In Bloom: March ’14

Many varieties of Coral Bells (Heuchera) flank a shady sitting area

With six weeks until the garden show and two weeks until the official start of Spring, the garden is beginning to come to life. Bolstered by alternating periods of rain and warm sunshine over the last month, plants are displaying copious amounts of blossoms and fresh green growth. This is probably the healthiest and most well balanced the garden has looked to date — just in time for the public viewing next month.  Coral Bells (Heuchera) and flowering currants (Ribes) are peaking right now, providing quite a display of creams and pinks. Also blooming:  California lilac (Ceanothus), manzanitas (Arctostaphylos), California phacelia (Phacelia), monkeyflowers (Mimulus), beach and woodland strawberry (Fragaria), island bush poppy (Dendromecon), California buttercup (Ranunculus), penstemons (Penstemon) and cliff-maids (Lewisia). Some eye candy:

Island Bush Poppy (Dendromecon harfordii)

Ceanothus ‘Dark Star’

Cliff-maid (Lewisia cotyledon ‘Magenta’)

Woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca)

California phacelia

Point Reyes kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi ‘Point Reyes’)

Red-flowering currant (Ribes ‘Barrie Coate’)

Monkey-flowering Around

Mimulus bifidus ‘White,’ star performer in the garden

Shrubby monkeyflowers (genus Mimulus) are a common site in the Bay Area, especially in the coastal scrub plant communities where they grow happily alongside sagebrush, chamise, coffeeberry, and others. In the spring, the plentiful orange flowers of Mimulus aurantiacus add a welcome dash of color to the greens and grays that typically dominate the landscape. Leaves have a characteristic sticky feel and plants can have a gangly, disheveled appearance in the wild.

In the garden, monkeyflowers have become very popular because they come in a wide variety of colors (orange, red, yellow, white, purple, etc.) and they bloom for a relatively long time over the spring and early summer. Native monkelyflowers are also available at most Bay Area nurseries, including Home Depot, where I recently saw the ‘Jelly Bean Yellow’ and ‘Pink’ varieties.

I have experimented with many types of monkeyflowers with mixed results. My first attempt was with a central coast cultivar called Mimulus bifidus ‘Junipero Serra’ that I obtained from East Bay Wilds. Unfortunately, the branches are extremely brittle on this plant and it was trampled over time. This was a full sun site and I think they prefer partial shade.

Mimulus bifidus ‘Junipero Serra’ in happier times, Spring 2012

Thankfully, I’ve had much more success with my Fall ’12 plantings. Most of these plants were purchased at Annie’s Annuals in Richmond, which, from my experience, has the healthiest, most robust young plants. The current crop of monkeyflowers began blooming in early April and seem to be peaking now in May. To the photos:

Mimulus aurantiacus, common shrub monkeyflower found on local trails. These are from Mission Blue Nursery, which sources from San Bruno Mountain.

M. puniceus, Red monkeyflower from Annies

M. aurantiacus ‘Apricot’ from Annies

M. ‘Eleanor’ from Half Moon Bay Nursery

M. bifidus ‘Apricot’ on left and M. bifidus ‘White’ on right, both from Annies

M. flemingii, a rare Channel islands variety

M. ‘Jelly Bean Yellow’ from Yerba Buena

Pretty in Pink

Western Redbud (Cercis occidentalis) currently living in a large pot

A while back I profiled the purple domination taking place in the front yard in early spring. I would now like to highlight some of the pink-flowered plants occupying both the front and backyards. In the winter, the pink/white flowers of manzanitas and chaparral currants were peaking. In March, the brilliant floral display of the redbud, coral bells, and pink-flowering currants took center stage. Currently, the pinks of checkerbloom, sea thrift, hummingbird sage, and sea daisy are prominent. Later on, in summer and early fall, the pink hues of red-flowered buckwheat, santa cruz island buckwheat,  and island yarrow will dot the landscape.  Some photos, past and present:

Red-flowered buckwheat (Eriogonum grande var. rubescens) growing in the rock wall, July 2012

Island Pink yarrow (Achillea millefolium ‘Island Pink’), July 2012

Chaparral Currant (Ribes malvaceum ‘Dancing Tassels), January 2013

Pajaro manzanita (Arctostaphylos pajaroensis ‘Warren Roberts’), February 2013

Pink-flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum ‘Claremont’), March

Hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea) is one of my favorites. Fruit-scented sticky leaves and magenta flowers drawing in flocks of hummingbirds

Trio of hybrid Sea thrift (Armeria maritima)

Coral bells hybrid (Heuchera ‘Canyon Belle’)

Another coral bells hybrid (Heuchera ‘Lillian’s Pink’). This is another of my favorite plants. Flowers on stalks start blooming in February and last through the spring