Mountain Lilac

California has a lot of native mountain lilacs (Ceanothus). I put two "Conchas" on either side of the front of the house. Both are now in full bloom.

The east side (in morning sun):


The west side (in afternoon sun):


More wildflowers are emerging.

The chinese houses are really taking off (these are from the wildflower meadow on the west side):





The sulfur buckwheats continue to come back from near death:


This one should have quite a display in another week:


More poppies on the front parkway (where the phacelia is running wild):


Still no indication of when the blue-eyed grass will start to bloom, though.


And the tidy tips are really robust:


More signs the desert willow is coming back to life (tiny leaf buds are beginning to emerge along the branches, most pronounced at the base):


These flowers have just opened. I think they might be a variety of clarkia.

Poppies! Poppies Will Make Them Sleepy!

There's been good news and bad news on the landscaping front.

The good news is that my poppies are finally sprouting and my wildflower garden on the west side of the house is finally taking off.

The bad news is that I've had some problems with school children vandalizing my plants.

But first the good news:

At first it was just one:


Then a second:


Now, it's a bunch:


More and more wildflowers are beginning to bloom.

This is a globe gilia:


These are chinese houses:


These are five points:


This is clarkia (it hasn't bloomed yet, but will soon start):


This yellow buckwheat nearly drowned, but it looks like it's coming back from the dead:


Meanwhile, a poppy has also appeared on my front parkway strip:


And I'm not sure what these small flowers are among the phacelia:


The wildflowers in the front yard are also blooming.

These chinese houses were the first to appear and are the best developed:


There are a whole bunch of tidy tips growing around the base of the desert willow:


Here's a close up:


The desert willow is finally showing signs of life:


The royal penstemon is also getting ready to bloom:


The pitcher sage is also blooming:


There's a really nice clump of baby blue eyes and five points:


Still, I don't think the front yard has fully come together yet. It's still less than the sum of its parts.

The coral bells on the east side are finally beginning to catch up with the ones on the west side. They're a slightly lighter color and have a different stalk pattern:


The mountain lilacs are blooming, but still not full yet:


The monkey flowers are also blooming:


Unfortunately, someone stepped on it and broke off about a third of it.

That brings me to the bad news. I get a lot of foot traffic from kids going to and from the elementary school and McDonald's. Many of them skateboard or bicycle through the yard.

Someone broke off the tallest stalk of this white sage:


Someone else skateboarded over two branches of this blue sage:


So, I'm not sure if this is legal, but I've fenced off a portion of my parkway strip. Just the ends of it and left it open to the street side:






My thought is to deter kids from walking through the parkway by blocking the two ends (and also shielding the most vulnerable plants).

My First Poppy

The wildflowers are continuing to come in. I had one lupine, but I set the sprinklers on last night and it broke under the weight of the water. :(

That being said, the rest of them are doing well.

They include my first poppy:


The Chinese houses are also doing great:


Here's how this whole corner looks. The plants with the blue flowers are perennials called "Margarita Penstemon." The Canyon Island Silver Snowflake (in the lower right) is also a perennial. Mixed in between are the annuals: the Chinese houses and the Golden Fields.


Lots of Tidy tips are coming in, particularly along the base of the still-dormant Desert willow:


As are the bulbs:


The Coral bells on the east side of the house have finally begun to bloom. I hope they catch up to the Coral bells on the west side:


The Canyon sunflower continues to defy the odds and remains alive:


The Ceanothus Concha is preparing to bloom:


The orange tree has begun to bloom:


Here's a close up of the Phacelia. It's gotten so tall, so fast, that it towers over the Indian mallow:


The front yard:


The wildflower meadow on the west side:


The wooly blue curls:


This second one didn't look like it would survive, but it decided to live:


The monkey flowers are blooming again. About a third of this plant was killed last week when someone (probably one of the school kids on their way to or from the nearby school decided to walk on the brick ledge and fell on it.


The contractor put in a drainage ditch on the side yard next to the Pink-flowering currants and filled it with pea gravel.

I planted three currants. This is the one doing the best. Luckily, it's closest to my bedroom window. At the Grow Native Nursery last week, I noticed that some of theirs are flowering. Mine haven't yet.


This one nearly drowned in December, but it's making a come back:


This one was doing fine until recently:


Meanwhile the night-flowering jasmine is blooming.


And my container plants are also doing well:


Finally, I've had the ornamental lights on the side of the house replaced (most of the old ones didn't work). I'm going to have more put in on the front (both east and west sides).

Here's the front:


And here is the side:


And here is a close up with the Chapparal Currents (which are growing nicely):