AboutOrchids

As temperatures have warmed, and heavy winter rains have given way to light spring showers, our garden is coming alive. First, this bloom on an Abutilon, or Flowering Maple, looks like a brilliant red bell announcing the season. Next, this Iris is a California native we bought years ago at a Strybing Arboretum plant sale. The third photo shows purple blooms atop the variegated foliage of a Hebe. Named for the ancient Greek goddess of youth, the Hebe genus originates in New Zealand.

When I first moved into this apartment in the mid-90’s, I found a flower pot with a nearly-dead Cymbidium abandoned under the stairs of the back deck. I managed to save it, and for many years since, I’ve been rewarded with big, beautiful red blooms. As a terrestrial orchid, it’s growing in the ground very close to where I found it. Nearby there’s a great Sage with fuzzy, hot-pink flowers, and soft, pineapple-scented leaves.

Calla Lillies thrive here on the California coast. They’re native to South Africa. After these waist-high blooms fade, the plants will die back to dormant rootstocks for our summer dry season. Lastly, this tiny bloom descends from some Geraniums that drifted into the yard as weeds several years ago. Their charming light purple flowers earned them a place to stay. They’ve proven quite prolific, and they pop up in every shady spot and crevice at this time of year.

Explore posts in the same categories: Botanical Gardens, General Gardening, Photos

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 at 9:36 pm and is filed under Botanical Gardens, General Gardening, Photos.

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