GardenBook

 I have to confess, there are times when I don't really like Camellias very much. Or maybe it's a matter of indifference. Could it be plant elitism ?  I know myself well enough to suspect the latter. Snobbery is so unbecoming ! Stroll around my neighborhood and you would be hard pressed to find a house that didn't have at least one -understandable since they possess many fine qualities. They are evergreen, they grow in shade, they bloom in winter and very early spring, some are fragrant, and an added bonus, they are in fact drought tolerant-mine receive zero irrigation in summer.I've never seen a pest of any kind bother them. They are the Sansiveria of the shrub world.  When I started my first Northern California garden in the mid- 80's I planted several, all of them pink with poofy peony-like flower forms.The rainy winters here soon taught me about Camellia petal blight;the ground beneath my plants was often festooned with slimy brown blobs that once were flowers. ...

No shortage of happenings this month , as the garden is full of satiated bees and hummers. The Lilies are  are beginning their peak season,, this is 'Scheherazade' an Orienpet hybrid from The Lily Garden .This is my number one go-to grower for Lilies, I can always find a spot to pop in another one . 'Legend' 'Black Beauty' 'Sorbonne' And Dahlia season too. One of my favorite grasses Chasmanthium latifolium. New this year, Trifolium rubens Trachelium Variegated foliage kicks this Lantana up a notch. Agastache 'Sangria' with the energetic 'Black and Blue' Salvia Bloomfest ! Tipping the hat to Carol at May Dreams , our hostess for this monthly visit to blooming gardens around the globe.

 Several years ago I innocently wandered on to the Daylily forum on GardenWeb, never suspecting that I was about to be sucked into the vortex of High Maintenance. Ironic I know- for I am a high maintenance gardener --I would rather deadhead and water containers than dust and vacuum any day. But there is a limit-a high limit mind you, but a limit none the less.  The GardenWeb Daylily people are extraordinarily dedicated , and much to my detriment, they post a lot of photos. I learned about the best mail order nurseries, learned about tetraploids and diploids,  proliffs and fans. I also learned about the Daylily Auction. Uh-oh. Very tempting that Daylily Auction. And so I was off. Boxes full of double and triple fans arriving weekly , thrilled to find that freebies are common, shocked to learn what some serious collectors might  pay  for newer hybrids. Even in the peak of my rose collection mania , I never forked out 200 bucks for a bare root rose. How happy ...

 This Veronica spicata cultivar was acquired from a local garden center back in the late 80's. This seems like a long time ago..my children were actual children-not adults, and we lived in the house next door . We had different cats ,different cars, and no computer.The importance of keeping plant tags was not ingrained as it is now. When we moved one house over , I dug up some stuff and brought it along, this Veronica was one of the move-ees.It has been moved around my garden here at least 4 times that I can recall . I've never seen this plant since in any garden center, or in any garden. No luck on the internet and no luck in any of the garden books I own. Is it even Veronica spicata ? Who knows. Maybe you do? Silver foliage, blooms spring to late spring, no rebloom. Height in bloom about 12" to 18". Modestly spreading .

 Roses take up a sizable chunk of real estate. They were the first plant I collected and hours were spent  pouring through catalogs, lurking on internet Rose forums, making lists of those I had and those I wanted. Now I am deleting. There is still a want list, but it is small, and a new rose is only installed when an old one is removed. Today I dug up Austins 'Mary Rose', after many years of service she was about to become Dr Huey.  The yellow roses have become the majority. I am partial to them, and few yellows have been shown the door to the compost bin. Buff Beauty.  The excellent Molineaux, ridiculously prolific, not a black spot in sight. Golden Celebration. Toulouse Lautrec. Black spot and vegetative centers are tolerated in view of the sunny color and the recurved form.

 Here in my garden , February is the month when the promise of spring starts to reveal itself , all kinds of foliage pushing up and out, with the danger of frost still hovering. I find myself starting to peer intently at the marginal plants--did they make it ? Is that new growth ? It's been a dreadful winter for the succulents, and anything else on a zone cusp. Our lack of rain meant night after night of 30's, 20's and couple dips into the teens. My 'hardy to 26 degrees' plants that usually prevail are DOA. Still, we have flowers !  Clematis Armandii is always a reliable spring signpost.  The basic Euphorbia  c. wulfenii. The Hellebores Rosemary 'Tuscan Blue' Pieris --common but hey, they're flowers ! Camellias are everywhere here, despite the petal blight affliction that can ruin the flowers . I never water or feed them. I only have a few, and they are all white . The white ones always seem less Camellia-ish to me. Wave...

Ongoing garden-reno upheavals and no rain have plunged this gardener into a nearly bloomless state. This container planting features the ubiquitous Stock and is the lone ranger in bloom land. Much bud-forming has been noted and it is hoped February will bring both rain and flowers. Visit Carol our hostess at May Dreams Gardens to see some actual flora-bundance .

Here in northern California, the temperatures of October can be some of the nicest of the year, and the slanty fall sunlight creates a pleasant glow in the garden. This same slant also plunges wide swaths of my garden into shadows, and mildew follows without fail. At least the disfiguring disease forces my hand for garden clean up. The dahlia foliage look dreadful, but there are still a few flowers soldiering on,  providing me with something to put in a vase.  The roses look more respectable now that blackspot is only a memory..this is Fair Bianca, a scrawny bush, but earns it's keep with these flowers . Phygelius, kept under semi-control by diligent shoot-pulling.  Love my Chasmanthium. Quality time will be spent this evening perusing other entries over yonder at  May Dreams Gardens where Carol lets us come and play every month.

The annual bloom from this Robin Parer selection is always anxiously awaited. It lives modestly in it's pot all year, and the bloom may go unnoticed by those who prefer the big , brilliant and gaudy. And look...more coming !