blue-mage

With spring finally arriving (late), the spring bloomers in my blue garden have all come up at once this year, instead of having some staggering of bloom. Of course, I was out of town when it all began to happen. When I left there was a hint of color, and when I returned things were in full swing. Here are some shots of this year's blue garden blue-mage.


The grape hyacinths (Muscari) were just nubs hidden in the leaves when I left, but are now at their peak. I like to think that the white edges of the blossoms are the mascara of the muscari.

The Bellavia usually blooms a bit later than the Muscari, but this year is blooming at the same time. Although a much subdued color compared the the Muscari, I love the angular blossoms and the indigo color.

I bought this dwarf bearded iris 'Purple Plum' at the Albuquerque iris sale 2 years ago, but it didn't bloom last year. Probably because I didn't water it.  One bloom this year.

Ipheion 'Rolf Fiedler' isn't blooming as well this year as it usually does. I think that the cold windy weather damaged the leaves in the winter, when it grows and stores energy for the spring blooms.

The rosemary that I call 'Will's Blue' has been blooming all winter (hence the brown faded flowers). Although the winter blooms were sparse and scattered (not that I'm complaining), the spring bloom is profuse and dense. The bees love it. Will bought this at Home Depot as an unnamed Rosemarinus officinalis, and it turned out to be a great performer. I took a cutting and planted it in my garden 3 years ago.

Rosemary 'Blue Spires' is also blooming, a richer blue than the above. The plants are as upright as you'd expect with this name, and the stems are architectural looking.

Rosemary 'Gorizia' is also blooming, the blooms being more lavender than blue, and the large leaves have an almost ginger hint to the flavor.

I'm still not sure what the correct name of this Veronica is, but I think it is Veronica tauricola. It usually blooms before just about everything else in the garden, but this year, with everything blooming, it is just starting.

You wouldn't think of Agapanthus as an early spring bloomer, and it is not typically, even though in California, some plants do put out a rare unseasonal shoot at any time of the year. I've had this Agapanthus 'Blue Heaven' for a number of years, and it has only bloomed once before (and a very small sad-looking stem it was). Although 'Blue Heaven' is supposed to be deciduous, the leaves have never looked like they were near fading by the time the first freeze hit in the autumn. This year, I decided to pot it and bring it indoors for the winter. Because Agapanthus requires a winter temperature below 46 F, to bloom, but below freezing will kill the plant, I dutifully kept it in the coldest place in the house, and put the plant in a sunny window during the day. Every day. I put the plant outdoors for sunlight on warmer days, and fortunately did not forget to bring the plant back indoors even a single time (forgetting even once could kill the plant). I was actually hoping that the leaves would fall off as the plant went dormant so that I wouldn't have to  worry about giving the plant light. To my surprise, the leaves did not go dormant and in early February, amazingly, three flower stems appeared. Of course the buds began to open when I was out of town. But the flowers are worth all the work. The flowers are much lighter than 'Storm Cloud' which I tried a few years back, but 'Storm Cloud' rotted in the winter.  I may try again, but I find 'Blue Heaven' to be utterly satisfying.