Mothers Day Presents from Mother Nature

Mother Nature really came through this Mothers Day........here's what was blooming in my yard on May 10, 2009. Enjoy!

Some of the blooms are small.......

..so here are their close ups!

Wild ones first........ Woodland Strawberries.... these wonderful plants were the first to volunteer after clearing the ivy.....I now have three nice patches that came up all on their own. I've also successfully transplanted runners to a couple of beds. The berries are only as big around as the tip of your little finger, but they have the purest strawberry taste.....it ruins you for those monsters you find in the stores! My first berry will be ripe today (May 17, 2009).... can't wait for breakfast! 

California Poppies are normally school-bus yellow, but I found this red variety at a local nursery.........it was part of my birthday present to me this year. I'll be collecting seeds later in the year, if anyone wants some. 

The poppies are closed in lower light, starting at twilight, and then open fully in the sun.

Forget-me-nots (light blue, left) and Jupiter's Beard (pink, right). Forget-me-nots volunteered. I can thank Linda Huffman's perseverance with giving me yet another clump of Jupiter's Beard.......these survived!!!

Now for the more familiar.......My red Camellia is still in full bloom....it's a late bloomer, anyway, but it was lovely to stick around fo

r the holiday. This tree i

s about 15 ft. tall and lives under my redwoods. No need to add acid fertilizer to this beauty.

The star of this year's Spring garden is

 my Rhododendron 'Nancy Evans.'

Isn't she lovely! Her buds are a corally pink/orange, then she blooms a rich lemon yellow. What a delight!

She's been in the ground for four years.........I was starting to give up hope that she would ever bloom, when my friend Dennis Lillis told me the local Rhododendron Guy (yes, that's his official title) told him the secret was to feed them throughout the year.......all last year, I dosed her liberally with time-release plant food.....and voila'! 

Coral Bells......great shade bloomers, if I can get to them with the Deer Out quickly enough!

Lipstick pink sage......in another flowerbed, this same variety blooms a deeper fuschia........go figure.

I wish I knew what this shrub 

was called......its leaves and blooms look very similar to honeysuckle, but it is definitely a bush!.....about 10 feet tall. Pretty blooms and fuzzy seeds.....If any one knows the name, you'll win a prize!

Some kind of Australian pea vine......planted in a container, in case it might like California a little too well.

Thyme-Leafed Fuschia.......blooms are only about 1/4-inch wide! Hummers love them!

Good ol' Snapdragons!

I've heard these called by several common names.....and if I weren't running late for the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, I'd go out and look up the scientific name........I call them Chinese Lanterns.

Planted this one last year and the plants survived the winter! Don't know the name of it........but loved it for the blooms.....they only bloom in a half circle! And they'll go all summer long.

Rose Mallow......and, yes, the blooms are out of focus.....sigh

And last, but not least, a few Santa Barbara Daisies blooming under the Thyme-Leafed Fuschia. 

Thanks again, Mother Nature!