The front yard is so beautiful right now that I want to press Pause on the giant DVR that is time. All too soon this floral cornucopia will be a thing of the past and summer will be here. Yes, summer starts early in our parts—as early as May.
But right now I’m getting tremendous enjoyment out of this spectacle and I want to share these photos with you. They’re random, and not about anything other than beauty.
Bed between our driveway and our neighbor’s. The yellow poppy on the left is a Mexican tulip poppy ( Hunnemannia fumariifolia). The others are California poppies ( Eschscholzia californica); the deep orange cultivar is called ‘Red Chief’.
Jerusalem sage ( Phlomis fruticosa)
Grevillea ‘Peaches and Cream’. Another 10-12 buds are in various stages of development.
Beavertail cactus ( Opuntia basilaris)
This is the first flower of what looks like many
First claret cup cactus flowers. This is a species called Echinocereus octacanthus.
More claret cup cactus flowers waiting to open. The tall stem in the back belongs to Echinocereus triglochidiatus ‘White Sands’. The others are the species, Echinocereus triglochidiatus.
California poppies and Arctotis ‘Wine’
Aloe cameronii and ‘Southern Belle’ sundrops ( Calylophus drummondii 'Southern Belle')
Agave americana ‘Mediopicta alba’ and Texas sundrops ( Calylophus hartwegii)
Lots and lots of California poppies
California poppies and Aloe ‘Erik the Red’
Agave ovatifolia and Mexican bush marigold ( Tagetes lemmonii 'Martin's Mutant')
Globe artichoke ( Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus)
Black Lace elderberry ( Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’)
Persian carpet ( Drosanthemum floribundum)
Persian carpet ( Drosanthemum floribundum)
As much as I like all the flowers above, my hands-down favorite right now is this trio of Echium wildpretii, commonly known as tower of jewels. I’ve never had three blooming so close together. I love how it looks!
Echium wildpretii reseeds generously. Once you have one, you’ll have it forever. That’s a good thing in my book, considering this Canary Island native is a biennial: It grows as a rosette of soft, silver-gray leaves in its first year (sometimes two), then sends up a massive flower stalk (the “tower” alluded to in its common name), and then dies.
What’s blooming in your garden right now?