Bloom Day January 2019

Aloe cameronii

The sun is low and the light is golden at this time of year

Clean up continues.  This area is trimmed, cleaned, mulched, and is now spring-ready.
There are, however, more roses to prune and more leaf litter to rake up.  One big climbing rose takes a whole day:
 The sweet peas are growing, but flowers are several weeks in the future.  80 sweet onion seedlings and 40 "Dutch" iris bulbs planted:
 Flowers for Bloom Day?  A few.   

Pruning bouquet.  'Brass Band' was loaded
 I sat on a step and took numerous photos of the 'Meyer' lemon flowers, but it was really to enjoy their fragrance, which was divine. 

 Echeveria coccinea

 Some roses cut back, some still blooming.  
'Bolero':
 'Tamora' in that golden winter light
 Still some Salvia flowers
 Prime time for Grevillea 'Superb'
 And for 'Coastal Gem'
 Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder'
 Long lasting, brilliant A. hardyi hybrid:
 Aloe ellenbeckii against a background of Aeonium 'Kiwi':
 Aloe marlothii's flower stem emerged a few days ago:
 Aloe megalacantha(?) hybrid(?)
 Aloe rubroviolacea
Fabulous Aloe vanbalenii with Yucca queretaroensis backdrop:
 Aloe cameronii

 And the Hellebore that smells like a skunk. 
Happy Blooms!  Time to get back out there and get back to work. 


Comments

  1. Roses - *SIGH* Your wonderful Aloe blooms show me just how much opportunity there is in investing in some of the larger-growing varieties - maybe I'll fill the holes left by the 2 bloomed-out Agaves last year with Aloes this time. Your sweet peas are substantially ahead of mine, showing me that covering my seeds with empty flats provides too little protection from the "pinching" done by birds. Happy GBBD, HB!

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    1. I bought 2 six-packs of sweet peas and it seems to have been a good idea so far. My seeds all got eaten last year.

      I'm going very pro-Aloe after the work (and green waste!) involved in removing the enormous Agave marmorata. It was magnificent, but...Aloes are looking easier these days. I really like rubroviolacea, capitata, reitzii, and aculeata. Solitary or nearly solitary--no giant spreading clumps to deal with.

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  2. What a treat to share your beautiful blooms. The lemon flowers are so perfect.

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  3. You do have quite a few bloom. Oh to have such beautiful roses that take a day to prune. The glory of it all. I remember those pictures. I love the scent of the lemon tree. My tiny tree is blooming. It is exciting. I hope we get some lemons this year. The darned squirrels ate the forming lemons last year. Grrrrrrrr

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    1. Best of luck to get some lemons! I love them. Lemon meringue pie, lemonade, yum yum.

      Darn squirrels eat my avocados. GRRRRR!!!

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  4. Love all your photos and the gorgeous low light is magically! Can you tell me, are the clay pots with rods through them decoration or for a special reason?

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    1. Thanks Nancy!

      The idea of the pot stacks was to store them in a sort of (hopefully) decorative way. I'd like a potting bench with shelves to store the pots (also in a decorative way), but have never found the right one for a reasonable price.

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  5. Your Grevillea 'Coastal Gem' gives me a taster of what my 'Canberra Gem' will look like when (if) it grows up. But those aloes.. stunning.

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    1. 'Coastal Gem' has proven to be a gem. 'Canberra Gem' is supposed to be quite cold hardy--hope it performs for you.

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  6. Your aloes are definitely farther along than ours. Everything here is in a holding pattern. So am I!

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    1. You are getting some good rain up north--January has been too dry here. :(

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  7. :: Aloe ellenbeckii against a background of Aeonium 'Kiwi' ::

    Color echoes always appeal, and this is a magnificently subtle one. Thanks for capturing the moment (I'm assuming this aloe's not in bloom anywhere near as long as the ones with huge spires).

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    1. It was a sweet moment. The flower stems are maybe 6". It's a small clumping species.

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  8. Gorgeous! I managed to get all my roses pruned last weekend, so now it will be a while before I have pruning bouquets. Like Gerhard, most of my flowers seem to be in a holding pattern for now...

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    1. Wish I could do mine all in one weekend. I'm slow. The garden is pretty sleepy here, too. A long stretch of relatively cold nights has given the plants a chance to rest, while the gardener works frantically!

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  9. I'm amazed by all the roses you have blooming in the middle of January - they are gorgeous! The Aloe's are most impressive also.

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    1. Thanks, Jason! We get some of our most beautiful rose flowers in January if the weather stays dry for a couple of weeks. No thrips, the flower color is richer and more saturated, and the flowers last longer too. Just less of them, and the foliage can look pretty ratty. Small price to pay.

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