No Showers, Just Flowers

'Barcelona'
After the garden views for Bloom Day, up-closes of the usual April flowers.  Leucospermum 'Blanche Ito', planted last June, has its first two flowers.  There are many more buds to open.  This is part of a series of florist Leucospermums hybridized in Hawaii for the cut-flower trade.  'Blanche' is pretty spectacular.  I have not yet gotten a really good photo, but I will keep working at it.  The flower eventually opens wide and fairly flat.

A little flatter and brighter a couple of days later.

Hmm.  I'll work on it.

Then of course the usual roses, unusually big, fat, and petal-stuffed, because Rain Is Magic.  'Snowbird', in particular, is dazzling.  Last year was horrible for roses, and this summer they will be probably be awful again, but in April, they are pure joy.
 


And others.  'Molineux':
 'The Ambridge Rose'
 The best pink Austin I have grown, 'Bishop's Castle'.  Productive, strong fragrance, good vigor. 
I hope 'Princess Alexandra Of Kent' will improve.  I moved it to a much better place last year and it does look better.  The plant still doesn't produce very many of these beauties. (Could there ever be enough?) 
 
 Three new roses this year.  Two have bloomed. 'Easy Spirit':
'Earth Angel'
 'Princesse Charlene de Monaco' has just a couple of buds and doesn't look that great--spindly.  Some of my very best roses were the slowest to get going:  'Firefighter', 'Bolero', 'Brass Band', and yes, 'Snowbird'.  So maybe it is one of those. 
'Firefighter' is going now

 Salvia 'Waverly'

An Eremophila planted last year.  This year lovely little hummingbird feeding flowers, but the plant is quite awkward--lanky and bare-bottomed.  I'm not sure it will survive as part of it died over the winter.  Oh, well.  Worth trying.
 First flowers from Lomandra 'Plantinum Beauty'.  This is a genus that can reseed quite prolifically, but all the selections imported to the US are male selections, so no reseeding.  It's all about the foliage, but the flowers are not bad at all. 
 The Freesias are having a really good spring. 
 Lavender 'Silver Anook'.  Planted last year it was underwhelming. This spring's deep purple flowers improved it.  
 The TB Iris are having a great year as well.  The plants in the somewhat reorganized TTT bed turned out to be deep purple.  Planted so long ago the color was forgotten because they never bloomed. 

  First Clematis flower of the year from 'Angelique' and it is twice the usual size.  That rain again.
Cerinthe, dewy.
   And of course Leucospermum 'Yellow Bird'
 And another yellow bird in the garden. 
Our rainy season is over.  I already miss the rain, but what it has created makes this April wonderful. 

Comments

  1. Amazing what magic rain works in your garden! So many glorious blooms. Your Leucospermum always make me swoon.

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    Replies
    1. Hope you are feeling well, Outlaw. Happy you enjoyed the photos!

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  2. All beautiful and your photos are great. I had rather lackluster success with Princess Alexandra of Kent last year too although, granted, it was its first year. I know it does well here, though, because I've seen it at various gardens in the area.

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    1. I had it in a spot that just could not retain moisture--am hoping this new place will give me an impressive plant. The flowers are very impressive--just few and far between.

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  3. I miss the rain too - only my largest barrel still has some collected water in it. You garden is spectacular. 'Blanche's' flowers are similar in shape to those of my 'Brandi', which is also the product of Hawaiian breeders. Your roses as usual are glorious. I love the shape of 'Easy Spirit'.

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  4. Replies
    1. Perfect for winter rain/summer dry climates!

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  5. The roses are sumptuous, and it's impossible to pick a favorite, but I keep going back to the cupped pale pink blooms of 'Earth Angel'. Are they fragrant? 'Easy Spirit's also lovely, but that color looks very vulnerable to heat...

    Those irises though: whoa! Stunning even if they were an annual event, but particularly magnificent after such an absence.

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    Replies
    1. Yes 'Earth Angel' is fragrant. :)

      Fertilizer makes all the difference with TB Iris. Never used to, and as a result, no blooms. Now I know!

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  6. Oh those gorgeous roses. I love David Austin's but alas they aren't quite hardy here so grow them in pots. Nowhere near as healthy, floriferous and gorgeous as yours. Enjoy while they last.

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    1. They are wonderful! DA hybridized some great ones.

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  7. You have to enjoy this bounty of flowers no matter if they are flat or fluffy. Such pretty colors.

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