Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms—Spring Flowers (2020)

I've been rather lazy this year about recording the first blooms of plants in the garden this year. I missed the date of the miniature cyclamen that is always the first flower of the new year and likewise the date of the first blooms on the white plum tree in the side yard. I have recorded a few, though. The yellow daffodils in the front of the house first bloomed this year on February 20. The pluot "Dapple Dandy" bloomed on April 15. The pluot called "Flavor King" first bloomed on February 18 and the dwarf peach behind the house had its first flowers on February 21. The two-toned daffodils at the front of the house bloomed on February 29, more than a week later than the yellow ones, which is normal. The magnolia-like Michelia yunnanensis bloomed on February 29 as well.

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--Tulips, Daffodils, Fruit Trees, and Rhododendrons (Late February 2016)

A lot is going on in the garden at this time of year. Our two-toned daffodils bloomed on February 20. They're always a little later than the regular yellows daffodils. Our dwarf peach tree started blooming on February 15, the dwarf nectarine a day later. February 23 brought the first blooms on the last of the species tulips that have survived in the garden (many were eaten by ground squirrels, and the species tulips don't seem to live that long--nor do they spread much). They are a very cheery early spot of bright pink and yellow in the garden at this time of year. On the same day, the first flowered opened on the "Noyo Dream" Rhododendron on the side of the house—always the first rhododendron to bloom.

Plants I'm Growing--First Blooms: Dwarf Peach, Dwarf Nectarine, Tulipa Bakeri (February 2015)

Plants are coming into bloom in rapid succession in the garden and I'm already behind in keeping track, but here I note that the Dwarf Peach Tree in the side yard started blooming this year on February 16 (top photo). The Dwarf Nectarine started blooming on February 18 (second photo). Our Flavor King Pluot (not shown) began blooming on the 17th. The few remaining species tulips in the front garden (Tulipa bakeri) started blooming this year on February 20 (bottom).

Plants I'm Growing: In the Garden (March 5, 2013)

Activity is beginning to pick up in the garden, although it's started pouring with rain today, which will likely ruin the flowers on the fruit trees. In the past few days, the Flavor Queen pluot and the Santa Rosa plum have come into bloom. The golden current (Ribes aureum) is in full bloom (photo below). The manzanitas are blooming, and the dwarf peach and nectarine behind the house are coming into bloom as well (photo above).

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--Two-toned Daffodils, Rhododendron "Pink Snowflakes," Dwarf Peach (February 24, 2012)

With temperatures up into the seventies the past few days, flowers are beginning to open all over the garden. Today saw the first blooms on the two-toned daffodils in the front garden, on the rhododendron called "Pink Snowflakes," and on the dwarf peach in the side garden. "Pink Snowflakes" has been a very regular bloomer. Its first buds opened on February 22 in 2009, February 24 in 2010, February 16 in 2011, and on February 24 again this year. The dwarf peach has been somewhat more erratic, blooming on March 02, in 2009, February 22, in 2010, March 5 in 2011, and February 24 this year. The two-tone daffodils are another reliable bloomer, it seems. They first opened on February 22 in 2010 and on February 24 this year and last. The first blooms opened also on the yellow broom in the side garden (Cytisus).

Plants I'm Growing--First Blooms: Dwarf Peach, Nanking Cherry

First blooms today on the Nanking cherry by the birdbath (Prunus tomentosa), a bush cherry with very delicate pretty, ever-so-slightly pink blossoms. Yesterday we had the first blossoms--a rich, deep pink--on the dwarf peach in the back garden.

The Nanking cherry bloomed on March 2 in 2009 and on March 8 in 2010, for a year of 362 days this year and 371 days the year before, averaging to 366.5 days, close to an astronomical year. The Dwarf peach bloomed on March 2 in 2009 and February 22 in 2010, for a year of 377 days this year and 358 days in the year before, averaging to 367.5 days, also close to an actual year.

Plants I'm Growing: Just Because It's Pretty

Nothing much to report, really, but the back garden was very pretty in the rain today--another 1.5 inches fell last night and nearly another three quarters today. Visible in the photo are two varieties of rosemary in bloom, the golden currant (Ribes aureum) that recently started blooming  (back left), the dwarf nectarine (pink), the dwarf peach (darker pink, mostly obscured by the foreground tree), and Daphne odorata. The tree is a coral bark Japanese maple "Sangokaku." Also visible is the stone wall at the back of the yard. Beyond the wall are the grape vines, but they are hard to see in this view. The beehive is clearly visible in the middle of the picture, against the wall.

Just because it was pretty today in the rain.

Plants I'm growing: First Blooms--Ceanothus "Ray Hartman," Dwarf Peach, Santa Rosa Plum

The warmth and sun today has coaxed out new flowers in the garden. The "Ray Hartman" Ceanothus (or California lilac, top photo) and the dwarf peach (bottom photo) have both started blooming today. The Ray Hartman is now a small tree. It looks fabulous when at its peak, which should come within about two weeks. The dwarf peach has grown very slowly--left behind by a dwarf nectarine planted on the same day. Small differences in location (the trees are only a few feet apart) can make such a big difference; the peach gets an hour or so more shade both in the morning and afternoon. The fruit of the two trees is delicious. The deep pink blossoms contrast nicely with the rosemary always in bloom at the same time.

Yesterday brought the first flowers of 2010 on the little Santa Rosa plum tree and on the two-toned daffodils that went in last year.

I missed the first blooms on the Ceanothus in 2009, but I seem to have noted on March 19 last year that they had been open for about a week, suggesting the tree bloomed around March 12. That would make the flowering quite early this year. The dwarf peach started blooming on March 2 in 2009, which means a year according to the peach was 357 days. The Santa Rosa plum bloomed on February 23, 2009, so a year according to that plant was 363 days. I don't seem to have a 2009 record of the first blossoms on the pretty white and coral daffodils that opened yesterday.

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Plants I'm growing: First Blooms--Dwarf Peach

The little dwarf peach in the back yard began to bloom today, adding its deep pink to the growing array of color. It still surprises me how early spring comes here. Having said that, it is March now. We've had another inch and a half of rain in the past two days, but we are still about six inches below normal. Another amazing rainbow this morning. The dwarf nectarine looks likely to start blooming in the next day or two.