. They are still around but nesting elsewhere so not so close and constant. I see them at the Aloes, especially marlothii and pseudorubroviolacea. Yes, tanagers, have seen those at the urn, grosbeak, not often. Warblers here like crazy! They love the Aloes and Grevilleas. Bushtits like masses of them. They like the roses, the Pittosporums, the Grevilleas, the Lagerstroemias. Phoebes like the tiny flies around the pond. The towhees love mulch. All the birds love the oak tree. Total bird magnet!

      A good tip about having the drip tube run up a branch. Excellent idea, thanks!

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  2. Kris, Tillandsia aeranthos is native to my region, they grow spontaneously on: walls, tree trunks, utility poles. I love that Peony,it's stunningly beautiful! I had never heard of Itoh Peonies untill I read about them in Hoover Boo's blog, here I only find the Lactiflora and tree peony and none of them bloom in this climate. Have a great weekend!

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    1. Good information for me though, so thank you! Plants on utility poles is an amazing thought. Here the only thing on utility poles is dust. Perhaps I can hang the T. aeranthos in my little Acer japonicum for the summer, if the poor Acer leafs out soon.

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  3. HB I just realized I typed the comment in the wrong window, I thought I was commenting on Kris' blog! I apologize for this mistake, just ignore the comment. apologies again.

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  4. That's a wonderful Tillandsia and not one I've seen before. I've done a poorer job than you in placing my Hippeastrum bulbs. While I had success in naturalizing the bulbs in my former garden, I haven't repeated that in my current garden and I think I need to resettle those I've planted out. There's a huge stand of H. papilio at the local botanic garden receiving what appears to be full sun. Have a great weekend!

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    1. K gave me an H. papilio bulb and I put mine out front in an irrigated area. It's got new leaves sprouting. These I read want year round irrigation. The 'Apple Blossom' hybrid types seem to be fine going dry for the summer and fall. There was a neighbor of my Mom&Dad's that had a non-irrigated hellstrip that over the years completely filled with 'Apple Blossom' bulbs. The spring display was a traffic stopper.

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  5. I love tillandsias. I have several of them. It is always a fun surprise when they bloom. It seems odd to see amaryllis blooming in a garden. Here we only have them during winter when they are forced to bloom. I have had Apple Blossom before. I have never had one rebloom. I must not know the magic steps to make them bloom again. Happy weekend.

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    1. Bromeliads in general are becoming wider-spread Trend here. I'm just learning to grow Tillandsias and other Broms. Morning sun/afternoon shade ideal, but I don't have a lot of shade.

      Our climate here seems exactly to Hippeastrum's liking for living as garden bulbs, though they need good drainage, which is easy on our hill. Your experience with them is similar to our climate's experience with hybrid tulips: tulip bulbs must sit in the fridge for weeks, and then they are a brief show usually destroyed in hours by a heat wave, then they must be thrown out. Species from Mediterranean places apparently do okay.

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  6. Hello Hoover Boo,
    It's amazing to see the amaryllis growing outside in a garden.
    Thanks for sharing so many beautiful flowersphoto's.
    Have a wonderful day.

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    1. I am always amazed in turn to see hybrid Tulip flowers lasting more than one hour before falling apart! Too warm for them here.

      Thank you, kind Marijke!

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