Spring
flowers bring the garden to life. There are bulbs and stalwart
bloomers in the Winter months that might be thought of as Spring flowers
in a colder climate. But it takes the Spring warmth and longer days
to bring out the best from the flowers. For our area, the peak
blooming moment is sometime in May. With some time spent removing
spent flowers the blooming season easily extends into June. The June
coastal fog often makes a mess of the foliage of many plants, particularly
near the coast, making May
the most dependable month for blooms.
There is something about natural
rain that makes the plants grow so much more productively. The slow
gentle rains of Spring collect nitrogen from the atmosphere. The
warmth of the soil is critical for the bacteria to transform that nitrogen
into something that the plants can use. And the plants use that
fertility to such great effect. I cut so many plants back
dramatically each Winter, and they come back with such vigor in the
Spring. Even though I know the story line . . . Spring is here and I
am forever astonished by it.
Much of the year foliage is the most
important aspect of a garden's design. Spring flowers trump foliage
every time and for at least a few months the flowers reign supreme.
I love to make combinations that overwhelm the senses. Spring is a
time for super-abundant flowers. As the season progresses the
dominant flower color will often change as one plant fades and another
comes into bloom, altering the personality of that garden completely.
The
above Southern California garden is located in the foothills in a nearly
frost free part of the valley. The design directives for the garden
pictured above were:
*
to find colorful flowering plants
*
to keep the plants mostly below a height of 3 feet to maintain a view
*
to keep the water use at a minimum and the maintenance level reasonable
The
plants included in this view of the garden: Erysimum Bowles
Mauve, Salvia
coahuilensis, Salvia
argentea, Salvia Sierra del San
Antonio, Salvia
Maraschino, Salvia Hot
Lips, Calandrinia
grandiflora, Convolvulus
sabatius,
Brachyscome multifida, Hesperaloe
parviflora, Cistus sunset,
Asteriscus maritimus,
Pelargonium sidoides,
Calylophus
drummondianus, Lobelia
laxiflora, Justicia brandegeana
Jambalaya, Salvia mexicana
Limelight,
Geranium Biokovo, Streptosolen jamesonii
