What's Blooming?

What's blooming in the native garden in January?

Here are some photos Scott took yesterday.

Manzanitas have charming, but tiny, heart-shaped
flowers for a few weeks in winter.
Different varieties, different times. This is 'Paradise.'  

We Southern Californians try not to get smug about our flowers in midwinter, or our 70 degree days when the rest of the country is sub-zero.  We don't try very hard.  But most of the natives are getting their green on right now.  They will start their flower show in late winter or spring.  

First Monkeyflowers of the season.  That color is real.
Two flowers light up a bed.

Step up close.  If you pay attention, you don't need a whole bed full of flowers to experience the delight of natural beauty.  If you want all flowers all the time, don't go native. If you pay attention, though, you will notice some timely blooms (Manzanitas) and some untimely blooms (because plants get confused about seasons in SoCal.)    

Bush Anemone putting on a show outside my kitchen window.

 Few natives have showy flowers for a long season, but Bush Anemone (Carpenteria californica) is one that does– if it gets enough sun. It might be finicky; mine grew when Tomaz's didn't.  And of course Seaside Daisies.  No posts for a week or more; I'm on a road trip to Big Sur.

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