090330 - First Ranunculus

Here are photographs I took yesterday of the first three ranunculus to bloom this spring.

I think the nice weather we had last week really made them pop.

I planted them late last season and was really surprised when they came up and bloomed. This year, they are much larger and as stunning as I'd hoped. You can see the purple one is growing alongside alyssum, violas, a massive carnation plant, and a succulent almost in bloom.

09 Winter - Canterbury Bells

At the start of March, Phil bought these canterbury bells from Trader Joe's on Masonic.

They were in full bloom, wilted a bit in the kitchen while I waited for good weather to trudge out into the gardens, then sprang back to life as soon as I planted them near the base of the terraces. The plant is about one foot tall and twice as wide with six nearly identical flower clusters.

In the six pack to the right in the nursery, you can see several tiny canterbury bells I started from seed in mid February. The dry weather over the last year or so has been hard on the delphiniums, so I plan to distribute these throughout the front and back gardens where the delphiniums have died off.

09 March - Anemones

Here are two anemone flowers from the fride (FRont sIDE) garden.

The winter rains seem to have ended around the start of March, and the gardens are now cranking.

This plant sits against a brick wall between two perennial bushes. At first, I thought it wasn't getting enough light, but then I noticed the massive flower buds coming up soon after the rains ended.

Not only do I like the droplets of water on these petals, but the little insect, too, which is seeking protection from the morning drizzle.