The Butterflies Have Arrived!

First butterfly picture of the season!  A spunky little Acmon Blue impatiently flitting about the Eriogonum grande rubescens (San Miguel Island Buckwheat).  This little one can be hard to spot since they typically measure a measly one inch across or so, but their restlessness can help if you look for movement among the flowers.  This leads you, however to make you look pretty crazy, crouching on the sidewalk with camera in hand cursing the darn thing to just stay still for a minute! 

The other sides of the wings look just as lovely, leopard spotted all over. May it be the first of many this summer!

Plant of the Week: Matilija Poppy

Here she is, the Queen of the garden!  Besides having a Latin name that is easier to pronounce than her common one, Romneya coulteri reigns up to ten or twelve feet above her subjects.  Her sumptuous flowers span an unthinkable 8 inches across at times and the crepe-like petals create a soft dream across the landscape.  Never mind that she can be invasive in sandy, over-watered soils....  she's the Queen, she's conquering more territory! 

It's flowers like this that make me imagine I'm a little Bumble Bee, shimmying my way through those tentacles of sunshiney pollen.  As for the orgins of the name Matilija, I can't verify the myriad of Native American myths and legends found through the magic Google, but what seems to remain constant is that its orgins lie in the Chumash tribe.

Sun: Full sun to part shade
Soil:  Infrequently watered clay seems best to keep her from pillaging other parts of the garden
Plant:  In Autumn, Winter or early Spring before she flowers.  Propagation can be challenging at best (click here for an adventurous lesson in that)
Buy it:  Hmmm, all my usual suspects don't show it in stock.  Bay Natives might have it and East Bay Wilds does have it.  Yay!  Bloom time and planting time don't usually go together, so perhaps try to wait until September or so if you can!
Good for:  Slopes, cottage gardens, wild and unkempt gardens, making your neighbors totally jealous, stopping traffic, bee gardens, mixing with Agaves or Yucca whipplei for a contemporary pairing, the forgotten sunny corner in the yard.

It's Bloomed! It's... Orange?!

I had a breathless discovery this morning- the Corralitos hybrid lily bloomed!  The label claimed it was a cross between Lilium pitkinense, L. kelloggi, and L. pardalinum and would be a shade between pink and crimson.  Hence my confusion here.  Where did the orange come from?!  Regardless, I'm ecstatic that this little "orange sheep" has decided to join my riot of pink Clarkias and it does look pretty fabulous with the Malocothamnus foliage in the background. 

Just look at all that tasty pollen!  I wonder who will come to visit- the female Carpenter bees perhaps?

I love the reflexed petals- so racy!   While I don't mind this strange color detour in my own garden, I'm trying to go over in my mind all the other gardens I've put this in, as I became pretty obsessed when they were available at the wholesale nursery.  Perhaps they'll bloom truer to form in my clients' gardens!

Spring Forward!

 I heart artichokes!

I thought I'd start out the week with some happy blurts of color to chase away the Summer fog!  Enjoy!

Olive-Route Press' welcoming display

A handful of flowery confetti sprinkled throughout the garden

Tomato teepees keep Tulip poppies company.  Wow!

Field Trip: The Fragrant Path of the Diablo Foothills

Using the holiday weekend to finally paint the kitchen (it looks great!), I realized on Sunday that we hadn't been outside to enjoy the best weather we've had in quite some time.  Everybody in the car!  We're going out!  Impulsively, I grabbed a handful of maps taken from the local regional parks and settled on Castle Rock & Diablo Foothills in Walnut Creek/Pleasant Hill.  Arriving around 5 pm, the crowds had already packed up their picnic baskets and left the park for us to explore.  While a welcoming committee of yellow Calochortus, Brodaiea and Owl Clover lit up the sides of the trail, the bowers of flowering Buckeyes (Aesculus californica) captivated my eyes and nose. 

Sweet yet not syrupy, girlish and not fruity, the scent of a Buckeye blossom will levitate the senses and cause a furious pollen-mustache removal.  We passed by hundreds of these trees, yet every time I couldn't help but stop and relive its fragrance.  Thus began our smell tour of the Diablo Foothills.  We ascended the Shell Ridge Trail along a ballet troupe of yellow butterflies and my first sighting of Clarkia unguiculata in the wild. 

Sambucus mexicana sweetened our way- I had no idea the scent could be so lovely when I had first spotted it growing along the Delta.  Country Mouse highlighted this plant recently in an enlightening post here.   Nothing like seeing a plant in person to make you want one... Now!

To contrast with the heavenly fragrances, Salvia mellifera sunned its leaves on the hillsides with late afternoon sun, sending its musk down the path in fleeting clouds.  While most of the flowering had already finished, gobs of happy Monkeyflowers shone orange and continued the bloom along side them.

Farther along, the persistent buzzing of an insect construction zone led us to investigate.  Bunches of Adenostoma hosted a myriad of bees, from honey to hover, to bumble.  What is it about silently watching bees buzzing frantically that makes me feel so relaxed?  Ok, I want an Adenostoma now, too.  Not to mention another opportunity to explore this park further throughout the seasons.

Mysteries of the Insect World

It's larva season!  And with it comes the potential of a new hobby that I sooo don't need.  Darn.  I'd love to know what these little guys plan on becoming, but after perusing all of Bugguide.net's caterpillar images I'm still clueless.  Are these even caterpillars?  The striped fellow above sat on a plum leaf, surrounded by bits of webbing.

This one chilled out on a hybridized Columbine.  His orange head (eyes?) contrast so nicely with his pinstripes!

Grub?  Caterpillar?  Larvae?  Hmmm.  Found in all the ivy I was trying to remove this weekend, so not sure if I like the company he keeps.

Anyone able to steer me in the right direction?

Sketchbook: Mariposa Lily Seed Pods

Phew!  So much to blog, so little time!  I'll start out the week with some really fabulous Calochortus seedpods (these things just keep getting better and better!  For blooms, click this).  I was so taken by them, I had to do a little sketch and splash it over with wild colors.  The discovery of water color pens- fun!

I should probably add:  my work is copyrighted, so using my images without permission is just not nice and downright illegal!  Ok, back to the regularly scheduled program!