january bloomday
Happy January Bloom Day, folks!
Lots of pictures this month.
Okay I cheated, with some multiples of the same plant mixed in. But a big dose of perky orange in the dead of winter seemed morally acceptable.
I guess it’s a typical Southern California January, with some ever-bloomers mixed in with the winter-flowering plants or last of the fall plants. You can hover over an image above to get the name, but here’s a quick rundown on the January backbone plants.
Some plants that say “California” but are from other places:
Aloe arborescens
A. andongensis
A. bainesii
Kalanchoe tubiflora
Jade plant, Crassula ovata
Salvia divinorum
S. Hot Lips
Protea ‘Pink Ice’
Lavender
Arctotis
Oxalis purpurea
…and the really noxious
Oxalis pes-caprae
California natives:
Coreopsis maritima
C. gigantea
Ribes indecorum
Gutierrezia californica
Carpenteria californica
Mimulus aurantiacus
Isomeris arborea
Sphaeralcea ambigua
Galvezia speciosa
Verbena lilacina
Salvia mellifera
Salvia ‘Bee’s Bliss’
Salvia spathacea
There are also a few other things in bloom that didn’t make it into the mix, things like ‘Dr. Hurd’ manzanita, but you get the idea…
Thanks as always to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. Check out the January post to see what the rest of the world looks like in the middle of January [ here ]
January 14 2012 11:10 pm | Categories: gardening • my garden | Tags: flowers • Garden Bloggers Bloom Day • gbbd • January • native plants
Elephant's Eye on 15 Jan 2012 at 2:18 am #
Ooh noxious, you can EAT the leaves ;~)
HolleyGarden on 15 Jan 2012 at 8:33 am #
Yes, orange in January is just what I like to see!
I especially love the little bloom that is pink with an orange center. Happy GBBD!
Dorothy/Gardening with Nature on 15 Jan 2012 at 9:23 am #
You have a plethora of blooms, even in January, and all beautiful. Happy Bloom Day!
hb on 15 Jan 2012 at 10:15 am #
Fabulous bloom day post. Your artistic talent is definitely on display here.
Helen/patientgardener on 15 Jan 2012 at 10:46 am #
Oh those aloes are lovely — such a nice colour and so warming to me in chilling UK
Town Mouse on 15 Jan 2012 at 10:47 am #
It’s easy to see the difference between Southern CA and Northern CA in our pictures. Wow, monkey flower? In January?
Great post, and great pictures. I think I’m going back to my camera with the view finder for next week, that point and shoot is too open to misunderstandings.
Denise on 15 Jan 2012 at 11:46 am #
Morally acceptable indeed! Nice to see carpenteria in the mix.
Larry on 15 Jan 2012 at 1:26 pm #
Beautiful flowers that are a pleasure to see from this point of view, where there’s cold and snow on the garden… Larry
Matti on 15 Jan 2012 at 3:13 pm #
Fab collection of blooms. Love your C. gigantea. Ours is just starting to flower (for the first time). Happy GBBD back at you. Matti
ryan on 15 Jan 2012 at 4:32 pm #
Nice collection of flowers. I like how those those first three rows of orange look together. You’re a good 4–6 weeks ahead of us on everything. Happy bloom day.
Lee@A Guide To Northeastern Gardening on 15 Jan 2012 at 4:56 pm #
Very nice blooms…a welcome sight for those of us in the northeast. Happy GBBD to you!
Country Mouse on 15 Jan 2012 at 6:48 pm #
I was just thinking — Hm. Wonder if James has posted any pics and couldn’t see you — so I just went to post 13 as I always do, for a random look at who got my “lucky number” — Ha! James! I like your arrangement of nothing but solid pictures! I thought your coreopsis was encelia californica, no? I’ll have to look up coreopsis! Lots of lovely blooms to cheer everyone up in your garden!
Sue Langley on 15 Jan 2012 at 10:24 pm #
Splendid colors,.…and that Afican daisy! Seeing these makes me miss So Cal. The aloes I brought up didn’t make through our first freeze.…now I go by what the neighbors can grow when it comes to succulents. I really enjoy the close-ups…
Desert Dweller / David C. on 16 Jan 2012 at 2:22 pm #
So nice to see plants growing well…soon, I tell myself! The Galvezia and Sphaeralcea shot says it so well for me, softening block so well.
