Late Bloomers at SBBG

The meadow at SBBG.  Borrowed landscape doesn't get better than this.

The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden renovated their wildflower meadow this year.  It's looking great for so late in the season, I presume with a fair dose of supplemental water.  Yellow Lupines, Punchbowl Clarkia, and California Poppy predominate.

Elsewhere in the garden, many of the sages, monkey flowers, ceanothus, and other big bloomers were spent, or nearly so.  This close to the ocean, it can be hard to predict what blooms when.  A late bloomer will be found hidden in a microclimate.

Some late-blooming annual Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila menziesii) were hiding in part shade.  The bunnies ate mine.

I got to see the garden's wide variety of Dudleyas in bloom.   A stalk can be much larger than the plant, though not all those stalks have showy flowers.

The yellow flowers of Dudleya caespitosa, Coast Dudleya, are showy enough for me.

Some flowers are hard to find.  Alan Lindsay called my attention to the curious Soap Plant.  Its flowers, on long branching stalks above the ground-hugging leaves, only open in the early evening.

Bees must have waited all day for these Soap Plant (Chlorogalum pomeridianum) flowers.  There were as many bees as flowers.

The Garden's sages were mostly done blooming.  The spent flower stalks of sages are decorative, and provide seeds for birds, so don't cut them off till the birds have emptied them of seeds.

These spent Hummingbird Sage (Salvia spathacea)  flower stalks are striking; usually the stalks get black.  Maybe because these were growing in sun: wild ones typically grow in shade.

Having been to the garden for about two years, I notice that lots of the blooming perennials come and go.  So do not despair if yours are short lived, or alternatively, plant more shrubs if you can't be bothered.  Many of them also volunteer from seed. Native gardening is not for control freaks.  Small plants with bright color (yellow seems to work best) can make an impression disproportionate to their size; you need not have a garden full of blooms.

This little guy makes a statement.  Golden Yarrow, Eriophyllum  confertiflorum.

Buckwheats bloom later than most natives; several varieties were in full swing, and red buckwheat was not started yet.  Most buckwheats are prolific flowerers. 

Rare Eriogonum crocatum, Conejo or Saffron Buckwheat, has handsome foliage even when it's not in flower.   It does best in gardens within a few miles of the coast.

This wasn't the most impressive St. Catherine's Lace (Eriogonum giganteum, foreground) but it had the best view.

Manzanitas bloomed back in January, but they are decorative all year long.

This hybrid Manzanita has been well pruned to show its sculptural branches.  Rocks help.

Matilija Poppies don't mess around, with their hand-sized fried egg-shaped flowers.

Planting is long done.  The garden shows are over.   Soon the buckwheat flowers will turn reddish-brown and the garden will go to sleep for the summer. Now is the season to stop making gardening work, get ourselves a cup of tea, and just enjoy the late bloomers.

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