Photo posted via Instagram at the Southern California Spring Garden Show 2014
Previously in my Instagram Photos…
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This is a photomontage of some sights from our visit to this year’s Southern California Spring Garden Show in Costa Mesa, California including over 100 photos from the event. There is a lot to see a this show each year including show gardens, a huge collection of orchids, iris, succulents of all shapes and much, much, more.
Check out my collection of gardening essays, “From A Gardener’s Notebook” now available as a Kindle eBook. (You don’t need a Kindle to read it, though. Read it on your PC, Link: http://j.mp/fagnbook
Watch all past gardening videos in this YouTube Playlist
Music: “Brittle Rille” by Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com) under Creative Commons License
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A few months ago I purchased this Calochortus superbus bulb at at meeting the California Native Plant Society. Native plants aren’t my typical choice for garden plants, but I loved the look of these flowers when I saw them during the speaker’s slide show, so I picked up one for myself and one for a friend.
The bulbs had been growing rather slowly for the last few weeks, but a few days I noticed flower buds and yesterday one of these opened into this beautiful, if small, flower. Now that it has flowered (with a few more buds yet to open) it will be time to stop watering it so it can go through its normal cycle and fall dormant as the heat of the Summer arrives. It is important to NOT water natives during the Summer, as this duplicates their normal lifecycle and prevents them from rotting, which they seem to do very easily when given water out of season. I’ll place this pot aside once it has finished flowering and bring it out again when the Fall rains arrive.
Calochortus superbus (Superb mariposa lily)
Calochortus superbus (Superb mariposa lily)
From Wikipedia…
Calochortus superbus is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name superb mariposa lily. It is endemic to California, where it is a common member of the flora in several types of habitat statewide. It is a perennial herb growing up to 40 to 60 centimeters tall with a basal leaf up to 30 centimeters long which withers by flowering. The inflorescence is a loose cluster of 1 to 3 erect, bell-shaped flowers. Each flower has three sepals and three petals all up to 4 centimeters long and blotched with yellow at the bases. There is generally a darker spot within the yellow area, and the base color of the segments may be white to light purple or solid yellow. The fruit is an angled capsule 5 or 6 centimeters long. This plant resembles Calochortus luteus, a chief discriminant being the oval to crescent shaped nectary of C. luteus compared to the squarish nectary of C. superbus.[1] — Wikipedia
More information on Calochortus superbus…
- Calochortus superbus at Wikipedia
- Calochortus superbus at Pacific Bulb Society
- Calochortus superbus at California Native Plant Database
Photo posted via Instagram at the Southern California Spring Garden Show 2014
Previously in my Instagram Photos…
Sempervivum
I remember my grandmother always have pots of sempervivum growing both inside and outside the house. She would have called then “hen and chicks” of course, the common name we all used back in Ohio. This was long before I was taking any interest in the Latin names of plants. (LAUGH)
One of the common names, ‘Hen and chicks” comes from the nature of the sempervivum to put off little sprouts along its base which gather like chicks around a mother hen. These also make the plant easy to propagate, as the “chicks” can be carefully pulled off and planted elsewhere. These hardy plants are great for any beginning gardener and those who just want something that is always showing some life throughout the year. They also come in a large number of varieties, so there is something here for nearly everyone.
- Sempervivum /sɛmpəˈvaɪvəm/,[1] is a genus of about 40 species of flowering plants in the Crassulaceae family, known as houseleeks. Other common names include live forever and hen and chicks. They are succulent perennials forming mats composed of tufted leaves in rosettes. In favourable conditions they spread rapidly via offsets, and several species are valued in cultivation as groundcover for dry, sunny spots.[2]
The name Sempervivum has its origin in the Latin semper (“always”) and vivus (“living”), because this perennial plant keeps its leaves in winter and is very resistant to difficult conditions of growth.[3] The common name houseleek is believed to stem from the traditional practice of growing plants on the roofs of houses to ward off lightning strikes.[3] The plant is not closely related to the true leek, which belongs to the onion family.
