Plants I'm Growing: Phlomis, Rose "Flutterby" (April 5, 2013)

A lot of flowers coming into bloom in the garden now. The first Phlomis blossom opened on April 3 (pictured). The first flowers on the big climbing rose called "Flutterby" at the front of the house opened yesterday, April 4. Lithodora diffusa, a ground cover with a pretty star-shaped flower started blooming today. Most of the Ceanothus varieties in the garden are in full bloom. The sound around them is amazing; Ceanothus attracts a startling range of insects. Pacific Iris are in bloom, and leaves are just appearing on the smoke tree in front of the house. Both our pink crabapple tree and our "Pink Lady" apple tree are in bloom. The large salvia "Point Sal Spreader" is in bloom as well. The wisteria behind the house looks like it will start blooming soon, which always attracts many large bumblebees. A pretty time of the year.

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--Roses "Cocktail" and "Altissimo"

First blooms of 2012 on a number of roses in the garden in the past few days. The big red climber on the back fence called "Altissimo" bloomed on April 26. The single-petaled rose called "Cocktail" (pictured) started blooming on April 27. "Flutterby" by the front door is now in full bloom. "Cocktail" bloomed on April 19 in 2011.

Plants I'm growing: First Blooms--Roses and Phlomis Lanata

The Phlomis lanata in the garden started blooming today (pictured) as did the "New Dawn" climbing rose on the back fence (pictured) and the rose "Cocktail." Nearly all the roses are going strongly now. I'm not especially a rose fan, but the old-fashioned single-petaled ones remind me of the wild roses I saw as a child in England, in Somerset (Taunton). I like these very much. "New Dawn" is an old-fashioned climber with quintessentially rose-like buds--chaste almost.

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--Phlomis Fruiticosa, "Flutterby" Rose, "Change of Pace" Iris

The new yellow-orange climbing rose at the front of the house ("Flutterby") is just coming into its own--covered with buds that are about to open. A single bud opened a couple of days ago, but the plant won't really start blooming for a day or two. "Flutterby" starts out yellow but turns orange and pink as it fades. A very pretty rose.

Another German iris opened up today. This one is called "Change of Pace." It's usually among the first to bloom each year.

The first yellow petals have emerged on the big Phlomis plants by the birdbath today (Phlomis fruiticosa).

Solomon's seal (Polygonatum commutatum) also grows in our garden. It's one of the many plants I've planted here to remind me of the first garden I had to do with as I pleased--the garden of the house that was my grandmother's and then my mother's, on Shaftesbury Rd. in Dayton, Ohio. Solomon's Seal is a delicate eastern woodland wildflower, but for some reason it has been quite content in the very different climate here in Santa Rosa. First blooms today--more or less.