GBBD January 2008

Venturing out last Saturday to check for storm damage in my yard I also began checking for blooms so I’d have an idea what to photograph on the 15th. A few shrubs needed help to stand up straight…they were leaning to the west from the rain/wind storm of the 4th. Leaves that had been stubbornly hanging on to the mulberry next door were now spread across my little patch of lawn and tucked up in the branches of the mallow, nandina, plumbago and vibernum. I also noticed salvias and chrysanthemums that needed cutting back and pelargoniums that had been blown flat. So I headed out Sunday to make a dent in the cleanup…spending several hours and producing three wheelbarrow loads of branches, leaves and trimmings…some of which went in the compost bin and some bigger branches that went in the street for city pickup on the way to the city composting center.
Today I went out early to try to get a few photos…into what I think of as our usual winter weather…37 degrees and foggy. This winter we’ve had fewer of these days but when I think of winter in Davis this is my image.
So here’s what’s blooming in Davis…mostly common winter bloomers, with the continued addition of a couple of misguided, confused overachievers.

First, the overachievers award goes to this shasta daisy and this hollyhock. I can’t even explain it by saying they are in particularly protected spots. I guess they just didn’t get the memo that it was time to pack it in for the year.

And still blooming…however sparsely!

Solanum rantonneti
Solanum jasminoides
White allysum
Vibernum Spring Bouquet
Pelargoniums
Tulbaghia fragrans
Cyclamen
Pansies
Iberis sempervirens
Linaria (winter annual)
Snapdragons (yellow…the pink have stopped blooming for some reason)
Pink Abutilon
Bush Mallow
Dwarf Carnation Evermore
Marguarite Comet Pink
And tucked up against the retaining wall, almost looking as if it purposefully inched over there for warmth, is the borage.

Inside, the second stalk on my amaryllis is finishing up.
The Christmas cactus has two blooms and one more bud.
The spathiphyllum has two blooms.
And the poinsettias are still blooming. However, I’m beginning to think of them as cut flowers…because they have no hope of survival. And that may be why I’ve never been really fond of them.