Other common names reflect the plant’s ancient association with Thor, the Norse god of thunder, and the Roman Jupiter. Hence names such as “Jupiter’s beard” and the German Donnersbart (“thunder beard”).[3]
- – Wikipedia
More information on Sempervivum:
More Sempervivum books, art, plants and seed at Amazon.com
Previously in the Interesting Plant series:
- Primula auricula
- Feathery Cassia (Senna auricula)
- Red Stick Dogwood (Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’)
- Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum)
- Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa)
- Giant Chalk Dudleya (Dudleya brittonii)
- Sunrose (Helianthemum nummularium)
- Australian/New Zealand Tea Tree (Leptospermum scoparium)
- Brugmansia Sanguinea
- Calico Monkeyflower (Mimulus pictus)
- Colocasia Esculenta
- Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku’ (Coral Bark Japanese Maple)
- Linderniaceae (formerly Torenia) Kuaui Deep Blue
- Passiflora (Passion flower)
- Firewheel Tree (Stenocarpus sinuatus)
- Anemone
- Allium Cowanii
- Symphyotrichum oblongifolius (Purple Aster)
- Hemerocallis ‘Derrick Cane’ (Daylily)
- Agastache ‘Aztec Rose’
- Rudbeckia hirta Moreno
- Kalanchoe Tomentosa
- Albuca namaquensis
- Hosta ‘Remember Me’
- Dahlia ‘Clair de Lune’
- Lovely silver-tinged fern on campus of Oberlin College, Ohio
- Tricolor Beech (Fagus sylvatica Purpurea Tricolor)
- Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala petiolaris)
- Eremurus ‘Lemon Meringue’
- Lupine “Sunrise” (Lupinus hartwegii)
- Chinese Fringe Flower (Loropetalum chinense)
- Streptocarpus ‘Harlequin Blue’
- Nigella damascena (love-in-a-mist, ragged lady)
- Epiphyllum (Orchid Cactus)
- Sempervivum ‘Westerlin’
- Gladiolus ‘Kings Lynn’
- Hosta sieboldiana ‘Dorothy Benedict’
- Begonia “Escargot”
- Asparagus Pea (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus)
- Rosa banksiae (Lady Banks’ Rose)
- Primula ‘Victoriana Silver Laced Black’
- Oxalis versicolor
- Poached Egg Plant (Limnanthes douglasii)
- Parisian Carrots
- Fritillaria imperialis Rubra Maxima
- Clematis “Fascination”
- Swiss Chard “Bright Lights”
- Georgia Rattlesnake Melon
- Dianthus Barbathus “Green Ball” or “Green Trick”
- Coleus “Religious Radish”
- Black Forest Calla Lily
- Black Bamboo
Interesting Plant is a series from A Gardener’s Notebook blog and podcast that highlights the most interesting plants I find in my Internet and real-world travels — Douglas
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Squirrel says, “Whew! It’s been a busy morning! Time for a nap.” At least, that is what I think he was saying. Just a short scene from the garden today.
Our friends and neighbors about 1 block away have decided to tear out their water-hungry lawn and replace it with more drought tolerant plants. I took these two angles in hopes that I can visit regular and show the progress as these plants fill out to cover the space. These aren’t native plants, but rather typical landscaping choices such as lantana. I can understand that, as my own experience in growing natives is that they require a lot more care and attention than most of can offer. I’ve noticed more and more folks converting their lawn lately, which I think is a great trend here in Southern California. Some have even made the shift to growing food in their front yards, which I think is even better. I continue to grow more vegetables in my own garden and I am looking to expand, too.
I’ll keep you informed of the progress here.
Looking from northeast to Southwest
Looking from Southeast to Northwest
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Some sights from our visit to this year’s Southern California Spring Garden Show in Costa Mesa, California. There is a lot to see a this show each year including show gardens, a huge collection of orchids, iris, succulents of all shapes and much, much, more.
Check out my collection of gardening essays, “From A Gardener’s Notebook” now available as a Kindle eBook. (You don’t need a Kindle to read it, though. Read it on your PC, Link: http://j.mp/fagnbook
Watch all past gardening videos in this YouTube Playlist
Music: “Brittle Rille” by Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com) under Creative Commons License
Please Like this video and/or subscribe to my channel on YouTube.
Your likes and subscriptions directly reflect how many other viewers are suggested this video.
Subscribe to my YouTube Channel
- Follow A Gardener’s Notebook on Pinterest
- Follow A Gardener’s Notebook on Twitter
- Like A Gardener’s Notebook on Facebook
- Circle A Gardener’s Notebook on Google+
- Subscribe to A Gardener’s Notebook podcast via iTunes
Here is a collection of all my photos from our visit to the 2014 Southern California Spring Garden Show in Costa Mesa, California. There is a lot to see a this show each year including show gardens, a huge collection of orchids, iris, succulents of all shapes and much, much, more.
Click this photo too see the entire album on Flickr or play the slideshow below.
See all these photos in full size on Flickr
Previously in my Instagram Photos…