Scott Weber on 16 Jan 2012 at 2:37 pm #
Beautiful blooms…I’m so jealous of your Verbena lilacina…I’ve never been able to get them to winter-over
Donna on 16 Jan 2012 at 8:54 pm #
You really have quite a few blooms and also a nice way of displaying them in the post.
ricki on 17 Jan 2012 at 3:47 pm #
Everyone is saying it, but I’ll add my two cents: yours are the only outdoor flowers to be seen by those of us in the frozen north country. Thanks!
James on 18 Jan 2012 at 10:35 pm #
Thanks, everyone!
@EE, there’s a lot of sorrel I’d have to graze through to make a dent, unfortunately.
@HG, the pink and orange arctotis has the most edible-looking colors a flower could ever have!
@Dorothy, summer is our dry time for blooms, so I’m definitely enjoying the winter collection.
@HB, the was the month for all-telephoto macro shots. I think I was feeling more lazy than creative…
@TM, I won’t show you my monkeyflower pics from December, then!
@Denise, I respond to the orange. I’m glad others do too!
@Larry, glad to help warm up some computer screens, at least.
Matti, the C. gigantea surprised me with its flowers. There were none two weeks ago, and then suddenly, three of the plants are already blooming.
@Ryan, our January days in the high 70s and even low 80s probably pushed along some of the flowers. Weird year. Now it’s cold again.
@Lee, hardly seems like the same country sometimes, with all the different climates…
@CM, all the asteraceae seem to confuse me, encelia, coreopsis (or whatever their new genus name is), but this one’s definite the C. gigantea. If I’d pulled back you’d see the plant’s wonderful weirdness.
@Sue, I hope the post makes you think fondly of life off the mountain instead of making you full-on homesick. From your post, you’ve definitely some blooms, even up in the foothills.
@David, I was surprised when the mallow started to flop over the wall and turn into a seriously cascading plant. Definitely a PLEASANT surprise!
@Scott, I have a hard time keeping them alive with my skimpy watering. Touchy species all around…
@Donna, I’m glad you enjoyed them!
@Ricki, glad to share what’s going on here outdoors. My friends who live inland in the foothills are definitely feeling the winter…22 degrees one night. My garden is definitely in a little pampered fantasyland of no frost so far this year. I think things are about to change soon, though!
Jean on 20 Jan 2012 at 7:44 pm #
James, It took me a few days to get here — but, oh, what a treat! I’m intoxicated by the colors of Aloe aborescens.
Alice Joyce on 20 Jan 2012 at 7:46 pm #
Gorgeous array, James,
now that the rain decided to return, I’m hoping my Bay Area garden will perk up!
Hope you’re having a good year thus far…:D
Wendy on 21 Jan 2012 at 4:31 pm #
lovely photos!
catmint on 29 Jan 2012 at 3:00 am #
great range of plants James, beautifully photographed and arranged in the post.
maggie on 02 Feb 2012 at 5:23 pm #
What a beautiful array. The oranges, yellows, purples and gray-green leaves all say California. It’s been such a mild winter up here–have you been getting rain down your way?
Arleen Webster on 06 Feb 2012 at 8:37 pm #
Really spectacular blooms for this time of year, James! How has your weather been in San Diego for this winter season? We’ve been dry and unseasonably warm since December in our area, and that’s been triggering a lot of early, unexpected blooms and the leafing out of the deciduous stuff in the garden.
James on 10 Feb 2012 at 10:51 pm #
@Jean, it’s starting to fade now. Amazing while it lasted, tho!
@Alice, thanks for the wishes. Water is good!
@Wendy, thank you.
@Catmint, thanks to you too. It’s nice to have some flowers to play with.
@Maggie, dry, mild–maybe even warm. The days are almost as warm as we’ll see in June. The nights, tho, are lots cooler.
@Arleen, I doubt we’re getting any more water than you are where you are. November was such a nice wet beginning to the rainy season and then almost no rain after that. I’m considering watering the garden–in February! Sad.