Sunday 17 June 2007

Winter blooms


It's less than a week to the solstice and I'm amazed at the number of plants that are bursting into bloom already. I expected the sasanqua camellias, which I've already mentioned, but I didn't expect them to keep flowering for so long. Now they are being joined by other plants, some of which seem logical at this time of year, like heath and mimosa (or wattle as the Aussies call it), and others quite unexpected like the kniphofia (red hot poker) in the photo and bergenia (pigsqueak). Japonica camellias are also beginning to bloom, though I did hear someone say that they are early this year. Lavender, particularly Lavandula stoechas, doesn't seem to have stopped flowering at all, even though the weather has been cold and stormy for the last week with temperatures comparable to a Vancouver winter, ie. not reaching double digits in daytime and close to zero at night. I've also noticed occasional salvia, penstemon and osteospermum blooms in my neighbourhood.

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