Plants I'm Growing--First Blooms: Peruvian Verbena, Echium Gentianoides, Iris "Change of Pace"

First blooms of 2011 in the past couple of days on Peruvian verbena, Echium gentianoides,  and the iris called "Change of Pace," which every year is the first of the irises to bloom. The iris started blooming on the 21st. "Change of Pace" bloomed on April 10 in 2009 and April 5 in 2011, so this is somewhat late. The plant has thus calculated years of 360 days and 381 days.

The Peruvian verbena (Verbena bonariensis)--a very tall, upright variety, started blooming on the 22nd (pictured above). It bloomed on May 11 in 2010, so this seems early. The plant calculated a year of only 346 days. The Echium--a pure blue variety--started blooming yesterday, the 23rd. I don't have a 2010 record for this Echium, but it bloomed on March 31 in 2009. I didn't get around to photographing any of the plants until today.

Plants I'm Growing--First Blooms: Peruvian Verbena, Salvia Cacalifolia, (2010)

First blooms yesterday, May 11, on the Peruvian verbena in the garden. I love the this tall, sturdy plant (Verbena bonariensis) that puts up with just about anything. It can grow to over six feet tall--taller than me. It's an ideal plant in many ways--it's carefree, doesn't need a lot of water, easy to root from cuttings, self-sowing, and pretty. Peruvian verbena bloomed on April 21 in 2009, considerably earlier than this year. A year according to this plant was thus 386 days.

Salvia cacalifolia also bloomed today (May 12). This is a pretty blue salvia that dies back with the frost each year but always makes a strong comeback. This plant bloomed on May 9 in 2009, for a year of 369 days.

Pyracantha also bloomed today, as did Silene dioica, or red campion--although the flowers are more pink than red. I don't have older records for either plant and I can't remember the Pyracantha variety, although I remember that the one in the garden here is unusual--rather different from the type with bright orange berries that is common around town.

Plants I'm growing: First Blooms--Columbine, Trillium

Other flowers just coming into bloom yesterday included the yellow columbines and the Trillium at the back side of the house, as well as the Peruvian verbena at the front. The Columbine is a very large, long-purred variety that freely crosses with the native columbine I grow (Aquilegia formosa). The crosses are very pretty, but don't come true from seed, of course. Wish I could propagate them. 

The Trillium, another of those woodland wildflowers that remind me of Ohio, do very well in the rather different climate here. I need to figure out what species this is. Clearly not one of those that lives happily in the much wetter East.